Raw in Cleveland Results in AJ Lee’s First Singles Match in WWE in Over 10 years Getting Official

AJ Lee not only made her return on this week's Raw but also saw her first singles WWE match in over a decade get official.

Raw in Cleveland Results in AJ Lee’s First Singles Match in WWE in Over 10 years Getting Official

AJ Lee returned to Raw this week [via- WWE]

In Short
  • AJ Lee will compete in her first singles match in WWE in over a decade against Becky Lynch at the Elimination Chamber.
  • Lynch expressed frustration over Lee's presence, leading to a challenge for the women's Intercontinental Championship.
  • CM Punk is set to defend his World Heavyweight title against Finn Balor at the Elimination Chamber after a confrontation on Raw.

AJ Lee‘s arrival with CM Punk on this week’s Raw absolutely ruined Becky Lynch‘s mood, as the women’s Intercontinental Champion was shown sporting a disgusted look. ‘The Man’ kicked off the show and immediately started lamenting about Lee being in the arena.

‘The Black Widow’ didn’t make the Irishwoman wait and received a huge pop upon coming out. As soon as Lynch started crashing out over AJ’s presence, the former Divas Champion said she was just there to lend support to Maxxine Dupri, who was scheduled to face Nattie last night.

‘The Irish Lass Kicker’ hilariously dubbed the New Jersey native a Chihuahua for barking in her ears all night long and ruining her life.

Lee retorted by telling Lynch that she hadn’t caused any harm personally to ‘The Man’ except for beating her at Wrestlepalooza. For the unversed, Lee tapped out Lynch in a mixed tag team where both women partnered up with their husbands last September. Circling back to the aforementioned segment, ‘Big Time Becks’ asked what it was going to take to get rid of AJ Lee.

The Ireland-born wrestler had anticipated that ‘The Crazy Chick’ was going to challenge her for the women’s IC title at the Elimination Chamber in her hometown of Chicago. ‘The Black Widow’, almost taken aback from what Lynch said, gauged that the latter wanted to go one-on-one with Lee, who hasn’t had a singles match in over a decade.

So to get back in the ring in a singles capacity, it’d have to be really appealing and special to her, said AJ. Quoting Becky, Lee said that she mentioned how she was one of the greats. ‘The Geek Goddess’ wondered what it would do to her reputation if she ended up beating ‘Big Time Becks’. Does it make her lucky, better, or the number one contender for the women’s Intercontinental Championship?

Lynch was clearly frustrated and started constantly yelling “no,” with the crowd countering it with the Daniel Bryan-made famous “yes” chants. When Lee said she would have to go back to Chicago in that case, Lynch ultimately accepted her challenge.

They’re officially set to duke it out at the Elimination Chamber. But before getting there, Lee got ambushed by Lynch later on Raw this week while she was helping Dupri to the back after Nattie had brutalized her.

What else happened on this week’s Raw?

CM Punk has a major roadblock before WrestleMania after what happened on this week’s Raw. He’s now scheduled to defend his World Heavyweight title at the Elimination Chamber against Finn Balor, who sort of invaded the show last night to convince Punk to put the championship on the line once again, but this time on his home turf of Chicago and not on Raw in Cleveland.

CM Punk and Finn Balor on Raw
CM Punk and Finn Balor on Raw [via- WWE]

‘The Prince’ declared he was done being treated like an afterthought and wouldn’t let Roman Reigns step him aside. Balor also recalled the time he almost beat ‘The OTC’ at Extreme Rules 2021. ‘The Best in the World’ made his way out and just wanted to inflict a beating on the Judgment Day member. Punk and Balor were separated by Adam Pearce-enforced security near the ringside.

The former AEW star was ready to bestow the title shot on Balor. Pearce, however, said he wouldn’t let it happen to keep Punk vs. Reigns intact at WrestleMania. Punk told the Raw GM to his face that he deserved to have a little bit of say, being the world champion. ‘The Second City Saint’ threatened Pearce to spend the rest of the show chasing the ‘Irish Captor’ if his wish wasn’t fulfilled.

Pearce eventually agreed to make it official for the Elimination Chamber. Punk was later asked by Michael Cole why he signed up for that. ‘The Voice of WWE’ couldn’t comprehend why the 47-year-old was willing to jeopardize one of the greatest WrestleMania main events of all time.

‘The Straight Edge Superstar’ listed all the promises he made to himself after winning the world title about being a fighting champion, as that’s what the fans deserved to see.

Punk said he’s aware of the fact that his title reign could end any given night, regardless of the city he’s in, but he was confident enough that he wouldn’t let it happen. The Chicago-born wrestler also addressed Roman Reigns’ claim of hating him by saying that ‘The Tribal Chief’ just hates the fact that he couldn’t do anything about what Punk’s been trying to build.

In the main event, the black-hooded masked man who attacked Bron Breakker before the start of the Royal Rumble match appeared at ringside to take out Austin Theory. It resulted in the Vision member getting pinned by LA Knight, who consequently qualified for the men’s Elimination Chamber match on Raw.

Penta was the third wrestler in that qualifier but avoided the pinfall loss. The masked man has now gone after both Breakker and Theory. Reports suggest that Seth Rollins is the mastermind behind it, with Grayson Waller acting as his body double to do his dirty work until he’s medically cleared to compete.

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