AJ Lee praises Triple H and Nick Khan for protecting her mental health when she returned to WWE last year.
Former WWE Women’s Intercontinental Champion AJ Lee recently appeared on State Of Mind with Maurice Benard. During the conversation, she was asked about the injuries she had during her first run with the promotion. Lee replied that she did suffer some non-wrestling-related injuries and was suggested to undergo surgeries, which she didn’t do.
AJ Lee then compared the current WWE environment to how things were during her first run. She noted that back then, the superstars used to hide injuries and compete while being hurt, fearing they would lose opportunities if they took time off. However, she revealed that’s not the case now.
“So many [injuries]. Well, to be fair, I am very lucky. I never had to have a surgery for wrestling-related injuries. Most people don’t make it out unscathed like that. You know, knock on wood. I’m still going. No necessary surgery. I’ve had suggested surgeries, but I haven’t done them. You know, for my neck, and I’ve, like, strained stuff, and some minor tears here and there,” AJ Lee revealed.
“But a lot of the culture when I was younger was you just keep going because it’s going to keep going without you. So if you’re injured, you just kind of fake it, and say you’re fine and keep going injured. It’s not cool, but it’s very much not that now, which I was really happy to see,” AJ Lee continued. It’s very much like, ‘Let’s have a conversation about how you’re feeling, and you can get time off, and you can spend more time with your family.’
AJ Lee credits Triple H and Nick Khan for protecting her mental health
Speaking further, AJ Lee revealed that her mental health was her biggest concern when she returned to WWE last year. However, she noted that the company’s President, Nick Khan, and Chief Content Officer, Paul “Triple H” Levesque, supported and reassured her that her mental health would be their top priority.
“And I will say, to their credit, my biggest concern coming back was my mental health. Nick Khan and Paul Levesque, they’re the bosses that brought me in. They were so open about like, ‘We will protect your mental health, and if we don’t, we’re not doing our job right. That’s going to be our number one priority.’ It was never like that 10 years ago,” AJ Lee said. I felt like I had to hide that part of me 10 years ago. So for like my bosses to support me in that way, I have to give them all the credit for that.”
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