Checking in with AJ MENDEZ

First and foremost, AJ Mendez regards herself as a storyteller.

As a pro wrestler in the WWE, her character AJ Lee was part of numerous storylines. Now retired, she tells stories from behind the mic as color commentator and executive producer of “WOW – Women of Wrestling,” which premieres in syndication the weekend of Saturday, Sept. 17.

“Storytelling is really what saved my life growing up,” explains Mendez, who is also an author and mental health advocate. “I grew up kind of rough in New Jersey, and being able to write my own stories and create my own comic books and superheroes saved my life, and that escapism is really what my heart is in.

“And I found that in pro wrestling and I found that in film school,” continues the former student of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. “And so once wrestling, that chapter was closed, it was cool, too, to find that storytelling in a different way. And now combining both of them is kind of a dream situation.”

And storytelling is integral to “WOW.” Created by David McLane (the founder of the original “GLOW: Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling”) and owned by Los Angeles Lakers President Jeanie Buss, the series blends ring action with the personal stories of the wrestlers.

From 2007 to 2015, Mendez was one of them in the WWE. But now she’s content to sit ringside with host Stephen Dickey and watch a new generation of women perform and help them advance their careers.

“To be in a role where I feel like I can help women whose shoes I was in a decade ago feel comfortable and safe and seen,” Mendez says, “it’s just been really cool to make sure that we have this product that is inclusive and forward-thinking and is just empowering and uplifting.”

Full name: April Jeanette Mendez

Birth date: March 19, 1987

Birthplace: Union City, N.J.

Marital status: Wed fellow WWE wrestler CM Punk in 2014

Other television credits include: “WWE Superstars,” “WrestleMania XXVIII,” “SummerSlam,” “WWE Saturday Morning Slam,” “WrestleMania 29,” “WWE NXT,” “WrestleMania XXX,” “WWE Smackdown!,” “Wrestlemania 31,” “WWE Raw”

Movie credits: “Rabid” (2019)

Writing credits: The 2017 autobiography “Crazy Is My Superpower: How I Triumphed by Breaking Bones, Breaking Hearts, and Breaking the Rules”

Favorite book: “Probably ‘How to Be a Woman’ by Caitlin Moran, is really good. ‘Sort of Truth and Love,’ it’s a fantasy series by Terry Goodkind. ‘Love at First Bark’ – I love that – by Julie Klam. I can’t pick one. It’s really hard.”

Favorite movie: “One of the classics I would go to for inspiration is ‘Clueless.’ I feel like people don’t expect that one but it is a really wonderful combination of different tones and it’s female-led and female-conceptualized and I think it’s really funny and happy. It’s like my happy place to be.”

Favorite musical artist: “Princess Nokia. Love her, she’s a Puerto Rican rapper. I love the band Metric. I’m a little all over the place when it comes to my musical tastes. I love

Ingrid Michaelson.”