{"id":163953,"date":"2026-07-03T08:00:07","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T12:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/?p=163953"},"modified":"2026-07-03T01:56:48","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T05:56:48","slug":"the-dark-era-of-the-bird-lady-how-wwe-can-make-lyra-valkyria-heel-turn-a-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2026\/07\/03\/the-dark-era-of-the-bird-lady-how-wwe-can-make-lyra-valkyria-heel-turn-a-success\/","title":{"rendered":"The Dark Era of the \u201cBird Lady\u201d: How WWE Can Make Lyra Valkyria\u2019s Heel Turn a Success"},"content":{"rendered":"

The wrestling world is still buzzing about this past weekend, and while the fallout from a shocking Night of Champions PLE dominates the conversation – especially with the third installment of <\/span>Brock Lesnar vs. Oba Femi<\/span><\/a> announced for Hell in a Cell at SummerSlam – one major storyline has slid under the radar. In the aftermath of the weekend’s chaos, the story that still hasn\u2019t received nearly enough attention is the shocking heel turn of Lyra Valkyria.<\/span><\/p>\n

The move happened after Valkyria and her tag team partner, Bayley, once again missed out on achieving their dream of becoming Women\u2019s Tag Team Champions. And while Lyra didn\u2019t appear live before the audience this past Monday night in Atlantic City, she did deliver a pre-taped promo segment instead.<\/span><\/p>\n

She stated that she feels no remorse for her actions, adding that betraying Bayley \u201cfelt so good.\u201d She then questioned why fans were so upset with her, claiming she had been the bigger person over the last year while playing the mentor-prot\u00e9g\u00e9 role.<\/span><\/p>\n

Valkyria went on to explain that she originally wanted to bring Bayley along with her to the top but is officially \u201cdone being nice.\u201d But perhaps the best part of this taped segment was the new look she introduced, ditching her signature emerald green for the color black. She also swapped her usual heavy makeup for a minimal look, perhaps hinting at a more deranged edge to her new character.<\/span><\/p>\n

Moving forward, fans are curious to see where things will go and what this shocking turn could ultimately lead to. A heel turn is only as good as its follow-through, and this article will dive into exactly what should be next for the newly minted villain. But before breaking down the ideal creative steps to ensure this new heel run is a success, we thought it was important to first dig into <\/span>Valkyria\u2019s past<\/span><\/a> and how she landed in this exact position.<\/span><\/p>\n

Digging into the Past of Lyra Valkyria<\/b><\/h2>\n

Aoife Marie Cusack, known to the wrestling world as Lyra Valkyria, was born on October 23, 1996, in Dublin, Ireland. During her childhood, it was her older brother, Darragh, who was the avid fan of American wrestling. While Aoife initially just watched it casually alongside him after school, she became totally invested once her brother eventually outgrew it.<\/span><\/p>\n

The storyline that truly hooked her was the classic 2011 rivalry between Randy Orton and Christian over the World Heavyweight Championship. She has also stated that she deeply admired <\/span>AJ Lee<\/span><\/a> while growing up. However, the true turning point occurred when she was 17, when she witnessed fellow Irish native Becky Lynch make her debut on NXT.<\/span><\/p>\n

During her post-secondary years, she attended Dublin City University, where she studied journalism. While completing her degree, she also spent extensive time training and competing on the European independent circuit under the name Valkyrie. Throughout this period, she built an impressive resume wrestling across Ireland, the UK, and Germany.<\/span><\/p>\n

She made history in 2018 by becoming the first female to capture the Irish Junior Heavyweight Championship. She followed that success a year later by winning the OTT Women\u2019s Championship. That very same year, she also collected the Tag Team Championship alongside Debbie Keitel as part of the duo known as the \u201cWoke Queens.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Given her rapid success, she caught the eye of WWE and signed with the company in early 2020, where she was immediately assigned to the NXT UK brand. Performing under the name Aoife Valkyrie, she made an instant mark on the brand, becoming best known for a dominant undefeated streak.<\/span><\/p>\n

Following the shutdown of NXT UK in 2022, she moved stateside to NXT and officially rebranded as Lyra Valkyria. Upon her arrival, she embraced an otherworldly persona heavily inspired by The Morrigan, a goddess from Irish folklore. Yet it wasn\u2019t just the mythology that made fans remember her, but rather the unique nickname the audience affectionately gave her: \u201cBird Lady.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Valkyria achieved the dream of a lifetime in 2023 at Halloween Havoc, <\/span>defeating her real-life mentor Becky Lynch to become the NXT Women\u2019s Champion<\/span><\/a>. She held the title for a dominant 165 days, and following her historic reign, she hit another massive career milestone when she was drafted to Monday Night Raw in 2024.<\/span><\/p>\n

Immediately upon her arrival on Raw, she instantly won over fans with her high-level in-ring ability and crisp execution. She achieved her first major accolade on the main roster in January 2025, defeating Dakota Kai to become the <\/span>first-ever Women\u2019s Intercontinental Champion<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Three months later, she achieved double-champion status at WrestleMania 41, <\/span>teaming up with a returning Becky Lynch<\/span><\/a> to defeat Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez for the Women\u2019s Tag Team Titles.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lyra has the talent, but this new persona needs the right fuel to truly catch fire. Now that we have covered her journey to becoming one of WWE\u2019s brightest young stars, it is time to look at two things<\/span> the company must do moving forward to completely rejuvenate her character and make this heel run an absolute success.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

SummerSlam Showdown With Bayley\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n

Starting off, WWE needs to capitalize on more than just the heel turn itself – they need to maximize the story building between Valkyria and Bayley. It\u2019s worth noting that this year\u2019s two-night SummerSlam card is currently expected to feature up to 14 matches. With a card that size, a proper build should easily secure a high-profile showdown between these former friends. The real importance lies in how WWE executes that story.<\/span><\/p>\n

Part of Valkyria\u2019s motive for getting on the SummerSlam card is redeeming what happened at last year\u2019s event. During her match with Becky Lynch, she suffered an awkward mishap when a zip tie Lynch applied came undone, leaving her in the uncomfortable position of trying to secure it back in place.<\/span><\/p>\n

Many fans point to that exact moment as the catalyst for Valkyria’s downward trend, feeling as though her momentum completely stalled afterward. She can weaponize this very point in her new heel persona, venting about how she went from a top star to a complete afterthought because of one unfortunate night.<\/span><\/p>\n

Next, WWE needs to add a special stipulation to this match to inject some brutality into the showdown, preferably making it a Street Fight. This environment will allow not only Bayley to tap into her darker side, but more importantly, it will force Valkyria to unleash this sinister new version of herself fully. Crucially, Lyra must win this matchup in the end to properly propel her character in the right direction.<\/span><\/p>\n

Win Women\u2019s Money in the Bank<\/b><\/h2>\n

A few months ago, we pitched the idea of <\/span>Chelsea Green<\/span><\/a> winning the Women\u2019s Money in the Bank match. However, given that Green now appears locked into a program with Tiffany Stratton, those creative plans may no longer be on the table.<\/span><\/p>\n

An incredible alternative would be having Valkyria capture the briefcase instead. Just last year, we saw Naomi capitalize on a fresh heel turn to win the ladder match before cashing in at <\/span>Evolution<\/span><\/a> during the main event between IYO SKY and Rhea Ripley. WWE hit the jackpot with that move, and they can absolutely do the same here with Valkyria.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"A
A photo of Lyra Valkyria assaulting Bayley on WWE Raw. (Photo Credit: WWE)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By having her win the Women\u2019s Money in the Bank ladder match and ultimately become a World Champion, WWE would signal to fans that they have both a clear plan and a vested interest in Lyra Valkyria, not just for the present, but more importantly, for the future.<\/span><\/p>\n

WWE turning Lyra Valkyria heel for the first time in her career is precisely what she, and the audience, needed. Her babyface character had run its course, and despite an electric start on the main roster, she spent the last year playing a supporting role to Bayley in their tag team alliance.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"A
A WWE Raw graphic featuring Lyra Valkyria and Roxanne Perez. (Photo Credit: WWE)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Having wrestled in only a handful of singles matches since her disastrous loss to Becky Lynch at SummerSlam, she was long overdue for a spark. The wings of the “Bird Lady” are clipped, and a far more dangerous predator has taken her place. WWE has a golden opportunity in front of it, and it\u2019s time to let the dark era of Lyra Valkyria soar.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The wrestling world is still buzzing about this past weekend, and while the fallout from a shocking Night of Champions PLE dominates the conversation – especially with the third installment of Brock Lesnar vs. Oba Femi announced for Hell in a Cell at SummerSlam – one major storyline has slid under the radar. In the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5699,"featured_media":163957,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,2192,25,3,320],"tags":[8664],"class_list":["post-163953","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wwe","category-wrestling","category-raw","category-wwe-universe","category-wwe-women","tag-lyra-valkyria"],"modified_by":"Michael Joseph Sugue, Manager","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163953","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5699"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=163953"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163953\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":163964,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163953\/revisions\/163964"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/163957"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=163953"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=163953"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=163953"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}