This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2011)

A ring name is a stage name used by a professional wrestler, martial artist, or boxer. While some ring names may have a fictitious first name and surname, others may simply be a nickname, such as The Undertaker.

Wrestling[link]

Ring names were developed as a way to allow wrestling performers to hide their true identities from the wrestling fanbase and thus keep "kayfabe" and allow wrestling performers to hide their true identities from the fans, or because their real name is considered unattractive, dull, amusing for the wrong reasons, or projects the wrong image. Since the advent of the Internet, it is now relatively easy to discover the real name of a wrestler when in the past it was far more difficult. Some examples of ring names are Michael Shawn Hickenbottom to Shawn Michaels, Roderick George Toombs to Roddy Piper, Michael Sean Coulthard to Michael Cole and Chris Irvine to Chris Jericho.

In recent years, however, a growing number of wrestling performers (such as John Cena) have adopted their real name or a variation thereof for their in-ring persona, sometimes modifying the spelling of their real name to better fit their character or gimmick, such as David Bautista to simply Batista, or Richard Fliehr to Ric Flair. Others simply use part of their name, such as Bill Goldberg using his last name, Ken Doane using his first as Kenny, and Mike Mizanin simply using an abbreviation of his name (The) Miz. Many female wrestlers go by their first name only as well. Many also use a nickname in addition to their real name for marketability and other reasons. Some (mostly independent) wrestlers, such as Nigel McGuinness, still go to great lengths to ensure that their real names are not publicly known.

Professional wrestlers are often referred to by their contemporaries by their ring name. In interviews, Bret Hart has regularly referred to Mark Calaway, Curt Hennig, Kevin Nash by their ring names Undertaker, Mr. Perfect and Diesel, among others.

Ring names are often trademarked by the promotion that creates a character or gimmick for a performer, and it is not uncommon to see one performer use a variety of ring names throughout his career, even if his overall persona or gimmick remains similar. For example, Senshi is a ring name used specifically for his second TNA stint so that he would continue to hold onto his original ring name, Low Ki, used elsewhere. Another example is Team 3D, formerly known as the Dudley Boyz in ECW and WWE, but WWE trademarked the name leading them to have to change their name when they went to TNA. The members' names (Bubba Ray Dudley, D-Von Dudley, and Spike Dudley) were also trademarked by WWE forcing them to have to change their names to Brother Ray, Brother Devon, and Brother Runt.

In rare cases, the rights to a wrestler's ring name may be owned by a company with little or no connection to professional wrestling, such as Marvel Comics' ownership of the name Hulk Hogan until early 2003, which was due to Hogan being advertised as "The Incredible Hulk Hogan" early on in his career, while Marvel owned the trademark for their comic book character The Incredible Hulk.

Sometimes a wrestler will buy the rights to their own ring name; for example, Steve Borden owns the rights to the ring name "Sting". Andrew Martin, formerly known as "Test", took this one step further and legally changed his name to Andrew "Test" Martin. Similarly, Jim Hellwig, a.k.a. The Ultimate Warrior, has had his name legally changed to "Warrior".

In many cases, ring names evolve over time as the wrestler's gimmick changes, either subtly or dramatically. After debuting in WWE as "Connecticut blueblood" Hunter Hearst Helmsley, Paul Levesque's character morphed into Triple H upon forming D-Generation X. A more drastic change sometimes occurs when a wrestler turns babyface or heel, such as when WCW uber-face Hulk Hogan joined the nWo as Hollywood Hogan. Hogan's villainous new attitude was enhanced by changing his costume color scheme from "Hulkamania" red and yellow to nWo black and white or Brother Ray after adopting a new villainous persona changed his name to Bully Ray

One wrestler though had to use a different name because there was another wrestler with the same name. When Steve Williams joined the wrestling world in the late 1980s, there was already "Dr. Death" Steve Williams. He therefore adopted the name by which he would eventually become famous, Steve Austin.

External links[link]

• Wrestlers Real Names List

Global use[link]

• In Japan, sumo wrestlers use a ring name called shikona (四股名 or 醜名).
• In Mexico, luchadores use ring names, and their identity is further concealed via a mask.

Look up ring in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Ring may refer to:

• Ring (jewellery), a decorative ornament worn on fingers, toes, or around the arm or neck

Arts and entertainment[link]

• The Rings, a 1985 horror film by Honarmand
• Ring (film), a 1998 horror film by Hideo Nakata
• Rings (short film), a 2005 horror film by Jonathan Liebesman
• Ring (video game), a 1999 computer game
• Ring (Suzuki novel), a 1991 Japanese horror novel by Koji Suzuki
• Ring (Stephen Baxter novel), a 1994 science fiction novel by Stephen Baxter

Music[link]

• "Ring" (song), by Japanese duo B'z
• Ring (The Connells album), 1993
• Ring (Miliyah Kato album)
• Ring (Gary Burton album), 1974
• Ring (band), a 1980s British band
• Der Ring des Nibelungen, the cycle of four epic operas by Richard Wagner
• "Rings" (song), a 1971 song by Tompall & the Glaser Brothers

Science and technology[link]

• Ring (computer security), a layer of protection in computer systems
• Ring (data structure), also known as ring buffer or circular buffer
• Ring (geometric), or annulus, a circular shape
• Ring (mathematics), an algebraic structure
• Ring of sets
• A sound in the ear (s), which may be a symptom of tinnitus
• Ring (chemistry), a cyclic molecule
• Planetary ring, matter orbiting a planet
• RING finger domain, a protein structural domain

People[link]

• Alexander Ring (born 1991), Finnish footballer
• Nick Ring (born 1979), Canadian martial artist
• Joey Ring (1758-1800), English cricketer

Places[link]

Ireland

• Ring, County Waterford, a village

United States

• Ring, Wisconsin, an unincorporated community

Sports[link]

• Championship ring
• Ring (boxing)
• Ring (wrestling)
• Ring name
• Ring of Honor (disambiguation)
• Rings (gymnastics), a gymnastics apparatus and its associated event
• RINGS, a martial arts organization also known as Fighting Network Rings

Other uses[link]

• Ring (diacritic), as in "Åmål"

See also: Category:Rings

• Brass ring
• Claddagh ring
• Class ring
• Cock ring
• Engagement ring
• Piston ring
• Ring (telephone)
• Ring road (highway)
• Rings (local I.B.M. clubs)
• Rings (Sonic the Hedgehog)
• Wedding ring

See also[link]

• The Ring (disambiguation)
• All pages beginning with "ring"

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2007)

Ceremonies, such as baptism, can be used to give names.

A name is a word or term used for identification. Names can identify a class or category of things, or a single thing, either uniquely, or within a given context. A personal name identifies a specific unique and identifiable individual person, and may or may not include a middle name. The name of a specific entity is sometimes called a proper name (although that term has a philosophical meaning also) and is a proper noun. Other nouns are sometimes, more loosely, called names; an older term for them, now obsolete, is "general names".

The use of personal names is not unique to humans. Dolphins also use symbolic names, as has been shown by recent research.^[1] Individual dolphins have distinctive whistles, to which they will respond even when there is no other information to clarify which dolphin is being referred to.

Caution must be exercised when translating, for there are ways that one language may prefer one type of name over another. A feudal naming habit is used sometimes in other languages: the French sometimes refer to Aristotle as "le Stagirite" from one spelling of his place of birth, and English speakers often refer to Shakespeare as "The Bard", recognizing him as a paragon writer of the language. Finally, claims to preference or authority can be refuted: the British did not refer to Louis-Napoleon as Napoleon III during his rule.

Etymology[link]

The word "name" comes from Old English nama; akin to Old High German (OHG) and Sanskrit नामस् (naamas), Latin nomen, and Greek ὄνομα (onoma),^[2] possbly from the Proto-Indo-European (PIE) *nomn-.^[3]

In mythology[link]

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2012)

In Arthurian mythology, part of the code of honor and chivalry practiced by knights was that a knight who lost a duel must reveal his name to the victor. It was considered a breach of honor or decorum to reveal one's name before combat. A frequent topos in the legends is that a defeated knight would, after revealing his name, ask the victor what his name was: if the victor turned out to be a much stronger and more famous knight (e.g. one of Arthur's knights) the loser actually saved face, because he was beaten by a knight already held to be stronger than him, and thus there was no shame in defeat. However, if a strong and powerful knight was defeated, and the victor turned out to be a relatively unknown and not particularly strong knight, it was a grave humiliation.

As a result of this pattern, it was considered extremely odd within the rules of Arthurian society when a knight refused to take off his helmet or reveal his identity, even after he had won a duel. Sometimes this happened because the victorious knight simply did not know his own name, as was the case with Lancelot and Percival during their early careers. This inability to reveal their own names even in victory led many to assume incorrectly that they were trying to insult the vanquished.

A major exception to the rule was Sir Gawain: Gawain considered himself to be the greatest of his uncle Arthur's knights; he felt that his honor was so great that he did not need to hide his name before a duel. Thus at the opening of any duel Gawain would openly announce "I am Gawain", as he expected never to be defeated and so it would not diminish his honor to reveal his name.

In religious thought[link]

In the ancient world, particularly in the ancient near-east (Israel, Mesopotamia, Egypt, Persia) names were thought to be extremely powerful and to act, in some ways, as a separate manifestation of a person or deity.^[4] This viewpoint is responsible both for the reluctance to use the proper name of God in Hebrew writing or speech, as well as the common understanding in ancient magic that magical rituals had to be carried out "in [someone's] name". By invoking a god or spirit by name, one was thought to be able to summon that spirit's power for some kind of miracle or magic (see Luke 9:49, in which the disciples claim to have seen a man driving out demons using the name of Jesus.) This understanding passed into later religious tradition, for example the stipulation in Catholic exorcism that the demon cannot be expelled until the exorcist has forced it to give up its name, at which point the name may be used in a stern command which will drive the demon away.

Biblical names[link]

In the Old Testament, the names of individuals are meaningful; for example, Adam is named after the "earth" (Adamah) from which he was created. (Genesis 2)

A change of name indicates a change of status. For example, the patriarch Abram and his wife Sarai are renamed "Abraham" and "Sarah" when they are told they will be the father and mother of many nations (Genesis 17:4, 17:15). Simon was renamed Peter when he was given the Keys of Heaven. (Gospel of Matthew 16).

Throughout the Bible, characters are given names at birth that reflect something of significance or describe the course of their lives. For example: Solomon meant peace, and the king with that name was the first whose reign was without warfare. Likewise, Joseph named his firstborn son Manasseh (Hebrew: "causing to forget") as a gesture of forgiveness to his brothers for selling him into slavery.

Biblical Jewish people did not have surnames which were passed from generation to generation. However, they were typically known as the child of their father. For example: דוד בן ישי (David ben Yishay) meaning, David, son of Jesse. In a sense, they used their fathers' first names as their own last names, a practice done by most Muslims today. Similar to Jewish names, the "ben" is in place by "bin" or "ibn" for males, "binte", "binti" or "ibnu" for females to Muslims. Sometimes, names include "Al-", "Ali-", "-allah", "-lah/-llah" or "-ullah" as it means "a servant to God" or "God's servant". They would sometimes indicate the place they or their child live in.

Talmudic attitudes[link]

The Babylonian Talmud maintains that names exert a mystical influence over their bearers, and a change of name is one of four actions that can avert an evil heavenly decree, that would lead to punishment after one's death. Rabbinical commentators differ as to whether the name's influence is metaphysical, connecting a person to their soul, or bio-socio-psychological, where the connection affects his personality, appearance and social capacities. The Talmud also states that all those who descend to Gehenna will rise in the time of Messiah. However, there are three exceptions, one of which is he who calls another by a derisive nickname.

Technical names for names[link]

Naming convention[link]

For Wikipedia's own naming conventions see Wikipedia:Article titles

A naming convention is an attempt to systematize names in a field so they unambiguously convey similar information in a similar manner.

Several major naming conventions include:

• In astronomy, planetary nomenclature
• In classics, Roman naming conventions
• In computer programming, identifier naming conventions
• In computer networking, computer naming schemes
• In the sciences, systematic names for a variety of things

Naming conventions are useful in many aspects of everyday life, enabling the casual user to understand larger structures.

Street names within a city may follow a naming convention; some examples include:

• In Manhattan, roads that cross the island from east to west are called "Streets". Those that run the length of the island (North-South) are called "Avenues". Manhattan streets and avenues are numbered, with "1st Street" being near the southern end of the island, and "219th Street" being near the northern end, while "1st Avenue" is near the eastern edge of the island and "12th Avenue" near the western edge.
• In Ontario, numbered concession roads are East-West whereas "lines" are North-South routes.
• In San Francisco at least three series of parallel streets are alphabetically named, e.g. Irving, Judah, Kirkham, Lawton, Moraga, Noriega, Ortega, Pacheco, Quintara, Rivera, Santiago, Taraval, Ulloa, Vicente, Wawona.
• The same tendency is seen in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, where Arlington Street is followed by roads to the west running parallel to it and named Berkeley, Clarendon, Dartmouth, Exeter, Fairfield, Gloucester, and Hereford.
• In Washington, DC, East Capitol Street runs east-west through the Capitol. East-west streets moving away from Capitol Street toward both the south (toward the Potomac River) and the north are lettered A, B, C,..., omitting J to avoid confusion on street signs and addresses, but after these are exhausted to the north, the streets are named with simple words in alphabetical order, omitting a few letters such as "x". The first cycle of names consists all of one-syllable words; then followed by a cycle of two-syllable words; then followed by a cycle of three-syllable words, and before these are exhausted, Maryland is reached. (Washington has north-south streets that are numbered, increasing to either side of North Capitol which likewise runs through the Capitol.) Suffixes (NE, SW, etc.) are used to distinguish between (up to four) duplicate addresses. For example 140 D Street SW, to indicate the 140 D Street location southwest of the Capitol
• In Montgomery, Alabama, the old major avenues are named for the Presidents of the United States, in their order of entering office, omitting John Quincy Adams. Hence, these streets are Washington Ave., Adams Ave., Jefferson Ave., Madison Ave., Monroe Ave., Jackson Ave., but not much farther than that. This was just the old plan from a long time ago, and it was eventually dropped. For example, there is not a Buchanan Ave., a Lincoln Ave., or a Johnson Ave.
• In Brampton, Ontario, different sections of town all have streets starting with the same letter and the alphabetical order reflects chronology.
• In Phoenix, Arizona, roads east of Central Avenue are termed streets while those west are avenues. A similar system applies in Nashville, Tennessee, but only to the numbered avenues and streets, west and east of the Cumberland River respectively, all of which run roughly north-south.

Large corporate, university, or government campuses may follow a naming convention for rooms within the buildings to help orient tenants and visitors. Otherwise, rooms may be numbered in some kind of a rational scheme.

Parents may follow a naming convention when selecting names for their children. Some have chosen alphabetical names by birth order. In some East Asian cultures, it is common for one syllable in a two syllable given name to be a generation name which is the same for immediate siblings. In many cultures it is common for the son to be named after the father or a grandfather. In certain African cultures, such as in Cameroon, the eldest son gets the family name for his given name, also, giving names such as "Thomas Thomas" (but the names are not European names like this one).

In other cultures, the name may include the place of residence, or the place of birth. The Roman naming convention denotes social rank.

Products may follow a naming convention. Automobiles typically have a binomial name, a "make" (manufacturer) and a "model", in addition to a model year, such as a 2007 Chevrolet Corvette. Sometimes there is a name for the car's "decoration level" or "trim line" as well: e.g., Cadillac Escalade EXT Platinum, after the precious metal. Computers often have increasing numbers in their names to signify the next generation.

Courses at schools typically follow a naming convention: an abbreviation for the subject area and then a number ordered by increasing level of difficulty.

Many numbers (e.g. bank accounts, government IDs, credit cards, etc.) are not random but have an internal structure and convention. Virtually all organizations that assign names or numbers will follow some convention in generating these identifiers. Airline flight numbers, space shuttle flight numbers, even phone numbers all have an internal convention.

Brand names[link]

The process of developing a name for a brand or product is heavily influenced by marketing research and strategy to be appealing and marketable. The brand name is often a neologism or pseudoword, such as Kodak or Sony.

Literary names[link]

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2012)

In fiction, proper names of people or places are often unique to the work in which they appear. Although, within the work of fiction proper, the name may nonetheless be said to have a certain ethnic origin, the name itself may not actually exist. For example, the character of Ororo Munroe (Storm of the X-Men franchise) is of African descent.^{[citation needed]} Her first name, however is not an authentic African name. Names may also be created to either represent ethnic neutrality or corruption of a name with the passage of time. This is a common technique used by science fiction and fantasy writers who may also employ alternate spellings of existing names. Also, many science fiction operates on the premise that racial and ethnic boundaries will cease to exist in the future thus producing names that appear to be mixes of different ethnic sources.^{[original research?]} Yoshiyuki Tomino (creator of the anime Mobile Suit Gundam) is notable for creating character names that are unusual, exotic, and sometimes silly sounding. Examples include Char Aznable (which is actually based on a real person), Bright Noa, Quess Paraya, and Marvel Frozen. The science fiction writer Isaac Asimov has also created names which may or may not be variants or corruptions of existing or ancient names. Examples include Dors Venabili, R. Daneel Olivaw, and Giskard Reventlov. The Star Wars and Dune franchises contains many character names that juggle existing names with created ones; Leia Organa, Ben Kenobi, Paul Atreides, Vladimir Harkonnen.^{[citation needed][original research?]}

.name domains[link]

This section appears to be written like an advertisement. Please help improve it by rewriting promotional content from a neutral point of view and removing any inappropriate external links. (May 2012)

According to Verisign,^[5] the .name top-level domain name (TLD) is designed for individuals to create a presence and make online communications easy and accessible. Not exclusive to registrars, social networking and community sites may also offer .name registration to their members and customers as a value-added service to help establish an individual identity online.^[6]

See also[link]

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• "Names" by Sam Cumming, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (SEP), a philosophical dissertation on the syntax and semantics of names
• Matthews, Elaine; Hornblower, Simon; Fraser, Peter Marshall, Greek Personal Names: Their Value as Evidence, Proceedings of The British Academy (104), Oxford University Press, 2000. ISBN 0-19-726216-3
• Name and Form - from Sacred Texts Buddhism

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Name

• Kate Monk's Onomastikon (Dictionary of Names) or Kate Monk's Onomastikon Names over the world throughout the history
• The etymology of first names
• Meaning of Names The etymology of first names
• What is a Name?

Sin Cara (Spanish for "Faceless") is a professional wrestling character in the WWE, which has been portrayed by two different performers:

• Luis Urive, the original Sin Cara.
• Jorge Arias, the impostor Sin Cara, now wrestles as Hunico after losing a Mask vs Mask match.

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

AJ Lee
AJ at Fort Bragg in December 2011.
Ring name(s)	AJ[1] AJ Lee[2] April Lee[2] Miss April[2]
Billed height	5 ft 3 in (1.60 m)[1]
Billed weight	107 lb (49 kg)[2]
Born	(1987-03-19) March 19, 1987 (age 25)[2]
Billed from	Union City, New Jersey[1]
Trained by	Jay Lethal[2]
Debut	September 29, 2007[2]

April Jeanette Mendez^[3][4] (born March 19, 1987)^[2] is an American professional wrestler. She is signed to WWE, where she wrestles as part of the SmackDown brand under the ring name AJ.^[1]

Mendez enrolled in a wrestling school in March 2007, and debuted six months later. In the following years, she performed for several Northeast-based independent promotions including Women Superstars Uncensored (WSU) as Miss April. In WSU, she was part of the AC Express alongside Brooke Carter and the duo held the WSU Tag Team Championship once. In May 2009, she signed a developmental contract with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), and was assigned to Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW), WWE's developmental promotion, using the ring name AJ Lee.^[5] In FCW, she was Queen of FCW and FCW Divas Champion, and was the first person to have held both titles. In 2010, she was part of the third season of NXT, having dropped her last name, and became part of WWE's SmackDown brand in May 2011, forming a tag team with Kaitlyn known as The Chickbusters.^[6]

Early life[link]

Mendez has stated she is of Puerto Rican heritage.^[7] She attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts in New York City where she majored in Film and Television production.^[8] As a tribute to her brother, who was in the army, Mendez sometimes wears camouflage wrestling attire.^[8]

Professional wrestling career[link]

Training (2007)[link]

Shortly after graduating from high school, Mendez researched wrestling schools, and enrolled in one a mile away from her house. To pay the tuition, she began working full-time, and became an official wrestling student in March 2007.^[8]

Women Superstars Uncensored (2008–2009)[link]

On October 10, 2008, Miss April made her debut for Women Superstars Uncensored (WSU), losing to Soul Sister Jana in a singles match. The following night, she teamed with Malia Hosaka and participated in the tournament to determine the inaugural WSU Tag Team Champions. The pairing advanced to the second round by defeating The Soul Sisters (Jana and Latasha), where they lost to The Beatdown Betties (Roxxie Cotton and Annie Social). At the second taping later that same night, Miss April lost to Hosaka in a singles match. On February 7, 2009 Miss April teamed with Brooke Carter to defeat The Beatdown Betties and win the WSU Tag Team Championship. A month later, on March 7, they defeated The Beatdown Betties in a rematch to retain the championship. On April 10, Miss April competed in the third J-Cup tournament, defeating Roxxie Cotton in the first round before losing to Rain in the second.^[9] The following night, on April 11, Miss April and Jay Lethal were won the 2009 WSU/NWS King and Queen Tournament after defeating Jana and Danny Demanto in the final of the tounament.^[8]

World Wrestling Entertainment / WWE[link]

Florida Championship Wrestling (2009–2011)[link]

AJ addressing the audience on NXT in November 2010 after she was eliminated from the show.

Mendez signed a contract with World Wrestling Entertainment on May 5, 2009, and was assigned to Florida Championship Wrestling, WWE's developmental territory.^[5] Mendez made her FCW television debut at the August 14, 2009 tapings under the name April Lee in a fatal four-way match won by Serena Mancini, and also including Alicia Fox and Tiffany.^[10] In September 2009, her ring name was changed to 'AJ Lee'.^[11] She began challenging for the Queen of FCW title, and at the television tapings on February 4, 2010, Lee defeated Serena to win the crown.^[12] In the first round of a tournament to determine the inaugural FCW Divas Championship, Lee defeated Tamina on April 29, but was defeated by Serena in the semi-finals on May 20. At the June 10 television tapings, Lee challenged Naomi Knight for the FCW Divas Championship, but was unsuccessful.^[13] In June 2010, she appeared at Raw house shows, acting as the hostess, and also acted as the ring announcer at an FCW show.^[2][13] The following month, Lee and Serena interrupted Knight during a promo, and Lee watched while Serena attacked Knight, turning Lee into a heel (villainous character).^[14] Knight went on to retain her FCW Divas Championship by defeating both Lee and Serena in a triple threat match. On FCW's 100th episode, Lee fought Knight to a double countout in a match where both the Queen of FCW title and the FCW Divas Championship were on the line. At the September 2 tapings, Lee lost to Knight in a Lumberjill match to end their feud.^[13]

On November 18, she dropped the Queen of FCW title to Rosa Mendes.^[15] On December 16, AJ defeated Naomi to win the FCW Divas Championship.^[16] Her victory made her the first FCW Diva to have held both the Divas Championship and the title of Queen of FCW.^[17] She held the championship until the April 7, 2011, television tapings, when she lost it to Aksana.^[15]

[edit] NXT (2010–2011)

On August 31, 2010, it was announced that she would be part of the third season of NXT under the name AJ, with Primo as her Pro.^[18] She appeared on the first episode of season three on September 7, teaming with Primo to defeat rookie Diva Aksana and her Pro Goldust in a mixed tag team match.^[19] The following week she suffered her first loss when she and Primo were defeated by Kaitlyn and Dolph Ziggler.^[20] Over the next two weeks, AJ won three challenges, and on the October 5 episode of NXT she and Kaitlyn were tied for the number of challenges won.^[21][22] Kaitlyn received immunity from elimination in the poll based on crowd reaction.^[23] AJ was eliminated from the competition on the November 23 episode of NXT, despite winning a competition and a match earlier in the show.^[24][25] She returned to NXT for the season finale, where she teamed with The Bella Twins to defeat Alicia Fox, Aksana, and Maxine.^[26] AJ returned as a special guest on February 8, 2011, during the fourth season of NXT, modeling merchandise during a 'guess the price' challenge.^[27] She also made several appearances during NXT Redemption in mid-2011.^[28][29]

SmackDown (2011–present)[link]

AJ made her main roster debut on the May 27, 2011, episode of SmackDown when she and Kaitlyn (known as The Chickbusters) lost to the team of Alicia Fox and Tamina. The duo were accompanied by Natalya, who became a mentor of sorts to the pair.^[6] AJ and Kaitlyn lost a rematch to Fox and Tamina the following week.^[30] Her first victory came on the June 10 episode of SmackDown, when she pinned Tamina in a singles match, a feat she repeated on the July 8 episode.^[31][32] AJ, Kaitlyn, and Natalya continued to feud with Fox and Tamina, who were joined by Rosa Mendes.^[33][34]

AJ (right) with her on-screen boyfriend Daniel Bryan as World Heavyweight Champion.

On the August 5 episode of SmackDown AJ lost a singles match to Natalya, who then turned on her protégé, attacking her and declaring war on the "perky little princesses" that comprised the rest of the Divas division.^[35] The following week, AJ and Kaitlyn lost to Natalya and Beth Phoenix, before AJ teamed with Kelly Kelly to defeat Natalya and Fox.^[36][37] Throughout the next few months, The Chickbusters continued to feud with the so-called Divas of Doom, losing both singles and tag team matches to them.^[38][39] In November, tension began to be teased between The Chickbusters, with Kaitlyn upset at their repeated losses to The Divas of Doom.^[40]

Also in November, AJ began a romantic storyline with Daniel Bryan,^[41][42] In December, Bryan won the World Heavyweight Championship and he began to display villainous traits.^[43] Despite AJ's declaration of love for Bryan,^[44] Bryan avoided saying that he loved her in return.^[45] On the January 13 episode of SmackDown, AJ accompanied Bryan for his World Heavyweight Championship defense against Big Show. During the match Show accidentally collided with AJ, injuring her (kayfabe) and causing her to be taken out on a stretcher.^[46] AJ returned to SmackDown on February 3, saving Bryan from the Big Show.^[47]

In March, Bryan began to mistreat AJ, publicly demanding her to shut up and claiming that she always got in his way.^[48] Despite these actions, AJ continued to stand by Bryan.^[49] AJ also went on a winning streak defeating both Bella Twins on the March 13 and March 23 episodes of SmackDown.^[50][51] At WrestleMania XXVIII, Bryan's reign as World champion ended when Sheamus defeated him in eighteen seconds at WrestleMania XXVIII due to Bryan being distracted with receiving a good luck kiss from AJ.^[52] On the April 6, episode of SmackDown, Bryan blamed AJ for losing the World Heavyweight Championship and ended their relationship.^[53]

Despite AJ's attempts to mend their relationship, Bryan cruelly rebuffed her multiple times, leaving AJ an emotional wreck.^[54] Throughout the next couple of weeks, fellow Chickbuster Kaitlyn tried to console AJ about her feelings towards Bryan. However, this only angered AJ, causing her to slap Kaitlyn week after week. On the May 11 episode of SmackDown, AJ quickly defeated Kaitlyn. Afterwards, Bryan came out, seemingly impressed with AJ's new ruthless behavior, but then he revealed that he would rather move on to Kaitlyn, further jilting AJ.^[55]

Personal life[link]

Mendez was previously in a relationship with her trainer Jay Lethal.^[56] Mendez is a self-described tomboy and geek^[57] and enjoys comic books and video games.^[1]

In wrestling[link]

AJ performing a roll-up on Natalya

• Finishing moves
  • Octopus hold^[25][58] - FCW
  • Shining wizard^[2][8] - 2010-present
  • Shiranui^[2][8] - 2011

• Signature moves
  • Hurricanrana, sometimes to an oncoming opponent^[2]
  • Missile dropkick^[8]
  • Multiple arm drags^[8]
  • Spinning heel kick^[2]
  • Diving crossbody^[59]
  • Low dropick^[60]
  • Monkey flip^[61]

• With Kaitlyn
  • Corner clothesline (AJ) / Backbreaker (Kaitlyn) combination^[62][63]
  • Aided splash^[62]

• Managers
  • Natalya^[6]
  • Kaitlyn^[64]
  • Daniel Bryan^[65]

• Wrestlers managed
  • Kaitlyn^[66]
  • Daniel Bryan^[46]

• Nicknames
  • "Geek Goddess"^[67]
  • "The Thunder and Lighting Combination"^[62] — with Kaitlyn

• Entrance themes
  • "Right Now" by Tyler van den Berg (June 10, 2011–October 2011)^[68]
  • "Let's Light It Up" by Jim Johnston and performed by Kari Kimmel (October 2011–present)^[69]

Championships and accomplishments[link]

• Florida Championship Wrestling
  • FCW Divas Championship (1 time)^[16]
  • Queen of FCW (1 time)^[12]

• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • PWI ranked her #48 of the best 50 female singles wrestlers in the PWI Female 50 in 2011^[70]

• Women Superstars Uncensored
  • WSU Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Brooke Carter^[8]
  • WSU/NWS King and Queen Tournament (2009) – with Jay Lethal^[8]

References[link]

External links[link]

Professional wrestling portal

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: AJ Lee

• WWE profile
• Verified Twitter
• Online World of Wrestling profile
• Glory Wrestling profile