The landscape for women in pro wrestling looks very different today than it did a decade ago. In the mid-2010s, female talent were still fighting for more TV time, better opportunities and fairer treatment behind the scenes.
On the “What’s Your Story?” podcast with Stephanie McMahon, AJ Lee looked back on one of the most talked-about moments of that era, her 2015 tweet responding to Stephanie about equal pay. AJ explained why she spoke up and how she felt during that period of her career.
“So a long time ago, the women’s division was in a different spot and it felt like an uphill battle a lot of the time, and I was one of the first people fighting for it quite vocally. And I think when you are the first to do something you get hurt storming the gates, you know? It’s a little rougher but I think it’s worth it because it opens a path for people to come behind you.
There was an incident on Twitter in which you (Stephanie) posted (a Patricia Arquette quote) about equal pay. Then I retweeted it and said: ‘Well, if we’re talking about use your voice, we don’t get equal pay essentially yet we’re bringing in more eyeballs than a lot of the men.’ It was probably pretty feisty.
In general I’m fairly direct, I try not to be rude, but I also was a bit like ‘I don’t have nothing to lose right now’. Change doesn’t happen unless there’s sacrifice. You have to be willing to lose everything to get what you want. Playing it safe doesn’t work. Playing it safe might give you a safe life, but I don’t know if it gives you an exceptional life.
And so I felt like that was worth it, whatever the backlash was going to be. But I thought you were cool after, everyone was pretty chill. It was business and I appreciate that, but it was a rough time.”
Stephanie McMahon then praised AJ Lee’s courage in speaking up for women in WWE a decade ago, noting that the Women’s Evolution didn’t happen because of executives, but because wrestlers like AJ pushed for real change.
“The courage that, not only that, but the courage it took to fight for what you believed in and the fact that you really were a different character than any type of stereotype, like you came out of nowhere and the audience loved you from the start.
They really did. They just connected with you in such a special and unique way. And I appreciate your directness. I’m a direct person as well, I’m sure some people think I’m rude, but I don’t mean to be. I just hate all the BS. Let’s just have the conversation.
I was preparing for this interview and looking that up (their 2015 Twitter exchange) and I read all the backstage gossip of what happened. It’s just so interesting because people never really know.
I was actually happy that you posted that, I wasn’t happy that it was directed at me because there wasn’t anything I had direct control over, but I was really happy that you did because that movement – the whole women’s evolution in WWE – it didn’t happen because of executives.
Maybe along the way people voicing their opinions, but it really happened because the women who paved the way, all the way back to the beginning. All these incredible women who have been inside the squared-circle, no matter what promotion they were in.
But then our audience, when they started the hashtag ‘Give Divas a Chance’ – that couldn’t be ignored. And the audience would never have gotten behind the movement if it weren’t for people like you, who actually stood up for women publicly and really take on the machine a little bit. It was a big deal.”
Also Read: AJ Lee Says CM Punk Went Off-Script & Started Hitting On Her In 2012
