Flight of the Valkyria: How Lyra Ascended WWE Roster

NXT UK Breakout Moment

Valkyria first grabbed the attention of those within the WWE when she put on one of NXT UK’s best women’s matches. The undefeated Valkyria challenged Meiko Satomura in an empty BT Sport Studios.

It was a fantastic match that kept viewers guessing who would win. A few near falls for Valkyria made it look like she was going to defrone the great Satomura, but the Japanese legend came out on top.

Satomura validated Valkyria with a bow after the bell. An ACL injury staggered Valkyria’s rise, but this match was enough to earn her the move to the US.

Watch Valkyria vs. Satomura below as part of WWE’s collection of Satomura’s greatest matches. Match starts at 39 minutes.

Queen of the Ring Finals

It’s weird to say that getting sat on by Nia Jax was a breakout moment. But hear me out.

Valkyria’s semi-final victory over IYO SKY five days before the Queen of the Ring tournament final had been her first big win on WWE Raw. It was the third in a succession of tournament matches that also saw Valkyria defeat Dakota Kai and Zoey Stark.

There was a fear going into the final in Saudi Arabia that Valkyria was being forced on the WWE audience. Her loss to Jax diluted this feeling and helped fans to root for her in the next big match.

First WWE Intercontinental Champion

The women’s Intercontinental Championship seemed made for IYO SKY. But Valkyria again beat her in the tournament semi-final.

She instead met Kai on the second WWE Raw on Netflix. Going into the match, a lot was made of Valkyria struggling to fulfill her potential. The loss to Jax and not winning the Money in the Bank match were used to back up this narrative.

Valkyria fought against this and a valiant Kai to win and make history as the first women’s Intercontinental Champion. 

WrestleMania Dream Match

Becky Lynch’s shock return at WrestleMania 41 was one of the most viral moments from the weekend. Valkyria was front and centre in this as the tag team partner of “The Man”.

Lynch was a dream partner for Valkyria, who said seeing her on NXT was the fuse that lit her path to WWE. More than one billion people viewed WrestleMania 41 across social media. The over 60,000 live attendance also means Valkyria winning the Women’s Tag Team Championship at WrestleMania was her most-watched moment.

For this reason, it is undoubtedly her biggest breakout moment.

Valkyria Beat Lynch In Backlash Match of the Night

Lynch turned on Valkyria less than 24-hours after their title win. This fired Valkyria up once again. She finally showed what she could do on the microphone as the two built to a Backlash match.

At Backlash, they stole the show with the match of the night. This showed that Valkyria can continue to break out and fly to new heights.

The win over Lynch puts her at the upper echelon of WWE’s female talent. It also mirrored her win over Lynch in NXT at Halloween Havoc in 2023.

But it’s Valkyria’s refusal to let things lie that reflect she’s not one to rest on her laurels. Valkyria cost Lynch a Money in the Bank spot whilst showing she’s not done with her yet on WWE Raw.

The feud is likely to continue all summer and feature during the biggest ever WWE Summerslam.

Watch this space because Valkyria will continue to reach her potential and smash her own glass ceiling.

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