Giulia has received massive international praise since winning the NJPW STRONG Women’s Championship and defending it in New Japan’s shows in the United States.
Recent reports also stated that major wrestling companies like WWE have shown interest in bringing Giulia into their roster. Hence, an immediate question amongst wrestling fans unfamiliar with the Joshi wrestling scene is, “Who is Giulia, and what does she bring to the table?”
A brief introduction to Giulia
Giulia is of Italian-Japanese descent. Her professional wrestling background kickstarted back in 2017 at the Joshi promotion Ice Ribbon, where she was a former tag team champion. However, she further etched her name in the history books with her move to her current promotion, World Wonder Ring STARDOM, in 2019. A few months after her STARDOM debut, she formed the Donna Del Mondo faction: a mafia-like stable of fierce women.
Her wrestling is infamous for incorporating powerhouse maneuvers into the shoot style with her stiff striking ability. This hard-hitting arsenal of hers led to her extensive catalog of main event caliber battles against the likes of Tam Nakano, Suzu Suzuki, and Syuri.
Championships and accomplishments
Giulia skyrocketed herself to the company’s championship scene, winning nearly all of STARDOM’s major titles. On top of winning both duos and trios tag belts, Giulia has held the World of Stardom and Wonder of Stardom Championships: the two belts that sit atop Stardom’s championship hierarchy. She also won Stardom’s biggest annual tournament, the 5 Star Grand Prix, in 2022 against runner-up Tam Nakano.
It was not long before Giulia added to her resume by capturing NJPW’s newly-introduced STRONG Women’s Championship from Willow Nightingale earlier this year.
How Giulia promotes Joshi wrestling to international audiences
With her ongoing run as NJPW STRONG Women’s Champion, challengers from all around the world now want a shot not only for Giulia’s belt, but for the experience of wrestling the Joshi style. Stardom recently welcomed foreign competitors Mercedes Moné, Mariah May, and Megan Bayne, so a match against one of their top talents in Giulia could garner the company’s interest in signing them for a future Stardom run. Giulia’s work in the United States also helps bring the culture and experience of Joshi puroresu to non-Japanese viewers conveniently such that they need not travel to Japan to witness Japanese wrestling firsthand.
With Giulia, alongside the likes of IYO SKY and Hikaru Shida, sitting atop their respective companies, it may not be long before the era of Japanese women’s wrestling is ushered into a global scale.
