By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
Insight With Chris Van Vliet with guest Lyra Valkyria
Host: Chris Van Vliet
Podcast available via Podcasts.Apple.com
On her inspiration: “That was Becky. She was the first. When I saw NXT, the very first thing I saw was her Irish dancing debut. That was it. I was already a fan, but that was what set the ball rolling of she must have started somewhere, she didn’t just spawn over there. If she’s from Ireland, is there somewhere to do this here? That was what made me go down the Wikipedia rabbit hole of where is there to train in Ireland.”
On getting to work with Becky Lynch in WWE: “It’s just crazy. She’s the one that broke all the glass ceilings, the one that did it all. But she didn’t just do it and succeed; she went and did things that no one ever thought possible. So I have a crazy level of respect for that. Because once someone does something, there’s all these studies about the human capability, how much they can go. [The 4-minute mile] They thought it was impossible to do it faster than the current record. But then, once one person broke that. And then one person broke it, and then when that one person broke it, it was broken by the next person, and the next person, and the next person. It’s almost like you just need that one person to show you that it’s possible. Then suddenly, it just opens up the floodgates, and suddenly there’s no limit. So to have a woman from my tiny country of Ireland to have gone that far, I really feel like if she can, then why not me?”
On being one of the few wrestlers from Ireland to make it in WWE: “It’s crazy. But also, you look at how small Ireland is, and how many of us are on Raw right now and doing so well. It’s crazy, I feel like we’re really good at producing the best.”
On why the Irish wrestlers are so successful in WWE: “I don’t know what it is. I feel like it’s just our approach to this, and how we see what happens between the ropes. We have this certain grit about us, we train on the mats. When I started, we didn’t have a ring, we were learning to bump on mats, that kind of thing. I don’t know, there’s just a very kind of, how bad do you want it? Don’t let anyone besides you do more push-ups than you. If you are going to get on the show, you have to earn your spot. You have to bring something to the table that no one else is. You have to be the best. We are very competitive, but also supportive. I feel like there’s two types of competitors. You can be nasty with your competition, or you can [be supportive]. I want you to do great so I can do better. When it’s supportive, you want to help each other, and it’s like we all get better together by pushing each other and by trying to outdo each other, but it’s in a nice way. And I love that about wrestling.”
On winning the Women’s Intercontinental Championship: “[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 first heard about winning the title: “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 how it felt when she was told she was winning the belt: “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. It’s never when it should.”
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