Full Career Retrospective and Greatest Moments for AJ Lee

The wrestling world was stunned on April 3, 2015 when World Wrestling Entertainment's official website announced the retirement of former three-time Divas champion and two-time Slammy award winner for Diva of the Year, AJ Lee.

The most popular woman on the roster, and easily the most marketable, AJ rose to relevance in the company as a doe-eyed love interest of the commanding and controlling Daniel Bryan, then developed a psychotic character that became the centerpiece of WWE booking in the summer of 2012.

Her rise to stardom allowed her to finally make some leeway in the Divas division in 2013, leading to her first championship reign. Over the next two years, she would serve as the unquestionable face of the women's wrestling in the biggest sports entertainment company on the planet.

Not the prototypical Diva by any stretch of the imagination, she broke barriers and served as the inspiration for young female fans in the audience, not to mention her fellow competitors across the independent scene who may have spent the early portion of their careers believing they would never make it because they did not look a certain way.

AJ's sudden and unexpected retirement leaves a major void in the Divas division. Gone is the most over female performer the company has had since the days of Trish Stratus and Lita, and now they must struggle to shift focus to another Diva they can trust to carry the mantle for women's wrestling.

Sometimes controversial but always entertaining and immensely popular, the petite New Jerseyan created a career for herself worthy of the WWE Hall of Fame and, at the same time, left on her own terms to achieve success away from the squared circle.

In celebration of the extraordinary career of WWE's resident Black Widow, relive AJ's greatest matches and moments from the last five years.

Breaking in and FCW

A girl with a dream, AJ Lee began training for life in the wrestling business under the vastly underrated Jay Lethal in March 2007. While never really achieving the success on the independent circuit of some of the other mainstays, Lee did not have to.

Just three years into her in-ring career, she signed with WWE and reported to the company's developmental territory, Florida Championship Wrestling.

There, she wasted little time establishing herself as one of the breakout stars, competing for the Queen of FCW title. After chasing Serena for the crown, she finally knocked off the future Straight Edge Society member in February 2010.

It was a huge statement by both AJ, who was determined to achieve success in short order, and WWE, who clearly saw something in the spunky young woman.

She would feud with the likes of Naomi and Rosa Mendes during her time in developmental, which was fairly short-lived in comparison to others, thanks to the advent of WWE NXT, a competition show aimed at introducing fans to the Superstars and Divas of the future.

NXT

It was during the all-female Season 3 of NXT that fans got their first glimpse of the woman who would steal their hearts and attention over the next half-decade. AJ Lee was one of the contestants on the show and instantly became a fan favorite, thanks in large part to the fact that she was unlike any other Diva the company could offer.

Where other rookies such as Aksana and Maxine were glamorous women plucked from magazines and other modeling gigs, AJ was a wrestler who wore daisy dukes, Converse sneakers and geek-friendly T-shirts. She embraced the weird and the nerdy, and she never shied away from being herself.

It endeared her to the fans throughout the season, but it was not enough to earn her the victory. She was the penultimate elimination in Season 3 of NXT.

Unbeknownst to fans and management, though, she would become the biggest star of the bunch and a trailblazer for every other woman with whom she shared the spotlight.

Don't Call Her Crazy

After making her debut on the main roster, AJ spent months teaming with Kaitlyn and generally floating aimlessly around SmackDown. 

Then it happened. She was paired with Daniel Bryan in an angle that would eventually lead to her breakout story.

AJ was very much sweet and innocent, accompanying the increasingly unlikable Bryan to the squared circle during his reign as world heavyweight champion. Along the line, she found herself manipulated and mistreated by the controlling Superstar, to the point that she was thrown into harm's way if it meant that he could successfully retain his title.

One such instance saw her steamrolled by Big Show, leading to a stretcher job that only further infuriated fans and turned them against the Aberdeen native. Despite putting her health at risk to help him, if necessary, she was dumped when a pre-match kiss led to the heavyweight champion losing his title to Sheamus in 18 seconds at WrestleMania XXVIII.

The breakup led to a psychotic breakdown that saw AJ chase love with Superstars the likes of CM Punk and Kane. In the process, she became the focal point of WWE booking, the hottest star on Monday Night Raw.

So popular was she that, in the middle of a wedding perpetrated by the scheming Bryan, Vince McMahon offered her the role of general manager, to which she readily accepted.

A feud with Vickie Guerrero ensued, leading to accusations of a relationship between the new GM and top babyface John Cena. This led to a match between the franchise player and Guerrero's on-screen beau Dolph Ziggler at December 2012's TLC pay-per-view, which ended when AJ revealed her true colors and betrayed Cena, leading to a relationship with the Showoff that ran well into the new year.

Always more in love with the Superstars she targeted than they ever were with her, AJ was very much WWE's answer to beloved comic book character Harley Quinn. And much like her, she never really found that reciprocated love during her time as an on-air character in Vince McMahon's sports entertainment empire.

Divas Champion

On June 16, 2013, AJ accomplished her childhood dream of becoming Divas champion, defeating former best friend Kaitlyn in a match that resulted from a twisted mind game. After Kaitlyn spent weeks swooning over a potential secret admirer, it was revealed to be Big E Langston, who was manipulating the young woman on behalf of AJ.

Their rivalry raged on, leading to a second critically acclaimed match at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view in July. Again, AJ knocked off her former bestie. During that same broadcast, she planted the seeds for a split from Dolph Ziggler. When their not-so-pleasant parting of ways was finalized, a Mixed Tag Team match was booked for SummerSlam.

AJ teamed with Langston to face Ziggler and Kaitlyn in a match that should have meant more but, unfortunately, had time cut from it in favor of the night's main event.

Over the weeks and months that followed, AJ would successfully retain her title against the likes of the Bella Twins, Natalya and Naomi, all the while making it abundantly clear in live interviews that she was no fan of the Total Divas cast or the message they were sending to women.

It was an admirable stance to take considering her place as a heel, but at the same time, AJ's sharp and pointed comments earned her heat from the Bella Twins, who would shoot right back with hurtful words whenever the opportunity arose.

By the time 2014 rolled around, AJ found herself presented with a new challenger in the form of former NXT standout Paige. On April 7, just one night after AJ successfully retained her Divas title in a Gauntlet match, the Brit made her debut and shocked the world by putting an end to AJ's history-making title reign.

The two Divas would square off at Battleground, SummerSlam, Night of Champions and Hell in Cell, establishing their rivalry as the best in WWE's women's division that year. When all was said and done, AJ emerged victorious, but it was far from the last time she would encounter the Anti-Diva.

The same Bella Twins that she engaged in a war of the words with ultimately proved AJ's last great rivals.

At the 2014 Survivor Series, Brie Bella shocked the world by planting a kiss on AJ that was reminiscent of her smooch with Daniel Bryan some two years earlier. Stunned, the Divas champion was left prone for a Rack Attack from Brie's sister Nikki, who covered AJ and won the gold.

A month later, she would successfully retain the title.

2015 brought with it the return of AJ who, after weeks off, found herself allied with Paige in the war with the Bellas. At WrestleMania 31, on the grandest stage known to professional wrestling, AJ forced Nikki to tap out to the Black Widow, earning her and Paige a victory in a huge tag team match.

It would be the final major bout of AJ's career.

Legacy

At a time when women were very much treated like a sideshow act, AJ Lee exploded onto the scene and became a featured player on WWE programming. She shared the screen with CM Punk, John Cena, Daniel Bryan, Kane and a host of other high-profile stars, proving once and for all that women could have tremendous success when given the opportunity by management.

Very much a trailblazer who got over for her on-screen work and in-ring ability, she was the antithesis of the Total Divas cast, who used a reality show to help achieve a push from management.

She worked hard, dedicated her life to her passion and, in the end, was able to craft a career worthy of enshrinement alongside the likes of Trish Stratus, Lita, Alundra Blayze, Wendi Richter and Sensational Sherri.

If there is any disappointment, it is in the premature retirement. AJ clearly had much more to give to the industry, and vice versa. What is admirable is that she stepped away on her terms, without being driven out or beaten down, and now she has made a good enough living where she can enjoy the fruits of her labor without having to travel from city to city, country to country.

To paraphrase the great Frank Sinatra, she did it her way and left with her head held high in an industry where that is rarely the case.