Taya Valkyrie: WWE is the right choice for the First Lady of Slamtown

Taya Valkyrie has been making waves in the wrestling industry for a lot longer than most casual fans are likely aware of.

The Canadian wrestler spent a long time working in Mexico before utterly dominating the Women’s Division of Impact Wrestling for years. But Taya Valkyrie’s run with Impact came to an end in mid-January 2021, which signaled the beginning of wild speculation.

It’s been reported that Taya has signed on with WWE. While this is a bit of a disappointment to AEW fans, WWE was the best choice for Taya’s career at this point. And not just because her husband works there, too.

The rise of Taya Valkyrie

The woman who would eventually be known as the First Lady of Slamtown started training in 2010. Taya Valkyrie spent a brief time on the indies before signing a WWE developmental contract in 2011. But that went nowhere and she quickly returned to the independent scene.

From 2012 through 2021, Taya Valkyrie has been a mainstay of the Mexican wrestling scene. While she’s been part of other companies, her best work was with Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide. She won the AAA Reina de Reinas Championship three times, and currently holds it.

In 2017, Taya Valkyrie started working with Impact Wrestling, which is where many fans got to know her. Impact has consistently had one of the best Women’s Divisions in the business in the last few years. And Taya was a huge part of that.

Taya Valkyrie had spectacular matches with Rosemary, Jordynne Grace and Tenille Dashwood. She even faced Tessa Blanchard for the Impact World Championship at one point. While she didn’t win that title, Taya did win the Impact Knockouts Championship.

Taya only held the title once but that reign went on for 377 days, the longest single run of anyone who has held that belt. Saying Taya Valkyrie had a big career in Impact would be an understatement. But all good things must come to an end.

End of her Impact run

On January 19, 2021, Taya Valkyrie finished her epic run with Impact Wrestling. She was written off the show as part of a storyline where John E. Bravo was shot. Taya was revealed to be the culprit, which explained why she was no longer on the show.

Impact pulled an equally insane move when Allie left for AEW. Allie was teamed with Rosemary for a while and was “killed” in a match. Like Taya Valkyrie, this wrote her off television. If nothing else, one has to give Impact points for taking big risks on crazy stories.

With Taya’s time in Impact coming to an end, fans immediately started wondering where she would end up next. Naturally, WWE and AEW were at the top of the list, though a big return to Mexico was also an option.

While WWE has yet to make an official announcement at the point this was written, it has been reported that Taya Valkyrie has signed a contract with the company. All that’s missing is a photo of her in a WWE developmental t-shirt at the Performance Center.

Keeping in mind that her husband wrestles for WWE under the name John Morrison, many fans just assumed that she would also end up there. But Taya Valkyrie in WWE is the right choice for her as a wrestler for other reasons.

Taya Valkyrie in AEW

AEW is certainly the darling of the wrestling business these days. They have incredible talent, fresh stories and they are building real partnerships with other companies. That being said, not everything is perfect in AEW, to say the least.

Their Women’s Division hasn’t exactly been up to snuff. It’s not for lack of talent, though. They have a lot of great female wrestlers like Britt Baker, Big Swole, Hikaru Shida, Ivelisse, Diamante, and more. But booking the division has not matched the talent.

That’s not to say that AEW doesn’t have great Women’s Divisions matches. But they rarely get the attention or focus they deserve. If it wasn’t for AEW Dark on YouTube, AEW would have one Women’s Division match per week on Dynamite.

With roster additions like Serena Deeb, Leyla Hirsch and Thunder Rosa, the AEW Women’s Division has gotten even better. Having another bankable star like Taya Valkyrie could help the division reach new heights, though it might not be the best case situation for her.

The AEW Women’s Division simply does not get a lot of TV time. If Taya isn’t part of whatever the biggest storyline is in the Women’s Division at that moment, she wouldn’t be on TV. That’s the ongoing pattern on AEW. Big Swole, one of their top talents, has barely been seen in months.

Taya Valkyrie in WWE

While WWE certainly isn’t perfect, it definitely has a better established, booked, and promoted Women’s Division. And that goes for Raw, SmackDown, NXT, and NXT UK. There are several belts for Taya Valkyrie to chase as well as some incredible rivalries waiting for her there.

Becky Lynch. Charlotte Flair. Bayley. Sasha Banks The matches Taya Valkyrie could have with the likes of Bianca Belair, Rhea Ripley, and Raquel Gonzalez would be amazing. There’s an almost endless list of wrestlers she could face, not to mention tag teams she could form.

More than that, WWE puts 10+ hours of wrestling programming out each week between their network partnerships and their streaming services. There might be a lot more competition for TV time on a bigger roster but at least there’s a lot more TV time to work with.

The reality is that WWE can provide Taya Valkyrie with a lot more opportunities to become the superstar her fans know she is. Plus, seeing her perform at WrestleMania or win the Royal Rumble would be incredible exclamation points on an already epic career.