Giulia Regains the WWE Women’s United States Title After Beating Chelsea Green on SmackDown

Buffalo delivered a title shocker to kick off 2026. Giulia is once again the WWE Women’s United States Champion after defeating Chelsea Green on Friday Night SmackDown, a result that instantly lit up social media.

WWE’s first big headline of the year arrived fast: Giulia walked into SmackDown with something to prove and walked out with the gold. The win flips the division’s momentum early in 2026 and signals that WWE is ready to make the Women’s U.S. Title feel like a true weekly destination.

In a match built around urgency and emotion, Chelsea Green tried to control the pace and keep Giulia from finding rhythm. But once Giulia started chaining her offense together, the tone changed — the crowd could sense a title swing coming, and the finish landed like a statement rather than a fluke.

How the title changed hands

Giulia’s victory wasn’t just “new champion” drama — it was the kind of SmackDown moment designed to ripple into future matchups. Green pushed for key openings, but Giulia stayed composed, tightened the gaps, and capitalized when the window finally appeared.

WWE quickly highlighted the moment across its platforms, posting “GIULIA DOES IT” as the result began trending. If you missed the finish, WWE has clips and highlights from the title win on its official site.

Watch the official SmackDown highlights here: WWE’s video recap of Giulia winning the Women’s United States Title.

For additional match notes and coverage from the show, reporting outlets also confirmed the title change and the immediate buzz around it, including this recap: Fightful’s report on Giulia defeating Chelsea Green.

Fans react: “AND NEWWWWWW” and instant debate

Within minutes, X (Twitter) turned into a rolling highlight reel and a real-time argument — which is exactly what WWE wants when a title changes hands on TV.

• One viral post summed up the moment in classic wrestling style: “AND NEWWWWWW” — followed by “GIULIA IS THE NEW WOMEN’S UNITED STATES CHAMPION.”
• A fan account celebrated the win as a New Year’s reset, calling it “a way to celebrate & start off the new year in style” and hailing Giulia as a “2X United States Champion.”
• There was also plenty of praise for the in-ring work, with posts like “Her and Chelsea cooked” and clips captioned “THIS SEQUENCE FROM GIULIA WAS DOPE.”
• Not everyone was sold. One critic argued it’s time to “give up the Giulia experiment,” claiming the crowd “does not care” — a reminder that WWE’s next step is making this reign feel undeniable week after week.

What’s next: the challengers fans want

One theme kept popping up in reactions: fans want hard-hitting, credibility-building defenses. Multiple posts pointed toward potential fresh matchups — especially the idea of Giulia mixing it up with power-based challengers to elevate the belt through violent (but athletic) intensity and standout TV matches.

If WWE leans into that appetite, this reign could quickly become less about “title change surprise” and more about a run of must-watch defenses — the kind that turns a mid-card championship into a fan-favorite anchor of the show.

Bottom line: Giulia starting 2026 with gold is a loud creative choice. Now the real test begins — can WWE book the follow-up strongly enough that the title win feels like the start of something bigger, not just a one-night reset?