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Lyra Valkyria’s Fiancé Was Unfazed By Fan Jokes After Wwe Backlash Cameo
A pro wrestler from Ireland just getting started in the U.S. market, LJ Cleary is thankful for the exposure even if it led to a social media ribbing.
During WWE Backlash’s Women’s Intercontinental championship match between Lyra Valkyria and Becky Lynch earlier this month, Lynch heeled it up outside of the ring by taunting a bespectacled young man in the seats at St. Louis’ Enterprise Center. The announcers informed us that he was Valkyria’s fiancé.
The Man messed with Lyra's man and paid the price! #WWEBacklash pic.twitter.com/4oADdAMzWT
— WWE (@WWE) May 10, 2025
It led to more than a few jokes like this flying around the ole interwebs:
Guys this is Lyra Valkyria’s fiance, I REPEAT THIS IS LYRA’S FIANCE! ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE #WWEBacklash pic.twitter.com/iP9czmz6PY
— Ace (@WrestleAce9) May 10, 2025
What the folks making those jokes didn’t know is that Valkyria’s man is also a pro wrestler. , LJ Cleary is a Dubliner who’s wrestled all over Europe since getting into the business in 2014, and spent significant time in Japan for Pro Wrestling NOAH the past few years. The 26-year-old has recently relocated to the United States as he looks to take the next step in his own career while being closer to his future-bride.
The folks who did know that did their best to smarten up the masses:
I am Shoook. Everyone was laughing at Lyra Valkyria’s boyfriend at WWE backlash but someone just posted he’s actually a wrestler in the UK and put his roster photo online and girl is eating fine at home y’all pic.twitter.com/53r2KCgemd
— Dan ⚒️ (@danm16476) May 12, 2025
Now, Cleary is talking about that night himself. He did so with Brass Ring Media’s Dom DeAngelo. The Irish wrestler agreed that his night on WWE programming was a nice boost as he looks to make a name for himself in America, then further explained why he was unfazed by the ribbing he took on social media:
“Yeah, definitely, I did have a lot of fun with it... it was kind of the perfect blend of people who did know who I was, and supported me a lot over the years. Especially even from the fans in Ireland that kind of watched me grow up — like I started wrestling when I was 13, so they really watched me grow up — and then into the fans that I built up over the years and made in Japan when like some of the funny tweets went up. Which — I’ve very thick skin. I chuckled, like — genuinely, I can honestly say, like, I saw someone, man, I just chuckled. But then to see the support — it was an overwhelming support, it was a very nice feeling.”
DeAngelo joked that Cleary’s transformation from supportive partner-to-pro wrestler is similar to one of the most famous character transformations in popular culture. LJ says he never saw that before, but now he kind of does...
“The thing that I found quite entertaining was the ‘Clark Kent/Superman’ comparisons. Because I was like, ‘Okay...’ I wouldn’t look myself in the mirror and be like, ‘Oh, yeah, I’m like Superman. I’m like Clark Kent.’ But I was like, ‘Oh, no, maybe,’ because it was only when people would — obviously, there was the photo of me in the crowd, and then when people would use one of my promo shots, I was like, ‘Oh. I actually do look quite different’... I didn’t see that until it was kind of brought to my attention. I was like, ‘Wow, maybe I do look like a little bit of a different person.’”
What really sells the Clark Kent-into-Superman transition? Cleary knows:
“It’s the wet hair... It’s like the glasses gone and the wet hair — different person.”
Have to try that next time it’s date night with the missus. Unfortunately, I bet that only works for good-looking dudes in their 20s who actually work out though.
Anyway, check out LJ Cleary’s entire conversation with Dom DeAngelo here.
