History was made to kick off tonight's episode of NXT (the WWE New Year's Evil special on January 7, 2025) as the NXT Women's Championship changed hands at the Shrine Expo Hall in Los Angeles, California.
Roxanne Perez walked into the match a fighting champion, despite her heel character, having defended the title more than twice a month (if you count NXT Live house show events as well as televised episodes and pay-per-views) since winning the title from Lyra Valkyria at NXT Stand & Deliver 2024.
Perez's title reign comes to an end at 277 days—the fifth-longest title reign in NXT Women's Championship history, behind Asuka's 522 days, Shayna Baszler's 416 days, Mandy Rose's 413 days and Io Shirai's 304 days. As far as combined days holding this title, Perez is the fourth longest, beating out even Charlotte Flair by 65 days. Notably, some of Perez's challengers were Chelsea Green, Jaida Parker, Thea Hail, Lola vice, Natalya, and even TNA Wrestling's Jordynne Grace.
Giulia, on the other hand, has yet to hold any other championship in WWE, though that is not surprising considering she only made her in-ring debut in September 2024 and nearly won the NXT Women's Championship when she previously faced Roxanne Perez on the October 1, 2024 episode of NXT.
While Giulia came up short in their first encounter, the second time was the charm (something that has become very common these days in WWE) after she had earned the right for another match due to winning the Women's Iron Survivor Challenge from NXT Deadline 2024.
Perez nearly retained her title in this match due to some interference from her friend, Cora Jade, who tossed The Prodigy back into the ring in an attempt to secure a count-out victory for the champion, only for Giulia to get back into the ring at a 9-count.
As the 18th woman to win this title, Giulia stands in a class of many future Hall of Fame talents like Bayley, Becky Lynch, Kairi Sane, Sasha Banks and Rhea Ripley. Whether she makes a name for herself and has an historic run remains to be seen, but as she had been earmarked for this championship before she was even confirmed to be joining the World Wrestling Entertainment roster, it's as good of a sign as any that she will have a bright future ahead of her as champion.
What do you think of this title change? Drop your thoughts in the comments below!