• Injured Star Is Almost Ready To Return, WWE Planning Babyface Push For Her
Zoey Stark has been sidelined since May 2025 after suffering a devastating knee injury during a Money In The Bank qualifying Triple Threat Match against Rhea Ripley and Kairi Sane. While going for a Missile Dropkick on Sane, Stark landed awkwardly, resulting in a torn ACL, MCL, and meniscus.
The 31-year-old underwent a three-hour surgical procedure to repair the damage and has been out of action ever since.
Zoey is teasing that she is almost ready to return, as she posted the following:
Almost….⏳️💪 pic.twitter.com/gTpttXMbGT
— Zoey Stark (@ZoeyStarkWWE) January 4, 2026
According to Bodyslam+, Stark’s recovery is progressing positively. WWE officials reportedly remain very optimistic about her future and have already begun discussing potential creative plans for her comeback, including a babyface run when she’s cleared to compete again.
Stark previously revealed that she had partially lost motion in her leg following the surgery, but managed to regain it later, noting that her recovery has been progressing well.
• AJ Lee’s Expected WrestleMania 42 Opponent
When AJ Lee returned on the September 5, 2025 episode of WWE SmackDown, the return was treated as a major shift in the women’s division. She confronted Becky Lynch, laid her out, and left the segment holding the Women’s Intercontinental Championship, immediately putting herself back in the center of WWE programming.
In the weeks that followed, a report from BodySlam stated that Lee had signed a multi-year deal and was working a full-time schedule. That report fueled expectations that WWE was rebuilding the division around her long-term.
Now, that assumption is being challenged. On the Fightful Select Q&A Show, Sean Ross Sapp pushed back on the idea that Lee is operating under a true full-time arrangement. Sapp said that even as early as December, what he was hearing internally did not line up with reports of a full-time return.
He explained that while those early reports weren’t wrong, the information being relayed to him suggested something far more limited, adding that Lee’s run was never expected to resemble a regular weekly schedule.
Since returning in September, AJ has wrestled only two matches. Word going on is that AJ is expected to face Becky in a singles match at WrestleMania 42. AJ made Becky tap out at Wrestlepalooza and Survivor Series: WarGames.
Sapp noted that stretching a seven-month build to WrestleMania would be nearly impossible if AJ was appearing weekly, and that the current schedule aligns with WWE treating her as a special attraction rather than a regular roster member.
While Sapp emphasized that he has not heard confirmation of the WrestleMania match, he added that the prevailing belief among people he has spoken to is that Lee vs. Lynch is the direction WWE is leaning toward.
