Victoria, British Columbia, Canada native Kira Forster is known as Taya Valkyrie, has worked hard and grown since she started in the wrestling industry eleven years ago.
Prior to beginning her journey in wrestling, she was a formally trained ballet dancer. This, along with her background in gymnastics, competitive fitness, and modeling, demonstrates that she has never put all her eggs in one basket.
While wrestling is clearly her passion, she has always demonstrated her commitment to being well-versed in all things entertainment and performance. She re-emerged as Franky Monet in WWE NXT’s Women’s division.
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The wrestling career of the woman who was born Kira Renée Magnin-Forster came later than many of her contemporaries, as she began her training at the age of 25 years of age.
However, she got off to a good start as she received that initial training from one of Canada’s and the world’s greatest trainers and technical wizards, Lance Storm.
She continued to stay close to home at the start of her career, as she would compete in Canadian promotion ECCW.
Taya Valkyrie –
Wera Loca
Growth for any performer comes with time. In the case of Monet, it wasn’t just experience that developed her; it was also the atmosphere around where she was performing.
She traveled to Mexico and competed for such promotions as IWL and AAA. What was supposed to be a brief time in the country led to a key period of her career that lasted several years.
Given the long time she spent there and how she speaks of that time, it is clear that Mexico holds a place near and dear in her heart. While there, she embraced the culture even as she worked to make a name for herself and also made herself highly sought after.
It was in AAA, Mexico’s biggest promotion, that she took on the name Taya Valkyrie, the Wera Loca (Crazy Blonde).
She competed in several tag team matches and eventually competed for the Reina de Reinas (Queen of Queen’s) Championship. Despite not winning it in her first time, she would ultimately hold the title on three separate occasions.
In fact, one of her reigns with the title was for a remarkable 945 days, the longest in the title’s history.
While her initial time with the company ended on a sour note, her time in the country left her with many memories that she carries with her to this day. In fact, those fond memories led to her making a return to Mexico a couple of years after departing.
Taya Valkyrie calls Triple-A home.
During her time with AAA, Valkyrie also debuted on the television program Lucha Underground in 2016, where she appeared simply as Taya.
Over the course of her two years there, she would be aligned with the man who would become her tag team partner in life, John Hennigan (Johnny Mundo in Lucha Underground, John Morrison in WWE, and late Johnny TV in AEW).
Whether she was wrestling women or men, she continued to show a desire to grow and improve regardless of the environment.
After Lucha Underground’s television program went on hiatus and appeared to be closing its doors, she signed with IMPACT Wrestling.
For four years, she was a key part of the Knockout division there. She burst onto the scene by attacking Decay’s Rosemary. This would be the catalyst for their rivalry early on.
In 2018, she would compete on behalf of IMPACT in Triple-A as part of Lucha Capital. This lasted for a series of dates between October and December 2018.
The following year she would once again compete in an event for AAA, defeating longtime rival Tessa Blanchard to become the Reina de Reinas Champion for the third time.
IMPACT Emergence
In 2019 she was absent from IMPACT television, not due to an injury but rather because of a travel issue that complicated her returning to the United States from her native Canada. Once the issue was resolved, she would return and attack fellow Canadian Rosemary again.
Her next feud would be a renewal of hostilities with Tessa Blanchard for the Knockout’s Championship.
After Blanchard retained the title through unscrupulous means on more than one occasion, Valkyrie fought for another opportunity. At Homecoming 2019, she would finally defeat Blanchard for the title.
Although she captured the title as a face, it was just a little over two months later when she would turn.
In doing so, she allowed her real-life husband, Johnny IMPACT, to gain an opportunity to fight for the IMPACT World Championship. His match was against then-champion, ‘The Machine’ Brian Cage.
During this time, she would defend the title against any and all opponents. Eventually, she became the longest-reigning Knockout’s champion, surpassing the record set by Taryn Terrell.
She held the title for 377 days before losing it to Jordynne Grace. She was also part of history as she would challenge Tessa Blanchard for the IMPACT Men’s World Championship.
Their match represented the first all-women main event that involved competing for a men’s title.
Valkyrie lays the foundation for Franky Monet.
Despite not winning the title, Valkyrie’s made an important contribution to the promotion. Early in 2021, she was written out of IMPACT. She was revealed to be the person who shot John E. Bravo and was ‘arrested,’ marking her departure from the company.
Her achievements over her career has seen her capture titles in Japan, Mexico, and the US independents.
Pro Wrestling and sports publications also recognized her as one of the top twenty women in wrestling in 2019. It was only a matter of time before the WWE would come calling to recruit this talented young woman.
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Franky Monet is NXT
As Franky Monet, she will soon have new opportunities to push herself as a personality and a character. However, when she steps into the ring, all bets are off. She is a prominent figure that has grown in the industry.
She is destined to compete for the women’s championship sooner rather than later. For anyone who didn’t know of her achievements, you will soon have the opportunity to see a captivating on-screen presence that demands fan attention.
And that will only build on the long list of things she accomplished during her time in her career before joining the the WWE’s NXT brand.
Taya Valkyrie is All Elite
During the pandemic, several members of the WWE roster were released, Valkyrie included.
Undeterred by her departure, Taya would regroup and join All Elite Wrestling alongside her husband, proving her value in the industry is as apparent today as it ever was.
