Giulia Injured, Forced To Drop NXT Women's Championship (WWE News)
Stephanie Vaquer is about to become a double champ on WWE's NXT brand.
Wrestling Observer Live's Bryan Alvarez has reported that there's an unfortunate reason why NXT chiefs decided to suddenly trigger a huge Giulia vs. Stephanie Vaquer 'Champion vs. Champion' match for the upcoming Roadblock special on 11 March. That bout was set up on this week's episode of NXT TV, and it certainly isn't good news for Giulia's fans.
Alvarez stated that one of the two "is banged up, [and] needs time off". He didn't want to specify exactly which one so as not to spoil the match, but follow up reports elsewhere have leaked the details.
PW Insider's Mike Johnson and Ibou confirmed that it's actually Giulia who's dealing with an unspecified/unknown injury. She's expected to drop the NXT Women's Title to Vaquer at Roadblock, which would go some way to explaining why Shawn Michaels and his creative team elected to go all in on such a mega-match so suddenly.
This is definitely a bummer for Giulia. She only won the belt from Roxanne Perez at New Year's Evil on 7 January and looked set to enjoy a lengthy reign, but now the soon-to-be deposed Women's Champ will join others on WWE's injury list imminently. Again, concrete details of the injury she's suffering through remain unknown.
Vaquer On Cusp Of Becoming Quickfire Double Champ
Giulia's loss will be Stephanie Vaquer's gain.
Vaquer just won the NXT Women's North American Title from Fallon Henley at Vengeance Day on 15 February. Now, just a few weeks later, she'll know she's on the cusp of becoming a quickfire double champ for the brand. That'd be a huge show of faith from Michaels and other WWE bosses in her abilities, but there's arguably nobody better placed to supplant Giulia in the top female hot seat.
Stephanie has impressed since debuting last summer then becoming a full-time part of NXT programming from October 2024 onwards. The thought of becoming both NXT Women's and Women's North American Champion at the same time is a tantalising thought for one of HBK's hopefuls.
Stay tuned for more WWE news as it breaks. Further details surrounding Giulia's injury will leak soon enough.