Earlier tonight, the 2025 WWE Royal Rumble opened up with the women's battle royale — a match that included main roster debuts, surprise returns, and another Charlotte Flair victory. Along the way, the first challenger for Lyra Valkyria's WWE Women's Intercontinental Championship may have been solidified, as she was eliminated by Ivy Nile of American Made. Following the elimination, Nile made the universal gesture for title belts towards Valkyria, as the champion looked on with shock and horror at her sudden elimination.

Valkyria entered the Rumble at number four, followed by Nile in the seventh position. Immediately after entering the match, Nile began targeting Valkyria, though the two were then separated for some time before Nile eliminated the champion.

Earlier this week, Nile confronted Valkyria on "WWE Raw," informing her that she had her eyes on the title. This hasn't been the first interaction between the two, as Valkyria won a Triple Threat in December that also featured Nile and Zelina Vega to advance through the first round of the tournament to crown the first Women's Intercontinental Champion. Additionally, the two wrestled a short singles match on "WWE NXT" in 2023, with Valkyria winning to earn a shot at the WWE NXT Women's Championship.

Valkyria became the first Women's Intercontinental Champion last month by defeating Dakota Kai during the second episode of "WWE Raw" to stream live on Netflix. Prior to that, Valkyria overcame IYO SKY in the tournament's second round.

As for Nile, she had just one match between her Triple Threat loss in December and tonight's Rumble. She defeated Natalya on an episode of "WWE Main Event" last month, with the match lasting just under five minutes.