Lyra Valkyria
Birth nameAoife Cusack
Born (1996-10-23) 23 October 1996
Dublin, Ireland
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Aoife Valkyrie[1][2]
Lady Valkyrie
Lyra Valkyria[3]
Valkyrie Cain
Valkyrie[4]
Billed weight130 lb (59 kg)
Billed fromDublin, Ireland[3]
Trained byFight Factory Pro Wrestling[5]
DebutMay 2, 2015[5]

Aoife Cusack (born 23 October 1996) is an Irish professional wrestler. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Lyra Valkyria and is the current NXT Women's Champion in her first reign.[3]

Professional wrestling career

Early career (2015–2020)

After being a student of Fight Factory Pro Wrestling for one year, Cusack made her debut in 2015 adopting the ring name Valkyrie Cain (after the protagonist of the Skulduggery Pleasant book series by Derek Landy).[6]

WWE (2020–present)

Cusack was reported to have signed with WWE on 20 January 2020, now operating under the ring name Aoife Valkyrie.[1] However, Valkyrie competed in her first match on NXT UK on 17 January 2020, defeating Amale. She then defeated Isla Dawn the next night on 18 January 2020, and defeated Amale again on the same night. On 26 March 2020, Valkyrie defeated Nina Samuels.[7]

In February 2020, Valkyrie toured with WWE's US-based NXT brand for the first time, wrestling on two house shows in Florida. Valkyrie defeated Aliyah on 14 February in Tampa, followed by defeating Jessi Kamea, MJ Jenkins, and Taynara on 15 February in a six-woman tag team match at a Fort Pierce house show, where she teamed up with Mia Yim and Rita Reis.[7]

Valkyrie made her return to television on the 17 September 2020 episode of NXT UK in a winning effort against Isla Dawn, and on 29 October 2020 she competed against Dani Luna, again in a winning effort. Valkyrie remained undefeated until 29 April 2021 when she lost to Meiko Satomura.[8][9]

Valkyrie remained with NXT UK until its closing in fall 2022, then moving to the U.S. later in the year to wrestle in NXT under the ring name Lyra Valkyria. On 13 December, Valkyria made her debut on NXT, defeating Amari Miller.[10] On the 21 March episode of NXT, Lyra beat Ivy Nile to qualify to the Ladder match for the NXT Women's Championship at NXT Stand & Deliver,[11] though she didn't manage to win the title at the event.[12] On the 9 May episode of NXT, she beat Kiana James to advance to the semi final of the tournament for the vacated NXT Women's Championship.[13] On 23 May she also defeated Cora Jade to advance to the final, facing Tiffany Stratton in NXT Battleground.[14] In which she was unable to win.[15] Valkyria defeated Becky Lynch to win her first NXT Women's Championship at Night 1 of Halloween Havoc.[16] On the 21 November episode of NXT, Valkyria successfully defended her title against Xia Li. On January 2, 2024, at New Year's Evil, Valkyria successfully defended her NXT Women's Championship against Blair Davenport.[17]

Championships and accomplishments

References

  1. 1 2 Nason, Josh (20 January 2020). "NXT UK signs Aoife Valkyrie, loses Jazzy Gabert to free agency". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Archived from the original on 21 January 2020. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  2. ↑ "Aoife Valkyrie def. Amale". WWE. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 "Lyra Valkyria". WWE. Archived from the original on 1 June 2023. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 Greer, Jamie (13 October 2019). "#AndNEW: Irish Duo Woke Queens Wins EVE Tag Team Championship". Last Word on Pro Wrestling. Archived from the original on 9 August 2022. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  5. 1 2 "Lyra Valkyria". Cagematch. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  6. ↑ @DerekLandy (27 February 2018). "For a whole load of reasons, this just makes me so happy and proud..." (Tweet). Archived from the original on 24 June 2023 – via Twitter.
  7. 1 2 "Matches « Aoife Valkyrie « Wrestlers Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
  8. ↑ Hendrix, Taeler (1 May 2021). "TAELER: Meiko Satomura Ends Aoife Valkyrie's Undefeated NXT UK Streak". Fightful. Shazzu, Inc. Archived from the original on 1 May 2021. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  9. ↑ Gronemann, Markus (29 April 2021). "NXT UK results: Meiko Satomura vs. Aoife Valkyrie". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Archived from the original on 29 April 2021. Retrieved 25 July 2021. This week's show featured Aoife Valkyrie and Meiko Satomura in a fantastic match with the "Final Boss" ending Valkyrie's 14-month winning streak.
  10. ↑ "Lyra Valkyria Debuts On 12/13 WWE NXT". Yahoo Entertainment. 14 December 2022. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  11. ↑ Mango, Anthony (21 March 2023). "WWE NXT Results for March 21, 2023". eWrestlingNews.com. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  12. ↑ Upton, Felix (1 April 2023). "Indi Hartwell Wins WWE NXT Women's Title At Stand & Deliver". Ringside News. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  13. ↑ Middleton, Marc (9 May 2023). "WWE NXT Results 5/9/2023". Wrestling Headlines. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  14. ↑ "Lyra Valkyria And Tiffany Stratton Advance To WWE NXT Women's Title Tournament Final". Wrestling Inc. 23 May 2023. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
  15. ↑ "Tiffany Stratton def. Lyra Valkyria – NXT Women's Championship". WWE. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  16. ↑ Berge, Kevin (25 October 2023). "WWE NXT Halloween Havoc 2023 Results: Winners, Live Grades, Reaction and Highlights". Bleacher Report.
  17. ↑ Brennan, Corey (9 December 2023). "Blair Davenport Wins Women's Iron Survivor Challenge At NXT Deadline". Fightful. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
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