Lyra Valkyria’s Real-Life Fiancé Trains With CM Punk

Lyra Valkyria’s real-life fiancé, Irish indie standout LJ Cleary, just had what he called an “honor”—stepping into the ring with none other than CM Punk.

Cleary took to X/Twitter on Wednesday to share a snapshot of himself alongside the former WWE Champion after training together at The Foundation of Professional Wrestling, run by Ace Steel. The timing is interesting, especially given both Valkyria and Punk are neck-deep in headline-level WWE feuds over on RAW.

“Extremely cool to have the honor of training with CM Punk at The Foundation last night! Thank you for the knowledge!” Cleary wrote. “Ace Steel provides one of the absolute best environments I’ve been part of to produce top quality Pro Wrestlers! BITW 🤝 MVP.”

Cleary has been steadily gaining attention in the indie scene, and this shoutout to Punk—who has been working with rising stars at Steel’s camp during downtime from TV—adds some serious shine. Punk, for his part, is currently battling it out with Seth Rollins, Bron Breakker, and Paul Heyman on WWE RAW. Valkyria, meanwhile, is locked in a bitter feud with Becky Lynch, after costing “The Man” her spot in the Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match.

Cleary was also front row at WWE Backlash to support Valkyria as she successfully defended her WWE Women’s Intercontinental Title against Lynch. After the match, Becky even taunted Cleary, drawing him further into the storyline mix.

WWE’s power couples don’t always spill over into the spotlight—but Cleary’s recent session with Punk may have fans paying a lot more attention to who’s standing in Valkyria’s corner.