AJ Lee has stated the reservations she had before returning to WWE and what convinced her to come back.Lee retired from wrestling after leaving WWE in 2015, but ultimately made her comeback a decade later. In an interview with "iHeart Women's Sports," the former WWE Women's Intercontinental Champion stated that she rejected the opportunity to return to pro wrestling and WWE, explaining how she didn't think the promotion needed her or wanted to tarnish her legacy."I took a second, I took a minute [to decide]. It wasn't for me at first. I just felt like I didn't I had such a wonderful career, and I didn't want to mess with that. And yeah, I just didn't think like they needed me. And it was kind of a no for a while," she said.She said that after pondering over it for a little while, she realized that rejoining WWE was the best decision for her. However, she was worried about her mental health, recalling how the final year of her first spell with WWE had taken a huge toll on her."And I do remember, like, I had had dental surgery and got a call, and I was like, 'How high am I? Who's calling me? It's been 10 years.' I think the biggest hesitation on my part was [that] my mental health was so bad that last year. I was really afraid of backsliding because I had done 10 years of work to get myself really healthy and just be so happy in life. But I think coming from the place of, I don't have a list of things to check off, and I wasn't desperate for it, and it was coming from a place of I am so complete and whole and happy, never having to do that again. It was actually the perfect headspace to go in and feel healthy and feel safe."Lee stated that WWE promised her that they would prioritize her mental health, which reassured her about returning to the promotion.
