Lyra Valkyria has seen her career reach new heights. The Irish WWE warrior became the first-ever Women’s Intercontinental Champion at the start of the year. This came just a few months after reaching a life milestone of getting engaged to longtime boyfriend and fellow pro wrestler LJ Cleary. 

The Raw superstar was elevated further by working with the likes of Bayley and Becky Lynch. She became Women’s Tag Team Champions with the latter at WrestleMania. A rivalry ignited between the two when Lynch turned on Valkyria the next night, costing them the gold. Their heated feud helped bring the affectionately dubbed “Bird Lady” into the spotlight. 

Here Valkyria opens up about her evolution, fiancé’s WWE’s tryout, and the growing popularity of women’s wrestling. 

How do you reflect on these recent months working closely with Becky Lynch as an opponent? It looked like you got more comfortable on the microphone through that experience. 

Lyra Valkyria: It has been an incredible few months. Now I’m looking back on my reign as IC Champion for the first time and everything that has happened with Becky and Bayley over the last few months. I now have this really cool catalog of matches. I’m creating this body of work that I’m really proud of. I’ll tell people all the time when I first started watching WWE, I used to fast forward the matches to get to the winner and what happened at the end. What they said to each other. I’ve always had an appreciation for that side of it. To get to now do more of that and do it against people I looked up to and made me want to do this has been amazing. 

What has the adjustment been like as you’ve become a more well-known figure on WWE TV? More people are getting to know you. They have an opinion for everything from your “Becky Stompers” boots to even the twirl you did on Raw a few weeks ago. How do you take in all this feedback, especially on social media? 

I try not to lean into social media too much. It has been great doing these little things. It’s always a marathon and not a sprint. I would say people have to go out and try things and go through the ups and downs. I love my chunky shoes. Chunky shoes and a little blue will always be my thing. 

Tell me about your presentation. What goes into putting that together? Where do you find inspiration? 

My inspiration comes from an Irish mythology goddess called the Morrigan, who is basically Ireland’s version of the Valkyrie. That’s where it all came from. The audience is so funny. I have all this research and want it to look like this and that. There was so much work into it. Then it’s broken down into, “Bird Lady!”

They are also really responding to your entrance theme. You never know what will connect. When was the first time you felt that? 

I always have the NXT crowd to thank for the chants that happen when I do my entrance. That started in NXT. It’s that close-knit, homegrown crowd that comes back every time. It was pretty crazy when it started. The fact it stuck and evolved to the point of people doing it during WrestleMania. That’s very cool. 

LJ Cleary

I read LJ [Cleary] had a tryout. How is it sharing this journey together? You’ve been doing this around the same time, right? 

Yeah, 10 years for me. About 11ish for him. I’m so happy for  him because I got into this as a teenager, but he has been the biggest fan [of wrestling] since he came out of the womb. It’s his everything. I’ve been riding this wave a little bit, but to see him get his start now and to see his star really rise this year in the place he wants to be more than anything. It’s so amazing. I’m just so happy for him. 

Did you give him any tips before the tryout? 

Honestly, it’s him that gives me tips more often than not. He was a big part of coaching me. Whenever he asks for advice, I’m more like, “I don’t want to taint anything you have naturally.” He is incredible on his own. I never want to sway him. I always think it’s his good instinct that will take him to where he wants to be. 

Where do you think the landscape of WWE is now? 

It’s hard to say because I’ve only been around now, but I could not have found a better time to be part of this locker room than right now. I really feel that, especially at Evolution. It’s so hard to talk about a feeling in this setting, but I wish I could take the atmosphere and good vibes and camaraderie between the girls at Evolution and show that to the world. I think that was a big reason the show ended up so good and why we knocked it out of the park. 

It’s because we are all rooting for each other, but there is still a level of competition. I have to talk about the appreciation we got from the crowd as well. That moment before the bell rang before our first match, the rise in the way the people came up. It was like they were saying they wanted this show and wanted more from us. We really took in that appreciation that day, especially even going up with all the events that were happening that weekend. Beyoncé was across the road, but I think the crowd went out of their way to show us the love.

I love the passion you have. I think we need another Evolution now. 

I think so too! 

WWE Raw, Mondays, 8/7c, Netflix

WWE SmackDown, 8/7c, USA Network 

WWE Clash in Paris, August 31, 2/1c, Peacock