Even though it wasn't unexpected, and quite frankly, has been anticipated ever since her now-husband left the company over a year ago, the sudden nature of it still managed to catch me off guard, if only for a little bit. Now I can understand why Naomi got the win on RAW, and is now getting this push to face Nikki for the title.
This will hurt a little, quite a lot in fact, but I'm so absolutely happy and proud for AJ and what she has accomplished in her career and in her life.
She went from sleeping in cars, walking long miles to school and back, and taking multiple jobs just to make enough money to be broke, to now all of this.
Her brother started her love for wrestling, and her ambition and drive guided her to continue on and keep pushing forward, helped her meet her idols and saving up all the money she could, to literally starving herself just so she could have enough to make a tryout for WWE. And on a whim and a prayer, it worked.
From a shocking setback in being eliminated on NXT to being Natalya's jobber monkey for several months, from being booked as the village bicycle to even having (fake) crap dumped all over her, she persevered, kept on rolling, and did with a smile and with attitude.
In just a few short years she went from emotionally-abused girlfriend to calculating devious Crazy Chick, to snarky sneaky smartass, to even the friggin' General Manager of the Flagship show of WWE, to at least, being crowned a champion, the (as of this typing) longest reigning champion, to boot. And an added bonus is that she also met her husband there, and despite all backstage drama and mindless speculation, she has found the love of her life (vice versa for Punk.) Now with her gone from the squared circle, she can officially 100% of her time supporting her husband as he branches into his new career, while maybe also wanting to start a family of their own in the near future.
From being homeless to now preparing to be a full-time wife, possible mother and now a hopeful best-selling author, I think everything worked itself out perfectly for AJ, dontcha think?
Thank you, April. Congratulations on a stellar, unbelievable career, and I have no doubt that we will one day see you skipping proudly into your hallowed and deserved spot in the WWE Hall of Fame.
#ThankYouAJ
