Saraya has shared a heartfelt message for AJ Lee following Lee’s return to a WWE ring on the September 5th edition of SmackDown. Lee appeared in her hometown of Chicago, coming face-to-face with Women’s Intercontinental Champion Becky Lynch.
On X (formerly Twitter), Saraya, who competed as Paige during their time together in WWE, reacted to the moment by posting, “F—k, my heart is so full watching @TheAJMendez come back. Love you sister. Go show ‘em why you’re the best in the world ❤️”
The message references a storied history between the two, who were both rivals and partners during the mid-2010s. Their feud saw them exchange the Divas Championship on multiple occasions between 2014 and 2015 before Lee’s retirement ended their on-screen partnership.
Lee’s return generated an immediate and massive response online, with the video of her appearance gaining over 1.7 million views and 95,000 likes within its first hour.
The excitement extended to other wrestling personalities. On social media, current superstars like Roxanne Perez and Naomi welcomed Lee back, with Naomi encouraging her to “give em hell.”
The return also had a significant financial impact. The September 5th SmackDown reportedly distributed 16,031 tickets, a figure that surpassed previous attendance records for the show in that venue. The event was projected to generate around $2.3 million in gate revenue, making it one of the most successful non-premium live event SmackDowns in recent years.