The booking around AJ Lee’s return has drawn sharp criticism from Vince Russo, who claims WWE unnecessarily “buried” champions Bayley and Rhea Ripley in the process.
During his Coach and Bro Live podcast, Russo took issue with a Becky Lynch promo where she stated, “I’m not afraid of Bayley and of Rhea Ripley.” He questioned the creative logic behind the line. “Why would you do that? What is the point of burying Bayley and Rhea? You don’t do that,” he said.
Russo’s main criticism centered on the apparent contradiction of Lynch, who projects fearlessness toward the top of the division, showing fear of Lee—a 38-year-old competitor weighing 92 pounds who hasn’t wrestled in a decade. “And then the look on ‘The Man’s’ face is like King Kong, Godzilla, Jaws, and Bigfoot were all coming at you,” Russo quipped.
However, not everyone viewed Lynch’s performance as a negative. On his Busted Open Radio show, WWE Hall of Famer Bully Ray praised Lynch for selling vulnerability, arguing it was a welcome change. “I’ve been b—tching and m—aning about women in this business… They all want to be the baddest b—tch on the block,” Ray stated. “Nobody’s selling nobody these days. Becky sold for AJ… with her eyes and her face, and I absolutely loved it.”
The angle began on the September 5 SmackDown when Lee attacked Lynch and stole her Women’s Intercontinental Championship. The fallout on Raw led to AJ Lee & CM Punk challenging Becky Lynch & Seth Rollins to a mixed tag team match at Wrestlepalooza on September 20.
Russo directed his final comments at Triple H, dubbing him the new “King of Pops” for chasing easy crowd reactions and calling him a “one-trick pony when it comes to booking.”