Blake Monroe Makes SmackDown Debut in London, Attacks Giulia With New Finisher

Blake Monroe has officially arrived on WWE SmackDown. At today’s taping of the June 26 edition of SmackDown — held June 23 at the O2 Arena in London, England — Monroe made her live debut on the brand, and she wasted no time making an impact.

Following the advertised match between Giulia and Kiana James, Monroe emerged and laid Giulia out with a Neutralizer, which appears to be her new finishing move. The attack wasn’t entirely out of nowhere — last week’s SmackDown featured a video package in which Monroe teased she had Giulia in her crosshairs. The two share a history from their time working together in STARDOM in Japan, giving the budding rivalry a natural foundation.

The debut had been building for weeks. SmackDown has been running “coming soon” vignettes for Monroe for some time, and while she popped up briefly in a backstage segment with Chelsea Green at one point, she had otherwise only been seen in those pre-taped video packages until today.

Monroe, who wrestled as Mariah May in AEW where she held the Women’s World Championship and headlined major storylines alongside Toni Storm, joined WWE’s NXT brand before making this main roster move. In NXT, she held the Women’s North American Title and closed out her run with a notable feud against Tatum Paxley, though her overall tenure on the developmental brand drew mixed reactions compared to her high-profile AEW work.

With the SmackDown women’s division as crowded as it’s ever been, Monroe’s ability to translate her character work to the main roster — and whether the creative team will get fully behind her — will be worth watching closely in the weeks ahead.