{"id":162731,"date":"2026-06-09T06:00:24","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T10:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/?p=162731"},"modified":"2026-06-08T19:29:39","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T23:29:39","slug":"why-the-giulia-and-kiana-james-split-is-best-for-both-women","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2026\/06\/09\/why-the-giulia-and-kiana-james-split-is-best-for-both-women\/","title":{"rendered":"Why the Giulia and Kiana James Split is Best for Both Women"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\u2019s division. She was NXT Women\u2019s 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\u2019s Tag Team Championship with Fallon Henley and holding it for 56 days. They\u2019ve been a team on the main roster for nearly a year now, and recently, things haven\u2019t been good between them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

On the June 5, 2026 episode of WWE Friday Night SmackDown<\/a>, James had a first-round matchup in the Queen of the Ring<\/a> tournament. She ended up losing, which\u00a0greatly upset\u00a0her. When Giulia tried to console her, she shook her off and yelled at her. Giulia then punched her, igniting a brawl<\/a> and the dissolution of the partnership. Going their separate ways will be the best thing for both of them.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Giulia Can Get a Proper Singles Run<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Giulia has had two separate runs as the WWE Women\u2019s 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\u2019ve been more exciting than they were. Not counting the matches she won and lost the titles, she only successfully defended the titles three times.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"A
A WWE SmackDown graphic of Giulia and Tiffany Stratton. (Photo Credit: WWE)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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,\u00a0she\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0defend the title for\u00a015 weeks. Instead, she was in tag team matches with James that\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0really go anywhere. <\/span><\/p>\n

The title was shelved<\/a> in favor of the storyline with James. Now that\u00a0the partnership is over, she can have meaningful matches with title reigns that can\u00a0actually feel\u00a0important.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

James Can Shine as a Singles Competitor<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However, her frustration with the losses probably isn\u2019t the only reason why she wanted to get away from Giulia. It\u2019s well known that she is a perfectly capable singles competitor. She spent 27 minutes in this year\u2019s Royal Rumble until Raquel Rodriguez eliminated her.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"WWE
A WWE SmackDown graphic advertising Women’s United States Champion Tiffany Stratton vs. Kiana James. (Photo Credit: WWE)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In addition, she was also in the Elimination Chamber<\/a> this year, lasting 16 minutes before being eliminated\u00a0once again by Rodriguez. To last that long in those events is extremely impressive, and being known as Giulia\u2019s sidekick\u00a0hasn\u2019t\u00a0given her the opportunity to really shine\u00a0on her own.\u00a0She knows that she can stand on her own and have good matches.\u00a0That\u2019s\u00a0why she had to break away from Giulia and start a\u00a0singles\u00a0career for herself.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Both Women Can Have a Fresh Start\u00a0Away from Each Other<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

There have been a lot of people disappointed with Giulia\u2019s two title runs over the past year. Many people have also disliked the usage of James\u00a0as a tag team wrestler.\u00a0They\u00a0must\u2019ve\u00a0been happy with the events on Friday for several reasons. With this breakup, Giulia can\u00a0actually go\u00a0on 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\u2019s Royal Rumble and Elimination Chamber. <\/span><\/p>\n

Both women are extremely impressive wrestlers who can do impressive things. The problem is that fans haven\u2019t 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.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n