The latest set of NXT UK tapings saw the debut of Irish star Aoife Valkyrie. As confirmed by her training school Fight Factory Pro Wrestling she has joined NXT UK as the newest member of their women’s division. Some may be unfamiliar with Valkyrie but she has been a force in the Irish scene for years now and has also held gold in Pro Wrestling: EVE. It was clear for some time that Valkyrie would be a star and now that she’s joined NXT UK she has the chance to show her skills on the big stage.
Congratulations from everyone at FFPW to our former Irish Junior Heavyweight Champion @Real_Valkyrie on officially signing with WWE and becoming an NXT UK superstar!
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📷: @ringsiderspod pic.twitter.com/Zdeep8LVBR
— FFPWrestling (@FFPWIreland) January 20, 2020
Valkyrie began wrestling around Ireland in 2015 for FFPW and Celtic Championship Wrestling. The protege of Irish trailblazer Katey Harvey Valkyrie’s talent was clear from early on. Before conquering anywhere Valkyrie was most prominently featured in Pro Wrestling Ulster. For a period she was aligned with Harvey but inevitably won the PWU Women’s Championship and got to defend it against names like Killer Kelly.
Valkyrie debuted in Over The Top (OTT) Wrestling originally as a relative of the kayfabe owner of OTT. This angle led to her making her in-ring debut for OTT at a Belfast show in 2017 but the angle would be dropped soon after. Valkyrie would return to OTT at the first-ever all women’s show Defiant where she would take on her mentor Katey Harvey. Valkyrie lost the match but won over the crowd who respected both performers for leaving it all in the ring. Valkyrie spent 2018 in and around the title scene in OTT but couldn’t capture the women’s title.
Valkyrie would, however, make history as she became the first-ever female Irish Junior Heavyweight Champion at an FFPW show in August 2018. She pinned Jordan Devlin in a symbolic passing of the torch. This was a sign of just how talented Valkyrie is and the crowd reacted appropriately cheering for the new champion that was representing the new era of Irish wrestling. Aoife Valkyrie would close out her 2018 by turning on Katey Harvey at Contenders to align herself with Debbie Keitel. The duo would become known as the Woke Queens and it was this incarnation of Valkyrie that would have the most success.
While Valkyrie had success in Ireland and had even managed to make her way to Fight Club: Pro it wasn’t until forming the Woke Queens that she made everyone take notice. First, she won the OTT Women’s Championship by defeating the popular Raven Creed following some help from Keitel, she would hold the title until OTT Fifth Year Anniversary when she lost the title to her former mentor Katey Harvey in her first match back from injury. Valkyrie’s run on top established her as THE heel in the women’s division and made fans cheer that much harder when Harvey unseated her at the National Stadium.
Outside of Ireland Valkyrie made her debut for Westside Xtreme Wrestling (wXw) and became a featured part of their women’s division. Closer to home the Woke Queens became fan favorites in Pro Wrestling: EVE thanks to their ABBA entrance. The duo ended the year by winning the EVE Tag Team Titles and main evented WrestleQueendom 3 in a losing effort for the titles to kick off their 2020.
Aoife Valkyrie showed talent from day one in Ireland. 2019 saw her prove herself at the highest level in multiple companies around Europe. Now that she has joined NXT UK she will get to showcase her talents to a bigger audience and she will continue to grow as she gains more and more experience. She isn’t going to be a star from day one, but NXT UK has signed someone with the potential to be a real superstar.
