Tag: Taya Valkyrie

Taya Valkyrie Announces AEW Departure, Reveals She Turned Down Contract Extension

After more than three years with All Elite Wrestling, Taya Valkyrie is officially moving on and exploring her options as a free agent.

Valkyrie announced her departure on X at noon Wednesday, posting “Thank you AEW” alongside a lengthy statement confirming that her contract had concluded. She also revealed that she turned down an extension offer from AEW.

Despite her decision to leave, Valkyrie had nothing but positive things to say about her time with the promotion.

“I am incredibly grateful for my time with AEW and the opportunity to be part of the organization,” Valkyrie said. “While there, I wrestled and worked alongside exceptional talent, and built lasting relationships with the AEW family and deepened my relationships in the wrestling community.

“I am beyond thankful to the fans for their continued support of me, not only in my time with AEW but also as I step into this new chapter as a free agent. I can’t wait for what’s to come and have a lot more to leave in the ring. With my contract now concluded, I’m excited to explore new opportunities and possibilities as a wrestler, TV personality, and creative.”

Taya Valkyrie’s Extensive Wrestling Career

Valkyrie is a 16-year veteran who has competed for many of the major wrestling promotions around the world, including AAA, CMLL, Lucha Underground, Ring of Honor, TNA, and WWE.

During her brief WWE run, she competed under the name Franky Monet. However, some of her most significant accomplishments came in AAA and TNA.

In AAA, Valkyrie tied Faby Apache for the most reigns as Reina de Reinas Champion in the promotion’s history.

She also enjoyed considerable success in TNA, capturing the Knockouts Championship and winning the Knockouts Tag Team Championship twice, once alongside Rosemary and later with Jessicka Havoc.

Valkyrie’s AEW and ROH Run

Valkyrie made her AEW debut in March 2023, initially arriving as a rival for then-TBS Champion Jade Cargill.

In the years that followed, she became more closely associated with Ring of Honor, where she teamed up with her real-life husband, Johnny TV. The pair also became known for their YouTube series, “Johnny Loves Taya.”

Valkyrie had been largely absent from both AEW and ROH throughout 2026 after taking time away to participate in the reality competition series The Traitors: Canada.

Now officially a free agent, Valkyrie will have the opportunity to pursue her next chapter in wrestling, television, and creative work. Given her extensive experience across the industry, her next destination will be worth watching.

Taya Valkyrie Wants To Bring Her ‘Wera Loca’ Style To AEW

Taya Valkyrie is interested in using more of her “Wera Loca” style in All Elite Wrestling.

Speaking on a recent edition of the “Lightweights” podcast, the AEW and ROH wrestler commented on who she’d like to face using the crazy in-ring style she used on the indie scene prior to joining AEW.

You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:

On wanting to see more of her ‘Wera Loca’ style in AEW: “I’m really excited to kind of push those limits. I’ve had these No DQ (matches) in other companies, but I really want to bring that Wera Loca crazy style to AEW. I hope that I get that opportunity to show the world, show the people, why I am the crazy blonde, why Perro Aguayo was literally like, ‘Oh my God, this crazy blonde chick.’ I earned that nickname ten years ago. I want to bring that to AEW. I don’t know what that would be, the stipulations of it, but something, No DQ, with some badass women, we have so many in our locker room. I know it would deliver.”

On who she wants to face: “I would definitely go after Ruby Soho. I feel like me and her could create some absolute mayhem. I would love to have another rematch with Deonna [Deonna Purrazzo]. Saraya, I’ve never wrestled her. Kris Statlander, I’ve wrestled her once now, and she is so strong and so powerful. There are so many of us, and we all love this so much. When given the opportunity, I know we can absolutely thrive. Let’s get messy.”

Ronda Rousey Returns To The Ring At Lucha VaVOOM Event

Ronda Rousey lost to Shayna Baszler in an MMA Rules Match at the WWE SummerSlam premium live event, ending her second run with the company.

She surprised everyone by returning to the ring for Lucha VaVOOM at the Mayan Theatre in Los Angeles, California. Rousey, sitting in the front row, teamed up with her longtime friend Marina Shafir to face Taya Valkyrie and Brian Kendrick in a tag team match.

The match lasted only five minutes, with Rousey securing the victory for her team by submitting Kendrick with an ankle lock. She shared the full match on Instagram, along with a message.

Source: eWn

Taya Valkyrie Makes AEW Debut

A triple champion across three promotions, Taya Valkyrie made her debut for AEW on Wednesday night’s episode of Dynamite, confronting reigning AEW TBS Champion Jade Cargill.

Wednesday’s show saw Cargill successfully defend the TBS Championship against Nicole Matthews in a Canadian Open Challenge.

Following the match, Cargill asked if that was all Canada could offer, and this led to Valkyrie coming out to the ring.

Valkyrie got right in Cargill’s face, but the undefeated TBS Champion Cargill backed off. Leila Grey made an attempt to attack Valkyrie but got decimated by the decorated Canadian athlete. Cargill tried to brawl but was held back by Mark Sterling and the referees.

Following the segment, AEW President Tony Khan announced that Valkyrie has signed with the company.

Valkyrie currently holds the Impact Knockouts World Tag Team Championship, the AAA Reina de Reinas Championship, and the MLW Women’s Featherweight Championship.

https://twitter.com/AEW/status/1636168788990214147
https://twitter.com/thetayavalkyrie/status/1636171429820485634

Source: eWrestlingNews

Taya Valkyrie Finishes Up With Impact Wrestling

Taya Valkyrie has finished up with Impact Wrestling. Pwinsider.com reports her last date for the promotion was on March 2nd at the TV tapings in Las Vegas.   

It’s worth pointing out that AEW TBS Champion Jade Cargill challenged a Canadian star to face her on Dynamite next week, and Valkyrie is Canadian so she could be the mystery person. 

Taya does currently hold the MLW Featherweight Title so if she does go to AEW then she may have to drop the title soon.

Source: eWrestlingNews

Taya Valkyrie Wants A Spot In The AEW Owen Hart Tournament 

Former Impact and NXT star Taya Valkyrie (Franky Monet) says she’s interested in working at AEW and thinks she deserves a spot in the Owen Hart tournament.

AEW’s inaugural Owen Hart Cup tournaments are set to kick off in a few months, and some wrestlers are starting to lobby for places … including former Impact and NXT star Taya Valkyrie (Franky Monet).

During a recent East Coast Autograph Auctions appearance, Valkyrie implied that she would jump at the opportunity to join AEW if offered.

“Of course, I would go to AEW. I mean, they are doing something different,” she said. “A lot of my peers and my best friends, my brothers Fenix and Pentagon are over there. So why not? Let’s wait and see what happens,” Taya teased.

La Wera Loca then commented on the possibility of her participating in the Owen Cup, saying that she deserves a spot as she shares a nationality with the man to whom the tournament is dedicated.

“I mean, as a Canadian, I think that I should definitely be in the Owen tournament,” Taya said. “I was trying to think what Canadian girls are part of AEW. I want to say Allie is probably the only one? So I think there needs to be more Canadians in that scenario. So, I would absolutely love to.”

AEW’s partnership with The Owen Hart Foundation was announced last September. Both the men’s and women’s Owen Hart Cup tournaments will be taking place in May 2022 with each final happening at this year’s Double Or Nothing. No competitors have been announced, but we’ll be sure to keep you posted with new developments.

https://twitter.com/AEW/status/1439967601854226434

Taya Valkyrie signed with WWE in February of last year and was soon repackaged as Franky Monet. She and several of her now-former co-workers were released by WWE on Thursday, November 4 allegedly due to budget cuts necessitated by the Covid-19 pandemic (although as we reported, WWE generated $256 Million in revenue in that quarter).

Source: TheSportster

Taya Valkyrie Urges Fans To Stop Supporting WWE Following Latest Wave Of Releases

Following the latest wave of WWE releases (which included her husband, John Morrison) Taya Valkyrie has stated that supporting WWE is ethically wrong.

WWE just released another batch of talent, and one former Superstar thinks it’s time for fans to start sending a message.

One of the wrestlers released today was John Morrison, the husband of Taya Valkyrie (Franky Monet), who herself was laid off by WWE just a few weeks ago. In the aftermath of her husband’s release, Valkyrie took to social media to encourage wrestling fans to stop supporting WWE.

“Stop supporting a company that has ZERO respect for their talent,” tweeted Valkyrie. “You love pro wrestling, spend your money on the hundreds of other alternatives. This is wrong. Ethically, as employers they don’t care about us. Talent or fans,” she added.

https://twitter.com/FrankyMonetWWE/status/1461522622546644992

Later, Valkyrie tweeted a message of support for Morrison alongside an image of the happy couple together in Impact Wrestling. “We always have each other, and that’s all that matters. I love you,” she wrote.

https://twitter.com/FrankyMonetWWE/status/1461531186715664384

In case you missed it, WWE released Drave Maverick, Top Dolla, Shane Thorne, Ashante Adonis, Isaiah Swerve Scott, Tegan Nox, Jaxson Ryker, and the aforementioned John Morrison on Thursday, November 18. According to Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp, WWE Head of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis informed the eight talents that they were being released due to budget cuts (although as we reported, WWE generated $256 Million in revenue this quarter).

In the aftermath of her WWE release, Valkyrie issued a statement and expressed disappointment with unnamed acquaintances who lied to her during her tenure with the company.

“I’ll say the hardest thing for me to process after being released, is realizing the amount of ppl that lied to me. Some of ya’ll should be ashamed,” Valkyrie tweeted on November 2, two days after her release.

Taya signed with WWE in February. She and several of her now-former co-workers were released by WWE on Thursday, November 4.

https://twitter.com/FrankyMonetWWE/status/1457014996966285320

Source: TheSportster

Taya Valkyrie Getting New Ring Name And Bringing Her Dog To WWE NXT Next Month?

It looks like Taya Valkyrie is set to make her WWE NXT debut on the first episode after next week’s two-night “Takeover: Stand and Deliver” event.

Last night’s Takeover go-home edition of NXT on the USA Network featured a series of vignettes where a Pomeranian dog was seen running through the Capitol Wrestling Center at the WWE Performance Center. The dog finally ran up to a woman in boots. The only part of the woman shown was her boots, but it said she would be coming on April 13, which is the first NXT episode to air in the new Tuesday night timeslot on the WWE Network. The final part of the vignette featured writing on the screen that said “Franky” will see us soon.

Earlier this month WWE filed to trademark the “Franky Monet” name for general pro wrestling and sports entertainment use. It looks like this will be the name of the “Franky” teased in tonight’s promo.

Fans online noticed that the dog used in the vignette is Presley, one of the pets owned by Valkyrie and her husband, WWE RAW Superstar John Morrison. They have an Instagram account for both of their dogs, Presley and Bowie, at @the_pee_boyz. Taya has carried Presley at various wrestling shows in the past, including for a few Impact Wrestling appearances.

There is some online speculation that Valkyrie will use another name, and that the dog will go by the “Franky” name but that has not been confirmed, and it’s more likely that Valkyrie’s new ring name in NXT will be Franky Monet.

As seen below, WWE tweeted a screenshot from the April 13 teaser and indicated that Franky could be the name of the dog. They wrote, “How are we gonna wait that long? Franky stole our heart. [dog emoji][growing heart emoji] #WWENXT”

Valkyrie has re-tweeted several of the dog tweets from tonight’s show, and she also re-tweeted a USA Network tweet that teased her as the new character.

“If that’s who we think it is… @WWENXT is gonna be loca in April 13th. #WWENXT,” USA tweeted.

Valkyrie is a former Impact Knockouts Champion and a former three-time AAA Reina de Reinas Champion. She debuted for Impact in September 2017 and left in January of this year, leaving the company as the longest-reigning Knockouts Champion in history. Valkyrie signed with WWE in mid-February and reported to the WWE Performance Center to begin training in late February.

There is no word yet on what WWE has planned for Valkyrie, Below are shots from the related vignettes on tonight’s show, along with recent photos of Taya and Presley:

https://twitter.com/WWENXT/status/1377422774470287361
https://twitter.com/WWENXT/status/1377425876803932160
https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1377428628481339394
https://twitter.com/WWENXT/status/1377434474552586240

Former Impact Star Taya Valkyrie Reports To The WWE Performance Center, Rick Steiner’s Son

Former Impact Wrestling Knockouts Taya Valkyrie has reported to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando to begin training under her WWE NXT contract.

Valkyrie, who is married to RAW Superstar John Morrison, officially reported for training today and is to be announced in the next WWE Performance Center Class, according to PWInsider.

Regarding the new WWE Performance Center Class that reported for training today, F4Wonline.com reports that around 30 men and women are included in the class.

WWE is expected to officially announce the new Performance Center Class any time this week, possibly tomorrow afternoon.

Below is the updated list of confirmed names that reported for training today:

* Taya Valkyrie – 37 years old, longest-reigning Impact Knockouts Champion in history, married to John Morrison

* Parker Boudreaux – 18 year old college football star, compared to a young Brock Lesnar

* Bronson Rechsteiner – 23 year old former football player, son of Rick Steiner

* Angela Arnold – known as AQA, trained by WWE Hall of Famer Booker T

* Christian Brigham – known as Christian Casanova

* Anthony Henry – 36 year old former EVOLVE star

* Christian Hubble – known as Blake Christian

* Karissa Rivera – second generation talent, daughter of Steve King. Appeared on RAW as Bobby Lashley’s “ex-wife” once

* Zoey Stark – formerly known as Lacey Ryan, recently debuted on NXT TV and worked the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic

* Cora Jade – formerly known as Elayna Black, recently debuted on NXT TV in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic

* Gigi Dolin – formerly known as Priscilla Kelly, recently debuted on NXT TV in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic

Rumored names expected to be confirmed for this WWE Performance Center Class this week include LA Knight (now working NXT but not confirmed for this specific class, fka Eli Drake), Harlem Bravado, and Sareee.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Top Stars Possibly Leaving Impact Wrestling Soon, Backstage Roster Change News, Impact Creative Team Change

It is believed that there will be several wrestlers that depart the company over the next month or so, including some main event talents. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter notes that with James Storm recently leaving the company, the next two top talents who may be leaving when their contracts expire are Bobby Lashley and Ethan Carter III, who currently holds the Impact Grand Title on TV. As noted, Storm left the company because he had a high guaranteed money contract that Impact would not renew.

Two stars who will be staying for a while are Johnny Impact and Taya Valkyrie. They both recently signed deals that will allow them to continue working for Lucha Underground when the series films the next season.

On a related note, the belief is that Impact will feature a much larger contingent of Canadian-based wrestlers going forward as the company is now based out of Toronto, Ontario due to parent company Anthem being located there.

As noted, Impact announced today that Scott D’Amore and Don Callis have been hired as Executive Vice Presidents of the company. They will report to President Ed Nordholm and form a three-member Executive Committee. The committee has an “overall responsibility for developing the creative direction for the Company and managing the execution of the Company’s business plan.” Impact has not confirmed any significant office departures related to the new committee but PWInsider notes that word going around says John “Big” Gaburick will be officially leaving the company during early 2018. Gaburick was kept on as a consultant when Anthem took over and he’s also worked TV tapings but he was kept more as insurance in case the regime under Jeff Jarrett didn’t work out. Gaburick helped with the transition following Jarrett’s departure but mostly with production as creative was being led by D’Amore and Sonjay Dutt. Gaburick is no longer needed with Don Callis and Scott D’Amore being hired but he had already been preparing for life after Impact wit new projects as of late. Gaburick isn’t the only one leaving in early 2018 as Dutch Mantel is expected to part ways with the company. One source noted to PWInsider that Mantel is already gone but that could not be confirmed. Mantel was not brought in for the November TV tapings after losing his power when Jarrett left.

PWInsider notes that one of the longterm employees that is expected to stay with the company and work from home is Bob Ryder, who still works as an executive.

Regarding the rest of the creative team, Dutt is still working creative and as a producer, and that is not expected to change. Abyss, Gail Kim, Jeremy Borash and Jimmy Jacobs will all continue to work as producers and will also have input into creative. The final calls on creative and direction of the company will now be made by Callis, D’Amore and Nordholm.

The company is looking to try and run live events more consistently in 2018 as well. There’s been talk of taping 4-5 weeks of TV episodes at a time, instead of 10 weeks or so over a longer stretch of time. They are also interested in running live non-televised events at smaller venues in between tapings if they can be cost-effective. The January TV tapings are confirmed for Orlando, Florida but the company is planning on running the US and Canada next year. There’s talk of holding the March TV tapings in Canada, possibly the in the Windsor area.

Source: WrestlingINC