AJ Lee and CM Punk are one of the most recognizable and successful couples in the professional wrestling business. The two stars were notoriously linked in an on-screen storyline well before they began dating in real life. Lee recently offered details on the surprising timeline of their relationship while speaking on What’s Your Story with Stephanie McMahon.
The Hall of Famer confirmed that their off-screen relationship began two years after their televised rivalry had ended. She reflected on how their complex on-screen love triangle was an example of the unusual nature of their industry.
Lee revealed: “We dated probably two years after our storyline. But our first kiss is on television, and then I put him through a table. Wrestling relationships,” she concluded.
The former Divas Champion remembered that Punk had always shown her great respect early in her career. He worked as an announcer in NXT at the time and always spoke highly of her talent to others.
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She recalled: “Early on, I think he respected me to the point of… In NXT, he was one of the announcers, and when everyone else was shit on us, he would be like, ‘But AJ is cool’. He was always putting me over,”. Lee felt that Punk saw her passion for the industry.
Lee noted that an unscripted moment during a shared storyline first showed her Punk’s genuine personality. “I think he just knew I love wrestling, and When we did the storyline together, I remember there was a… He was supposed to say something really mean to me in one of the live… One of the backstages that was going on live, and it was live.”
Punk went against the script to protect her feelings. “Then he didn’t say the mean thing, and he hit on me or something like, when you weren’t supposed to.” Lee admitted she found this act of care extremely appealing.
“I was like, ‘That was so cool’. Yeah, it was not in the script, but he took care of me, and I thought that was really nice,” Lee shared. The couple initially maintained a platonic friendship while dating other people.
Lee was stunned by how quickly things progressed after their friendship turned into romance. “I think we just… I don’t know. I think we were friends first, dating other people.”
“Then once we were, we were both single at the same time. I think a part of me was like, ‘who knows? Let’s try this’.” The relationship became serious almost immediately after that initial move. “Then I blinked and we were married in two months or something like that,” Lee stated.
She also revealed a specific moment of prescience she had before they were even a couple. They were talking casually about relationships when Punk made a strong statement about his future.
“But I do remember when we were just friends, zero romantic interest, we were talking at a restaurant one time, and he was saying something about he knows he’s never getting married.” Lee then experienced a moment of certainty about their shared future.
“A weird voice in my head went, ‘You’re going to marry me,’” she concluded.
Both AJ Lee and CM Punk are currently active in major storylines as WWE builds toward “Survivor Series: WarGames”. AJ Lee is scheduled to compete in the Women’s WarGames match, where she will team with Rhea Ripley, IYO SKY, Alexa Bliss, and Charlotte Flair. Meanwhile, her husband CM Punk is the reigning World Heavyweight Champion and is set to compete in the Men’s WarGames match alongside Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes. This match will see his team take on a powerful heel faction led by Brock Lesnar.
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