CM Punk quits WWE [VIDEO]: A.J. Lee punished because of 'Best in the World,' forced to drop title to Paige of NXT?

A.J. Lee's 295-day reign as WWE Divas Champion came to an end on Monday Night RAW when NXT Women's Champion Paige appeared on the show and defeated her in an impromptu match, but now the question lingers if it had anything to do with CM Punk.

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Punk walked out on the WWE in January and hasn't appeared on WWE television ever since then while many have speculated that Lee may end up being on the receiving end of punishment due to Punk walking out on the company and her being in a relationship with him.

The rumors of Lee getting punished intensified when Punk and Lee got engaged two weekends ago and a 14-Diva match for her Divas Championship was announced for WrestleMania XXX on Sunday in New Orleans. Lee ended up winning the match at the WWE's marquee event, though she wouldn't make it out of RAW as champion.

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The engagement is reportedly an open and talked about topic in the locker room.

It's unknown whether Lee was actually indeed punished due to what Punk did or if the WWE felt like it was the right time to end her memorable reign and usher in some new Divas to shift the storylines in the aftermath of the biggest event of the year.

Lee came out on Monday and proclaimed herself to be the "Best Diva in the World," a play on Punk's "Best in the World" catch phrase, before she was interrupted by Paige. Lee then spoke down to Paige and challenged her to a match for the title on the show, which she eventually lost.

Punk has been very quiet about his WWE departure, and hasn't even used his Twitter account since Jan. 27 before he walked out Here is the last tweet from his @CMPunk handle:

The WWE was angry at Punk not only for walking out, but for failing to come to the Chicago RAW on March 3 to talk to officials about what bothered him. There was always speculation that he'd cool off and come back for WrestleMania, but with Sunday coming and going without any news from Punk, it appears he's indeed done with the company.

Lee is expected to move in with him in Chicago now that they're engaged, and there's no telling if the WWE opted to punish Lee as a way to get to Punk now that he won't be coming back. Punk was set to face Triple H at the biggest show of the year, but he was unhappy with that and wanted to main event.

Daniel Bryan was given the match with Triple H and the stipulation was added that the winner would go to the main event to take on Randy Orton and Batista for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in what was reported as a WWE "middle finger" to Punk for walking out and giving up that spot.

Bryan went on to win the championship in an iconic WrestleMania moment that gave him the spotlight while Punk has remained on the sidelines, out of the wrestling world's eye.

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