Aoife Cusack (born 23 October 1996) is an Irish

professional wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...

. She is signed to

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...

, where she performs on the Raw

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's goods or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create and ...

under the

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name or nickname 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 ...

Lyra Valkyria. She is a former one-time and the inaugural Women’s Intercontinental Champion, a one-time

NXT Women's Champion The NXT Women's Championship is a women's professional wrestling Championship (professional wrestling), championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion, promotion WWE. It is defended on NXT (WWE brand), NXT, th ...

and a one-time WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion.

Professional wrestling career

Early career (2015–2020)

After being a student of

Fight Factory Pro Wrestling Fight Factory Pro Wrestling (FFPW), also known as Zero1 Ireland, is an Irish wrestling training school and professional wrestling promotion run by Phil Boyd and Katey Harvey, based in Dublin. FFPW promotion tours theatres, leisure centres, and ...

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 ...

of the ''

Skulduggery Pleasant ''Skulduggery Pleasant'' is a series of Dark fantasy, dark fantasy novels written by Irish author Derek Landy. Tom Percival is the series' illustrator. The books revolve around the adventures of fledgling detective Valkyrie Cain and her mentor ...

'' book series by

Derek Landy Derek Landy (born 23 October 1974) is an Irish author and screenwriter, known for the ''Skulduggery Pleasant'' and ''Demon Road'' book series. Since 2018, he has also written numerous comic book series at Marvel Comics. Career Landy has written ...

WWE

NXT UK and NXT (2020–2024)

Cusack was reported to have signed with

on 20 January 2020, and was assigned the ring name Aoife Valkyrie. She competed in her first match on 13 February episode of ''NXT UK'', defeating

Amale Amale () is a village development committee in Sindhuli District in the Janakpur Zone of south-eastern Nepal. At the time of the 1991 Nepal census The 1991 Nepal census was a widespread national census conducted by the Nepal Central Bureau o ...

. In February, Valkyrie toured with the NXT

for the first time, wrestling on two

house show A house show (also commonly called a live event) is a professional wrestling event produced by a major Professional wrestling promotion, promotion that is not televised, though they can be recorded. Promotions use house shows mainly to cash in o ...

s in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. Valkyrie defeated

Aliyah ''Aliyah'' (, ; ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from Jewish diaspora, the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel or the Palestine (region), Palestine region, which is today chiefly represented by the Israel ...

on 14 February in

Tampa Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa'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 t ...

, followed by defeating Jessi Kamea,

MJ Jenkins Monique Jacqueline Williams-Jenkins (born July 24, 1991) is an Americans, American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler known by her ring name M. J. Jenkins She was previously signed to National Wrestling Alliance, NWA. Jenkins has mad ...

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 m ...

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 Florida’s Atlantic Coast. It is also known as the Sunrise City. Per the 2020 United States census, 2020 ...

house show, where she teamed up with

Mia Yim Stephanie Hym Lee (née Bell; born April 16, 1989), better known by the ring name Mia Yim, is an American professional wrestler. She is signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Michin ( , ). Bell is also kno ...

and Rita Reis. She made her return to television on 17 September 2020 episode of ''NXT UK'' in a winning effort against

Isla Dawn Courtney Stewart (born 2 February 1994) is a Scottish professional wrestler. She is best known for her tenure in WWE, where she performed under the ring name Isla Dawn. She was one-half of The Unholy Union with Alba Fyre, with whom she was a one ...

. Valkyrie remained undefeated until 29 April 2021 when she lost to

Meiko Satomura is a Japanese retired professional wrestler. She is known for her time in American promotion WWE and in Japanese promotion Sendai Girls' Pro Wrestling. She is the former two-time Sendai Girls World Champion and a former one-time NXT UK Wom ...

. Valkyrie remained with

NXT UK ''NXT UK'' was 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 ...

until its closing in fall 2022, after which she moved to NXT under the new ring name Lyra Valkyria. She made her in-ring debut on 13 December episode, defeating Amari Miller. On 21 March 2023 episode of ''NXT'', Valkyria defeated Ivy Nile to qualify for a

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 become ...

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 NXT, the promotion's developmental brand. The current champion is Jacy Jayne, who is in her fi ...

at NXT Stand & Deliver on 1 April, but failed to win the title. Valkyria then took part in an eight-woman

single-elimination tournament A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, ...

for the vacated title, losing to

Tiffany Stratton Jessica Lynn Woynilko (born May 1, 1999) is an American professional wrestler and former gymnast. She is signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Tiffany Stratton and is the current WWE Women's Champion in he ...

in the finals on 28 May at NXT Battleground. On 25 July episode of ''NXT'', Valkyria faced Women's World Champion

Rhea Ripley Demi Bennett (born 11 October 1996) is an Australian professional wrestler. As of July 2017, she is signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw WWE brand extension, brand under the ring name Rhea Ripley. She is a List of Women ...

in a losing effort, but teamed with Dragon Lee to defeat Ripley and

NXT North American Champion The NXT North American Championship is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It is defended as the secondary men's championship of NXT, the promotion's developmental brand. The current champio ...

"Dirty" Dominik Mysterio in a

mixed 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 ...

at NXT Heatwave on 22 August. On 3 October episode of ''NXT'', Valkyria earned another title opportunity by defeating former NXT Women's Champions

Roxanne Perez Carla Gonzalez (born November 5, 2001) is an American professional wrestler. , she is signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Roxanne Perez. She is a former two-time NXT Women's Champion, and a former NXT Women' ...

and

Indi Hartwell Samantha De Martin (born 17 August 1996), better known by the ring name Indi Hartwell, is an Australian professional wrestler. She is signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). She is best known for her tenure in WWE from 2019 to 2024, wh ...

in a

triple threat match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called " gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a storyline. ...

as proposed by champion

Becky Lynch Rebecca Quin (born 30 January 1987), better known by the ring name Becky Lynch, is an Irish professional wrestler. She is signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw brand and is the current WWE Women’s Intercontinental Champion in her ...

, whom she bested to win the NXT Women's Championship at Night 1 of ''NXT'': Halloween Havoc on 24 October. On 21 November episode of ''NXT,'' Valkyria successfully defended her title against

Xia Li Xia Zhao (; born July 28, 1988) is a Chinese professional wrestler and mixed martial artist signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) under the ring name Léi Yǐng Lee. She also makes appearances on the independent circuit under her real ...

in her first defense. At ''NXT'': New Year's Evil on 2 January 2024, Valkyria retained the title against

Blair Davenport Beatrice St. Claire Terry (née Priestley, born 22 March 1996) is an English-New Zealander professional wrestler. She is a freelancer, performing for various promotions such as New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). She previously performed in WWE und ...

. After the match,

Lola Vice Valerie Loureda (born July 19, 1998) is an American professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist. She is 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 wo ...

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

Tatum Paxley Natalie Holland, better known by her ring name Tatum Paxley, is an American professional wrestler. , she is signed to WWE where she performs on the NXT brand. Background Holland's athletic experience includes cheerleading and powerlifting.

, who had been obsessed with Valkyria since December. At NXT Vengeance Day on 4 February, Valkyria retained the title against Perez and Vice, who cashed in her Breakout Tournament contract while the match was in progress to make it a triple threat match. On 20 February episode of ''NXT'', Valkyria defended the NXT Women's Championship against

Shotzi Ashley Louise Alfaro (Birth name, née Urbanski; born March 14, 1992), better known by the ring name Shotzi Blackheart, is an American professional wrestler. She is best known for her tenure in WWE, where she performed under the ring name Shotzi ...

. During the match, Shotzi suffered a

torn ACL An anterior cruciate ligament injury occurs when the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is either stretched, partially torn, or completely torn. The most common injury is a complete tear. Symptoms include pain, an audible cracking sound during in ...

and Valkyria won by referee's decision. NXT General Manager

Ava Ava or AVA may refer to: Places Asia and Oceania * Ava Kingdom, in upper Burma from 1364 to 1555 ** Inwa, formerly Ava, the capital of Ava Kingdom ** Earl of Ava, a British colonial earldom in Burma * Ava, Iran, Gilan Province, a village * Iva ...

announced an open challenge for the title, which Lash Legend answered, who Valkyria subsequently defeated to retain the title. On 5 March at ''NXT'': Roadblock, Valkyria and Paxley faced The Kabuki Warriors ( Asuka and

Kairi Sane is a Japanese professional wrestler and actress. she is signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw brand under the ring name . From 2012 to 2017, she wrestled for the Japanese promotion World Wonder Ring Stardom under the ring name . E ...

) for the

WWE Women's Tag Team Championship The WWE Women's Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling Women's Tag Team Championship, women's tag team Professional wrestling, championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion, promotion WWE. It is th ...

as a reward from Valkyria to Paxley for the latter not interfering with the former's title matches the previous week, but they failed to win the titles after Valkyria inadvertently kicked Paxley. After the match, Perez attacked Valkyria and injured her arm. At NXT Stand & Deliver on 6 April, Valkyria lost the NXT Women's Championship to Perez by submission, ending her reign at 165 days. On the following episode of ''NXT'', Paxley turned on Valkyria and she eventually revealed that her obsession with Valkyria was only because she had the NXT Women's Championship. At Week 1 of ''Spring Breakin on 23 April, Valkyria failed to regain the title from Perez in a triple threat match also involving Paxley in what was her final match in NXT.

Inaugural Women's Intercontinental Champion (2024–present)

On Night 2 of the 2024 WWE Draft, Valkyria was promoted to the Raw brand. On 6 May episode of '' Raw'', Valkyria made her on-screen debut saving then- Women's World Champion Becky Lynch from a beatdown by

Damage CTRL was a professional wrestling stable in WWE. The group was formed in July 2022 at SummerSlam (2022), SummerSlam by Bayley (wrestler), Bayley alongside Dakota Kai and Iyo Sky. Damage CTRL quickly became prominent in WWE’s women’s division, wit ...

Dakota Kai Cheree Georgina "Charlie" Crowley (born 6 May 1988) is a New Zealand professional wrestler. She is best known for her time in the WWE, where she performed under the ring name Dakota Kai. Prior to her signing with WWE, Crowley performed under t ...

Iyo Sky is a Japanese professional wrestler. She is signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw brand under the ring name (stylized in all caps) and is the current Women’s World Champion in her first reign. She is also a former two-time WWE W ...

and Kairi Sane. At the same time, Valkyria defeated Kai in the first round of the

Queen of the Ring tournament The Queen of the Ring tournament, originally known as the Queen's Crown, is a women's professional wrestling single-elimination tournament held periodically by WWE, a Connecticut-based professional wrestling promotion. Established in 2021, the winn ...

in her main roster in-ring debut. She qualified to the finals at

King and Queen of the Ring King and Queen of the Ring, formerly and still commonly known as simply King of the Ring, was a professional wrestling event produced by WWE, a Connecticut-based professional wrestling promotion. The event was established in 1993 and originally c ...

on 25 May where she lost to

Nia Jax Savelina Fanene (born May 29, 1984) is an Australian American professional wrestler. She is signed to WWE where she performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Nia Jax ( ). Fanene signed to WWE in early 2014 and was first assigned to th ...

, marking her first loss on the main roster. On 24 June episode of ''Raw'', Valkyria defeated

Shayna Baszler Shayna Andrea Baszler ( ; born August 8, 1980) is an American professional wrestler and a former kickboxer and mixed martial artist. She is best known for her time in WWE, where she became a former List of NXT Women's Champions, two-time and lon ...

and Sane in a triple threat match to qualify for the women's

Money in the Bank ladder match The Money in the Bank ladder match is a multi-person ladder match held by the professional wrestling promotion WWE. First performed at WWE's annual WrestleMania event beginning in 2005, a separate WWE Money in the Bank, Money in the Bank event w ...

at Money in the Bank on 6 July, which was won by Tiffany Stratton. Valkyria returned to ''NXT'' on 3 September to save Paxley from a beatdown by

Wendy Choo Karen Yu (born January 18, 1992) is an American professional wrestler. She is signed to WWE, where she performs on the NXT (WWE brand), NXT and Evolve (WWE brand), Evolve WWE brand extension, brands under the ring name Wendy Choo. She is also kno ...

and

TNA Wrestling Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (abbreviated as TNA Wrestling or TNA) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment, a Canadian media company owned by busine ...

Rosemary ''Salvia rosmarinus'' (), commonly known as rosemary, is a shrub with fragrant, evergreen, needle-like leaves and white, pink, purple, or blue flowers. It is a member of the sage family, Lamiaceae. The species is native to the Mediterranean r ...

, reuniting with Paxley in the process. On the following day's episode of ''

Speed In kinematics, the speed (commonly referred to as ''v'') of an object is the magnitude of the change of its position over time or the magnitude of the change of its position per unit of time; it is thus a non-negative scalar quantity. Intro ...

'', Valkyria lost to Sky in the first round of the tournament to crown the inaugural Speed Women's Champion. In December, Valkyria entered the tournament for the inaugural Women's Intercontinental Championship, defeating Kai in the finals on 13 January 2025 episode of ''Raw'' to become the inaugural champion. At

Royal Rumble The Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. It is named after, and centered on, the Royal Rumble match, a modified Battle royal (professional wre ...

on 1 February, she entered her first women's

Royal Rumble match The Royal Rumble match is a professional wrestling match based on the classic battle royal match in which a number of wrestlers (traditionally 30) aim at eliminating their competitors by tossing them over the top rope, with both feet touching the ...

at number 4, but was eliminated by Nile. Over the following months, Valkyria successfully defended her title against Kai in a rematch as well as the likes of Nile,

Raquel Rodriguez Raquel or Racquel is a variation of the given name Rachel. Notable people with the name include: Raquel *Raquel (wrestler), Brazilian professional wrestler *Raquel Alessi (born 1983), American former actress and model * Raquel Naa Ayorkor Ammah ( ...

and Bayley. On 11 April episode of ''

SmackDown ''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE. It airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on USA Network in the United ...

'', Valkyria and Bayley won a

gauntlet match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Gimmick, gimmick matches" in the Glossary of professional wrestling terms, jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick m ...

to face Liv Morgan and Rodriguez for the

at Night 2 of

WrestleMania 41 WrestleMania 41, also promoted as WrestleMania Vegas, was a 2025 professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming List of WWE pay-per-view and livestreaming supercards, event produced by WWE. It was the 41st annual WrestleMania and to ...

on 20 April. Prior to Night 1 of WrestleMania 41, it was announced that Bayley was taken out backstage and was unable to compete. The following day, Becky Lynch, who had been on hiatus for nearly a year, returned as Valkyria's new tag team partner. They defeated Morgan and Rodriguez for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship, with Valkyria becoming a double champion in the process. However, Valkyria and Lynch lost the titles back to Morgan and Rodriguez on the following day’s episode of ''Raw'', ending their reign at less than one day (as recognized by WWE) and marking their reign as the shortest in the title's history. Immediately after, Lynch turned on Valkyria. This led to a match at

Backlash Backlash may refer to: Literature * '' Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women'', a 1991 book by Susan Faludi * ''Backlash'' (Star Wars novel), a 2010 novel by Aaron Allston * Backlash (Marc Slayton), a comic book character from ...

on May 10, where Valkyria defeated Lynch to retain the title, but would suffer a post-match attack from Lynch afterwards. A rematch was then scheduled between the two at Money in the Bank under the stipulations that if Valkyria retains the Women's Intercontinental Championship, Lynch can no longer contend for the title as long as Valkyria is the champion, but if Lynch wins, Valkyria has to raise her hand and acknowledge Lynch as the better woman. At the event on 7 June, Valkyria lost the title to Lynch, ending her reign at 145 days. After the match, Valkyria raised Lynch's hand, but attacked her afterwards.she would attempt to confront Becky Lynch but Bayley (who had been out since WrestleMania) had beat her to the punch and attacked Becky leaving Lyra in confusion at the end of the segment.

Other media

Cusack made her video game debut as Lyra Valkyria in ''

WWE 2K24 ''WWE 2K24'' is a professional wrestling sports video game developed by Visual Concepts and published by 2K. It is the twenty-fourth overall installment of the video game series based on WWE, the tenth game under the ''WWE 2K'' banner, and the ...

'' as

downloadable content content (DLC) is additional content created for an already released video game, distributed through the Internet by the game's publisher. It can be added for no extra cost or as a form of video game monetization, enabling the publisher to gain ad ...

Personal life

Cusack is in a relationship with fellow professional wrestler

LJ Cleary Lee Joseph Cleary (born 12 March 1999) is an Irish professional wrestler. He is primarily known for his work in the Irish promotion Over the Top Wrestling (OTT) and Scottish promotion Insane Championship Wrestling (ICW). Cleary has also had variou ...

. They announced their engagement on 14 September 2024 after ten years of dating.

Championships and accomplishments

** Irish Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *

Over the Top Wrestling Over the Top Wrestling (OTT) is an Irish professional wrestling promotion founded by Joe Carberry in 2014. It is headquartered in Dublin and opened a UK base in Wolverhampton in 2022, in addition to hosting events throughout Ireland, the UK, Ital ...

** OTT Women's Championship (1 time) * 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 professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publishing Group. The maga ...

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

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

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

** WWE Women’s Intercontinental Championship ( 1 time, inaugural) **

( 1 time) **

( 1 time) – with

** WWE Women's Intercontinental Championship Tournament (2025)

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 Pro-Wrestling: EVE Tag Team Champions WWE Women's Intercontinental Champions WWE Women's Tag Team Champions