One of the newest members of the WWE roster was never in touch with AEW.

When it comes to signing talent, there’s some competition for WWE. AEW has emerged as a solid option now that the Stamford giant isn’t the only game in town.

This opens the door for bidding wars where in the end, it’s the talent who wins out and secures a nice payday.

In this situation, however, it was just one-way traffic.

Almost a full month after Fightful reported that former Bellator MMA fighter Valerie Loureda was expected to sign with WWE, the company and Loureda made it official.

During an interview with Ariel Helwani on MMAFighting’s The MMA Hour, Loureda revealed that she was never in contact with AEW before signing with WWE.

“No. Team WWE, all the way. Nothing compares to WWE. It’s a monster of its own and everyone knows that. It’s a global organization. There is nothing that compares to WrestleMania. Who could pull that off?”

With the WWE signing, Loureda hangs up her MMA gloves to start a new journey in the world of sports entertainment. Once she gets a grasp on things inside the WWE Performance Center, she will debut on the NXT brand.

Loureda exits pro MMA competition with a record of 4-1. At the young age of 23, Loureda has plenty of time to hone her skills in the squared circle. Time will tell if she can excel in WWE.