WWE veteran AJ Lee appeared on Cheryl Strayed’s Mind Over Mountain to discuss various topics, including changes in the women’s division and how it has evolved behind the scenes.
Lee said, “It was hard because it was a time when women got this one crumb to fight over, and this system is in place where it’s, ‘Be distracted fighting over this one crumb while the men get this feast.’ It’s really an unfair position to be in. I do realize that I was lucky to get the most of the crumb and make the most of it. It was harder back then. What was really cool this time around, coming back 10 years later, was to see that, because of the women, starting with me and then so many women pushing the envelope forward and forward, the business has evolved. There are more spots, and there is a feast for women. In that, you can feel calm, and there can be a sisterhood. That was the most beautiful thing to experience now.”
On what she sees in today’s women’s wrestlers:
“It used to be that my character was so different simply by being an ordinary girl. That’s what made such a difference. To see that now there are so many women who are different in their own ways. There was a different type for any person in the world to relate to. I thought of myself as a kid, and there were so many kids who would’ve killed to see a woman like that on TV. There were like 20 women where I was like, ‘She would’ve been my favorite, she would’ve been my favorite.’ It really started to speak to the inner child in me that these people would’ve been really helpful for me to look up to. All different kinds of beauty were finally represented and celebrated. That’s the world I want to live in.”
You can check out the complete podcast in the video below.
(H/T to Fightful for transcribing the above quotes)
