Aoife Cusack (born 23 October 1996) is an Irish

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

. She is currently signed to

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

, where she performs on the

NXT NXT may refer to: Professional wrestling * ''WWE NXT'', a professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that began in 2010 ** NXT (WWE brand), WWE's Florida-based brand and former developmental territory * ''NXT UK'', the British spin- ...

brand under the

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or projecting ...

Lyra Valkyria and is the current

NXT Women's Champion The NXT Women's Championship is a women's professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It is defended on the NXT brand division, the promotion's developmental territory. Introduced on April 5, 2013, th ...

in her first reign.

Professional wrestling career

Early career (2015–2020)

After being a student of

Fight Factory Pro Wrestling Fight Factory Pro Wrestling is an Irish professional wrestling promotion run by Phil Boyd on 16 May 2004 and based in Ireland. FFPW promotion tours theatres, leisure centres, and town halls. History 120px, upOwner and wrestler Phil Boyd Fight ...

for one year, Cusack made her debut in 2015 adopting the ring name Valkyrie Cain (after the

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...

of the ''

Skulduggery Pleasant ''Skulduggery Pleasant'' is a series of dark fantasy novels written by Irish author Derek Landy. The books revolve around the adventures of fledgling detective Valkyrie Cain, her mentor Skulduggery Pleasant, along with other friends and allie ...

'' book series by

Derek Landy Derek Landy (born 23 October 1974) is an Irish author and screenwriter, best known for the ''Skulduggery Pleasant'' book series. Career Landy has written two screenplays that have been made into films, the IFTA award-winning '' Dead Bodies'' an ...

WWE (2020–present)

Cusack was reported to have signed with WWE on 20 January 2020, now operating under the ring name Aoife Valkyrie. However, Valkyrie competed in her first match on

NXT UK ''NXT UK'' is a professional wrestling television programme that was produced exclusively in the United Kingdom by the American promotion WWE. It aired on BT Sport and 5Action (previously known as Paramount Network). In the United States, the s ...

on 17 January 2020, defeating Amale. She then defeated

Isla Dawn Courtney Florence Stewart (born 2 February 1994) is a Scottish professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, performs on the NXT brand under the ringname Isla Dawn. Professional wrestling career Independent circuit (2013–2016) On 17 Oct ...

the next night on 18 January 2020, and defeated Amale again on the same night. On 26 March 2020, Valkyrie defeated

Nina Samuels Samantha Allen (born 17 October 1988) is an English professional wrestler. She is most well known for her time in WWE where she performed on the NXT UK brand under the ring name Nina Samuels. Professional wrestling career British Empire Wre ...

. In February 2020, Valkyrie toured with WWE's US-based NXT brand for the first time, wrestling on two

house show A house show or live event is a professional wrestling event produced by a major promotion that is not televised, though they can be recorded. Promotions use house shows mainly to cash in on the exposure that they and their wrestlers receive du ...

s in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. Valkyrie defeated

Aliyah Aliyah (, ; he, עֲלִיָּה ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from Jewish diaspora, the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel, which is in the modern era chiefly represented by the Israel, State of Israel ...

on 14 February in

Tampa Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough County ...

, followed by defeating Jessi Kamea, MJ Jenkins, and Taynara on 15 February in a

six-woman tag team match Much like the singles match, tag team professional wrestling matches can and have taken many forms. Just about any singles or melee match type can be adapted to tag teams; for example, hardcore tag team matches are commonplace. Tag team ladder ma ...

at a

Fort Pierce Fort Pierce is a city in and the county seat of St. Lucie County, Florida, United States. The city is part of the Treasure Coast region of Atlantic Coast Florida. It is also known as the Sunrise City, sister to San Francisco, California, the Suns ...

house show, where she teamed up with

Mia Yim Stephanie Hym Lee (née Bell; born April 16, 1989) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw brand under the ring name "Michin" Mia Yim. She is a member of The O.C.. She is also known for her tim ...

and Rita Reis. 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 Meiko Satomura (里村明衣子, Satomura Meiko, born November 11, 1979) is a Japanese professional wrestler. She is currently signed to the American promotion WWE performing on the NXT brand and the Japanese promotion Sendai Girls' Pro Wrestlin ...

. Valkyrie remained with NXT UK until its closing in fall 2022, then moving to the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

later in the year to wrestle in

under the ring name Lyra Valkyria. On 13 December, Valkyria made her debut on NXT, defeating Amari Miller. On the 21 March episode of NXT, Lyra beat

Ivy Nile Diamond Mine is an American professional wrestling stable formed in the professional wrestling promotion WWE on the NXT brand. Formed in June 2021, the group is led by Roderick Strong and includes Brutus Creed, Julius Creed, Ivy Nile & Tatum Pax ...

to qualify to the

Ladder match A ladder match is a type of match in professional wrestling, most commonly one in which an item (usually a title belt) is hung above the ring, and the winner is the contestant who climbs a ladder and retrieves the item. The ladder itself becom ...

for the

NXT Women's Championship The NXT Women's Championship is a women's professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It is defended on the NXT brand division, the promotion's developmental territory. Introduced on April 5, 2013, th ...

at NXT Stand & Deliver, though she didn't manage to win the title at the event. On the 9 May episode of NXT, she beat

Kiana James Kayla Klingensmith (' Inlay; born May 23, 1997), is an American professional wrestler. She is currently signed to WWE performing under the ring name Kiana James and is a former NXT Women's Tag Team Champion. Early life Inlay was born in Sioux ...

to advance to the semi final of the tournament for the vacated

. On 23 May she also defeated

Cora Jade Brianna Coda (born January 14, 2001) is an American professional wrestler. She is signed to WWE, performing on the NXT brand under the ring name Cora Jade, where she is a former NXT Women's Tag Team Champion. Before signing to WWE, she previous ...

to advance to the final, facing Tiffany Stratton in NXT Battleground. In which she was unable to win. Valkyria defeated

Becky Lynch Rebecca Quin (born 30 January 1987) is an Irish professional wrestler. She is signed to WWE under the ring name Becky Lynch where she performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw WWE brand extension, brand. Lynch is one of WWE's most recognizable and ...

to win her first NXT Women's Championship at Night 1 of

Halloween Havoc Halloween Havoc is a professional wrestling event currently produced by WWE for the company's developmental brand, NXT. As the name implies, it is a Halloween-themed show held in October. It was originally produced as an annual pay-per-view (PPV ...

. On the 21 November episode of ''NXT,'' Valkyria successfully defended her title against

Xia Li Zhao Xia (; born July 28, 1988) is a Chinese-American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown WWE brand extension, brand under the ring name Xia Li ...

. On January 2, 2024, at New Year's Evil, Valkyria successfully defended her NXT Women's Championship against

Blair Davenport Beatrice St. Clere Priestley (born 22 March 1996) is an English-New Zealand professional wrestler, best known by the ring name Bea Priestley. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Blair Davenpor ...

. After their match,

Lola Vice Valerie Loureda (born July 19, 1998) is an American professional wrestler and mixed martial artist currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Lola Vice. As a mixed martial artist, she competed in the women's ...

tried to cash in her Breakout Tournament contract, only to be stopped by

Tatum Paxley Natalie Holland (born October 29, 1996) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE on the NXT brand performing under the ring name Tatum Paxley. Professional wrestling career WWE (2021–present) Holland was hired by WWE i ...

, who has developed an obsession and a crush on Valkyria since last December. At NXT Vengeance Day on February 4, Valkyria successfully retained the NXT Women's Championship against

Roxanne Perez Carla Gonzalez (born November 5, 2001) is an American professional wrestler signed to WWE where she performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Roxanne Perez, where she is the current NXT Women's Champion in her first reign. She is a former ...

and

, who cashed in her Breakout Tournament contract while the match was in progress, making it a triple threat. On the February 20 episode of NXT, Valkyria defended the NXT Women's Championship against

Shotzi Ashley Louise Urbanski (born March 14, 1992) is an American professional wrestler and singer. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Shotzi (shortened from her previous ring name Shotzi Black ...

. During the match, Shotzi suffered a torn ACL, forcing the match to be called off. NXT General Manager Ava announced an open challenge to face Valkyria for the NXT Women's Championship match, which

Lash Legend Anriel Howard (born May 6, 1997) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE where she performs on its NXT brand under the ring name Lash Legend. She is also a former college and professional ( WNBA) basketball player. Profess ...

answered. Valkyria successfully retained the title against Legend.

Championships and accomplishments

* Pro-Wrestling: EVE ** Pro-Wrestling: EVE Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) – with Debbie Keitel ** Pro-Wrestling: EVE Tag Team Championship Tournament (2019) – with Debbie Keitel * ''

Pro Wrestling Illustrated ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publish ...

'' ** Ranked No. 73 of the top 150 women's wrestlers in the ''

PWI Women's 150 ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publishi ...

'' in 2021 * Pro Wrestling Ulster ** PWU Women's Championship (1 time) *

Over the Top Wrestling Over the Top Wrestling, commonly abbreviated to OTT, is an Irish professional wrestling promotion based in Dublin, Ireland, that was founded in 2014. The promotion mixes elements of traditional pro wrestling, comedy and sports entertainment. Over ...

** OTT Women's Championship (1 time) *

( 1 time, current) * Zero1 Ireland/Fight Factory Pro Wrestling ** Irish Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Valkyrie, Aoife 1996 births Living people Irish female professional wrestlers Sportspeople from Dublin (city) 21st-century female professional wrestlers Irish expatriate sportspeople in the United States NXT Women's Champions