On the March 15th episode of AEW Dynamite, former WWE NXT star Taya Valkyrie made her surprise debut when she answered Jade Cargill’s call for a worthy challenger to her TBS Championship.
The previous week, Cargill declared that as the company was headed to Canada, she wanted to take on a Canadian performer. Independent star Nicole Matthews was the one to attempt to dethrone Cargill, but was easily dispatched.
When Cargill grabbed a microphone and asked if Matthews was “the best Canada had to offer,” Valkyrie made her grand entrance, confronting the undefeated champion and hitting their shared finishing move on Cargill’s ally Leila Grey.
Within the hour, it was confirmed that Valkyrie had officially become All Elite.
Taya Valkyrie Tried To Hide Being In Winnipeg Ahead Of Her AEW Debut
Speaking in a recent interview with Chris Van Vliet, Valkyrie opened up about her AEW debut, saying she had to be careful to hide her identity as she arrived in Winnipeg ahead of her big confrontation with Cargill.
“Yeah. So I flew in and was actually flying on like the same flight as a bunch of people coming from LA like The Bucks and everybody. And like, as soon as we got to the Winnipeg airport to get off the plane, like I have put a hat on, I put a mask on, and like tried to like, cover myself up because like, as soon as you walked off, I walked off, like down the escalator.
“And there are fans everywhere. Yeah, I don’t exactly blend in. So I had to like really cover up and then, they actually had me staying at a different hotel than all of the other people on the roster. So that was a secret hotel, secret location, had a secret SUV pick me up and bring me to the secret backdoor. And yeah, that’s how it went.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Valkyrie said she was indifferent about a potential WWE return and is happy where she is.
If you use any quotes from this transcription, please credit Chris Van Vliet and link back to this article with a h/t to Inside the Ropes.