— Former three-time Divas Champion AJ Lee is reportedly set to compete in her first match in over a decade. According to a report from Bryan Alvarez of the Wrestling Observer, the plan is for Lee to team with her husband, CM Punk, against the husband-and-wife duo of Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch at the upcoming Wrestlepalooza pay-per-view event on September 20.
The report of the mixed tag team match comes just days after the controversial finish to the main event of the Clash in Paris pay-per-view event. During that bout, Becky Lynch interfered to help her husband, Seth Rollins, retain the World Heavyweight Championship against CM Punk, Jey Uso, and LA Knight, striking Punk with a low blow. The angle immediately sparked widespread fan speculation that it was intended to set up AJ Lee’s in-ring return to even the odds.
On Tuesday, Alvarez confirmed that this is indeed the working plan for the September 20 show, which will also mark WWE’s first pay-per-view event to air on ESPN.
If the match goes forward, it will be AJ Lee’s first time competing in a wrestling ring since the March 30, 2015, episode of Monday Night RAW — the night after WrestleMania 31. On that show, she teamed with Paige and Naomi to defeat The Bella Twins and Natalya.
Additionally, Fightful Select has confirmed that WWE is interested in featuring AJ Lee beyond this single appearance. The report states,
“WWE is planning an AJ Lee return to the ring at WrestlePalooza, and a return on-screen imminently. It was heavily implied by WWE sources that AJ would be appearing or referenced on this week’s Smackdown, which seems like a forgone conclusion at this point. We were told this isn’t necessarily a one-off, and that WWE hopes that they can do more with her, but even if that’s it, they’re happy to have her involved again. There are many staff and talent who spoke to us about Lee, and said that they hadn’t spoken to her or seen her since she left, but that she maintained very pleasant exchanges with them over the years. There were a number of women’s wrestlers specifically who grew up on AJ Lee who were very excited. One veteran that actually never got to work with AJ said that they were shocked it happened, because CM Punk would usually dismiss when he would be needled about it, but they felt like that was more of him being respectful and supportive of whatever his wife wanted.”
— Nick Hogan, son of Hulk Hogan, has filed a lawsuit against radio host Bubba The Love Sponge, claiming that Bubba’s upcoming documentary infringes on his father’s copyrights and trademarks.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in a federal court in Florida, comes after Bubba announced plans to release “Video Killed The Radio Star: The Untold Story Of The Hulk Hogan Sex Tape Scandal” later this month. The documentary reportedly explores how Hulk’s encounter with Bubba’s then-wife, Heather Clem, was leaked to the media.
According to the complaint, the film includes unauthorized images from the infamous sex tape, some of which were allegedly shown in a recently released trailer. Nick also alleges that Bubba — whose real name is Todd Alan Clem — has been using Hulk Hogan’s trademarks to promote the documentary without permission.
The suit further claims that releasing the film would violate a 2012 settlement agreement between Hulk Hogan and Bubba Clem, though the agreement’s details are redacted.
Nick Hogan is seeking to block the documentary’s release and pursue additional, unspecified damages.
