Lyra Valkyria is becoming a breakout star—but she didn’t exactly jump at the chance to pull back the curtain for WWE Unreal on Netflix.
In a new interview on Going Ringside, Valkyria admitted that handing over creative control of her image felt unnatural. The Irish star explained that portraying “Lyra” is something she’s carefully built—and being filmed backstage without that filter shook her.
“I don’t even know how I feel about it, to be honest,” she confessed. “We’re so in control of how we want to come across in everything else we do. So it’s strange. Like, I’m so used to… the whole reason I am Lyra is because I’m someone on the show, and that’s who I choose to show the world.”
She went on to describe the moment producers filmed her immediately after a difficult match outcome, when she was still reeling emotionally.
“To have had, you know, a camera right after a very huge moment that didn’t necessarily go my way—to be speaking as Aoife is really weird.”
Valkyria said the sudden access Unreal gives to backstage life feels raw—and not always in a good way.
“I like to feel in control of what I put out there. It’s all thought of. Everything to us is what we do on TV. So to have all these cameras in the back now, it’s really raw. And you get an insight into so much that goes on behind the scenes that we might not necessarily want you to see.”
While fans have connected with her on a deeper level through the show, she’s still processing how she feels about that exposure.
“People seem to have connected with me over season two of Unreal, so I guess that’s a very good side of it as well.”
Whether WWE Unreal is a bold leap forward or a risky move breaking kayfabe is still up for debate—but for Valkyria, the line between performer and person just got a little blurrier.
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Do you think WWE stars should protect their personas, or is this kind of behind-the-scenes access what today’s fans truly want? Please share your thoughts and feedback in the comment section below.
