AJ Lee prepares for her in-ring return. Ash By Elegance set for first Knockouts Championship defense. Dream Girl Ellie chats with WrestleZone and more!
AJ Lee Returning To Action
For the first time in over 10 years, AJ Lee will lace up her wrestling boots, or rather sneakers, for a match in WWE.
The former WWE Divas Champion made her long-awaited return to the company on the September 5 episode of WWE SmackDown to beat down Becky Lynch, who had previously struck her husband, CM Punk. Lynch also prevented Punk from winning the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WWE Clash In Paris. Now, Lee and Punk will take on Lynch and her husband, Seth Rollins, in a mixed tag match at WWE Wrestlepalooza on September 20.
Lee initially retired from in-ring competition in April 2015 due to lingering damage to her neck. In the years following, she dove into projects in the writing and acting world. From 2021 until 2023, she served as executive producer for Women of Wrestling. Also in 2023, Punk returned to WWE, much to the dismay of Seth Rollins. Since then, Punk and Rollins have feuded on and off, with the latter recently cashing in his Money in the Bank contract on the former at WWE SummerSlam. In doing so, Rollins put an end to Punk’s brief reign as WWE World Heavyweight Champion.
Looking ahead, Punk and Lee will mark their first tag match together since July 2012. Wrestlepalooza will also be Lee’s first match of any kind since March 2015, when she emerged victorious in her final bout on WWE Raw just days before announcing her retirement.
Elsewhere at Wrestlepalooza, IYO SKY and Stephanie Vaquer will vie for the vacant WWE Women’s World Championship.
RELATED: AJ Lee Reveals How Long Returning To WWE Was An Option
Ash By Elegance Set For First KO Title Defense
Next weekend, TNA Wrestling will return to Edmonton, Alberta, Canada for Victory Road, with five matches so far confirmed. Two of these will involve members of the TNA Knockouts Division.
Firstly, TNA Knockouts Champion Ash By Elegance will defend her title against Masha Slamovich, a former titleholder. Ash claimed the title in a surprise win over Slamovich and Jacy Jayne at NXT Heatwave on August 24. Jayne previously captured the title in a Winner Takes All match involving her NXT Women’s Championship and the Knockouts Championship, then held by Slamovich, at TNA Slammiversary. She’d go on to retain the Knockouts Championship against Ash and Slamovich, albeit by disqualification. Now, Ash and Slamovich will meet one-on-one at Victory Road, with Jayne potentially looming.
Elsewhere at Victory Road, M by Elegance and Heather by Elegance will defend the Knockouts Tag Team Championships against The IInspiration (Cassie Lee and Jessica McKay). Lee and McKay returned to TNA at Against All Odds and immediately marked their interest in the respective titles. The IInspiration have so far received two opportunities to claim them. Perhaps the third time is the charm, though.
RELATED: Ash By Elegance Reveals What WWE’s Bayley Texted Her After TNA Title Win
AEW All Out Preview
Before wrestling fans tune into WWE Wrestlepalooza on Saturday evening, they can watch even more in the afternoon.
On September 20, All Elite Wrestling will take over Toronto, Ontario, Canada for All Out. Among the card is a four-way AEW Women’s Championship match pitting Toni Storm against Jamie Hayter, Kris Statlander, and Thekla. Storm, the reigning champion, invited the three other women to challenge her for the title, which she’s held since February. Hayter is a former AEW Women’s Champion in her own right. Statlander and Thekla have yet to hold the title.
Elsewhere, Mercedes Mone will defend her TBS Championship against Riho. Following a successful defense against Alex Windsor, Mone was surprised by Riho’s return and double stomp. Riho then made her intentions clear by holding up Mone’s TBS Championship.
On the All Out pre-show, eight women will compete in a Tornado Tailgate Brawl. More specifically, Harley Cameron, Mina Shirakawa, Queen Aminata, and Willow Nightingale will take on Megan Bayne, Penelope Ford, and Triangle of Madness (Julia Hart and Skye Blue).
RELATED: Toni Storm Won’t Return To WWE, Claims She Is A Lifer For AEW
INTERVIEWS
Dream Girl Ellie spoke with WrestleZone’s Ella Jay about her trip to Tokyo Disney, her favorite and least favorite Disney princesses, burning her ring gear, becoming a “real life nightmare,” training at Dark Arts with Aleister Black and Zelina Vega, her experience in OVW, working behind the scenes with Mickie James, potentially competing on Survivor, and more.
Former WWE Divas Champion AJ Lee joined ESPN’s Vibe Check to discuss her mixed-tag team match at Wrestlepalooza with her husband CM Punk, the crossover between her mental health journey and wrestling, the biggest shifts in women’s wrestling, tips to become an in-ring performer and more.
WWE Hall of Famer Nikki Bella sat down with Stephanie McMahon on What’s Your Story to talk about training for her in-ring comeback, life as a mother, behind-the-scenes stories from Nikki’s 2025 return, her family history, and more.
Former WWE NXT Women’s Champion Stephanie Vaquer spoke with Chris Van Vliet to discuss her first year in WWE, winning the NXT Women’s and Women’s North American Championships. her quick call up to the main roster, Booker T’s reaction to her Devil’s Kiss move, the meaning behind her horns and face paint, future dream matches, and more.
TNA Knockouts Champion Ash By Elegance talked with That’s Wrestling about leaving WWE in 2023, her decision to join TNA, the creative process behind her Elegance persona, becoming Knockouts Champion at NXT Heatwave and more.
Former WWE Divas Champion Jillian Hall appeared on Ring The Belle to talk about her WWE career, her self-written entrance music, her love for Melina, what that Divas Championship reign meant to her, her real finishing move she never got to use, rumors about Brooke Hogan, thoughts on women’s wrestling today, and more.
