Blake Monroe Wins In-Ring SmackDown Debut Over Giulia

Blake Monroe finally got her first official WWE match out of the way, picking up a win over Giulia on the October 2 edition of SmackDown to extend their long-simmering rivalry. The victory marked her first in-ring appearance on the main roster after weeks of vignettes and a backstage arrival, and it came with a bit of controversy attached — Giulia was left dazed after colliding with the ring post, giving Monroe an opening she didn’t hesitate to capitalize on.

For longtime followers of her career under the Mariah May name in AEW and Stardom, the match was a long time coming. Monroe hadn’t competed on television since April, and her path to SmackDown included a slow-burn rollout of vignettes before she popped up in a backstage segment with Chelsea Green back in May. The Giulia feud itself isn’t new, either — the two have history in Japan, and an ending that leaves Giulia without a clean loss suggests this rivalry isn’t done just yet.

The finish practically writes the next chapter itself. Giulia being taken out by circumstance rather than Monroe’s offense gives her a built-in excuse to demand another shot, and it would be a surprise if WWE didn’t run it back at least once more before moving on. But the real intrigue is in where Monroe goes from here once that chapter closes, because her character has always thrived on manipulation and alliances as much as in-ring work.

As Mariah May, she built one of the most memorable programs in recent AEW memory by cozying up to Toni Storm before turning the knife, and in NXT she pulled a similar trick with Jordynne Grace. That blueprint makes her a natural fit to start working an angle with one of SmackDown’s existing factions or top stars rather than simply working her way up a ranking of singles opponents. Names like Tiffany Stratton, Chelsea Green, or members of Fatal Influence all make sense as potential targets for a Monroe charm offensive, especially if the goal is to sow discord within an already established group.

There’s also a version of this story that sees Monroe aligning with a bigger-picture veteran presence on either side of the alignment spectrum, giving her a mentor-slash-partner dynamic to play off of while she gets her footing on the main roster. And given her prior backstage interaction with Chelsea Green, there’s an obvious thread to pull if WWE wants to build toward Monroe inserting herself into the interim Women’s Championship picture — particularly with Green and Stratton seemingly on a collision course of their own as Money in the Bank approaches.

Whatever direction creative chooses, Monroe’s debut win keeps her undefeated to start her main roster run, and it’s clear WWE sees her as more than a one-off attraction. The character work she’s shown in the past suggests she won’t be short on options for her next target — the only question is which rivalry producers decide is worth building toward first.