AJ Lee

AJ Lee is one of those wrestlers that felt completely different from everybody else in WWE during the early 2010s. She wasn’t presented like the typical “Diva” of that era — she had more of an alternative, nerdy, chaotic energy that made her stand out instantly. She was small compared to most wrestlers at only 5'2, but her entire vibe made her feel bigger than she actually was. Her look was iconic for wrestling fans back then: black hair, Converse shoes, denim shorts, graphic shirts, fingerless gloves sometimes, and that goofy little skip she did to the ring. Instead of acting glamorous or overly polished, AJ leaned into being awkward, hyper, emotional, and unpredictable. She gave off this mix of “cute goth girl,” comic-book/anime fan, and emotionally unstable mastermind all at once. WWE even built storylines around her being chaotic and mentally unhinged, especially during 2012–2014 when she became one of the biggest female personalities in the company. Her attitude was probably her biggest strength. AJ talked like she was smarter than everybody in the room. She could go from playful and sweet to absolutely savage in seconds. A lot of fans loved her because she felt more real and expressive compared to many women’s wrestling characters at the time. She was sarcastic, obsessive, manipulative, emotional, and fearless all together. One minute she’d be smiling and skipping around, then the next she’d slap somebody or cut a promo destroying the entire division verbally. One of her most famous moments was her “pipe bombshell” promo where she roasted the entire WWE Divas division for being fake and talentless compared to her. That promo helped push the women’s division toward becoming more serious in WWE. Many fans still see AJ as one of the important bridges between the old “Divas era” and the later Women’s Revolution.