During a recent appearance on the “Insight” podcast, Lyra Valkyria discussed her WWE Women’s Intercontinental Title win and how she found out she would be the inaugural champion.
You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:
On the win giving her confidence: “[It’s brought me] A lot of confidence, it’s a big responsibility, and there’s a lot of pressure that comes with it. But I think I’m kind of in control once I get in the ring, that’s where I’m like, no matter what outside noise there is, I’m completely in control of what I do here. So that’s kind of where my power is. No one can take that away.”
On when she found out she was winning: “I never was a part of that conversation. I just find out on Mondays what I’m doing. I found out the day of. I was never a part of the decision or the conversation. I just showed up to work.”
On her reaction to being told: “Amazing. I couldn’t believe it. I really couldn’t believe it. But things don’t hit me when I think they’re going to. I always say that it never hits me in the moment. It hit me when I was driving home and taking my bags out of the car on the Tuesday. The title is just sitting in my bag, the zip opens, and I’m like, Oh yeah, that’s the Intercontinental Championship. I won that. I brought that home. That’s when it hits me.”
Mick Foley says one of his biggest regrets is not having a lengthier program with Shawn Michaels or Bret Hart.
Foley faced Hart on an episode of Shotgun Saturday Night and competed in some tag matches, but his most memorable match was against Michaels at WWE Mind Games.
However, Foley never had long-term feuds with either, and during a recent appearance on the “Two-Man Power Trip of Wrestling” podcast, the WWE Hall of Famer wished he had.
You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:
On his Shotgun Saturday Night match with Hart: “I don’t know if I’ve seen that or if I have, it was 25 years ago. What made that one interesting is that Bret is one of the best. I mean, he’s ‘The Best There is, The Best There was, and The Best There Ever Will Be.’ The cool thing about that is, he was so good that it’s not interpreted as a joke or braggadocio. He has those type of qualifications. He asked me if there’s anything I wanted to do, and I just said, ‘Bret, the idea of this show is it’s really rough around the edges, why don’t we just have a rough match? Just go out there and see what happens.’ Aside from me, I believe, messing up a Neckbreaker it was, it was a really good match.”
On not having long programs with Hart or Michaels: “I will say one of the biggest disappointments in my career is that I did not have a chance to wrestle either Bret or Shawn. Shawn and I had our, you know, our first singles match ever at Mind Games. It was one for the record books or one for the sake of history. But it wasn’t a hot feud. It was like a cold match, and then we never got the chance to do it on the grandest stage of them all. But I wish I’d been given that opportunity, or to wrestle The Undertaker at WrestleMania.”
During a recent interview with KUAM News, JC Mateo discussed his transition from NJPW to WWE, including how he worked on a handshake agreement with NJPW for several months before things were formalized.
The former Jeff Cobb debuted at WWE Backlash: St. Louis as part of Solo Sikoa’s Bloodline.
You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:
On staying with NJPW while his WWE deal was being finalized: “I still stayed with them for two more months after. Not under contract, but just as a — like a handshake agreement kind of thing, while my WWE contract was being finalized, and then it went into effect April 21st. My last New Japan Pro-Wrestling match was April 19th and as you can see from a lot of the internet things, May 10th was my official debut with WWE.”
On making it to WWE: “Like the majority of the professional wrestlers, their goal was WWE or WWF or whichever one you remember it as and so for me, I originally had a tryout in 2014. They said no at the time. So I just ventured off into other things, like independent wrestling and a couple of other companies that I signed with over time.”
On getting an offer from WWE in 2020: “I wanted everything to be right with what I wanted, for a contract (he said about the offer from WWE in 2020)… So I waited and then we started talking again back in November of 2024, had a couple Zoom meetings and there were things that — concerns that I had and whatnot and they pretty much just said, ‘Okay. Whatever you want, let’s do it…’ and lo and behold, here I am a few months later.”
On the reaction to his debut at Backlash:“It’s pretty cool to hear a live reaction. Especially for somebody who that — for my case, I didn’t come up through the WWE system. I made a name for myself outside of WWE. So, it’s always scary when you’re gonna debut on WWE and you’re kind of like, ‘Oh man, I hope the people know who I am.’ Hearing that reaction firsthand was like, very — thank goodness their camera didn’t zoom in on my arms but the goosebumps, it was there for sure.”
Following Friday’s episode of WWE SmackDown, we have an updated lineup for Money In The Bank 2025, which you can check out below:
* Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match: Alexa Bliss vs. Roxanne Perez vs. Rhea Ripley vs. Giulia & Two More TBD
* Men’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match: Solo Sikoa vs. LA Knight vs. Four More TBD
