AJ Lee Reveals why her WWE return was a ‘wonderful surprise’ after a decade away (Image via WWE)As AJ Lee returned to WWE for the first time in 10 years on SmackDown in 2025, the WWE star has opened up about the unexpected circumstances that led to her long-awaited WWE return. She even clarified that she never planned to return after retiring in 2015, but has now revealed that she had no further intention of returning. It is to be noted that Lee rejoined WWE a decade after leaving and has competed in a handful of matches ever since she joined. She revealed her plans of returning to WWE recently on The Nikki & Brie Show at Fanatics Fest, where she explained why she felt the need to wrestle again and what convinced her to go back to the ring. Let’s take a look at the former WWE Women’s Champion’s stance on changing her mind following her SmackDown appearance last year.AJ Lee’s shares the reason behind what convinced her to join WWE following her retirementWWE star AJ Lee has recently shared why she returned to WWE again after a decade since her retirement in 2015. The women’s wrestler explained what changed her mind about not returning to the wrestling ring. Explaining the same on The Nikki & Brie Show at Fanatics Fest, she stated that the reason behind her return is the opportunity to face off against some of the talented young women stars on the roster.AJ Lee candidly stated, "And then, seeing how the business evolved, I kind of saw it like when you're a senior in high school, and you graduate. You're like, 'I hope those freshmen have better teachers,' or 'I hope they get a field at the school that they can use.' You don't expect it for yourself. So, it was just an extra wonderful surprise and a treat to be like, 'Oh, I get to hang out with this new class. That's awesome.'"Apart from this, another important reason that Lee has noted for her comeback was to give back to her loyal fans, who had been waiting in anticipation to see her compete again in the ring.She further shared her experience of what she felt after returning to the ring after 10 years. Lee also described the chance to share the ring with today's performers as a "wonderful surprise," saying it gave her a new reason to return after believing her in-ring career had already completed. Earlier, she had already considered her wrestling career to be complete and believed she accomplished everything before retiring. "I think I kind of wrapped stuff up in such a perfect bow. It just felt like I didn't want to tarnish that in a way. It felt so complete. I didn't feel like I had anything left to do,” Lee further revealed. (source: Wrestling Inc.)It is to be noted that AJ Lee officially made her comeback to the ring to support her husband, CM Punk, who the Women's Intercontinental Champion, Becky Lynch, terrorized on a segment of SmackDown. The Chicago crowd erupted when AJ Lee made her surprise return to the ring to aid her husband. She confronted Becky Lynch, who skipped out to the ring to confront Lynch and jump into the arms of her husband.AJ Lee's return to WWE surprised many people because she had left professional wrestling and had no plans to ever come back. However, she changed her mind, leading to her unexpected return. Following her return, Lee has wrestled five times since returning last year. She was last seen against Becky Lynch, to whom she lost the WWE Women's Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania earlier this year.