When Nichole Matthews came out to face Jade Cargill as Canada’s challenger for the TBS Championship, it all but dashed any dreams that Taya Valkyrie, the former Impact Wrestling star who has wrestled all over the world over the last decade, would be coming to AEW.

Taking care of Matthews in relative short order, running through the hits before taking out the Shimmer star for the 1-2-3, Cargill decided to add insult to injury by attacking her foe after the match, with no clear backup ready to defend the local star… or did she?

As Cargill was unloading on Matthews, some new music hit, and who but Valkyrie ran out onto the entrance ramp, earning an incredible reaction from her home country’s fans, before jogging down to the ring to run off Jade and hit her assistant, Laila Grey, with the Jaded as the TBS Champion watched on angrily. Though Cargill attempted to return to the ring, she was held back by staff, including “Smart” Mark Sterling, signifying that the two could be back in business once more.

After celebrating her moral victory over Cargill, AEW went to commercial, during which time Tony Khan took to Twitter to officially announce that Valkyrie has signed a contract and is officially #AllElite. After bypassing TK’s company for an ill-fated run in NXT, Valkyrie has officially landed in AEW and the rest of the women’s division should be on notice, as the “La Wera Loca” is a grizzled veteran who currently holds four titles and might just be on the look-out for a fifth on to boot.

Welcome to AEW, @thetayavalkyrie!

Great to see a Canadian star arrive TONIGHT on TBS on
Wednesday Night #AEWDynamite in Winnipeg! pic.twitter.com/R9173eHJR6

— Tony Khan (@TonyKhan) March 16, 2023