Former WWE Women’s Intercontinental Champion AJ Lee has always been a champion for women in the industry. She is known for a social media post in 2015 where she calls out Stephanie McMahon in particular about equal pay.
While speaking on the new season of WWE Unreal, Lee discloses that this time around she was paid the way her husband, CM Punk, is paid.
“One of the things I fought for back in the day wasn’t just for equal footing,” Lee said. “It was, ‘Let’s get paid the way the men get paid.’ To know I’m signing this contract where I am getting paid the way my husband [CM Punk is] getting paid, where I’m being treated like an equal, it was a boss-ass moment, I’m not going to lie.”
Lee also discussed how she was feeling when she left WWE a decade ago.
“In the last year of my career, so much was happening inside the company, outside of the company, with my husband and the company, my physical health, my mental health, that it just was this perfect storm of… I’m not okay right now.
I felt like I hit every single milestone on my 10 year wishlist of dreams. I did everything. But the tension, the fans, none of that means sh*t if you’re not alive to enjoy it.”
Lee’s last match was at WrestleMania. Although there hasn’t been any creative plans for her since, she is still with WWE.