WWE superstar Lyra Valkyria has been tabbed by fans as a major star for the future ever since shining in NXT as a so-called white meat babyface. Her main strengths were in the ring, as she could tell a great story and put on a top match against anyone in between the ropes.
But on the main roster, it became clear to WWE that while Valkyria was great in the ring and could get people to like her at a basic level, she would need something more to her character in order to get fans to actually invest in her and care about her as something more than a garden variety mid-carder.
Although Valkyria made history as the first ever Women’s Intercontinental Champion, her finest work on the main roster didn’t actually begin until she started feuding with Becky Lynch a couple of month ago, and this rivalry against her highly accomplished Irish countrywoman brought something extra out of her character.
Lyra started to show an edge, fighting back Becky blow-for-blow on the microphone in promo segments that were as good as anything anyone else on Monday Night Raw was producing and arguably only surpassed by top main eventers John Cena and Cody Rhodes.
Lyra Valkyria got great guidance from Becky Lynch
Of course, Becky herself is an accomplished and victorious WrestleMania main eventer, and she no doubt imparted a lot of explicit and implicit wisdom on her mentee Valkyria during their rivalry.
Although Lynch was the one to walk away with the Intercontinental Championship, setting herself up for a major and long-awaited feud against fellow Horsewoman Bayley (whom she attacked at WrestleMania to mark her return), Valkyria could end up being the biggest winner of them all.
Beyond showing a new side to her character in the feud with Lynch, it looks like Valkyria could show even more layers with a completely different character by turning heel.
In a backstage segment with Bayley on the June 16 episode of WWE Raw in Green Bay, Wisconsin, ahead of the latter’s showdown with Lynch, Valkyria made it clear that she wasn’t backing down, and her mannerisms looked more than a little bit heelish.
WWE have a plan for her
Valkyria had a little evil glimmer in her eye and the moxie of Lynch, and her biting words that she will come after Bayley hard next seemed like a premonition of even more dastardly words to come as a heel.
WWE like to do this with up-and-coming wrestlers. They take someone who is a little bland as a babyface, put them in a feud with a major star, get another edge to them, turn them heel, fully unleash another side to them, and then ultimately turn them into a bad-ass babyface and a major star in the company.
It’s a blueprint as tried and true as time itself, and it looks like WWE are planning on doing this in the coming months with Valkyria, slow-burning a heel turn. Expect more subtle teases to her character like this one before WWE give Valkyria a huge moment to cement her heel turn and status as one of the big stars in pro wrestling right now.
They put the IC Title on her as the first ever winner of the new belt and gave her this high-octane feud with Becky for a reason. Valkyria is headed for greatness, and her segments with the likes of Lynch and Bayley are a clear indicator that WWE are backing Valkyria fully and have a plan in place for her. The heel turn is the next stop on a roadmap to Valkyria becoming a star close to the level of Becky and Bayley themselves.
Joe helped manage the pro wrestling site Daily DDT from 2017 to 2019. He has appeared in many wrestling podcasts and has had his work featured by mainstream media sites and professional wrestlers themselves. Joe also covers soccer, writing about Tottenham for Hotspur HQ, Real Madrid for A Trip to Cibeles, and general world football for The Trivela Effect.