IMPACT Wrestling's Taya Valkyrie on what's left for her to accomplish in wrestling, new LOCA fashion line & more (Exclusive)
IMPACT Wrestling made news in late 2019 with its move to AXS TV for IMPACT!, its long-running flagship weekly two-hour program. Taya Valkyrie has been one of the major stars on the show.
The company kicked off 2020 strongly when Tessa Blanchard made history by becoming the first female to win a men's World Championship belt in a major wrestling promotion, earning the title at IMPACT's Hard To Kill pay-per-view.
Presently IMPACT has a lot of people buzzing about which new talent will be unveiled as joining its roster, with major announcements teased for the Slammiversary 2020 pay-per-view.
One of the IMPACT performers who has had people talking for the past few years is Taya Valkyrie. Trained by Lance Storm and mentored early on by Perro Aguayo Jr., Taya Valkyrie made her IMPACT debut in February 2016. Since then she has not only won Knockouts Championship and "Knockout Of The Year" honors within IMPACT Wrestling, but also high annual poll rankings from Sports Illustrated and Pro Wrestling Illustrated.
Outside of the ring, Taya Valkyrie has an acclaimed fashion line, LOCA By Taya Valkyrie. Currently a fashion student at the Academy Of Art University in San Francisco, Taya Valkyrie will be live on the LOCA Instagram account at 12:00 PST on June 15, 2020. Made in Los Angeles, Valkyrie's LOCA wears are hand-dyed by Valkyrie herself.
I had the pleasure of speaking with Taya Valkyrie by phone on June 11, 2020. In addition to the full audio of the interview, below is an exclusive transcription on Sportskeeda of a few minutes from the discussion. More on Ms. Valkyrie can be found online at www.tayavalkyrie.com and/or www.impactwrestling.com.
On whether Jordynne Grace is going to be wearing any Loca By Taya Valkyrie gear anytime soon:
Taya Valkyrie: If I let her. (laughs) You never know, it's sporty streetwear, and Jordynne Grace is pretty sporty. I think that this label is for everybody and it's really a representation of me outside of my wrestling persona.
It's for everyone and I'm just happy that everyone feels comfortable in it. It really makes me smile when I see all different people of all walks of life wearing my clothes that I made. I'll be thrilled no matter who wears it. (laughs)
On what's left for her to accomplish in wrestling
Taya Valkyrie: I would absolutely love just to continue winning championships. It doesn't matter if it's a championship labeled for a woman or a man. I don't think it makes a difference. I've wrestled every type of human. (laughs)
So I feel like I deserve an opportunity to go after the [IMPACT Wrestling] World Championship, the X Division Championship -- why are me and Rosemary not allowed to go after the Tag Team Championship? Why don't we bring back the Knockouts Tag Team Championship? There's endless opportunities for me to continue and grow. I feel as much as I've accomplished a lot of crazy things in my career, I still feel like I have so much more to show.
On her last words for the kids:
Taya Valkyrie: Thank you everybody for continuing to join me on my crazy journey in this crazy business, which is professional wrestling. Also, for supporting me in my new ventures. I just want to invite everybody on Instagram on June 15th on the @LocaByTayaValkyrie account. I will be live, there may be a few appearances from my husband [John Morrison] and [wrestling] friends as well. I'm going to show everybody all the new products as well as everything that's restocked on the website. You can go there now, www.tayavalkyrie.com, and check out what will be available June 15th at noon [PST].