WWE followed up Clash in Italy with an episode of “Raw” out of Turin, Italy Monday night, and there was one aspect of the show that, to quote Peter Griffin, really grinded Bully Ray’s gears. Reviewing “Raw” on “Busted Open Radio” Tuesday morning, the two-time Hall of Famer took issue with WWE’s usage of Giulia, who was part of the first round Queen of the Ring four-way match, only for her to take the pin to IYO SKY during the match.
“I did not like the fact that Giulia ate the pin,” Bully said. “And I don’t think a lot of people know this, although they did say it on commentary during her entrance, Giulia is Italian. Giulia is half-Italian and she’s half-Japanese. Giulia speaks fluent Italian. I would have loved to have seen Giulia some promo time, make more of a connection with that crowd, and not do the J-O-B.”
Bully, who himself speaks some Italian, really honed in on WWE not giving Giulia any mic time during “Raw,” believing it was such a layup for the company given Giulia is half-Italian and the likelihood that the crowd would’ve responded well to such a promo.
“They’re in Italy last night,” Bully said. “That would’ve been a great opportunity to have her cut a thirty second promo. ‘Ciao Torino. Il sono Giulia.’ Start talking in Italian, and then ‘Forza Torino’ [or] whatever. Like, give her a little something. Nothing.”
While he pondered the idea that WWE didn’t give Giulia promo time because she is still struggling to get over within the WWE environment, Bully ultimately concluded that it was no excuse for WWE to not give her promo time in this situation.
“We have one talent of Italian descent, who speaks the language,” Bully said. “I’ll be damned if I’m not going to throw her out there to cut a promo to get the crowd going.”
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit “Busted Open Radio” and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription
Opinion: Bully Ray’s Thoughts On Giulia Are 100% Right
There are very few times in life I find myself agreeing with Bully Ray, and even fewer times here I find myself nodding along and thinking “my goodness, Bully is 100% dead on with this take.” His thoughts on Giulia is one of those rare times, because frankly Bully nails every point across the board. I could spend hours racking my brain, and like Bully, I would be unable to find a good reason for a) why Giulia lost in Italy and b) why she didn’t the chance to cut a promo in Italian. I’m not saying it would’ve fixed all of the issues with her run, but it absolutely would’ve endeared her to the audience, likely would’ve endeared her to fans at home, and would’ve made her more over for the match. And then she goes out and loses? In a four-way match? It’s fine if WWE didn’t want her to win over IYO SKY, but come on; WWE couldn’t have had Roxanne Perez or Lash Legend take the pin in this instance? If I didn’t know any better, I would say this was the thought process of a promotion that wasn’t thinking too clearly at the moment.
Except the problem is this is just par the course for Giulia during her WWE run. During his criticism of WWE’s handling of her this week, Bully also pointed out that it had been a struggle for Giulia since she joined WWE in 2024, that her style hadn’t translated from Stardom to WWE, and that Stephanie Vaquer, who signed shortly after Giulia, had stolen her thunder. All those things are true and in a way related; Vaquer did steal Giulia thunder and hasn’t struggled as much because she could adapt her style in a more seamless way than Giulia. But as Bully’s co-host Dave LaGreca pointed out, that doesn’t mean WWE couldn’t have still gotten behind Giulia and made her a star if they wanted to. And it sure seems like WWE, at least so far, has seen Giulia as a midcard wrestler whose partner, Kiana James, has more potential than she does. Things can always change, and Giulia is talented enough that, with the right opportunity, she can still thrive. But WWE’s usage of her tells me that, at the moment, she’s in a bit of trouble, and Bully’s criticism regarding WWE’s inability to hit the easy layup with her in Italy only reinforces that point.
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