AJ's WrestleMania Diary 2013 Introduction, Day 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.

WrestleMania Diary: AJ Lee, introduction

April 03, 2013 BY James Wortman, WWE.COM

"The chilling resurrection of The Undertaker. John Cena’s first-ever dance on The Grandest Stage of Them All. The redemptive WWE Championship triumph of Eddie Guerrero. There are myriad reasons why WrestleMania XX is fondly remembered by the WWE Universe, but for teenaged New Jersey native AJ Lee, peering down at the ring from the uppermost level of Madison Square Garden, it was more than an experience. It was affirmation.

Almost a decade ago, despite financial hardships, AJ’s father scraped up enough cash for two tickets to The Show of Shows, trekking with his daughter up several sets of escalators to the very top of The World’s Most Famous Arena to settle into their 400-section seats. Although observing from a vantage point that made even Brock Lesnar look less-than-imposing, the Diva-to-be allayed dad’s concerns that she was disappointed in the view. Someday, AJ said, she’d be in that ring.

That someday would come two years later, when AJ competed in her first match.

Through no small amount of persistence, the young woman who once marveled at the boundary-shattering athleticism of pioneers like Lita and Trish Stratus made her way to WWE. This year, The Showcase of the Immortals returns to its symbolic home in the New York/New Jersey area, where the coarse sidewalks that once scuffed AJ’s Chuck Taylors now run parallel to The Road to WrestleMania.

Emanating from MetLife Stadium, mere minutes from where this former “girl next door” spent her formative era in modest Union City, WrestleMania reintroduces the Garden State to a woman redefined: capricious, confident and, at times, downright caustic.

One year after AJ sealed Daniel Bryan’s World Heavyweight Championship fate with a kiss at WrestleMania, the pint-sized provocateur has “traded up,” in her mind, walking (and skipping) hand-in-hand with boyfriend Dolph Ziggler, who teams with Big E Langston — AJ’s beefed-up bestie — to take on Team Hell No for the WWE Tag Team Championship. Any and all kisses at the illustrious event, this time around, are reserved for Ms. Lee’s platinum-coiffed “Ziggy.”

But just as AJ will no doubt bask in the grandeur of WrestleMania, so too will its bright lights illuminate just how far she’s come from threadbare days when a roof overhead was a modest luxury her family couldn’t always afford. In an unprecedented WrestleMania Diary, join WWE.com as we delve into the life of this controversial and enigmatic Diva on her five-day journey to The Show of Shows. But first, let’s retrace AJ’s steps to see exactly where she’s been, and how she found her way back home.

“A DIFFERENT KIND OF DIVA”
She’d been among them for nearly her entire life, but AJ Lee finally introduced herself to the WWE Universe at large on Sept.  7, 2010, during the season three premiere of WWE NXT. The self-professed nerd didn’t necessarily fit the mold of what one thinks of when they imagine a “Diva” — she’s more Pokémon than Christian Louboutin — but for legions of WWE fans, AJ fast cemented herself as a “Geek Goddess” they could call their own.  

In the end, AJ’s fervent fanbase brought her to week 12 of the 13-week competition, which was ultimately won by future best friend Kaitlyn. AJ has said, though, she actually won WWE NXT that season … provided, of course, you ignore the finale.

(CHICK)BUSTIN’ MAKES HER FEEL GOOD
Brought together by a shared appreciation for unicorns, puppies and other creatures that cohabitate Lisa Frank notebooks everywhere, AJ and Kaitlyn soon cultivated a bond made stronger by hourslong road trips in cramped rental cars and the most inside of inside jokes.

AJ & Kaitlyn soon called themselves “The Chickbusters,” complete with their own not-so-secret handshake, forming a two-on-everyone else united front against convention while having a good time doing it. In-ring successes as a tag team were few and far between at that point, but losses to the likes of Beth Phoenix & Natalya only made AJ work harder. After a lifetime of uphill battles, she was accustomed to the climb.

BROWN-EYED GIRL
Once likening herself to a “scared Chihuahua” during her earliest days in WWE, AJ was hardly the most vocal person in the Divas locker room, nor was she at the center of conversation in catering as Superstars traded travel stories, strategized about their matches later in the night or enjoyed the rare sugary indulgence from the dessert table.

Yet she was always observing, taking inventory of her surroundings with the very same eyes that once kept her glued to the TV set every Monday night for Raw. It was perhaps only a matter of time before those captivating brown portals would ensnare the gaze of a potential suitor.

Enter World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan.

Tumultuous is a kind word for the resulting relationship between AJ and Bryan, a union that would ultimately cost the dynamic Diva her friendship with an increasingly concerned Kaitlyn. Nevertheless, Bryan would transport the lovelorn Ms. Lee to Miami for WrestleMania XXVIII — her debut on The Grandest Stage of Them All.

THE BLACK WIDOW
In the opening contest at WrestleMania XXVIII, Daniel Bryan strode — or more accurately, “Yessed” — into Sun Life Stadium to defend his World Heavyweight Championship against Sheamus, a beaming AJ following dutifully behind him. And part of that duty, as it had been for weeks prior, was wishing her champion good luck in the form of a peck on the lips.  

Bryan beckoned for his beauty, who promptly hopped up onto the ring apron and leaned over the top rope ever so slightly to lock eyes and lips with her bearded beau. A moment later, AJ’s welcoming puckered visage was supplanted by Sheamus’ Brogue Kick, a concussive impact that would not only shatter Bryan’s World Heavyweight Championship reign in a record 18 seconds, but also form spiderweb-like cracks in AJ and Bryan’s union.

It’s all too appropriate, then, that AJ earned the nickname of “The Black Widow” in some circles, sharing the moniker of the potently venomous arachnid known for consuming her male counterpart. Of course, to AJ, the less-than-flattering descriptor is instead reminiscent of Marvel Comics’ superspy femme fatale, Black Widow … and is a label she now wears with pride.

“FROM HOMELESS TO THE BOSS”
Following brief and wildly erratic flirtations with CM Punk and Kane, AJ Lee was moments away from becoming “Mrs. Daniel Bryan” at Raw 1,000. But those near-nuptials were circumvented by Mr. McMahon’s announcement that the far-from-ordinary Diva would trade in her uniquely tattered T-shirts and lightning-bolt necklaces for the buttoned-down wardrobe of Raw’s General Manager.

Her tenure wasn’t without hiccups. The Raw set actually caught fire during her first night on the job, and a supposed scandal forced AJ to resign on Oct. 22, 2012, after just three months. Yet as AJ noted the night of her resignation at the IZOD Center — skipping distance from MetLife Stadium — she had accomplished more than anyone expected from an ambitious New Jersey girl. Leaving the arena that night, feeling the cool, familiar fall air on her face, AJ might have cast a glance across the Meadowlands parking lot at the home of WrestleMania 29, not knowing then that the bright lights of WrestleMania would call her home again in 167 days.

HERE TO SHOW THE WORLD
After ending her kinda-sorta-but-kinda-serious relationship with John Cena in grandiose and jaw-droppingly devious fashion at WWE TLC 2012 — bringing to mind the eating habits of a certain species of hourglass- bellied arthropod — AJ is now at the center of triumvirate consisting of her flaxen-haired fascination Dolph Ziggler and her brutish pal Big E Langston, both of whom will vie for the WWE Tag Team Championship against Team Hell No at WrestleMania.

Well aware that she has had very public makeout sessions with 75 percent of the competitors in this Show of Shows encounter (Big E currently fills out every square inch of her friend zone), AJ is equally cognizant of the snickers and jeers that follow her footfalls in the locker room area, and the barrage of keypad criticism that greets her whenever she checks her Twitter stream. But as she noted while receiving her Slammy Award for Best Kiss in honor of a liplock with Cena — one night after knocking him off a ladder, of all things — she’s done worrying about what people think of her, whether it’s her ex-BFFs, former flings or her own fans for that matter.

Although she is far from the doe-eyed NXT ingénue who hoped to be the standard-bearer for geekiness in the Divas division, AJ still carries pieces of the past with her, whether it’s her cherished wrist tape she wore during her very first match or her and her dad’s WrestleMania XX tickets — Sec. 426, Row E, Seats 17 and 18, to be precise. As the fragments of the girl AJ once was and the entirety of who she has become converge at WrestleMania, the world will bear witness as AJ, like WWE itself, returns home.

PATHS DIVERGE
As the locker rooms empty following the final Raw before WrestleMania, AJ Lee and Dolph Ziggler separate themselves from the rest of the roster as The Showoff, Money in the Bank contract-bearing briefcase in hand, draws his raven-haired accomplice close for a goodbye kiss. With hectic WrestleMania travel schedules briefly prying this overtly affectionate duo apart, AJ gathers both belongings and thoughts as she lugs no less than four bulging bags through the labyrinthine backstage hallways of the Verizon Center.

AJ’s departure from the home of the Washington Capitals might be a solitary one, but she’s quick to point out its vast improvement from her last visit to the District of Colombia. On the Dec. 31, 2012, edition of Raw, AJ and her “Ziggy” had their New Year’s Eve toast ruined by a party-crashing John Cena, who doused the duo with an unidentified, foul-smelling brown substance that bore some similarities to chocolate pudding.

The goop wasn’t pudding, AJ affirms, wrinkling her nose at the mere mention of the incident. “But at some point during its life span, it could have been.”

AJ quickly shrugs off the unpleasant (and unhygienic) memory, heading out to the arena parking lot to meets the crisp midnight air and the uncertainties that await as her Road to WrestleMania truly begins."

 

 

WrestleMania Diary: AJ Lee, Day 1

April 03, 2013 BY James Wortman with photos by Rich Freeda, WWE.COM

UP AND AT ’EM, 9:02 a.m.

Shaking off the last remnants of sleep as Washington does the same, AJ Lee hurriedly navigates her bustling hotel lobby, pausing only briefly to snap a photo with a Dolph Ziggler fan donning the teal-and-yellow tee of her favorite Showoff. She tosses her bags into the cavernous trunk of a rented Ford Edge, all-too-aware that her four-hour New Jersey odyssey was missing an essential ingredient.

“Never trust anyone who doesn’t drink coffee,” AJ quips en route to one of D.C.’s all-too-numerous Starbucks locations, dispensaries of what AJ fondly calls her “comfort blanket” while she’s traveling. This java journey gives the WrestleMania-ready Diva a rare opportunity to explore the District of Columbia, which she still fondly remembers for  playing host to one of her first-ever WWE television appearances on the Sept. 9 edition of “WWE Superstars” in 2010.

Caffeinated, AJ then locks in some familiar GPS coordinates, peering through dark-rimmed glasses at the road ahead.

ROAD WARRIOR AJ, 12:49 p.m.

“Sorry in advance, guys,” are never reassuring words, especially coming from a driver. But amid talk of her aspirations to one day write a book and what it was really like to try on her Raw 1,000 wedding dress (it gave her “goosebumps”), AJ offers fair warning to the WWE.com crew as her GPS drones that her old Union City stomping grounds were drawing near — streets she never had the privilege to drive upon even as a teenager.

“I started driving two years ago, technically,” explains AJ, whose family could not afford to get her a car when she reached the legal driving age of 16. “I don’t know how to drive in my hometown, since I either walked everywhere or took public transportation.” Pulled over at a rest area, AJ opts to relinquish the steering wheel for this final portion of the ride, content with re-entering her past, at least for now, from the passenger’s seat.

CITY LIMITS, 1:14 p.m.

Bounding between states of silent awe and giddy restlessness, AJ Lee is awash in emotions of all kinds as she reunites with Union City, a place the enigmatic Diva still calls home despite the muddled meaning of the word during much of her hardscrabble childhood. 

In a span of less than 10 minutes, AJ points out no less than four of her family’s former residences nearby, which included a grand total of than 30 different apartments. Eviction was a fact of life when money wasn’t.

Despite the memories that bubble up to the surface as AJ glides past the boarded-up buildings and vacant lots that pockmark the landscape of her youth, she harbors no resentment for the city — and in turn, the state — that birthed her desire to follow a dream.

“Every bad thing [growing up] I ever went through was in Jersey, but every awesome lesson I learned was in Jersey,” AJ said, a black hooded sweatshirt pulled tightly over her head to brace against the biting wind. “For me, Jersey represents going through what you can go through and still surviving. That’s the cool thing about people from the Tri-State area. We’re fighters. We’re survivors, and we’re edgier than anyone else on Earth. I could be anywhere in the country and people will ask, ‘Are you from Jersey? ’ I’m proud of that. We’re a weird breed.”

WALKING IT OUT, 1:34 p.m.

AJ Lee isn’t a fan of walking … in fact, one might say she has an intense hatred of the act that dates back more than a decade. Without a family car and with bus fare even being unattainable on certain days, a young AJ Lee would find herself trekking miles to school or work.

“I’ve tallied a lot of miles in these Converses,” AJ says with laugh, drawing attention to her signature canvas footwear that’s more associated with anarchic skipping than arduous schlepping these days.

AJ’s distaste for walking didn’t stop her from taking a WrestleMania Week saunter across a Summit Avenue overpass — the very same overpass that AJ traversed to attend her very first wrestling school mere blocks away.

BACK TO SCHOOL, 2:30 p.m.

While actual living accommodations weren’t always “home” for her, AJ Lee once found solace in the ring at a now-defunct wrestling school that was at one point called Ace Pro Wrestling, which provided the Jersey native with essential stability and, perhaps more importantly, a path when she needed it most.

Approaching the building for the first time in more than two years, AJ is instantly taken aback by its state of disrepair.

“It’s sad,” AJ says, wistfully peering up at the building where she learned the key in-ring fundamentals that would one day bring her to WWE. “This is where I was reborn in a way, so seeing [the school] like this is kind of like closing a chapter for me. But that’s OK, because I feel like I’m starting a new chapter this week.”

CHECKING IN, 4:30 p.m.

On and off for three years, AJ Lee, her family and their massive pitbull named Mugsy took up residence at Union City’s less-than-palatial Hilltop Motel, a locale that lived up to its moniker by requiring its residents —many of whom were also living there long-term out of necessity — to  trudge up a steep incline to their cramped accommodations.

“This is why I have quads,” AJ jokes, allowing herself a brief laugh before tugging at some of the deepest roots of her childhood. Plagued by break-ins at the time, the since-renamed Hilltop Motel conjured up memories of a “scary” time for AJ as she fought back unexpected tears.
Her battle was ultimately a losing one, as watery eyes looked out across a desolate courtyard.

“I’m surprised how raw the memory of that motel is for me,” AJ later says in the car. “I thought I would be sort of over it, but I was transported more than a decade in the past, and I felt exactly how I felt back then — wanting to get out. But I’m actually glad I had those feelings. It’s nice to remember you’re still a human being.

GIVE HER LIBERTY, 6:00 p.m.
Gazing out on the sprawling metropolis of New York City, Lady Liberty serving in silent vigil over New York Harbor in the distance, AJ Lee seems lost in thought, deeply contemplating the transformative experiences of the day. Or just as likely, she’s thinking of an appropriately salacious response to Dolph Ziggler’s latest text message. After a long day of laying her life bare, this mystifying young woman takes a moment all to herself at Jersey City’s Liberty State Park. She’s earned it.

In a quick motion, as if snapped out of a trance, AJ leaps up, pulls out her smart phone and snaps a picture of the skyline. She’s clearly enjoying the opportunity to play tourist.

“You never do this stuff when you actually live here,” says AJ, who left Union City two years ago for sunny Tampa, Fla. “When you leave and come back, you realize it’s iconic, and it’s something people come from around the world to see. This is the first time I’ve actually taken pictures of New York City, which is so bizarre.”

“Bizarre” seems to be an adequate descriptor for AJ’s WrestleMania Week, which has simultaneously forced her out of her comfort zone while reintroducing her to the all-too-familiar.

“You never forget where you come from, but it’s nice to remind yourself how real it is, and throw it in your face like that,” AJ adds. “I feel like I’ve done what I left here to do. It kind of makes me think, ‘What’s next?’ We’ll find out, I guess.”

 

 

WrestleMania Diary: AJ Lee, Day 2

April 04, 2013 BY James Wortman with photos by Rich Freeda, WWE.COM

MIRROR, MIRROR,  8:55 a.m.

With just four nights remaining until AJ Lee graces The Grandest Stage of Them All, perhaps altering the course of a second championship reign at WrestleMania in as many years, Lee rolls out of bed in her Jersey City hotel room feeling the full enormity of the weekend ahead. From Axxess appearances to WrestleMania Reading Challenge finals and then the illustrious event itself on April 7, the unorthodox Diva approaches The Showcase of the Immortals with grace, or at least her own version of it.

Draping a skull-emblazoned sweater over a custom-torn Marvel Comics T-shirt, AJ slinks over to the mirror and ties her hair back in a simple ponytail — the closest she ever really gets to a traditionally “girly” primping ritual.

For a moment, AJ’s gaze meets that of her reflection, seeming to reach a mutual understanding with herself that whatever WrestleMania moment awaits her this year, she willownit.

“When I was really little, I wanted to be a wrestler so I could be like the girls I looked up to,” AJ says, reflecting on her decision to pursue a career in the squared circle at the age of 12. “My brother then told me that ‘you don’t want to be like your idols, you want to grow up and be better than them.’ To this day, that’s the best piece of advice I’ve ever gotten.  You shouldn’t want to replicate somebody just because you like them. You can respect what they’ve done, but you should also want to surpass them.”

CHUCK WILD, 9:22 a.m. 

As a sophomore in high school, AJ Lee stepped into her first pair of Chuck Taylors, igniting a life-long love affair with Converse’s vintage basketball sneakers that would later entwine with her in-ring devotion. After all, who needs kickpads or wrestling boots when knee-high Chucks will do?

“I have probably more than 40 or 50 pairs of Chucks, which is probably unhealthy … I should see a doctor,” AJ says, displaying her candy-colored assortment of the classic lace-ups, including a pair themed after Batman villainess Poison Ivy and a “Wizard of Oz” ruby slipper-esque tandem. “There’s no place like home” indeed.

In addition to her Converse collection, which she keeps pristine and plastic-bagged until they’re worn in the ring, AJ always ensures that she has “casual” Chucks on hand, which she gleefully scuffs.

“Chucks are cooler when they’re dirty,” AJ affirms.  “I actually stepped on somebody’s the other day because they were too clean.”

 

A PICTURE’S WORTH … 9:44 a.m.

Carefully laid out across AJ Lee’s desk, otherwise overtaken by her massive WrestleMania itinerary and Grant Morrison-penned “Batman” comics, are five photographs that the Diva calls her “good luck charms” for her chaotic WrestleMania Week, a portrait of her curiously-named blond Chihuahua “Señor Nacho Cheese Mendez” peering up at her from the center of the arrangement. In an age of digitized pictures, AJ opts for the real deal.

“Since I’m going to be here all week, and since this is a pretty special week, I needed a bit of home,” she says, in an instant reminded of the surreality of her road life transporting her back to native New Jersey for The Showcase of the Immortals.

With her family unable to attend WrestleMania this year, AJ holds close snapshots of her parents, her two best childhood friends, her younger sister Erika, older brother Robert and the undisputed “love of her life,” the aforementioned “Cheese.” It appears, in this instance, Dolph Ziggler will have to settle for second place.

RAISING THE BAR, 6:04 p.m.

Just prior to her life-changing tryout at WWE developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling, AJ Lee worked as a secretary at a spa in Jersey City that neighbors a gym … a gym she never actually used despite the close proximity.

Intensely focused on her workout — she doesn’t even listen to music — AJ approaches this ritual in a way that belies the fact that she’s still relatively new at it.

“The first time I ever actually lifted a weight was three years ago at our training facility at FCW,” AJ admits. “That kind of brought me into this lifestyle I was never used to.”

Now, wholly confident as she locks plates into place for her muscle-building regimen of squats, deadlifts and Romanian deadlifts, the diminutive but increasingly powerful Jersey native seems to impress even the most seasoned gym goers in the room.

“I lift pretty heavy for my body weight, and I don’t do any of that girly stuff like cardio or any light weights,” AJ says with a laugh. “I go really heavy, and that intimidates some guys. I enjoy that.”

WWE MALL STAR, 6:21 p.m.
At the last minute, AJ realizes that despite packing enough clothes that could probably have her set through SummerSlam, she needs an outfit for a TV appearance and bristles at the thought of a mall expedition.

“My least favorite aspect of shopping is shopping,” AJ says with a grimace, passing by racks of shoulder-studded blazers, knee-length leather skirts and lime green tops emblazoned with multi-colored, roaring cheetahs.

“I like shopping if it involves food or that GameStop we passed on the way over here,” AJ says, approaching the fitting room with the same enthusiasm typical of a child going to the dentist. “I’m not very good at this.”

After trying on a few combinations, the reluctant fashionista finally chooses a fitting ensemble. The roaring cheetah top doesn’t make the cut.

INSIDE AXXESS, 7:46 p.m.
Garbed in a polka-dotted dress, leather jacket and her Gotham City-approved Poison Ivy Converses, AJ Lee arrives for her first signing session at WWE Axxess, a WWE fan experience that unites WWE Universe members from around the world. But before meeting the throngs filing into IZOD Center, the always unique Diva briefly slips away from the chaos for a quiet convo with Lita, the Attitude Era icon that served as inspiration when she herself fantasized about one day stepping through the ropes.

The pair originally crossed paths more than a decade earlier, when AJ waited in line to meet one of her heroes at WWE New York in Times Square.

Following this clandestine Axxess exchange — the latest in a series of past-meets-present moments that have defined her Garden State homecoming — AJ is ushered to her signing table, an arsenal of Sharpies at her disposal.  Ms. Lee, your public awaits.

WHEN I GROW UP, 9:35 p.m.
Lending her two-letter insignia to hundreds of AJ Lee aficionados, the New Jersey native meets Axxess attendees who traveled from far-off lands like Belfast, Ireland, to see their favorite Diva. However, it was a fellow New Jersey girl from East Orange donning knee-high Chucks that brought one of the biggest smiles to AJ’s face.

“The most amazing part of any autograph session is when there’s somebody wearing the tall Chucks or Converse in general,” AJ says of the homage. “It’s something that’s kind of tomboy-ish, but it’s also something that’s cool now for a certain type of girl. I’m super proud to be creating this army of wonderful weirdos.”

This particular so-called “wonderful weirdo” is Crista Christian, who bought her tributary lace-ups one month earlier and vowed not to wear them until she met her role model. In addition to a common fashion sense, the 15-year-old shares the same dream AJ cultivated as a teenager when she herself met Lita: Someday, she wants to be a Diva.

“For anyone that looks up to me, I really hope they’d want to better than me and are better than me,” AJ says in response to Crista’s proclamation. “I hope they blow me out of the water and that they’re their own person—not ‘AJ No. 2.’ But if this is it, hey, come kick my butt.”

WICKS AND KICKS, 10:57 p.m.
After Axxess, her arms filled with fan-gifted “My Little Pony” trinkets and assorted cookies, AJ is greeted in the lobby by WWE fans hoping for a chance to have their picture taken with a former Raw General Manager. Posing for tweet-worthy snapshots with the WWE Universe and signing AJ Lee action figures, AJ finally bids the WWE Universe farewell for the night and vanishes into the elevator for the sanctity of her room.

There, a dressed-down AJ reunites with her childhood friend, who has long gone by the name “KDQ.” First meeting in third grade, the two have a lot to catch up on, but that doesn’t stop the conversation from lingering momentarily on the subject of AJ’s recently acquired Japanese cherry blossom scented candles. Although long since separated by time and distance, the pair clearly has little difficulty picking up where they left off last time.

“Everyone grows up with a dream, but who actually does it?” KDQ asks as AJ looks on, perched at the corner of the bed. “You turn the TV on and she’s there. This is a girl I grew up with and went to school with, someone I kicked and got kicked by, and now look at her. She’s out there kicking all kinds of people. It’s amazing.”

 

 

WrestleMania Diary: AJ Lee, Day 3

April 05, 2013 BY James Wortman with photos by Rich Freeda, WWE.COM

RADIO-ACTIVE 8:18 a.m.
“Oh 3:30 a.m. alarm, I hate you like you stole my boyfriend.”

So tweeted AJ Lee at the culmination of a night’s sleep that could best be described as an after-hours nap. She wakes her (unstolen) boyfriend Dolph Ziggler from his slumber — no doubt filled with visions of a WWE Tag Team Title conquest at WrestleMania — not realizing that his session at radio row begins long after hers. The until-recently snoozing Showoff isn’t usually quick to forgive, but for AJ, he makes many exceptions.

“He’s my ‘Ziggy’ and he’s so nice and he never gets mad at me,” AJ says with a mischievous grin. “He just kind of played it off.”

As she navigates the Axxess floor for radio row — where media personalities talk WrestleMania with elite WWE Superstars and Divas — AJ exudes excitement despite her lack of sleep. Her morning is packed with vibrant conversations about her lifelong passion, going from chatting with Fresno, Calif., DJ Danny Salas about the thrill of seeing Big E Langston compete in his first WWE match to gushing about the managerial skill set of “Sensational” Sherri with Peter Rosenberg of New York’s Hot 97 fame.

“I have to do a lot of radio interviews, and the hosts aren’t always knowledgeable about WWE,” AJ explains. “Everyone today was clearly a fan and knew what they were talking about. That’s always a pleasant surprise.”

STRATUS UPDATE, 8:38 a.m.
Between radio row ponderings about the outcome of Sunday’s WWE Tag Team Championship Match (AJ expects Daniel Bryan to be wringing tears out of his scraggly beard), the ever-so-confident Diva has a welcome run-in with 2013 WWE Hall of Fame inductee Trish Stratus. A ring icon, Stratus — like AJ herself — defied expectations when she made her debut.

“I got to meet Trish two years ago in an elevator, and she was just very sweet and said that she saw big things in me,” AJ says after the pair’s laughter-filled conversation. “That was so flattering. She’s always given me guidance, and to this day, even during her busy week, she found the time to offer me advice. Little 13-year-old AJ is flipping out on the inside.”
As to the exact nature of this particular impromptu encounter?

“Besides me apologizing for stealing Trish’s hair multiple times throughout my life — which is a recurring theme for me — she just always has a helpful lesson to give me and I always have questions for her,” AJ affirms, excitedly texting her “Ziggy” about the experience. “But what we were talking about stays between us.”

SETTING THE (GRANDEST) STAGE, 9:54 a.m.
Finishing up at radio row, AJ takes a brief detour across the Meadowlands parking lot to MetLife Stadium, where hard-hatted crew members work tirelessly to craft a setting worthy of The Showcase of the Immortals.

As sunlight pours into the stadium roof, AJ gazes upon a landscape that instantly makes this year’s WrestleMania more tangible than ever.

“Doing interviews and talking about WrestleMania, it still feels so far away, but after seeing the ring and walking down the ramp, it’s actually happening,” she says, peering up at the grandiose WrestleMania set. “I definitely don’t see myself sleeping at all Saturday night. This is what I imagine Christmas is like for regular children. I’m going to be up all night and will, in turn, keep ‘Ziggy’ up all night.”

CAKING POINT, 11:16 a.m.
After her sneak preview of WrestleMania’s grandeur, AJ Lee’s sweet tooth takes control. She swings by her hotel to pick up her pugilistic pal Big E Langston, a rippling mass of humanity who looks out of place in any vehicle without armor plating and tank treads. Squeezing into an SUV with his unhinged ally, Langston prepares for some pre-WrestleMania carb-loading at renowned Carlo’s Bake Shop in Hoboken, N.J.

Initially expressing some mild disappointment that the home of TV’s “Cake Boss” serves nothing in the way of “big plates of meat,” Langston enters the crowded-to-capacity bakery and ultimately casts his gaze upon a glass case bearing a vast selection of sugary treats. But there’s one dessert that tempts above all others: strawberry shortcake. Langston does not leave Carlo’s dissatisfied, and neither does AJ.

“I worked in Hoboken and I passed by Carlo’s and I watched the show, but I just never thought I’d have the patience to wait in line with a couple hundred people,” AJ tells WWE.com. “It was cool to be able to beat the crowds … I think people were afraid of E.”

Not really feeling the need to set aside any indulgences for Dolph, proclaiming that she’s “all the sweetness he needs,” AJ plans on treating herself this afternoon, especially given the hectic morning she’s had.

“I’ve been up since 3:30, so I’m going to fall asleep with cupcake hanging out of my mouth as I have a serious sugar crash,” AJ affirms. “And that’s the way to nap.”

AJ & DOLPH TAKE MANHATTAN, 6:48 p.m.
The continuous frenzy surrounding The Showcase of the Immortals has kept AJ Lee and Dolph Ziggler apart for much of the week, but a trip to Midtown Manhattan to meet WrestleMania Reading Challenge finalists grants the burgeoning power couple some necessary “we” time.

“I’m hoping we get caught in traffic so we can catch up a little bit, because texting isn’t the same,” The Showoff tells WWE.com en route to the Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel for the event. Yet despite Dolph’s preference for analog interactions as his girlfriend nestled beside him, both he and AJ can’t seem to put their phones down, perhaps sending one another covert digital messages not meant for the prying eyes and ears of others in the car.

Upon their arrival at the hotel, AJ and Dolph gaze out the window at the New York City streets below, contemplating grandiose plans for WrestleMania and beyond.

FATHER MATERIAL, 7:31 p.m.
Intently observing her “Ziggy” at tonight’s WrestleMania Reading Challenge signing and other events tailored for young WWE Universe members, AJ  has come to appreciate Dolph Ziggler in new, eye-opening and, in this case, bewildering ways.

“Like any of the [WrestleMania] Reading Challenge events, my favorite part is seeing what Dolph will be like as a dad,” AJ says, glancing sidelong at The Showoff, who lends his signature to a book-loving child’s copy of the latest WWE Encyclopedia. “He’s really great with kids.”

COMFORT ZONE, 10:06 p.m.
Returning to her hotel room at the tail-end of an 18-hour day, AJ Lee is tired, but sleep is the last thing on her mind. Instead, clad in sweatpants, zebra-print socks and a Pikachu-emblazoned top, AJ lounges in her hotel room with her blond beau, who has since replaced his ostentatious blazer with a simple gray hoodie.

The scene is oddly low-key for this show-stealing pair, AJ face-deep in a comic book while Dolph thumbs through his Twitter backlog. The time for bombast, it seems, will come in less than 48 hours.

 

Wrestlemania Diary: AJ Lee, Day 4

April 06, 2013 BY James Wortman with photos by Rich Freeda, WWE.COM

PAPER VIEW, 10:55 a.m.
If AJ Lee’s home were somehow set ablaze, there are two things she would scoop up before fleeing out the nearest exit: her blond Chihuahua and what she calls her “fire box,” a compact collection of her most treasured personal trinkets and professional mementos.

The inaugural contents of that sentimental repository, which also houses the wrist tape from her in-ring debut, were her WrestleMania XX tickets that granted AJ and her father access to the Diva-to-be’s first live WWE experience. She’s even kept their original envelope.

The seats weren’t the best in the house, placing AJ and her dad high in the rafters of Madison Square Garden. The distance to the ring mattered little to the aspiring Diva, though, as she witnessed first-hand the reborn Undertaker square off with his brother Kane — a confrontation between two of AJ’s favorite Superstars growing up.

“That was the most important day in my life up until that point, and also the happiest,” AJ says. “I needed to hold on to that.”

GARDEN GROWN, 11:31 a.m
The World’s Most Famous Arena has transformed considerably since it last played host to The Show of Shows nine years ago, but if anyone’s familiar with metamorphoses, it’s AJ Lee. Due to ongoing renovations throughout Madison Square Garden, her and her father’s WrestleMania XX seats — Sec. 426, Row E, Seats 17 and 18 — technically no longer exist. Nevertheless, the determined Diva climbs the Garden stairs to find a view matching that of her seminal Show of Shows experience.

Satisfied that she has found a reasonable facsimile of her WrestleMania XX vantage point, AJ leans back, her legs propped up on the seat in front of her as she curiously gazes down — ever the WWE fan — at construction for the night’s WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.

“I don’t think there’s a place I have more of a connection to than the Garden,” AJ says, who last did some MSG seat-searching prior to Survivor Series 2011. “And that connection is to WrestleMania, and we’re going to personalize it even more tomorrow when it’s going to be in New Jersey, 10 minutes from my hometown. And I’m going to be there. It’s making it all real, and connecting the dots. I can’t wait for it to be 7 p.m. tomorrow night.”

SHOWOFF SHOWN UP, 6:34, p.m.
Two months before AJ and “Ziggy” spent their first romantic Christmas together — Dolph likely forgoing egg nog for protein shakes — one young AJ Lee devotee beat The Showoff to the punch, professing his love for the then-Raw GM at Ringside Fest 2012 in Times Square, N.Y. with a bended-knee marriage proposal.

We all know about AJ’s history with weddings, so it’s probably for the best that Matthew Hale, age 9, didn’t get a definitive answer. The ambiguity of the situation fails to discourage the Staten Island native from reminding his would-be fiancée about his intentions right in front of Dolph.

Impressed by the bravado of the tenacious lothario, Ziggler had little choice but to challenge his rival in romance to a match.

“I think he should just watch his back, ‘cuz he doesn’t know what’s coming in that match,” Hale tells WWE.com, taking Dolph’s playful dare 100 percent seriously. When asked about his strategy if he were to clash with “Mr. Money in the Bank,” his answer comes quickly.

“Easy,” Hale says. “I’m going to knock out the referee and hit Dolph Ziggler with a chair."

TOP-TEAR DEVOTION, 7:10, p.m.
It’s not uncommon for WWE Universe members to go above and beyond when they meet their heroes, but the girls and young women who await the chance to convene with the diminutive Diva during an Axxess autograph signing are faithful to a tee.

Whether gifting AJ packages of cookies, 12-inch “Metal Gear Solid” action figures or unicorn-doodled hand-written letters, the Diva’s most passionate female fans are not dissimilar from the teenaged Union City girl whose emotions took over when she met Lita back in 2001. AJ can relate.

One fellow Jersey native, Taylor from Weehawken, lets the tears come as AJ offers an embrace and, later, encouraging tweets visible to 757,169 followers. AJ might not be perceived as the most balanced or kind Diva in WWE — just ask John Cena, Kaitlyn, Daniel Bryan, Kane and countless others — but she hasn’t forgotten what it was like to be on the other end of the autograph table.

JUST DESSERTS, 7:23 p.m.
Perhaps no moment over the last year quite defined AJ Lee as her ladder-toppling betrayal of John Cena at WWE TLC 2012, and what better way to immortalize this defection to Dolph Ziggler’s side than with a chocolate cake? At WrestleMania Axxess, a pair of girls presents a photo of the delicious desert that makes the sometimes-sinister Diva’s mouth water, but it’s not because she’s famished.

With a scene involving AJ Lee’s action figure sending the Cenation leader’s Mattel totem plummeting from a plastic ladder into the whipped frosting below, the fan-made confection screams devil’s food.

“I like any girl who can appreciate pushing a dude off a ladder,” AJ says with a wicked smirk.

HIS FUTURE’S SO BRIGHT … , 7:29 p.m.
When a WWE fan presents AJ with a pair of bizarre novelty sunglasses, its lenses adorned with smooch-tastic lipstick insignias, AJ does the only thing that feels natural to her at the moment: She leans over, places the over-the-top eyewear on Big E Langston’s face, and struggles to restrain her laughter … but not too hard.

There are few who would dare make Big E Langston look foolish, and even fewer who would get away with it. Yet, AJ shares a unique bond with the tank-like 290-pounder making his WrestleMania debut just 24 hours later.

It’s probable AJ’s just blowing off steam with her gargantuan guy friend, but she could very well be sending a pointed message to ex-boyfriend Daniel Bryan, whose post-WrestleMania nightmares last year were filled with similarly haunting images of reign-slaying puckered lips, kissing the prize goodbye.

IT’S ‘VATOR TIME, 8:07 p.m.
On the Axxess floor in the IZOD Center concourse, AJ Lee, Big E Langston and Dolph Ziggler pass by such relics as Shawn Michaels’ WrestleMania XII entrance garb and Triple H’s “Skull King” mask en route to a private arena elevator.

As the floor numbers count down during the descent, so do the minutes to April 7, when this single-minded triumvirate will craft its own WrestleMania moment in front of millions of WWE Universe members watching around the globe. Dolph Ziggler’s “here to show the world” entrance theme lyrics have never been more appropriate.

During the brief ride, AJ positions herself between her future champions, the calculating Diva’s uneasy silence hinting at massive problems for Team Hell No at MetLife Stadium.

“I don’t think the match will necessarily come down to Big E Langston or Dolph Ziggler,” claims AJ aficionado Dana Ghazzawi, who traveled four hours from Maryland to meet her unorthodox idol at Axxess. “It will come down to what AJ can do.”

 

 

WrestleMania Diary: AJ Lee Day 5

April 07, 2013 BY James Wortman with photos by Rich Freeda, WWE.COM

SHOOTS AND LADDERS, 12:04 p.m.
WrestleMania is upon us. Before an SUV transports AJ Lee and her closest confidants from the frenetic atmosphere of Axxess to the impending grandeur of The Showcase of the Immortals at nearby MetLife Stadium, a Money in the Bank photo op exhibit catches the trio’s eye.

The attraction, inviting WWE fans to participate in a ladder-ascending duel with a life-sized cardboard Showoff, is an all-too-appropriate pre-WrestleMania pit stop for “Ziggy,” Big E and Ms. Lee. Ziggler’s show-stealing victory at Money in the Bank 2012 still grants him a World Heavyweight Championship at the time and place of his choosing, and AJ capped off her 2012 by shoving then–pseudo boyfriend John Cena off a ladder. For Langston, the connection is more symbolic: With a WWE Tag Team Championship victory tonight, Big E’s climb to WWE’s highest rungs truly begins.

Before joining the rest of his tight-knit triumvirate, Ziggler grabs his battle-damaged briefcase, its contents all the more potent as the eyes of the world turn to The Grandest Stage of Them All.

YEAR IN REVIEW, 12:17 p.m.
It’s a cool 48 degrees as AJ Lee arrives at MetLife Stadium, where WWE Universe members are already arriving — and grilling — in a nearby parking lot. Although skies are blue, the brisk temperature is yet another factor that further distances the Jersey native’s hometown WrestleMania from her Show of Shows debut in Miami last year.

“This has been the longest week ever, yet somehow this has been the shortest year of my life,” AJ remarks, lugging bags through the backstage area to the Divas locker room. “I feel like it was just yesterday that I was kissing [Daniel Bryan’s] ‘goat face’ at WrestleMania, so I’m excited and hoping tonight goes a lot better than that. I mean, there’s no ‘goat face’ I’ll be kissing, so it’s already better.”

SET IN MOTION, 3:39 p.m.
Two days after sneaking a peek at WrestleMania’s under-construction homage to the Big Apple, AJ passes through MetLife Stadium’s cavernous corridors to meet the open New Jersey air within the arena itself. The sight of the massive recreations of New York’s most celebrated landmarks, including the Brooklyn Bridge, the Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty, loses none of its luster the second time around.

Amid the artificial New York landscape that has overtaken the stadium, AJ wears WWE’s more personal tribute to the Garden State underneath her black warm-up jacket.

“It’s everything altogether in one,” AJ says of WWE’s New Jersey twist on the iconic “I Heart N.Y.” shirt. “It’s giving New Jersey the love New York gets a lot of the time.”

U CAN’T SEAT ME, 3:52 p.m.
Less than four hours before the WrestleMania Interactive Pre-Show begins streaming on WWE.com, YouTube, Facebook and the WWE App, AJ gets a fan’s-eye view of things from ringside.

Seated in a commemorative WrestleMania chair adorned with the face of a jean-shorted former romantic entanglement and a certain People’s Champion — identical seats on all sides — AJ is pensive as crewmembers, sound technicians and TV personnel buzz around her. Onstage, in the middle of putting the finishing touches on his Show of Shows performance, Sean “Diddy” Combs shouts out to Ryback.

“It’s terrifying,” New Jersey’s prodigal daughter tells WWE.com. “There’s still so much to do. I don’t even have an outfit yet, so I’m getting a little nervous. I’ve been so emotional just standing out here, and I hope I can keep it together for the match and not just be randomly crying in the middle of it.”

 

 

 

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