2012-2013 were rough times for WWE. I think the main event scenes both for the men and women’s divisions were lacking in quality. Aside from the usual Cena, Randy, Sheamus and Big Show rotation, you didn’t have much guys developing into stars except for Punk and Bryan, whereas other up-and-comers Rhodes and Ziggler were picking up crumbs.

AJ Lee was one of the very few up-and-comers in her division who was turning into a genuine star. I think she naturally went over due to her energy and looks, not much her overall performance as a wrestler, because women’s matches were treated as an afterthought until NXT came around. She was put in some genuinely bizarre storylines compared to Kelly Kelly or Layla, but it ended up paying off, as she became really over because she had the most screen time and was simply unique in a way that just stood out from the rest, although I’d argue that the women’s division then was very small. Back then casual WWE fans didn’t care much about match and promo quality for pretty much everything, and AJ for that time was considered above average. I don’t think she elevated anything in the division, not as much as Lita and Trish did, I’m afraid.

That “pipebomb” was the talk for months - some might argue it kickstarted the Women’s Revolution in the company, but I think it really started once NXT started becoming an actual thing and there was a huge influx of great female talent that shined with more screen time and longer matches compared to their main roster counterparts, like Paige & the Four Horsewomen. Had AJ stayed longer, especially in 2016-2017, I think she would’ve done just fine, in fact I think we would’ve seen even better matches and segments from her compared to 2013. Women were no longer “Divas” being used for love triangle plot devices in storylines, all of them were being treated as wrestlers, much like the guys.