Major Free Agent To Delay Signing With WWE

With Giulia expected to sign with WWE when he current STARDOM contract expires in March, it appears fans will have to wait a little longer to see the NJPW Strong Women's Champion under the WWE banner.

Speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio (via WrestlingNews.co), Dave Meltzer noted that Giulia is going to help launch Rossy Ogawa's new promotion before joining WWE. With Bushiroad firing STARDOM co-founder Ogawa on Sunday, today brought news that Rossy plans to start his own new wrestling company.

Per Meltzer:

"The reason that [Giulia] is delaying her WWE start is so she could at least be there to kick off the promotion for a while and get the promotion going. And then, you know, she is going to end up with WWE at some point, but when WWE was interested in her, she basically gave her word she would help when [Ogawa] started out, and that's what she's gonna do. She's actually postponing her WWE debut because she'd given her word."

Bushiroad accused Rossy Ogawa of poaching talent for a new promotion when they announced his firing, with reports claiming STARDOM could soon be set for a mass talent exodus. With the majority of STARDOM talent under contracts that expire in March, the belief was their strong loyalty to Ogawa - who gave so many of them their big break - would see them depart STARDOM. In fact, the only STARDOM star said to be under a long-term deal is IWGP Women's Champion Mayu Iwatani.

So, while Giulia is indeed said to be heading to WWE, she'll first be taking a detour with Rossy Ogawa's to-be-named new promotion.