Giulia and Kiana James both had great runs in NXT. Coming in with a lot of hype from Japan, Giulia quickly rose to the top of the women’s division. She was NXT Women’s Champion for 63 days, winning the title just three months after her debut. James also had some good moments in NXT, capturing the NXT Women’s Tag Team Championship with Fallon Henley and holding it for 56 days. They’ve been a team on the main roster for nearly a year now, and recently, things haven’t been good between them.
On the June 5, 2026 episode of WWE Friday Night SmackDown, James had a first-round matchup in the Queen of the Ring tournament. She ended up losing, which greatly upset her. When Giulia tried to console her, she shook her off and yelled at her. Giulia then punched her, igniting a brawl and the dissolution of the partnership. Going their separate ways will be the best thing for both of them.
Giulia Can Get a Proper Singles Run
Giulia has had two separate runs as the WWE Women’s United States Champion, totaling 245 days. The first run was for 133 days from June to November 2025, and the second run was for 112 days from January to April. That seems very impressive, but if you look closer, the two title reigns should’ve been more exciting than they were. Not counting the matches she won and lost the titles, she only successfully defended the titles three times.
She beat Zelina Vega in August 2025, Michin in September 2025, and Alexa Bliss in January. Between the retention with Bliss and her losing the title to Tiffany Stratton in April, she didn’t defend the title for 15 weeks. Instead, she was in tag team matches with James that didn’t really go anywhere.
The title was shelved in favor of the storyline with James. Now that the partnership is over, she can have meaningful matches with title reigns that can actually feel important.
James Can Shine as a Singles Competitor
James returned after a year away due to a leg injury on the July 25, 2025, SmackDown as the special advisor for Giulia. The two worked well together initially. But tension started to grow between them, leading to what happened on Friday.
However, her frustration with the losses probably isn’t the only reason why she wanted to get away from Giulia. It’s well known that she is a perfectly capable singles competitor. She spent 27 minutes in this year’s Royal Rumble until Raquel Rodriguez eliminated her.
In addition, she was also in the Elimination Chamber this year, lasting 16 minutes before being eliminated once again by Rodriguez. To last that long in those events is extremely impressive, and being known as Giulia’s sidekick hasn’t given her the opportunity to really shine on her own. She knows that she can stand on her own and have good matches. That’s why she had to break away from Giulia and start a singles career for herself.
Both Women Can Have a Fresh Start Away from Each Other
There have been a lot of people disappointed with Giulia’s two title runs over the past year. Many people have also disliked the usage of James as a tag team wrestler. They must’ve been happy with the events on Friday for several reasons. With this breakup, Giulia can actually go on the singles run that everyone saw from her in Japan and on NXT. James can also have a singles run, with everyone seeing her ability in this year’s Royal Rumble and Elimination Chamber.
Both women are extremely impressive wrestlers who can do impressive things. The problem is that fans haven’t seen that, since WWE was so insistent on making this pairing work. As singles competitors, they can show everyone what they can truly do, which will probably begin with a match between the two of them. By breaking up this partnership, Giulia and James can properly embark on singles runs that can have them reach their full potential in the ring.
