Willow accepts.
At STARDOM SUNSHINE 2023 on June 25, Giulia stated that she would like to head overseas and compete on NJPW STRONG. She also said that she wanted to face Willow Nightingale, who is the reigning NJPW STRONG Women's Champion.
In a video posted following NJPW x AEW Forbidden Door, Willow accepted the challenge.
"I woke up this morning, the morning of Forbidden Door, ready to face Toni Storm for the AEW World Women's Championship, but I log in to Twitter and I saw what Giulia had to say, I saw her issue a challenge. Now, being the New Japan STRONG Women's Champion is very important to me, very near and dear to my heart, and, of course, I'm going to want to defend that against the very best. I'm really well known here in the United States, but if you know anything about the Japanese women's wrestling scene you know exactly who Giulia is. So Giulia, I hear your challenge, and I look forward to having a fight with you and showing all the Japanese fans exactly what Willow Nightingale's about," she said.
The NJPW social media account mentioned NJPW STRONG Independence Day in the tweet, but the bout has not been made official.
.@willowwrestles has responded to the challenge laid down by @giulia0221g!#njpwSTRONG Independence Day July 4 & 5:https://t.co/2PVocYAxRP pic.twitter.com/thRNiIe6sB
— NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) June 26, 2023
Willow lost to Toni Storm at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door, failing to win the AEW Women's Championship.
Fans can find Fightful's coverage of AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door by clicking here. Check out the post-show podcast for a full review of the action by clicking here.
