AJ Lee’s long-awaited WWE return could be happening as soon as this Friday.
At WWE’s Clash in Paris PLE, Becky Lynch helped her husband Seth Rollins retain the World Heavyweight Championship in a fatal four-way match. She low blowed CM Punk in the process, which led to speculation that we could see AJ Lee return and help her husband Punk even the odds against Rollins and Lynch.
It still hasn’t been confirmed that Lee is coming back to WWE — or if she’ll be competing in the ring when she does — but today’s Raw episode included a tease that Lee could appear on SmackDown in Chicago this Friday night. After being taunted and slapped by Lynch in a promo segment, Punk warned Lynch that she is going to regret putting her hands on him. Punk then all but confirmed that he’ll be showing up on SmackDown in his hometown of Chicago.
SmackDown in Chicago this Friday? 🤔
CM Punk might be up to something. 👀 pic.twitter.com/ZUQyCqyF1R
— WWE (@WWE) September 1, 2025
There were multiple chants for Lee during the Punk-Lynch promo battle. At one point, Lynch responded to the fans: “Classic, always chanting for a dope that doesn’t work here.”
Becky Lynch’s response to the loud chants for AJ Lee:
“Classic, always chanting for a dope that doesn’t work here!”
😭😭😭#WWERAW
— WrestlePurists (@WrestlePurists) September 1, 2025
An in-ring comeback would be Lee’s first match since 2015. She was a popular star and champion for WWE during the 2010s. Since retiring, she’s published a memoir as well as working as a screenwriter in Hollywood. Lee (AJ Mendez) did have a wrestling role from 2021-2023, when she was part of the Women of Wrestling promotion as an executive producer and commentator.
The husband-wife duo of Rollins and Lynch are both champions at the moment with Rollins holding the World Heavyweight Championship and Lynch holding the Women’s Intercontinental Championship.
Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois is hosting this week’s SmackDown, with an appearance by John Cena also set for the episode. It will be Cena’s final appearance in Chicago before he retires from the ring.
The full Punk-Lynch segment from Raw can be watched below: