In the wake of her release from WWE, Taya Valkyrie took matters into her own hands, soon budding into arguably the hottest free agent on the professional wrestling circuit.
In 2022, “La Wera Loca” soared into the forefront of Major League Wrestling’s developing women’s division, returned to her old stomping grounds in AAA and IMPACT, and lent her veteran experience in new endeavors, including a debut in the NWA. Valkyrie’s upward trajectory soon became validated, as she ranked #10 on Pro Wrestling Illustrated’s Women’s 150 list, cementing herself as one of the top women in the game.
With MLW, Valkyrie captured the inaugural MLW Women’s World Featherweight Championship last May, extending her reign into the new year. “I like being part of it right now because they’re really focusing on the women’s division because they really didn’t have that at the forefront before,” she told Comedy Store Wrestling. In addition, Valkyrie appreciates the integration of the lucha style into the division as well — something she’s quite familiar with. “I really love how they feature Lucha Libre, how they have kind of people from all over the world there, and it’s just a really fun environment.”
Along the same scope, Valkyrie currently carries the AAA Reina De Reinas Championship. “I am really happy when I get to go there because I lived in Mexico City for five years. It is a huge part of who Taya is and what I represent. My heart lives there forever,” she said.
Mexico also happens to be home of one of Taya Valkyrie’s favorite matches she’s competed in. “I really like my street fight with Ayako Hamada in Tijuana. That was for the Reina De Reinas Championship. I was bleeding at that, and that was messy … I really like that one because I’ve known Ayako for a long time, and our styles work really well together, and we just beat the shit out of each other,” she recalled.
“Also really enjoyed doing the Monster’s Ball with the Knockouts [as well]. I believe that was in 2019, Slammiversary. Me, Rosemary, Havoc, Su Yung. I love my Knockouts. We all work so well together and trust each other and can really make really cool shit happen.”
In celebrating Taya’s successes in women’s wrestling, she recently revealed her own personal Mount Rushmore in the category. “I’m going to [first] go with Aja Kong,” she said. Continuing her list, Valkyrie named two former WWE Women’s Champions, her “homegirl” Trish Stratus, and the daredevil, Lita. To round out a hypothetical monument, Valkyrie included an homage to her grapplings in the lucha libre world. Former CMLL World Women’s Champion Lady Apache took the final spot.
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