Taya Valkyrie Confirms AEW Exit, Enters Free Agency

Taya Valkyrie has confirmed she is parting ways with AEW after declining an offer to extend her contract with the company. The announcement came via a statement posted to Twitter from Valkyrie and her team, captioned “Thank you AEW,” confirming she has officially entered free agency now that her deal has run its course.

In the statement, Valkyrie expressed gratitude for her time with AEW, saying she was thankful for the chance to work alongside top talent and to deepen relationships across the wrestling community. She thanked fans for their support throughout her AEW run and as she begins this next chapter, adding that she still has plenty left to offer in the ring and is looking forward to exploring new opportunities as a wrestler, TV personality, and creative.

Valkyrie’s free agency arrives during an otherwise busy stretch for her outside the ring — she recently appeared as a Traitor on Traitors Canada and released FAKE, her debut music EP. Inside AEW, though, her presence had already quieted considerably; her last match for the company came at a January 10 ROH television taping, where she teamed with husband Johnny TV, Mason Madden, and Mansoor in a loss to The Infantry.

Valkyrie signed with AEW in March 2023 and was thrown almost immediately into a high-profile program with then-TBS Champion Jade Cargill, challenging twice for the title and serving as Cargill’s opponent in what turned out to be the final successful defense of her record-breaking championship reign at Double or Nothing 2023 before Kris Statlander ended the streak later that night. From there, Valkyrie became a more regular fixture on ROH programming, teaming with Deonna Purrazzo as The Vendetta and later aligning with the MxM TV faction.

Her AEW tenure is just one chapter in a well-traveled career. Valkyrie spent time in WWE NXT as Franky Monet in 2021 before her release after roughly nine months, a stint that never quite got off the ground. She found far more sustained success elsewhere, most notably a 377-day reign as TNA Knockouts World Champion — still the longest title reign in that promotion’s history — and four separate runs with the AAA Reina de Reinas Championship across two stints in Mexico, where she was also an original member of Los Perros Del Mal.

With that resume, Valkyrie’s free agency is likely to draw interest from multiple directions. Her championship pedigree in TNA and AAA, combined with her name value and crossover media profile, makes her an intriguing option for any promotion looking to add a proven veteran to its women’s division — whether that means a return to a familiar home or a fresh start somewhere new. For now, no destination has been announced, but given how thin her AEW role had become over the past several months, her exit may have been a long time coming. What happens next for Taya Valkyrie is worth keeping an eye on.

💛 Thank you @AEW pic.twitter.com/9pgP3EEObz

— TAYA VALKYRIE (@thetayavalkyrie) November 4, 2026