I don't think there is any validity to this conspiracy theory. By that logic, Seth Rollins should hold his title until next year so he can't beat Punk's record and we can all forget about him too and WWE can live happily ever after. I mean no one is getting the Benoit treatment.
Cole even mentioned AJ Lee (and Eve Torres) last night when referring to Nikki's title reign.
That being said, AJ is very overrated by fans. Not saying she wasn't talented, she just gets way too much credit. She had a compelling character that connected with fans, but her in ring work isn't much better than most of the roster.
And while her promo skills were above average as far as WWE standards, most of her good promos were more about what she said, and no so much the delivery. What I mean by that is a lot of her promos stood out because she was allowed to say things that other divas weren't, similar to Punk. It's easier to get over when you blend fact with fiction and publically bash the company you work for. And making a mockery of Total Divas seemed like cheap heat to me.
The idea that AJ Lee is the best diva since Lita and Trish is just ridiculous. She is no where near there level and Mickie James, Victoria, Beth Phoenix, Gail Kim and Michelle McCool were all better in ring workers than she was.
Even when AJ was around, Natalya was still the best worker. But that's easy to forget since Nattie is on Total Divas and had a fart gimmick. But AJ is married to Punk, wears Chuck Taylor's, and never got a boob job.
AJ will always have her part in history and she deserves it. She was fun to watch and had a good run accomplishing things most Divas never will. But fans want to make her seem more special than she was. The Divas division will do well with Paige, Bellas, Nattie and let's not forget about the NXT Divas.