Unable to pair Apple Watch Series 7 with iPhone 16 Pro

Received my new iPhone 16 Pro and set it up. I went to the Watch App on the phone, and it showed my current watch (Series 7) as a watch I can pair. I started the pairing on the phone; the watch prompted me for my passcode, and I entered it, and then it told me pairing failed. I tried this a few times; on maybe the 4th time the watch went dark, and for a few minutes showed the progress circle it displays while updating software. When the watch finished rebooting, I went back to the Watch app, but watch was no longer listed there. It only gives the option of pairing a new watch.

I thought maybe I could reset my Apple Watch in the watch's settings and pair it as a new watch, but it tells me activation lock won't be disabled unless I first unpair it from the iPhone 13. As mentioned above, I erased the iPhone 13. Is there any way out of this? Have I bricked my Apple Watch?