Since debuting on the main NXT roster several years ago, Lyra Valkyria has made a strong impression with an entrance that invites fan interaction — most notably when the crowd “woo”s in sync with her theme music.
During a recent appearance on the “Insight with Chris Van Vliet” podcast, Valkyria opened up about the meaning and inspiration behind her entrance. She said,
“So on the Independents I wrestled as Valkyrie. That’s not Marvel character-based, not bird-based. It’s actually from my favorite book, which is written by an Irish author. I discovered it when I was 12 years old. The main character was 12, living in Dublin, starts this whole new secret life, she has to take on a name to start this new life, and she calls herself Valkyrie. So I started that, and until I went to WWE, I never used the kind of imagery that’s associated with the Valkyrie at all. So then I was like okay, well I should probably use that. So I got the kind of Valkyrie-looking gear for NXT UK, and then when I was moving across, I had to change my name, and I actually contacted the author of that book. So his name’s Derek Landy, and he’s Irish, and he suggested this character called the Morrigan. I was actually a little bit familiar with it. It’s like the Irish Valkyrie from Irish mythology. Finn Balor and his demon character also drew from Irish mythology and stuff. The Morrigan basically transforms into a raven or crow and hovers over the battlefield and decides who’s going to win a battle. So I was like, that’s really cool. I went down that rabbit hole, and it’s just a very cool female warrior character who transforms into a raven. I just thought that was very cool. It was related to the Valkyrie, so it’s still tied to my book and my favorite stuff, and I love mythologies. So yeah, that’s where it all comes from.”
Tatanka believes his sons may one day carry on his legacy as WWE Superstars.
In a recent episode of “The Power Talk” podcast, the WWE legend opened up about his children. He revealed that one of his sons is already an elite amateur wrestler in the ninth grade, while his other son also shows promise. He said,
“My son is a big, big elite wrestler. He’s only in the ninth grade. He’s a two-time national champion, meaning he’s the best, one of the best in the entire United States. So big things are happening there. I have another son. So I have two sons, both young, that can be a Native American tag team at WWE. WWE has already talked to me about them. They’re very aware about them. They’re keeping their radar on them.”
R-Truth is set to step into the spotlight when he faces John Cena at WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event in Tampa later tonight. While the match won’t be for the Undisputed WWE Championship, it carries major significance as Truth becomes one of Cena’s final opponents ahead of his planned retirement this December.
During a recent Q&A episode of the “Something to Wrestle” podcast, WWE Hall of Famer JBL previewed the upcoming bout. He said,
“No, no. I wish he was [winning the WWE Title]. I love Ron. I’m the biggest R-Truth fan in the world. Me and Ron — I had to pull him aside one time. I said, ‘Hey, you know that song you have where you said something about ‘you’re the best young brother’ or something? You’re a brother, you ain’t young no more.’ So, he changed the lyric. He literally did. I love Truth. This is going to be a lot of fun. I have a feeling that’s going to be a great match. Cena likes Truth, as everybody does. I think this may steal the show, it may be so entertaining.”
