Franky Monet on WWE NXT: “I feel like this is where I knew I always wanted to be”

Mere months into her WWE NXT run, Franky Monet has already cemented herself as a star.

With everywhere she’s been in the wrestling world and the work she’s done up to this point, it’s been the case for years, but it’s more apparent than ever before now that she’s finally arrived on the grand stage of NXT.

The company announced her anticipated signing back in February, and on NXT’s return to Tuesday nights on April 13, she made an immediate impact by confronting NXT Women’s champion Raquel Gonzalez. She’s made her presence felt on the program almost every week since then, including in her official in-ring debut beating Cora Jade on the May 25 episode.

This week on the show, the former Taya Valkyrie is set for an “encore performance,” and if she can notch another win, it should be more a matter of when than if she’s challenging for the NXT Women’s Championship.

Talking to Daily DDT, Monet had plenty to say about coming to NXT, overcoming insecurity, her name change, getting advice from her husband John Morrison, and more.

Franky Monet shares her thoughts on her WWE NXT run so far

Although Monet could have shown up on either Raw or SmackDown from the get-go, she’s proven to be an excellent fit for NXT’s women’s division. She’s still only a few months into her run but has had an amazing experience thus far both in and out of the ring.

“It’s been such a surreal moment for me after working so hard for years with this dream and finally getting there,” she said. “Everyone’s been so welcoming and I feel like I’m growing immensely as a person, as an athlete, and creatively as a performer as well. I worked so hard to get here that I still have pinch-me moments, but I’m taking everything in stride and trying to prove what I came here to do, which is win championships and create my own legacy and write my own chapter here within the WWE.”

Between standing face-to-face with Gonzalez in her NXT debut and then decisively defeating Cora Jade, everything has gone as well as she knew it would for her. She added that she gives her all to everything she’s involved in and felt her “fabulous” first match on the brand did an excellent job of showing the world what she’s capable of.

Monet is unlike anyone NXT has had on its roster up to this point in the best way possible. Her unique style has helped her stand out everywhere she’s wrestled and NXT will be no different.

“I feel like everything happens for a reason,” she said about why it’s her time to shine. “All these different experiences and being in the ring with such a variety of talent if you look across the board from AAA to Lucha Underground to IMPACT to now in WWE. I’ve faced men and women from all over the place and have been taught by people from all over the place. This was the perfect storm of 11, 12 years of work and finally getting here. I know I’m the most confident I’ve ever been in myself. Not only as a professional sports entertainer but also as a human and I feel confident in myself, I’m at peace with who I am and I know what I bring to the table. I think that’s what makes this absolutely perfect timing for me.”

Franky Monet discusses overcoming insecurity en route to WWE

It was far from an easy road to WWE for the former Impact Knockouts champion, who admittedly dealt with doubt and insecurity at various points throughout her journey.

Having not come from a wrestling family and not knowing anyone when she first started out, she was at a definite disadvantage. She was simply trying to chase a crazy dream, but it was only after experiencing multiple moments of insecurity that she found peace in her personal and professional lives and became the complete performer we see on NXT TV today.

Monet revealed that it wasn’t until just two years ago that she fully felt confident with what she was doing. She has questioned her abilities along the way but believes her growth in the past two years alone has been very noticeable.

“I feel like this is where I knew I always wanted to be,” she said about WWE NXT. “And I mean from the beginning, as the first day of wrestling school. This is where you want to be! It’s the most amazing company and the talent pool is absolutely insane and there are so many great opportunities to learn and to grow as a performer. Did I question at some point whether this was actually going to happen? Absolutely. There’s that insecurity again, but I feel like that’s part of it. I care so much about professional wrestling, I care so much about being the best and showing the world what I have and I knew I had to believe in myself. I bet on myself. I said to myself that if this doesn’t happen, then it’s not my time or not my destiny and I kind of left it up to that, but I knew I was going to try my hardest to make this dream come true.”

For a good portion of her career pre-WWE, Monet was almost always in the same company as her now-husband John Morrison. The two traveled together in AAA, Lucha Underground, and even in IMPACT, winning titles everywhere they went and always being paired up as an on-air act.

That changed when Morrison departed IMPACT for WWE in 2019, leaving Monet to branch back off on her own in the promotion. However, she feels some of her best work came during that period, including becoming the longest-reigning Impact Knockouts champion of all time.

“When John left and went back to the WWE, for the first time in three years, I didn’t have him as the support system there,” she said. “But it also allowed me the time to have personal growth in myself. I think I proved that with the longest-reigning Knockouts Championship run in history that happened after that departure. Maybe that’s what I needed to spark that fire I’ve always had and [say to myself], ‘The option of failure doesn’t exist.’”

The name change was never a concern for Franky Monet

Name changes aren’t uncommon when it comes to WWE, especially in regards to trademarking and branding. It seems some already-established talents get to keep their ring names for whatever reason, but a majority of the newcomers have to be rebranded.

The artist known as Taya Valkyrie was no exception.

Through her early vignettes that aired on NXT TV, it was revealed that her new name would be Franky Monet. It was met with some criticism from fans, but Monet wasn’t going to let that change her trajectory for success.

Instead, she saw it as a challenge to make it work to the best of her ability and as an opportunity to mark a new chapter in her career.

“I kind of expected [that feedback],” she said. “I had been Taya Valkyrie for over a decade. People get mad about anything, honestly. They love to be mad, so I expected it, but I was also prepared to say, ‘Hey, if you are my fan, you’re going to support me no matter what my name is.’ It’s about being a sports entertainer, a professional wrestler, the person, not the name. The name is just a different rebirth of who I’ve been. I feel like it’s natural throughout your career to change your gear or change your hair or, when you change companies, change your name and this was just another little step in me becoming Franky Monet.”

She added that she didn’t know whose idea it was exactly to incorporate her real-life dog Price Presley into her on-air act, but she’s glad that they were able to make it happen because of how fun it’s been for her in recent months. It wouldn’t be the first time that Presley has had television time, having starred in Speed of Time with Morrison and Dolph Ziggler last year.

It’s also impossible to watch Monet on NXT and not immediately draw comparisons to famous Disney antagonist Cruella de Vil, whose new movie out right now in theaters has been met with critical acclaim. As a well-documented Disney fan, Cruella is one of the many movie villains Monet has drawn inspiration from.

“I’ve been a fan of Disney movies forever,” she said. “I love a good villain. Who doesn’t? I’ve been a heel for 99.99 percent of my career! Without a good villain, that’s what makes a good babyface. You need a good villain. People love to hate someone. I thrive on that and obviously, I take inspiration from so many villains throughout history. Cruella has been one of them, 100 percent. When I watched the movie, John was actually with him and he was like, ‘Oh my gosh! This is you!’”

Franky Monet talks exchanging advice with John Morrison and opponents she has her sights set on facing at The Great American Bash

Needless to say, fans are anxiously looking forward to the day that Monet will reunite with Morrison, this time on WWE TV. For now, they’re doing their own thing, killing it on their respective shows, and always exchanging advice with each other about anything and everything.

“Obviously we talk to each other about whatever show that we’re on,” she said. “‘Did you watch Raw? What did you think about this?’ We talk back and forth about our character ideas and ideas that we have for the future all the time. He obviously gives me a lot of advice, but he also has a lot of faith in me and knows I’m very confident in what I’m doing and who I am as a professional wrestler and sports entertainer. We’re there to support each other.

“He was backstage for my debut,” she continued. “I’m sure he’ll be backstage for the encore performance. He’s been my number one cheerleader and I’m just so thankful to have him there when I have questions about how it is in the WWE or how I should react to something or how I should treat something. He’s always there to give me advice on how it is and how different it is and he’s been there for the journey.”

Beyond her upcoming “encore performance” on NXT TV, Monet has her sights set on the entire NXT women’s roster and making a name for herself at their expense. There’d be no better place for her to take that next step toward title contention than at The Great American Bash on July 6.

Beth Phoenix, Raquel Gonzalez and Io Shirai all lead her list of potential opponents she’d love to face at the event.

“I have been a fan of Beth’s forever,” Monet said. “She’s just an inspiration for me as a professional wrestler in the business and in WWE. If she wants to put those boots on again, I’d love to face her. When I started pro wrestling, I wanted to be Trish Stratus. I wanted to be Lita. All these people. As far as the current roster, I know I could tear it up with Raquel Gonzalez and facing Io again.

“[Io and I] faced once before five years ago in Stardom,” she said. “Facing each other again on this grand stage that is NXT would be fantastic. The entire women’s roster across the board on every brand is fantastic and there are just so many opportunities with never-before-seen matches with me and I look forward to facing all of them.”

Catch Franky Monet every Tuesday night on WWE NXT at 8/7c on USA Network.