The WWE Women's Championship[1] is a women's professional wrestling world championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE. Unveiled on the August 23, 2016, episode of SmackDown, it was created to be the counterpart title to the then-WWE Women's Championship, which became exclusive to Raw as a result of the 2016 WWE draft and renamed to the Raw Women's Championship.[2]
The championship is generally contested in professional wrestling matches, in which participants execute scripted finishes rather than contend in direct competition. The inaugural champion was Becky Lynch, who won the title at Backlash on September 11, 2016. Charlotte Flair is the current champion in her record seventh reign. She won the title by defeating Ronda Rousey on the December 30, 2022, episode of SmackDown in Tampa, Florida.
As of July 17, 2024, overall, there have been 25 reigns between 12 champions and one vacancy. Charlotte Flair has the most reigns at seven. Bayley's second reign is the longest singular reign at 380 days, while Flair's fourth reign is the shortest at less than 1 day. Bayley also holds the record for longest combined reign at 520 days. Asuka is the oldest champion at 37, while Alexa Bliss is the youngest, having won it at 25.
Title history
| No. | Overall reign number |
|---|---|
| Reign | Reign number for the specific champion |
| Days | Number of days held |
| Days recog. | Number of days held recognized by the promotion |
| + | Current reign is changing daily |
| No. | Champion | Championship change | Reign statistics | Notes | Ref. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | Location | Reign | Days | Days recog. | |||||
| WWE: SmackDown | ||||||||||
| 1 | Becky Lynch | September 11, 2016 | Backlash | Richmond, VA | 1 | 84 | 84 | As a result of the 2016 WWE draft, the WWE Women's Championship became exclusive to Raw. In response, SmackDown established the SmackDown Women's Championship and Raw's title was subsequently renamed. Lynch defeated Alexa Bliss, Carmella, Naomi, Natalya, and Nikki Bella in a six-pack elimination challenge to become the inaugural champion. | [3] | |
| 2 | Alexa Bliss | December 4, 2016 | TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs | Dallas, TX | 1 | 70 | 69 | This was a tables match. | [4] | |
| 3 | Naomi | February 12, 2017 | Elimination Chamber | Phoenix, AZ | 1 | 9 | 8 | [5] | ||
| — | Vacated | February 21, 2017 | SmackDown | Ontario, CA | — | — | — | The championship was vacated when Naomi suffered a knee injury and was unable to defend the title within 30 days. | [6] | |
| 4 | Alexa Bliss | February 21, 2017 | SmackDown | Ontario, CA | 2 | 40 | 40 | Defeated Becky Lynch to win the vacant title. | [6] | |
| 5 | Naomi | April 2, 2017 | WrestleMania 33 | Orlando, FL | 2 | 140 | 139 | This was a six-pack challenge, also involving Becky Lynch, Carmella, Mickie James, and Natalya. | [7] | |
| 6 | Natalya | August 20, 2017 | SummerSlam | Brooklyn, NY | 1 | 86 | 86 | [8] | ||
| 7 | Charlotte Flair | November 14, 2017 | SmackDown | Charlotte, NC | 1 | 147 | 146 | [9] | ||
| 8 | Carmella | April 10, 2018 | SmackDown | New Orleans, LA | 1 | 131 | 130 | This was Carmella's Money in the Bank cash-in match. This was the first time a women's title changed hands after a Money in the Bank contract cash-in. | [10] | |
| 9 | Charlotte Flair | August 19, 2018 | SummerSlam | Brooklyn, NY | 2 | 28 | 27 | This was a triple threat match, also involving Becky Lynch, who Flair pinned. | [11] | |
| 10 | Becky Lynch | September 16, 2018 | Hell in a Cell | San Antonio, TX | 2 | 91 | 91 | [12] | ||
| 11 | Asuka | December 16, 2018 | TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs | San Jose, CA | 1 | 100 | 99 | This was a triple threat Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match, also involving Charlotte Flair. | [13] | |
| 12 | Charlotte Flair | March 26, 2019 | SmackDown | Uncasville, CT | 3 | 13 | 12 | [14] | ||
| 13 | Becky Lynch | April 8, 2019 | WrestleMania 35 | East Rutherford, NJ | 3 | 41 | 41 | This was a winner takes all triple threat match for both the Raw Women's Championship and SmackDown Women's Championship, also involving Ronda Rousey, who defended the Raw Women's Championship. Lynch pinned Rousey to win both titles. | [15] | |
| 14 | Charlotte Flair | May 19, 2019 | Money in the Bank | Hartford, CT | 4 | <1 | <1 | [16] | ||
| 15 | Bayley | May 19, 2019 | Money in the Bank | Hartford, CT | 1 | 140 | 140 | This was Bayley's Money in the Bank cash-in match. | [16] | |
| 16 | Charlotte Flair | October 6, 2019 | Hell in a Cell | Sacramento, CA | 5 | 5 | 4 | [17] | ||
| 17 | Bayley | October 11, 2019 | SmackDown | Paradise, NV | 2 | 380 | 379 | [18] | ||
| 18 | Sasha Banks | October 25, 2020 | Hell in a Cell | Orlando, FL | 1 | 167 | 167 | This was a Hell in a Cell match. | [19] | |
| 19 | Bianca Belair | April 10, 2021 | WrestleMania 37 Night 1 | Tampa, FL | 1 | 15 | 15 | [20] | ||
| 20 | Ronda Rousey | April 25, 2021 | Raw | Des Moines, Iowa | 1 | 4 | 4 | This was a winner takes all triple threat match for both the Raw Women's Championship and SmackDown Women's Championship, also involving Rhea Ripley, defending the Raw Women’s Championship. Ronda forced both competitors to submit to unify the Women’s championships into the WWE Women’s Championship. | [21] | |
| WWE: Raw and SmackDown | ||||||||||
| — | Vacated | April 29, 2021 | SmackDown | Minneapolis, Minnesota | — | — | — | The championship was vacated when Ronda Rousey kayfabe quit the WWE. | [6] | |
| 21 | Alexa Bliss | May 23, 2021 | Money in the Bank | Fort Worth, TX | 3 | 77 | 77 | defeated Liv Morgan in a “Pile of Bliss match”. | [4] | |
| 22 | Liv Morgan | August 8, 2021 | SummerSlam | Paradise, NV | 1 | 188 | 188 | This was a ladder match. | [4] | |
Combined reigns
As of July 17, 2024.
| † | Indicates the current champion |
|---|
| Rank | Wrestler | No. of reigns | Combined days | Combined days rec. by WWE | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bayley | 2 | 520 | 519 | |
| 2 | Becky Lynch | 3 | 216 | ||
| 3 | Charlotte Flair | 5 | 194 | 190 | |
| 4 | Alexa Bliss | 3 | 187 | 186 | |
| 5 | Sasha Banks | 1 | 167 | ||
| 6 | Naomi | 2 | 149 | 147 | |
| 7 | Carmella | 1 | 131 | 130 | |
| 8 | Asuka | 1 | 100 | 99 | |
| 9 | Liv Morgan | 1 | 98 | 97 | |
| 10 | Natalya | 1 | 86 | ||
| 11 | Bianca Belair | 1 | 15 | ||
| 12 | Ronda Rousey | 1 | 4 | ||
See also
References
External links
Category:WWE championships listsCategory:WWE SmackDownCategory:WWE women's championshipsCategory:Women's professional wrestling championships lists