AJ Lee Was A “Heat Seeking Magnet” During Her Time In WWE

— Becky Lynch’s slap of CM Punk on this week’s episode of WWE RAW has ignited fresh speculation about a possible AJ Lee return. Adding to the buzz, former WWE manager Dutch Mantell recently reflected on Lee’s presence in the WWE locker room during their time together in the company.

On a recent episode of his “Story Time with Dutch Mantell” podcast, Mantell described AJ Lee as a real-life backstage heel. He claimed that other female WWE stars reportedly disliked her due to her heel antics, though Mantell noted that Lee seemed to enjoy drawing heat from the entire women’s roster. Mantell explained,

“Boy, she [AJ Lee] was a heel in that women’s locker room [back in the day]. Oh God, she was a heat-seeking magnet. She could walk through, and you could see when she walked through, and a girl saw her. You could look at the girls’ faces, and they go, ‘Oh God, I hate that b****.’ But she liked that.”

“I don’t think she cared. She wanted them to dislike her. I think she felt better when she could tee them all off, and she would just — I don’t know what it was about her. There’s some people just heat seekers, and she’s one of them. Especially with the girls, the other girls.”

— Tiffany Stratton has made a remarkable impact in WWE, capturing the hearts of fans with her journey from her NXT debut to becoming the reigning WWE Women’s Champion.

On a recent episode of the “No-Contest Wrestling” podcast, Stratton reflected on her early days in NXT, sharing that her original gimmick was ultimately dropped because it lacked a satisfying payoff. She explained,

“The Daddy’s little rich girl gimmick kind of came from, like, Sharpay Evans from High School Musical, or like Paris Hilton. Shawn was like, ‘we don’t have a daddy for you. We don’t really have a payoff.’ So I think we kind of just need to scrape it.”

“I think being a heel is 10 times easier than being a baby. You can mess up and you can fall on your butt and, you know, like, that’s totally fine as a heel. However, as a baby face, if you do that, the crowd could turn on you, or you could get booed, and, you know, you’re supposed to be like the face of the company. I feel like I was a heel right off the bat. So that’s why it comes so easy to me.”

“And you know, I’m still learning to like be a babyface and be likable and not have so much stink on what I say in my promos. I never changed anything. I just started getting cheered.”

— During a recent appearance on “The Wrestling Classic” podcast, former WWE Superstar Killer Kross provided his thoughts on Matt Cardona. He said,

“He broke Shotzi’s arm. I’ve never let that go. He’s very talented. He’s very entertaining. He’s also an ***hole. He thinks this is about leeching off of his success and credibility. I have my own success and my own credibility. I don’t need it from Matt, and this is purely about him. Like, people don’t even understand- he got like almost a dozen people to show up and try to attack Shotzi in his match and broke her arm like a month before. So, you know, it’s time for you to get your ass kicked now. That’s what’s going to happen.”

Killer Kross vs. Matt Cardona will take place on October 10 at HOG Wrestling With Glory Comes Pride.