Wrestling fans have long memories. Especially when it involves someone as iconic as April Mendez—better known to the world as AJ Lee. For years, search engines have been cluttered with queries about an "AJ Lee video sex" scandal. Honestly, if you’ve spent any time in the darker corners of the internet or wrestling subreddits, you’ve probably seen the clickbait. It’s persistent. It’s often gross. And most importantly, it’s almost entirely built on a foundation of fiction and digital manipulation.
Let’s be real for a second. The wrestling industry has a messy history with privacy. From the tragic "Fappening" leaks that affected numerous stars to the rise of modern deepfakes, the line between an athlete's public persona and their private life gets blurred way too often. With AJ Lee, the "scandal" talk usually stems from two very different places: a scripted WWE storyline from 2012 and a much more sinister modern trend of AI-generated harassment.
The 2012 "AJ Scandal" vs. Reality
If you’re looking for the origin of the term "scandal" attached to her name, you have to look at WWE Raw in late 2012. Back then, AJ Lee was the General Manager of Raw. It was a chaotic era. Vickie Guerrero, playing the quintessential villain, accused AJ of having an "inappropriate relationship" with John Cena.
Vickie didn't just talk; she brought "evidence." We’re talking about:
- Staged security camera footage of them entering an elevator.
- Fabricated voicemails.
- Photos of a "business dinner" that looked like a date.
WWE literally branded this entire arc as "The AJ Scandal." For a few months, it was the central soap opera of Monday nights. Of course, in the world of professional wrestling, "scandal" is just another word for a mid-card feud. It eventually led to a romance between AJ and Cena on-screen, which then crashed and burned when she turned on him at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs to help Dolph Ziggler.
But here’s the thing: search algorithms don’t always know the difference between a scripted TV show and a real-life event. When people search for an AJ Lee "video" or "scandal," they often stumble upon old WWE clips. Over time, those legitimate wrestling clips get mixed up with malicious search terms, creating a confusing digital trail that suggests something much more "adult" than a PG-rated wrestling storyline.
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The Rise of AI and Deepfake Harassment
Fast forward to 2025 and 2026. The conversation has changed, and it’s gotten a lot uglier. Like many high-profile women in the public eye—think Taylor Swift or Scarlett Johansson—AJ Lee has been targeted by non-consensual AI-generated content.
In late 2025, several wrestling news outlets, including Wrestlezone and WrestlingHeadlines, reported on a specific incident where a fan created and shared a deepfake video of Mendez. This wasn't just a harmless edit. It was a manipulated video designed to look like a compromising or intimate situation.
AJ didn't stay silent. She’s never been one to back down. She explicitly called out the creator, labeling the content as harassment. It was a big moment for the wrestling community. A major convention even stepped in and banned the individual responsible for creating the AI "slop."
Why the rumors won't die
- Search Suggestion Loops: When people see "scandal" in a headline, they click. The more they click, the more Google thinks the topic is "trending."
- The CM Punk Connection: Being married to one of the most polarizing figures in wrestling history, CM Punk, keeps her in the spotlight. Any time Punk is in the news, searches for AJ spike.
- The "Anti-Diva" Allure: AJ Lee built her brand on being the girl-next-door who loved video games and comics. This specific "geek goddess" persona unfortunately makes her a frequent target for creepy internet subcultures that thrive on creating fake explicit content.
What AJ Lee is Actually Doing Now
If you want the real story of April Mendez, it has nothing to do with leaked videos and everything to do with being a powerhouse creator. After retiring from the ring in 2015 due to permanent damage to her cervical spine (she had three herniated discs), she pivoted hard.
She didn't just disappear. She wrote a New York Times bestseller, Crazy Is My Superpower, where she opened up about her diagnosis of bipolar disorder. She’s become a massive advocate for mental health, working with the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).
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She also became a legitimate screenwriter. Did you know she co-wrote the Netflix film Blade of the 47 Ronin? Or that she has a long-standing writing partnership with actress Aimee Garcia? They’ve worked on everything from GLOW comics to DC projects. That’s the real "video" work she’s doing—producing and writing actual media, not being the subject of basement-dweller deepfakes.
The Big 2025 Return
Wait, we should probably talk about the "is she back?" rumors. On September 5, 2025, the wrestling world lost its collective mind when AJ Lee actually showed up on SmackDown. She didn't just wave; she stepped in to help her husband, CM Punk, in a segment involving Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch.
As of early 2026, reports suggest she’s signed a multi-year deal. But it’s different this time. She’s older, she’s wiser, and she’s much more protective of her image. She’s not "skipping" as much as she’s commanding the room. This return has also reignited the "scandal" searches because a new generation of fans is discovering her for the first time. They see the old "AJ Scandal" clips from 2012, they see the fake AI stuff on Twitter (X), and they get confused.
How to Protect Yourself and the Stars You Like
When you see a link promising a "leaked" AJ Lee video, stop. Seriously.
First, these links are almost always malware. They are designed to phish your data or infect your device with trackers.
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Second, the wrestling industry is finally starting to treat these "leaks" and deepfakes as the crimes they are. Supporting this content—even out of curiosity—contributes to a culture of harassment that has driven talented women out of the industry before.
If you're a fan of AJ Lee, the best thing you can do is engage with her actual work. Buy her book. Watch her interviews where she talks about mental health. Support her comic books. She’s worked incredibly hard to move past the "crazy chick" gimmick and the tabloid nonsense that followed her WWE career.
Actionable Next Steps:
- Report the Fakes: If you see AI-generated adult content of AJ Lee (or any performer) on social media, use the platform's reporting tools for "Non-consensual Sexual Content."
- Check the Source: Before clicking a "scandal" headline, look at the URL. If it’s not a reputable news site like ESPN, The Sportster, or Fightful, it’s probably a scam.
- Read her Memoir: If you want to know the "private" AJ, get it from her own words in Crazy Is My Superpower. It’s way more interesting than any fake video.
April Mendez is a writer, an advocate, and a legendary athlete. She is not a headline for a fake scandal. Let’s keep it that way.
Expert Insight: The "AJ Lee video sex" searches are a classic case of Keyword Hijacking. Malicious actors take a real, scripted event (the 2012 WWE scandal) and append "sex" or "video" to it to trick search engines into showing their harmful or fake content. Staying informed means knowing the difference between a storyline and a privacy violation.
The reality of AJ Lee in 2026 is that she is a veteran leader in the locker room and a successful Hollywood writer. Her legacy is defined by breaking barriers for women in wrestling, not by the trolls trying to exploit her name.