Taya Valkyrie Is Still Confused By Her Brief WWE Run - Exclusive

Former WWE superstar Taya Valkyrie was released in November 2021 after just debuting in May, not getting a chance to showcase her abilities in the company. Valkyrie debuted in "WWE NXT," and quickly put then "NXT" Women's Champion Raquel Gonzalez on notice, stating that "La Wera Loca" had placed a target on her back, then disappeared shortly after getting that title shot, seemingly becoming another casualty of "budget cuts."

During an interview with Wrestling Inc. Senior News Editor Nick Hausman, Valkyrie spoke about her WWE departure and whether or not the new regime could offer her the chance to return. At the time Valkyrie worked with WWE, Triple H, the current Chief Content Officer, was running "NXT." Valkyrie stated that she already "conquered" the WWE mountain by getting hired in the first place and that was something "a lot of people never ever reached." Despite feeling good about accomplishing that goal, Valkyrie felt she got the "s***ty end of the stick" and wasn't allowed to show what she could do to the fullest.

"You never want to say never," Valkyrie said. "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? That's it. That's all I want is for someone to tell me what that was."

During her time with WWE, Valkyrie worked under the name "Franky Monet," and came to the ring accompanied by her real-life puppy, a far different gimmick than many were used to her having. Since the departure of Vince McMahon as WWE's creative head, fans have been treated to the debuts and returns of several talents, as well as notable name changes.

During the 2023 women's Royal Rumble match, Piper Niven, aka the former Doudrop, returned to her established name from her time in "NXT UK," presenting herself as someone to take seriously given the credibility she established under that moniker. When speaking on the change in comparison to what she could expect if she were to come back, Valkyrie said she doesn't hold any resentment toward WWE for the change in her character, but took issue with several things involved in her hiring.

"I'm just more confused than anything," Valkyrie said. "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."