WWE Women's Intercontinental Champion Lyra Valkyria Gets New No. 1 Contender On Raw

Dakota Kai earned a rematch with the Women's Intercontinental Champion, Lyra Valkyria, with a win over Ivy Nile during "WWE Raw." Valkyria defeated Kai in January in a tournament final to inaugurate the Women's IC title, and after coming so close to winning her first singles title in WWE, Kai was squaring off with Nile to determine the first challenger to Valkyria's reign. 

The bout started with Nile taking the charge, with Kai fighting back with short bursts in the early goings. Nile cinched in an ankle lock, transitioning into a knee bar to force Kai into a struggle to the ropes, and following up with kicks to the legs to continue wearing them down. She responded to a brief fight back with a DDT followed by a German Suplex, failing to put her opponent away as she was caught in a roll up attempt. 

She kicked out, but Kai would land a Scorpion Kick and set up for the GTK. Nile escape the attempted finisher and locked in the ankle lock again; Kai escaped, hitting the GTK for the winning pinfall. Valkyria, who had been watching from ringside, then stood up with the IC title held aloft, staring down her next challenger. Kai will be hoping to make the third time the charm, given she has lost in her previous two attempts to defeat Valkyria – first in the 2024 Queen of the Ring tournament and then January's shortcoming for the title.