Giulia loses NJPW Strong Women’s Championship amid rumors of heading to WWE

The rumors will only get louder now.

Rumors were abound months ago that Giulia was a hot target on WWE’s radar. Those rumors will only get hotter now that she lost the NJPW Strong Women’s Championship.

Giulia wrestled Stephanie Vaquer at a Stardom event in Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan on March 10, 2024. Vaquer visited from CMLL and currently holds their women’s title and women’s tag team belt.

Giulia had momentum down the stretch with a run of offense. She executed a spinning hammerlock Michinoku driver to finish, but Vaquer kicked out on the cover. When Giulia went for her next power move, Vaquer escaped to counter for a DDT. The challenger transitioned to a roll-up to become the new champion.

It’s interesting to note that the Giulia’s shoulders weren’t cleanly on the mat for the full three seconds. I’m not familiar with the Stardom product to know whether or not that was intentionally planned as a story device. Whatever the case, Giulia was not pleased afterward. She grabbed the championship while in Vaquer’s hands, so Vaquer popped her with the belt to show a new boss is in town.

With Giulia losing the NJPW Strong Women’s Championship, it would seem that she is wrapping up her time in Japan before heading to WWE.

This title change could also have ramifications for AEW. The NJPW Strong Women’s Championship was supposedly created with Mercedes Mone in mind to become the inaugural champion. Unfortunately, Mercedes suffered an injury during the inaugural tournament, and Willow Nightingale won the strap. The championship was passed on to Giulia and now Vaquer. With AEW heavily hinting that Mercedes will appear at the Big Business special episode of Dynamite on Wednesday (Mar. 13), that title’s journey could eventually circle into Mercedes’ possession. AEW has strong working relationships with NJPW and CMLL, and Mercedes has history in the ring with Vaquer. Mercedes previously defeated Vaquer in the tournament.

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