Exclusive: Julia Hart Leads The Women's Division In AEW Thanks To A Serious Approach

Former TBS Champion, Julia Hart, spoke to The Takedown on SI on return to the ring from injury, finding her dark gimmick, and taking time to appreciate her career as she helps lead the women's division in AEW.
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Julia Hart has come a long way since debuting in AEW as a cheerleader along with The Varsity Blonds in 2021. In four years time, Hart has experienced the high highs and the low lows the pro wrestling business has to offer.

"I think it's just crazy how much I've been through in four years of being just in wrestling," Hart said in an interview with The Takedown on SI. "Having a cheerleader character, switching and doing a whole 180, building my way up to become the TBS Champion, and then going through an injury all in a span of just four years. I feel like I've been through so much and I still have so much more to go through.

"Everything comes with a lesson and just figuring out how to navigate where you're going and how to do it and just to do it with grace. So, I think that I looked at the injury as more of a lesson and more of just like a 'calm down Julia, like breathe, and take in everything that just happened, because great things just happened."

Hart made her debut for AEW in a match against Kilynn King on an episode of AEW Dark. Hart lost the match, but put herself on a trajectory to do big things with company and in the wrestling business. The early part of her career was a whirlwind, in large part thanks to the fact that she was learning how to wrestle on national television.

"I learned how to wrestle on TV," Hart said. "I think Ruby Soho told me once that it took her, I don't something like eight years before she was on TV. She had eight years of learning before she then got on TV. And, like, my 10th match was on TV against Britt Baker, so I didn't know what I was doing.

Hart gave big credit to her cheerleading experience as something that helped her through that learning process.

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"I think that's where my cheerleading background helped a lot of like remembering a routine and being in front of a crowd," Hart said. "And honestly, it was never the crowd that I was afraid of. It was more so coming back and making sure Tony's happy, or whoever my coach was -- Dustin Rhodes -- is happy with what I just did, and whether or not what I did makes sense ... that is more so what I was scared of."

Hart began her run as a cheerleader as a way to tap into the cheerleader perception she felt in high school. However, it was the recognition of needing a more serious approach that unveiled the House of Black gimmick that helps lead the AEW women's division in 2025.

"I just needed to take myself more seriously," Hart said. "I think in the cheerleader role, I looked at the cheerleader as like an annoying preppy girl, because I was a cheerleader all of high school. That's how we were always looked at, you know, just the annoying preppy girls. But, I was never really like that. I was never smiling. I always wore baggy clothes and a jacket with a hood over my head in high school.

"When I got to AEW, everyone's like, 'Oh, you're so cute. You're so bubbly. Like, do this, this, and this.' So then it was really hard for me to be aggressive, because I'm this cute, bubbly little girl. I don't know how to translate that to make me serious. It wasn't until I saw what they were about to do with House of Black, and I was like, I think I could do that. They asked me to do a promo for them and I did it. And they're like, 'Oh, you do have something to you. You are more than just a little girl." They were like, okay. And I was like, I guess okay, we'll see. And then it took four months for me to actually join the group and I was just patiently waiting."

Hart says that the comfortability she has with the House of Black style gimmick almost makes her uncomfortable.

"I'm getting really comfortable to the point where I'm like, 'okay, am I supposed to change something now?' No. I think I should slow down and just appreciate again everything I'm doing and really keep running with it. So, it's like, like, 'Oh, should I try this and this?' I tried the archery stuff. I think sometimes I get too excited with ideas and sometimes I just need to relax and I need to focus on just getting better in the ring and working on more promos."

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The idea of appreciation is a key part of Hart's mental strategy, especially after coming off a serious injury that kept her out of action for many months in 2024. Hart injured her shoulder in a match and was forced to have surgery to repair the damage. She returned to the company at the end of last year and had her return match on January 1.

"I feel fine," Hart said of her shoulder. "I didn't even think about my shoulder during the match with Jamie (Hayter). I had a torn labrum over my right shoulder and I didn't even think about it in the match. I was just so focused on beating up Jamie.

"I actually was pretty healthy at the end of September. That's when I was pretty much almost 100%," Hart said. "I wasn't back to full strength, but mobility wise, I was pretty good. I think it was better that I took more time just to relax and to make sure I was 1,000%, instead of just hopping back in right away in September. (At that point) I would have only been three months out. I'm lucky that I'm young and I fixed it now, instead of down the line. I just worked really hard to get that strength back up and to have mobility. It paid off and I'm glad I took more time than I needed."

The AEW women's division will make history on Wednesday when they compete in the first-ever Women's Casino Gauntlet Match -- a match that has taken place on multiple occasions in the men's division. Hart said that she doesn't know whether she's in the match, but that she's thrilled to see the women get big opportunities.

"I think it's awesome," Hart said of the Women's Casino Gauntlet Match scheduled for this week's Maximum Carnage episode of AEW Dynamite. "I was watching the men's match on Wednesday, just trying to study, just in case. How can I win this? Watching in that perspective of, 'okay, what works, and all the different things,' but I think it's great that we're getting the same opportunities as the men, because I think -- not to be biased -- but, the women's division is one of my favorite parts of wrestling."

This week's Maximum Carnage AEW Dynamite will also feature Kenny Omega in a match against Brian Cage. Plus, Jon Moxley will defend the AEW World Championship against Powerhouse Hobbs.

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Zack Heydorn
ZACK HEYDORN

Zack Heydorn has been covering the pro wrestling industry for nine years. He's a former Assistant Editor of PWTorch and Managing Editor of SEScoops. Zack is the author of the Hybrid Shoot book Stunning: The Wrestling Artistry of Steve Austin, which is available on Amazon. You can follow Zack on