There’s no stopping for Lyra Valkyria on WWE Raw as the reigning Intercontinental Champion en route to Wrestlemania 41. In the opening bout of the April 7 episode of the WWE show on Netflix, she defeated Bayley to retain the Women’s Intercontinental Championship in what marked the fourth title defense of her ongoing reign.
In what appeared to be Valkyria’s biggest challenge, to date, the match on WWE Raw began with traditional grappling sequence, with both the participants being eager to dominate in the early portion of the match. Things picked up pace after Valkyria attempted a kick towards Bayley, only to be receive a knee to the face in response.
The veteran failed to flip the champion into the turnbuckle, allowing the champion to showcase some more grappling techniques. Bayley further gained back momentum on WWE Raw after Valkyria’s back failed during a Nightwing attempt. Valkyria was further struck in the jaw with a running knee from Bayley to go down.
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WWE Raw: Lyra Valkyria pins Bayley in latest title defense
The Minneapolis crowd on WWE Raw was raucous with chants during this match with “The Role Model” finally planting the champion into the turnbuckle. Bayley wanted a submission victory via a full Boston Crab but Valkyria escaped the hold by grabbing Bayley’s leg. Valkyria then dodged a subsequent Roseplant attempt by Bayley and used her weight on Bayley to get three pins for the win via a Jackknife cover.
Once the match was over, Valkyria attempted to have a shandshake with Bayley, but a frustrated Bayley wasn’t interested. Bayley wanted to leave the ring, at first but then in a change of heart, she re-entered the scene to embrace Valkyria whose Intercontinental Championship reign has hit 85-day landmark.
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Since winning the women’s Intercontinental Championship, Lyra Valkyria has been presented to be one of the strongest babyfaces on the WWE Raw roster. Being the reigning mid-card champion, many assumed her to receive a big match at the upcoming WWE premium live event, Wrestlemania 41, possibly against Bayley which was preponed to last night. There’s no update on if WWE does have any plans for Valkyria at ‘Mania.