James vs. Giulia, Jayne vs. Paige headline next week’s SmackDown
It’s not exactly Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, and the MegaPowers colliding, but next week’s SmackDown will feature a singles encounter 11 months in the making.
Nearly a year after they first teamed up, Kiana James and Giulia will oppose each other in their first one-on-one match.
Giulia challenged James to face her next week in a video package that aired on tonight’s episode of Smackdown. She noted that she trained in Japan, the nation of her mother, and that she and James broke up in Italy, the nation of her father. Next week’s SmackDown is in London, the city where Giulia was born, and so she wants to meet James there.
James made her main roster debut on Monday Night Raw in June of 2024, but she soon suffered a leg injury that sidelined her for over a year. While she was out of action, Giulia made her debut on SmackDown in April of 2025. She went on to defeat Zelina Vega for the Women’s United States Championship that June.
On the July 25, 2025 episode of SmackDown, James returned from her injury to appear on SmackDown, where she served as Giulia’s official representative. For most of the next year, James was Giulia’s mouthpiece and occasional tag team partner. Last February, they unsuccessfully challenged Rhea Ripley & Iyo Sky for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships.
Giulia would eventually lose the US championship to Tiffany Stratton on SmackDown in April. Then, in June, Sky defeated Giulia (and also Lash Legend and Roxanne Perez) in a fatal four-way to advance in the Queen of the Ring tournament. Giulia blamed James for her loss, and the pair split up afterwards.
Giulia is not the only woman in WWE who was born in England; Paige, who still holds the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships with Brie Bella, was born in Norwich, a few hours outside of London. And she’ll be in action next week two after Jacy Jayne challenged her on SmackDown.
This will be Paige’s first singles match in WWE since December 4, 2017, when she defeated Sasha Banks on SmackDown.
