Taya Valkyrie Says “It Was Shi**y” Being Roped Into John Morrison – Austin Aries Storyline

Taya Valkyrie has seen monumental success in Impact Wrestling. Her reign as Knockouts Champion from 2019 to 2020 is the longest reign in that title’s history, and she is just the second woman to challenge for the Impact World Championship. While Valkyrie is enjoying all those accolades now, it wasn’t always like that. Speaking on The Chris Van Vliet Show, Valkyrie touched upon the controversial storyline between her husband, John Morrison, and Austin Aries, and how she felt being roped into it.

“It wasn’t my storyline at all and somehow, I was the sacrificial lamb in this story,” Valkyrie said. “It was a hard one. It was handled badly, and by the way, I just don’t agree with some of the things that Austin said. No matter it’s a work, or if it’s real, or whatever. Especially as a woman, I feel like we are attacked daily through the internet, unfortunately. He just had to go after something that I was insecure about, and I feel like that was sh–y.”

The storyline got so heated that coverage of it eventually ended up on TMZ. Valkyrie says seeing it progress to the point where it was being covered by tabloids was uncomfortable for her.

“We were on TMZ and my friends in Canada were like, ‘Why are you on TMZ? What is going on?’ They’re always the first ones that like to tell me when something like that happens. It was just very weird, and it sucks.”

Despite all the controversies surrounding the build-up, Valkyrie says her husband’s match with Aries is one of her favorites.

“It was really raw, and being at ringside for it, I just remember– I’ve managed and wrestled. I can’t even count how many matches I’ve had, and I felt the nerve, the energy, and just the utter anger. It was really strange. But it was because of that authentic rawness that I think it came across so intense.

“I remember Moose and Killer Kross were across the ring, obviously on Austin’s side. I was looking at them; there was something that happened, and I just looked and made eye contact with Kevin right away. And we were like, ‘Oh my God, this is going down!’ It was crazy. It was just very intense.

“I feel like I’ve had some matches like that where not because there was something said or whatever, but there’s certain people that bring these kind of intense sides of you when you perform, and I think those two brought out that intense side of one another. I think that’s a version of John we don’t get to see a lot – that really intense side.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit The Chris Van Vliet Show with a h/t to PWrestling.com for the transcription.

Mehdy Labriny contributed to this article.