“This Is Not Goodbye” – AJ Lee Addresses WWE Future After WrestleMania 42 Championship Loss

Published: Apr 19, 2026 by Dave Adamson | Last Updated: Apr 19, 2026 by Dave Adamson

Dave has been a website writer for WrestleTalk since October 2022, having previously written for Den of Geek, among a number of wrestling, movie and television-related sites. Dave has been around the independent wrestling scene for more than a decade, including behind-the-scenes.

“This Is Not Goodbye” – AJ Lee Addresses WWE Future After WrestleMania 42 Championship Loss

After WrestleMania 42 Night 1, AJ Lee is no longer WWE Women’s Intercontinental Champion and has addressed her future.

The first night of WrestleMania 42 saw Becky Lynch regain the WWE Women’s Intercontinental Championship, defeating AJ Lee at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada.

With AJ Lee’s first title reign since her return on WWE SmackDown last September now at an end, the star addressed her future in backstage comments during the WrestleMania 42 Saturday Post-Show.

Addressing how Lynch was able to recapture the title, which involved an exposed turnbuckle, AJ Lee said:

“I should have known better. Becky fights dirty. She plays dirty. I should have seen it coming. That’s on me, right? She calls WrestleMania her home and she’s going to do anything it takes to win.

“She took my title from me, but, I don’t know, this is still a really special night, so, once I get checked out from the doctors, I’ll reassess and try to appreciate the experience.”

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With an entrance that included her real-life nieces, and family in attendance, AJ Lee would call this year’s show her “favorite WrestleMania experience, so far, maybe my favorite match so far”, despite the outcome.

Reflecting on how her entrance was a tribute to the fan support she has had in WWE since day one, the star would go on to emotionally address her future, stating:

“What I wanted to do with that entrance is to represent all the fans who have been with me since day one, who have worn my outfits, my shirts and have been skipping along with me the whole way. That was for you. I love you.

“I never got to say goodbye last time and I felt bad about that. So, this is not goodbye, but I’ll see you soon, I hope.”

If you use this transcription or any portion of it, please credit WrestleTalk.com and link to this page.

While she may be taking a break from WWE, she will likely be in attendance for Night 2 of WrestleMania 42, with her husband, CM Punk, defending the World Heavyweight Championship against Roman Reigns.

A WWE Return Done Right

Ahead of her return on the September 5 episode of WWE SmackDown last year, there were many rumors that AJ Lee had signed with the company.

Having parted ways with WWE in 2015, shortly after teaming with Paige and Naomi to defeat Natalya & The Bella Twins on the Raw after WrestleMania 31, AJ Lee would enter retirement, seemingly calling time on her in-ring career. Indeed, her final two matches in WWE would see the star victorious, with WrestleMania 31 seeing Paige & AJ Lee beat The Bella Twins at the March 29, 2015 event.

Lee wouldn’t compete between her final WWE match and her return, and recently stated that her return was the right decision because of the fans, with her post-WrestleMania 42 comments supporting that position.

That fan support was there, even with AJ Lee being used sparingly, and it’s clearly more than just the “nostalgia pop” as she continues to entertain WWE audiences, even on a reduced in-ring schedule.

With her former tag team partner, Paige, also making a return to WWE to positive fan reaction, it can only be a matter of time before we see the pair reunited in the ring.