- Lyra Valkyria was crowned as the first ever Women’s Intercontinental Champion, in January
- Valkyria has already worked with some of the biggest female stars in WWE
- The former NXT Women’s Champion has her sights set on her dream match at WrestleMania 41
Lyra Valkyria has made a pretty big first impression on WWE audiences, it’s fair to say. Arriving on the main roster from NXT in 2024, Valkyria wasted no time reaching the final of the Queen Of The Ring tournament. Then only a few short months later, the former NXT Women’s Champion made history by becoming the inaugural Women’s Intercontinental Champion.
Now, the 28-year-old Dublin native has her sights set on a dream match at WrestleMania 41.
During WrestleMania weekend last year, Lyra Valkyria was stealing the show in a losing effort to Roxanne Perez in front of a sellout crowd of over 16,000 people at NXT: Stand and Deliver. But while Valkyria may have dropped her NXT Women’s Title that night, long-term, she set herself on a trajectory that leaves her on the precipice of a match on the grandest stage of all.
This year’s WrestleMania will emanate from the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas across April 19 and April 20.With two nights to fill, chances are we will see somewhere in the region of 14 matches booked across WWE’s biggest weekend of the year. With her new title in tow, the first ever Women’s Intercontinental Champion is determined to make her mark at what would be her first ever ‘Mania. And she knows exactly who her opponent should be to mark such a potentially momentous occasion.
Lyra Valkyria is ready for Asuka
Speaking exclusively to Pubity during a recent interview, Valkyria named the opponent she wants to stand across the squared circle from in Las Vegas, in April.
“A match that got away from me would be to face Asuka,” Valkyria begins, “That would be pretty massive. When I was first debuting on Monday Night Raw, I’ll never forget watching Backlash in France and that’s when I discovered what my debut match would be, which was supposed to be Asuka. Unfortunately she got hurt and I ended up wrestling Dakota Kai, which ended up being quite poetic in itself as we circled back to me and Dakota in a big history making moment. But yeah, that would definitely be a nice match to circle back to, to get to wrestle Asuka.”
With major victories over the likes of Dakota Kai, Iyo Sky, Kairi Sane and Becky Lynch to her name, Valkyria is clearly being positioned by WWE’s Chief Content Officer Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque as a major part of the promotion for years to come. And it was Valkyria’s NXT Title victory over Lynch in 2023 that seemed to cement those intentions.
Learning from The Man
‘The Man’ has continued to be a major part of Valkyria’s career, with the future Hall of Famer leaving her door permanently open for her fellow Emerald Isle native to seek any help or inspiration from.
“Becky has always made it very clear that she is there for me. I think it’s a really lovely thing that a lot of the Irish have that we’re very much rooting for each other to do well. She told me, I’ll never forget, she said to never doubt what I bring to the table, because it’s a lot more than I realise. Betting on myself is the advice that she gave me. To trust myself and trust that I have what it takes.
“To have that said. Anyone could say those words, but coming from Becky, who’s broken all the glass ceilings and done absolutely everything, it’s never gonna mean more than coming from her.”
Given that Lynch is rumoured to be returning to the WWE ring in the next few weeks and that she has a penchant for making history, especially at WrestleMania, what’s to say we couldn’t see an all-Irish Intercontinental Title match between her and Valkyria at this year’s Grandaddy of ’em All?
In the more immediate future, however, Lyra will no doubt be looking forward to the road to WrestleMania, rather than the actual Show of Shows just yet, which will take in a lengthy European tour in March, across nine countries in two-and-a-half weeks. The tour will include Monday Night Raw emanating from Brussels, Glasgow and London, while SmackDown will come live from Barcelona, Bologna and London.
WWE is available to watch on Netflix in the UK, including Raw, SmackDown, NXT, all Premium Live Events and the WWE archive.
Tickets to Friday Night SmackDown and Monday Night Raw at London’s O2 Arena this March are available now at axs.com
