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 cite 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 a part of the primary round Queen of the Ring four-way match, just for her to take the pin to IYO SKY through the match.
“I didn’t just like the proven fact that Giulia ate the pin,” Bully said. “And I do not think plenty of people know this, although they did say it on commentary during her entrance, Giulia is Italian. Giulia is half-Italian and he or she’s half-Japanese. Giulia speaks fluent Italian. I’d have loved to have seen Giulia some promo time, make more of a reference to that crowd, and never 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 corporate given Giulia is half-Italian and the likelihood that the group would’ve responded well to such a promo.
“They’re in Italy last night,” Bully said. “That will’ve been an awesome opportunity to have her cut a thirty second promo. ‘Ciao Torino. Il sono Giulia.’ Start talking in Italian, after which ‘Forza Torino’ [or] whatever. Like, give her a bit of something. Nothing.”
While he pondered the concept that WWE didn’t give Giulia promo time because she continues to be struggling to recover from throughout the WWE environment, Bully ultimately concluded that it was no excuse for WWE to not give her promo time in this case.
“We have now one talent of Italian descent, who speaks the language,” Bully said. “I will be damned if I’m not going to throw her on the market to chop a promo to get the group going.”
In case you use any of the quotes in this text, please credit “Busted Open Radio” and supply a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription
Opinion: Bully Ray’s Thoughts On Giulia Are 100% Right
There are only a few times in life I find myself agreeing with Bully Ray, and even fewer times here I find myself nodding along and considering “my goodness, Bully is 100% dead on with this take.” His thoughts on Giulia is one among those rare times, because frankly Bully nails every point across the board. I could spend hours racking my brain, and like Bully, I can be unable to seek out reason for a) why Giulia lost in Italy and b) why she didn’t the possibility to chop a promo in Italian. I’m not saying it could’ve fixed all the issues along with her run, but it surely 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. After which she goes out and loses? In a four-way match? It’s tremendous 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 on this instance? If I didn’t know any higher, I’d say this was the thought strategy of a promotion that wasn’t considering too clearly in the mean time.
Except the issue is that 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 identified 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 identified, that doesn’t suggest WWE couldn’t have still gotten behind Giulia and made her a star in the event that they desired to. And it sure looks like WWE, a minimum of to date, has seen Giulia as a midcard wrestler whose partner, Kiana James, has more potential than she does. Things can at all times change, and Giulia is talented enough that, with the correct opportunity, she will still thrive. But WWE’s usage of her tells me that, in the mean time, she’s in a little bit of trouble, and Bully’s criticism regarding WWE’s inability to hit the straightforward layup along with her in Italy only reinforces that time.