Taya Valkyrie Discusses Contract Status, Possible WWE Return, Potential Mercedes Mone Match, MLW's Move To REELZ, & More! - Exclusive
The last time many pro wrestling fans saw Taya Valkyrie on their TV screens, she was using the name Franky Monet in "WWE NXT." The boisterous fashionista was a hit with the "NXT" audience but for whatever reason, her time in WWE was not meant to be for long. Now that she's free of her WWE persona, the former Impact Wrestling Knockouts Champion is staying busy, working for multiple promotions including AAA, Impact, NWA and MLW, where she is the company's inaugural Women's Featherweight Champion. On top of that already busy schedule, she'll be stepping between the ropes this week for Lucha VaVoom's two-night Valentine's Glam/Slam Extravaganza taking place this Wednesday and Thursday at The Mayan Theater in Los Angeles, California.
In this exclusive interview with Wrestling Inc. Senior News Editor Nick Hausman, Valkyrie discusses her contract status, a possible return to WWE, a potential match against Mercedes Moné, MLW's move to REELZ, and more!
Gearing Up For Lucha VaVoom
Nick Hausman: So Taya, you are, of course, four-time Reina de Reinas Champion, former WWE star, and you are going to be teaming with Magno "The Man Mountain" Rudo versus Simone Williams, an Australian pro wrestler. She's making her debut, and she's tagging with what was described as a very special, mysterious guest, Johnny VaVOOM. Now, I think I know who Johnny VaVOOM may be.
Yeah, I know, a man of many names, and finally making his way to Lucha VaVOOM this next week. So it's going to be an exciting night for everybody.
Do you get excited, or do you get more nervous when you have to wrestle your husband?
I get more excited, because we have had two one-on-one matches before. We've tagged together as a team several times, obviously having been in factions and things like that across the board in "Lucha Underground" and AAA and Impact.
But no, it's exciting, and I'm also excited for him to just experience VaVOOM, because it is so different than anything else, than any other company I've worked for. And me being like a theater kid and growing up in ballet and theater, being in that environment and being in that beautiful Mayan Theater in downtown Los Angeles, it's just a really magical show, and I don't think that I can explain it. People have to just experience it.
Now you say that, but I need you to try to paint a picture for everybody, because I agree with you. I'm also a theater kid, and Lucha VaVOOM shows are very special. They're like over the top. It's a different vibe. Can you do your best to try to tell people how this show is different in your eyes?
I really see it as a variety show more than anything, because you do have the lucha libre in between other performances. So we've had different burlesque, contortionists, singers, comedians, do bits in between all the matches, so you're getting such an array of entertainment. There's never a dull moment. The lighting is different. The commentators are speaking over the matches and there's music playing, and it's just a full vibe. You feel the energy, you're excited, you feel included. You are also in a room with fans that aren't necessarily wrestling fans. They're coming to be entertained. And that's exactly what Lucha VaVOOM is ... My costumes in general are over the top, but I feel like at VaVOOM, it's like, if I think I'm going too far, I probably should still go farther.
Do you have something special up your sleeve for this show? Do you got anything in mind?
I do have a few options. I'm not going to divulge everything, but of course, it'll be special and stupidly over the top and ridiculous.
Carving Her Own Path
Well, so you work right now for everybody that's not WWE and AEW ... It's literally a hodgepodge of everything. Are you contracted with any one entity at the moment, or no?
I am not. I am a free agent, I have been all year, and that was a choice of my own, to have the possibility of working in all these places, because I just am having fun. And isn't that what this is? Wrestling is supposed to be fun. I mean, it's my job. It's what I do full-time ... I don't have a regular job. This is my job, so I'm going to make the most of it and work as much as I can and wrestle everybody everywhere.
But that's really unique. I mean, because it's MLW, Impact, NWA, AAA as well from time to time, and now Lucha VaVOOM. I mean, what's your advice to other wrestlers who are maybe trying to live that life, Taya? I mean, not everybody can do that.
Well, I think a lot of it comes down to attitude. It comes down to never burning a bridge or closing a door. Because a lot of these people I worked with before I went to WWE and were very excited and happy, just like I am, to have me come back and work for them.
But I also say, to become the best, you have to keep practicing and practicing, means being in front of people constantly. The best place to learn is in front of a crowd. So I'm learning every single weekend, every single match, and constantly trying to evolve as a performer. And so Lucha VaVOOM is just another facet to that. It's another way for me to learn and be around a different environment, and test things out and get to wrestle my husband, Johnny Lucha VaVOOM, and Simone, who I've known for a number of years, who's really finding her place in wrestling, as well.
So it's going to be a really exciting show next week. And moving forward from that, we also obviously have Cinco de Mayo and all the other shows that we'll run during the year, but definitely you don't want to miss this.
Pro Wrestling Going Hollywood
Well, like you said, it's in LA, the Mayan Theater. Now, you're LA-based, right?
Yes. I am in Sherman Oaks, California.
Do all of the wrestlers who want to become famous actors, do you guys all hang out now? Because there's at least a couple dozen of you out there, I feel like, now.
I have no life. So I work a lot. So when I'm at home, for example, I have been home for a day-and-a-half and I leave on a red eye tonight. When I'm at home, I want to be at home, I want to be with my dogs. I want to see maybe one other person other than John. I don't really go out. I have so many things and things to do, I don't know. So I know there's lots more wrestlers that are now in Los Angeles pursuing the acting life and doing all that. But yeah, I got my head in the books.
Got it. Well, and LA is going to be ground zero for pro wrestling here in April because Mania is coming to town. I mean, this is easy for you. They don't even have to fly you anywhere. Are you just fully booked?
Yeah, it's exciting because obviously this is the first time they're doing something like this in Los Angeles. I am warning everybody that traffic is going to be terrible and to plan your days accordingly, because it's going to be hard to get from one show to another. But yeah, I've started getting all booked up. I start on the Wednesday before Mania, actually. So Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday. I am going to be busy for sure.
The Game Changing At WWE
Well, I wonder with you, because with WWE ... it's not the same people in charge now, right? It's different. And it seemed Hunter loved you. I don't know, does that change your idea of maybe going back there at some point, or no?
I don't know. I'm really happy where I am right now and doing my own thing. And I think that ... I conquered that mountain by getting hired in the first place, because that's something ... A lot of people never even reached that place.
Do I think I got the s***ty end of the stick? Absolutely. I wasn't given my opportunity at all to show what I could do. But I mean, you never want to say never. But definitely if that was to come up and if that opportunity was there, I just really would want to have a conversation just for my own sake to be like, "What was that?"
Right.
That's it. That's all I want is for someone to tell me what that was.
Well, I saw Piper Niven is back at the Rumble, right? If they just let her go back to being Piper Niven ... And I don't know if anybody told her what was up with "Doudrop."
That's the thing. We're all kind of left ... "What the hell was that?" That's exactly how I feel. Now at this point, a year later and all this stuff has happened, I don't hold any resentment or anything like that. I'm just more confused than anything. It's more a level of just ... So I moved my whole life across the country for 11 months. I had six matches total. I was there during COVID. So we didn't have house shows, we didn't do loops. They didn't get to see my connection with fans on a regular basis. It was just like Bizarro Land. So I don't know ... I think that's just one of those things that if it came up, cool, and I would love to have that discussion, but I'm not going to lose sleep over it or let it interfere with my love for what I do.
Potential Big Moné Match
Well, you're not the only woman taking your career into your hands. There's this other big-name superstar out there, Mercedes Moné, that's out there and free and clear to do whatever she wants right now. Is that a match right now that you're kind of angling for? I would think that this feels like something that exists in your space, Taya.
A hundred percent. I met Mercedes several years ago, so the fact that I never got to wrestle her at WWE, or any of those ladies, is so annoying to me, because that was what I really wanted to do. But with that said, now in her new space and in her new home of New Japan, I mean, I would absolutely love to wrestle her. She has a huge respect for lucha libre. She trains with some of my friends in Mexico City, because she was there a few months ago.
Oh, that's right.
For me, it's like, I have such a love and appreciation for lucha that I would love to have a match like that with her in Mexico City or wherever, Reina de Reinas Championship, Impact Wrestling, and MLW. Wherever she wants to meet me, I'll be there.
So are you also friends with Mr. Iguana?
I know Mr. Iguana well, yes.
Now real quick, what a great wrestler Mr. Iguana is. I'm really sad that North American fans, or at least United States fans, have not seen more Mr. Iguana. What an act. Love him.
Oh my gosh, and he is also such a nice guy, too. If you ever gotten to meet him, he is very positive and super nice, and you only want to see those kind of people thrive.
Getting REELZ In MLW
You brought up MLW. I saw some good MLW news recently they signed with REELZ. That's a pretty big cable network. Now, what's your vibe on MLW going into 2023? Do you think they have the ability to maybe start to move into that number three spot? Where do you see them right now?
I mean, I would love to see that, and being at the forefront as their first ever Women's Featherweight World Champion. I would love to see them go to the next level. I'm having so much fun there. Obviously, Johnny MLW has started to be there, as well. So we're just going full throttle, and that's where actually we're going to be heading out tonight on a red eye to head out to Philly for a taping tomorrow, actually. So I'm excited for them to be on REELZ, and I'm excited to have more eyes on the product and more eyes on all the hard work that we do.
What's the long-term goal for you after traveling around the world, wrestling everywhere? If you could lay out your ideal next five years in wrestling, what would they look like?
I mean, my goal is always to be as successful as possible, win championships, make money, and cement my legacy and my story within this world of professional wrestling ... Obviously, I would like to find a permanent home for myself. May it be Impact? May it be MLW? Could it be AEW? Could it be going back to WWE? I don't know. And obviously things change so much every couple months, things change so quickly. If you had told me last year on this day that I would be where I am now, I probably would've laughed in your face, because I just didn't see that.
You don't know what the future holds. But I'm not going anywhere. I feel at the prime of my career and my life, and confident as a person. And I just want to keep breaking barriers, and I want to keep being involved in the arts and fashion and movies and acting and business and wrestling. That's me. I am multi-layered, and I have a lot of things that I want to do. So get ready for that.