The March 15th edition of AEW Dynamite featured three title matches, the first of which being Jade Cargill’s TBS Championship defense. Cargill made short work of her challenger, local Canadian wrestler Nicole Matthews.
But after making short work of Matthews, Cargill grabbed a microphone and asked Canada “if that [Mathews] was all the country had to offer”.
After gloating and boasting for a moment, Cargill was confronted by another Canadian wrestler in Taya Valkyrie.
Valkyrie, who was once signed to WWE under the name Franky Monet, stared down Cargill until Cargill turned tail and left the ring. But Valkyrie still made a statement as she hit Cargill’s aide Leila Grey with Cargill’s finisher Jaded (the double chickenwing facebuster).
Less than an hour later, it was confirmed on Twitter that Taya Valkyrie officially signed with AEW.
Taya Valkyrie confirms Tony Khan’s comments that she has signed with AEW
Welcome to AEW, @thetayavalkyrie! Great to see a Canadian star arrive TONIGHT on TBS on Wednesday Night #AEWDynamite in Winnipeg!
Welcome to AEW, @thetayavalkyrie!
Great to see a Canadian star arrive TONIGHT on TBS on
Wednesday Night #AEWDynamite in Winnipeg! pic.twitter.com/R9173eHJR6— Tony Khan (@TonyKhan) March 16, 2023
Valkyrie was trained by Lance Storm and has been wrestling since 2010. Since then, she has been a staple on the American independent wrestling scene.
She holds the record for longest Knockouts Championship reign at 377 days. She has experience wrestling in the lucha libre style as she competed in Mexico for AAA and also for the American promotion Lucha Underground.
She has also competed in the NWA and in MLW, and in the latter she is the current and inaugural MLW World Women’s Featherweight Champion.
Two nights from tonight, Taya Valkyrie will have her debut match on AEW Rampage.