Report: Former Divas Champion AJ Lee to Take Time off from WWE

It is a busy time for comings and goings in the WWE. After the likes of Brock Lesnar and The Undertaker depart the company following WrestleMania XXX, there are plenty of openings in the WWE card.

However, it seems like there is another star leaving the company for a period of time—AJ Lee. She has only recently dropped the Divas Championship to Paige, but it looks like—per PWInsider—Lee is going to be absent for a while:

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The word making the rounds is that AJ Lee has asked for time off from the WWE roster. There is no word how long she will be gone. As we noted in the Elite section, Lee and CM Punk were recently engaged so our best to the happy couple.

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Given the recent developments in Lee's personal life, this may come as no surprise. As the quote entails, she has recently gotten engaged to fellow WWE star CM Punk, and it may be an ideal time for her to have an absence from the company.

After all, she has just spent the best part of a year carrying the entire women's division on her back. That may seem like a large statement to make, but the fact she has been champion for so long confirms it.

There have rarely been any contenders—or at least serious ones—that have come close to taking the belt from Lee, and she has been a superb champion. Indeed, you almost wonder if she belongs in an era with the likes of Trish Stratus and Lita, such is her talent.

With the emergence of Paige into the main roster though, it was a smart time for her to abdicate. It gives the rest of the women on the roster a chance to step up to the plate and hopefully raise the intensity for when she does return.

It could be safe to assume that the report suggesting Lee has asked for time off is legitimate, especially given how Tamina Snuka has just earned the right to face Paige at Extreme Rules.

Snuka as an eventual Divas champion would enable a seamless path for Lee to return to competition at a later date, having her feud against her former bodyguard.

All in all, it seems like a smart decision for Lee to take some time off. She has certainly earned it, and the onus is now on the women's division to step up in her absence.