Aoife Cusack (born October 23, 1996) is an Irish professional wrestler, best known by her ring name Valkyrie Cain (occasionally just Valkyrie).
A student of Fight Factory Pro Wrestling (alma mater for Becky Lynch and Katey Harvey) she made her debut in 2015 and quickly took the Irish wrestling scene by storm. She has competed all over Ireland - for Celtic Championship Wrestling, Pro Wrestling Ulster, Over The Top Wrestling and Uprising - also competing over Europe as well. Also known as one half of the Woke Queens with Debbie Keitel.
Can be found on Facebook
and Twitter. Not to be confused with Taya Valkyrie. Or the film Valkyrie. Or the The Mighty Thor character. Or the Skulduggery Pleasant character.
In 2018 she became the first woman to hold the Irish Junior Heavyweight Championship. In 2020, she debuted for NXT UK under the name Aoife Valkyrie, and came to NXT in late 2022 as Lyra Valkyria.
Tropes:
- Action Girl: She made her debut after less than a year's worth of training.
- Aloof Dark-Haired Girl: As a heel.
- Animal Motifs: NXT associated her with blackbirds. Possibly referencing the significance the name Aoife has to Irish mythology.
- Arch-Enemy: Raven Creed in CCW. The two have faced each other numerous times.
- Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy: She has elements of this when competing as a heel on her own.
- Battle Couple: With LJ Cleary in her CCW debut.
- Celebrity Resemblance: It's been pointed out that she looks like a white Aliyah (not that one).
- Darker and Edgier:
- Upon turning heel in PWU, she has adopted a much darker persona (quite literally) than when she first debuted.
- Compared to her Woke Queens persona, the Aoife Valkyrie character is back to being serious.
- Denser and Wackier: Forming the Woke Queens with Debbie Keitel saw her going in a much hammier direction.
- Do Not Call Me "Paul": She was often just called 'Val' for short in interviews, and her NXT debut marked the first time she'd ever competed under her real name.
- The Dragon: She played this role to Katey Harvey in PWU. She carries more superiority than Lauren.
- Early-Installment Weirdness: Considering her dark character in PWU, OTT and eventually NXT - it's extremely jarring to see her debut matches where she was a Cute Bruiser.
- Embarrassing Nickname: CT Flexor took to nicknaming her 'Val Pal' when he hooked up with the Woke Queens.
- Everything's Better with Sparkles: In her rookie year, she favored attire with glitter and sequins on it.
- Evil Is Hammy: Oh boy yes!
- Evil Wears Black: As a heel she favours black gear with dark lipstick.
- Excessive Evil Eyeshadow: Tends to sport this if she's working heel.
- Face–Heel Turn: At first appeared as a friendly babyface in PWU but was soon persuaded to turn heel and join Katey Harvey's alliance.
- Fragile Speedster: As one of the smaller Irish girls, she has a lot of speed.
- Genki Girl: Her face character, especially when she debuted.
- Kick Chick: She favours lots of spin kicks, dropkicks and enziguris.
- Kid-Appeal Character: Initially in CCW - as a Cute Bruiser and underdog babyface.
- Lady of War: As of 2017 she's started calling herself Lady Valkyrie.
- Lovely Angels: She and Kazza in the first CCW women's tag team match. And later on when Debbie Keitel made her debut for the promotion.
- Meaningful Name: Valkyries were shield maidens from Norse mythology. 'Aoife' was also an evil figure from Irish mythology - who's sometimes associated with the dark crow goddess The Morrigan. Of course, it's her given name, but being incorporated into her NXT character is quite apt.
- The Mentor: Katey Harvey in PWU, Kazza G in CCW.
- Older Hero Versus Younger Villain: Whenever she's gone against Irish veteran Martina in OTT.
- Older Than They Look: Is in her twenties but looks like a teenager.
- Power Stable: The Queen's Court in PWU - with herself, Katey Harvey and Lauren LaRoux.
- Scotireland: She's Irish but a match graphic for NXT UK showed her name appearing above the Scottish flag. This was later corrected to the Irish one.
- Teen Idol: She was still a teenager when she debuted.
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: With Debbie Keitel, she is the tomboy as the nerd and more casual member of the duo. In contrast to Debbie being the glamorous model and fashionista.
- Totally Radical: With a name like 'Woke Queens', it can't be anything else but a parody.
- Town Girls: A triple threat with her, Katey Harvey and Elektra. Katey as the butch, Elektra as the femme and Valkyrie as the neither.
- True Blue Femininity: As a face she has wrestled in blue.
- Waif-Fu: Despite being built rather small, she'll still kick plenty of ass.
- Worthy Opponent: She acknowledged Elektra as such in CCW.
- You Go, Girl!: In her debut match she nearly knocked Michael May out with a spin kick. She's competed in several intergender matches since, and even won the male Irish Junior Heavyweight Championship in 2018.
