NXT Women's Championship

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the women's championship on the NXT brand. For the championship on the NXT UK brand, see NXT UK Women's Championship.
NXT Women's Championship
NXT Women's Championship 2017.png
The current NXT Women's Championship belt with default side plates
(2017–present)
Details
PromotionWWE
BrandNXT
Date establishedApril 5, 2013
Current champion(s)Mandy Rose
Date wonOctober 26, 2021

The NXT Women's Championship is a women's professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE, defended on their NXT brand division. Introduced on April 5, 2013, the inaugural champion was Paige. The current champion is Mandy Rose, who is in her first reign.

At the time the title was established, NXT was a developmental territory for WWE. In September 2019, the promotion began promoting NXT as its "third brand" when the NXT television program was moved to the USA Network. However, NXT was rebranded two years later, which returned it to its original function as WWE's developmental brand.

History[]

The inaugural NXT Women's Champion Paige, shown here with the original championship belt design

In June 2012, WWE established NXT as their developmental territory, replacing Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW). The following year on April 5, the NXT Women's Championship was introduced during WrestleMania Axxess. On the May 30 tapings of NXT (aired June 5), WWE's Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon announced that there would be an eight-woman single-elimination tournament, featuring four women from NXT and four from WWE's main roster competing to be crowned the first NXT Women's Champion.[1][2][3] During the June 20 tapings of NXT (aired July 24), Paige defeated Emma in the tournament final to become the inaugural champion.[4]

Paige successfully defended her title at Arrival against Emma, however, then-NXT General Manager John "Bradshaw" Layfield stripped Paige of the title on the April 24, 2014 episode of NXT, as Paige had recently won the WWE Divas Championship, and was in turn promoted to WWE's main roster. A new tournament began the following week. The finals occurred at TakeOver where Charlotte defeated Natalya to win the vacant NXT Women's Championship. On the September 16, 2015 episode of NXT, now NXT General Manager William Regal announced that Bayley would defend her title against Sasha Banks in the main event at TakeOver: Respect on October 7 in the first-ever 30-minute Iron Woman match in WWE history.[5] At the event, Bayley defeated Banks to retain the championship, scoring the win with 3 falls to 2.[6][7]

Although NXT had been established as WWE's developmental territory, WWE began promoting it as their "third brand" in September 2019 when NXT was moved to the USA Network. This also made the NXT Women's Championship one of the top three singles titles for women in WWE, along with the Raw Women's Championship—which had replacing the Divas title in 2016—and SmackDown Women's Championship.[8] This was validated in 2020; first, Charlotte Flair (previously known as just Charlotte) won the 2020 Women's Royal Rumble and chose to challenge for the NXT Women's Championship at WrestleMania 36, becoming the first Royal Rumble winner to challenge for an NXT title, and secondly, the title became the first NXT championship to be defended at a WrestleMania where during WrestleMania 36 Part 2, Flair defeated defending champion Rhea Ripley to win her record-tying second NXT Women's Championship.[9] WWE revamped NXT in 2021, rebranding it NXT 2.0, and returned it to its original function as a developmental brand.[10]

In January 2020, WWE briefly began referring to the women's championship as the "NXT Championship" to bring it on an equal level as the men's title,[11] though reverted to calling it the NXT Women's Championship soon after; it remained as NXT Women's Championship on the official title history during this time.[12]

Inaugural championship tournament (2013)[]

Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
         
Tamina Snuka
Paige Pin
Paige Pin
Alicia Fox
Bayley
Alicia Fox Pin
Paige Pin
Emma
Sasha Banks
Summer Rae Pin
Summer Rae
Emma Pin
Emma Sub
Aksana

Second championship tournament (2014)[]

Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
         
Bayley
Sasha Banks Sub
Sasha Banks
Natalya Sub
Layla
Natalya Sub
Natalya
Charlotte Pin
Alicia Fox
Alexa Bliss Pin
Alexa Bliss
Charlotte Pin
Charlotte Pin
Emma


Belt design[]

The original NXT Women's Championship belt featured an oval shaped silver center plate. At the top of the plate was the WWE logo. The center of the plate was the NXT logo encrusted with pink diamonds; red coloring was behind the letter "X". Above the NXT logo read "Women's" while below the logo read "Champion". There were two side plates, which were skinny and matched the curve of the center plate. The inner side plates were encrusted with pink diamonds, while the outer side plates were blank silver plates. The plates were on a black leather strap. When first introduced, the WWE logo was the long-standing scratch logo but in August 2014, all of WWE's pre-existing championships at the time received a minor update, changing the scratch logo to WWE's current logo that was originally used for the WWE Network.

On April 1, 2017, at WrestleMania Axxess, NXT General Manager William Regal announced that all of the existing NXT title belts at the time would be redesigned. The new title belts were unveiled at TakeOver: Orlando that same night and given to the winners of their respective matches. The redesigned women's championship features a nearly identical design to the redesigned NXT Championship, including being on a black leather strap, but with a couple of notable differences. The belt is smaller to fit the women. The letters "N X T" on the center plate are silver instead of gold, while the rest of the plate is gold. One other difference is that a banner reading "Women's" is underneath the WWE logo. Coming in line with the majority of WWE's other championship belts, the new design features side plates with a removable center section that can be customized with the champion's logo; the default plates feature the WWE logo.[13]

Reigns[]

Current champion Mandy Rose

As of February 1, 2022, there have been 14 reigns between 12 champions, and two vacancies. Paige was the inaugural champion. Asuka is the longest reigning champion at 510 days, beginning on April 1, 2016 and ending on August 24, 2017, however, WWE recognizes the reign as 522 days, with it ending on September 6, 2017, the date the episode aired on tape delay.[14] Kairi Sane holds the shortest reign at 71 days; however, WWE recognizes Charlotte Flair's second reign as the shortest at 63 days due to tape delay (in reality, Flair held the title for either 73 or 74 days; the exact date that she won the title is unknown). Paige is the youngest champion, winning it at the age of 20, while Shayna Baszler is the oldest, winning the championship at 38. Baszler and Flair are tied for the most reigns at two.

Mandy Rose is the current champion in her first reign. She won the title by defeating Raquel González in a Trick or Street Fight match at Halloween Havoc on October 26, 2021 in Orlando, Florida.

Key
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.
1 Paige June 20, 2013 NXT Winter Park, FL 1 308 273 Defeated Emma in the finals of an eight-woman single-elimination tournament to become the inaugural champion. WWE recognizes Paige's reign as beginning on July 24, 2013, when the episode aired on tape delay. [4]
— Vacated April 24, 2014 NXT Baltimore, MD — — — NXT General Manager John "Bradshaw" Layfield stripped Paige of the title when she moved on to the main roster after winning the WWE Divas Championship. [15]
2 Charlotte May 29, 2014 TakeOver Winter Park, FL 1 258 258 Defeated Natalya in the finals of an eight-woman single-elimination tournament to win the vacant championship. [16]
3 Sasha Banks February 11, 2015 TakeOver: Rival Winter Park, FL 1 192 191 This was a fatal four-way match, also involving Bayley and Becky Lynch. [17]
4 Bayley August 22, 2015 TakeOver: Brooklyn Brooklyn, NY 1 223 223 [18]
5 Asuka April 1, 2016 TakeOver: Dallas Dallas, TX 1 510 522 WWE recognizes Asuka's reign as ending on September 6, 2017, when the episode aired on tape delay. [19]
— Vacated August 24, 2017 NXT Winter Park, FL — — — After suffering a collarbone injury at TakeOver: Brooklyn III, Asuka relinquished the title. This episode aired on tape delay on September 6, 2017. [20][21]
6 Ember Moon November 18, 2017 TakeOver: WarGames Houston, TX 1 140 139 This was a fatal four-way match for the vacant title also involving Kairi Sane, Nikki Cross, and Peyton Royce. [22]
7 Shayna Baszler April 7, 2018 TakeOver: New Orleans New Orleans, LA 1 133 132 [23]
8 Kairi Sane August 18, 2018 TakeOver: Brooklyn 4 Brooklyn, NY 1 71 71 [24]
9 Shayna Baszler October 28, 2018 Evolution Uniondale, NY 2 416 416 [25]
10 Rhea Ripley December 18, 2019 NXT Winter Park, FL 1 98 or 99 108 WWE recognizes this title reign as ending on April 5, 2020, when the following match aired on tape delay. [26]
11 Charlotte Flair March 25 or 26, 2020 WrestleMania 36
Part 2 		Orlando, FL 2 73 or 74 63 Previously known as just Charlotte.
WrestleMania was taped on March 25 and 26, but it is unknown which day this match was taped.[27] WWE recognizes this title reign as beginning on April 5, 2020, when the match aired on tape delay. 		[9]
12 Io Shirai June 7, 2020 TakeOver: In Your House Winter Park, FL 1 304 304 This was a triple threat match also involving Rhea Ripley, who Shirai pinned. [28]
13 Raquel González April 7, 2021 TakeOver: Stand & Deliver
Night 1 		Orlando, FL 1 202 201 [29]
14 Mandy Rose October 26, 2021 Halloween Havoc Orlando, FL 1 98+ 98+ This was a Chucky's choice Trick or Street Fight match. [30]

Combined reigns[]

Two-time and longest combined-reigning champion Shayna Baszler; she held the title for a combined total of 549 days (548 days as recognized by WWE)
One-time and longest-reigning champion Asuka, whose singular reign lasted 510 days (522 days as recognized by WWE due to tape delay)

As of February 1, 2022.

† Indicates the current champion
¤ The exact length of at least one title reign is uncertain, so the shortest length is considered.
Rank Wrestler No. of
reigns 		Combined
days 		Combined days
rec. by WWE
1 Shayna Baszler 2 549 548
2 Asuka 1 510 522
3 Charlotte Flair 2 ¤331 321
4 Paige 1 308 273
5 Io Shirai 1 304
6 Bayley 1 223
7 Raquel González 1 202 201
8 Sasha Banks 1 192 191
9 Ember Moon 1 140 139
10 Mandy Rose † 1 98+
11 Rhea Ripley 1 ¤98 108
12 Kairi Sane 1 71

Notes[]

  1. ^ WWE officially recognizes Asuka's reign as 522 days due to tape delay.
  2. ^ WWE officially recognizes Charlotte Flair's second reign as being the shortest at 63 days due to tape delay.

References[]

Specific
  1. ^ Caldwell, James. "WWE NEWS: McMahon's Friday tweet – anti-smoking, Stephanie introduces NXT Women's Title (w/Pic), Cena check-in, Ross new blog, Dupree wins title". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved May 30, 2013.
  2. ^ Namako, Jason (31 May 2013). "WWE NXT Results – 5/30/13 (#1 Contender Battle Royal)". Wrestleview. Retrieved May 31, 2013.
  3. ^ James, Justin. "James's WWE NXT results 5/29 & 6/5: Wyatts defend Tag Titles, NXT Women's Title introduced, #1 contender battle royal, Parade of released NXT wrestlers in matches". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
  4. ^ a b Caldwell, James (July 21, 2013). "WWE News: NXT spoilers summer episodes – first NXT Women's champ, Flair, more, plus NXT TV in the U.S.?". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved July 21, 2013.
  5. ^ James, Justin (September 16, 2015). "James's WWE NXT report 9/16 – Week 180: Bayley returns to Full Sail as Women's champ, big set-up for "Takeover," Dusty Tag Classic continues, Adam Rose dumps on NXT, more; Overall Reax". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
  6. ^ Melok, Bobby. "NXT Women's Champion Bayley vs. Sasha Banks (30-Minute WWE Iron Man Match)". WWE. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
  7. ^ Trionfo, Richard (October 7, 2015). "WWE NXT TakeOver Respect report: Sasha Banks and Bayley go 30 minutes, the first Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic winners crowned, Asuka makes her NXT in ring debut (poor Dana), and more". PWInsider. Retrieved October 7, 2015.
  8. ^ "Triple H Discusses NXT as a Third Brand, Putting Talent in a Position to Succeed, More – 411MANIA". www.411mania.com.
  9. ^ a b Powell, Jason (April 5, 2020). "WrestleMania 36 results: Powell's live review of Night Two featuring Brock Lesnar vs. Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship, John Cena vs. "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt in a Firefly Funhouse match, Edge vs. Randy Orton in a Last Man Standing match, Rhea Ripley vs. Charlotte Flair for the NXT Women's Championship". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
  10. ^ Currier, Joseph (December 3, 2021). "Preview and Predictions for 'NXT WarGames'". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
  11. ^ "Could Toni Storm dethrone Rhea Ripley at Worlds Collide?". WWE. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
  12. ^ "NXT Women's Championship". WWE. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
  13. ^ WWE (April 1, 2017). "EXCLUSIVE: WWE NXT General William Regal arrives at WrestleMania Axxess with a HUGE announcement regarding NXT TakeOver: Orlando!". Facebook. Retrieved April 1, 2017.
  14. ^ WWE.com Staff (January 4, 2017). "Asuka becomes longest reigning NXT Women's Champion ever". WWE. Retrieved January 4, 2017.
  15. ^ "Paige Relinquishes the NXT Women's Championship: WWE NXT". WWE. April 24, 2014. Retrieved April 24, 2014.
  16. ^ "Charlotte's first reign". WWE. Retrieved July 8, 2014.
  17. ^ James, Justin (February 11, 2015). "James' WWE NXT TakeOver Report 2/11". Retrieved February 12, 2015.
  18. ^ "Bayley's first reign". WWE. Retrieved August 23, 2015.
  19. ^ "Asuka". WWE. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
  20. ^ "Complete WWE NXT Spoilers from Full Sail University". PWInsider. Retrieved August 24, 2017.
  21. ^ "Asuka relinquishes NXT Women's Title". WWE. Retrieved August 24, 2017.
  22. ^ Moore, John. "11/18 Moore's NXT Takeover: WarGames live review – The Undisputed Era vs. Authors of Pain and Roderick Strong vs. Sanity in a WarGames match, Ember Moon vs. Kairi Sane vs. Nikki Cross vs. Peyton Royce for the NXT Women's Title, Drew McIntyre vs. Andrade Almas for the NXT Title". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved November 18, 2017.
  23. ^ Moore, John (7 April 2018). "4/7 Moore's NXT Takeover: New Orleans live review – Andrade Almas vs. Aleister Black for the NXT Title, Ember Moon vs. Shayna Baszler for the NXT Women's Championship, Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa in an unsanctioned match, ladder match for the new North American Championship". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
  24. ^ Moore, John (18 August 2018). "8/18 Moore's NXT Takeover: Brooklyn IV live review – Tommaso Ciampa vs. Johnny Gargano in a Last Man Standing match for the NXT Title, Shayna Baszler vs. Kairi Sane for the NXT Women's Championship, Adam Cole vs. Ricochet for the NXT North American Title". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved August 18, 2018.
  25. ^ Powell, Jason (28 October 2018). "Powell's WWE Evolution live review: Ronda Rousey vs. Nikki Bella for the Raw Women's Championship, Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair in a Last Woman Standing match for the Smackdown Women's Championship, Mae Young Classic Finals". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved October 28, 2018.
  26. ^ Moore, John (December 18, 2019). "12/18 NXT TV results: Shayna Baszler vs. Rhea Ripley for the NXT Women's Championship, Adam Cole vs. Finn Balor for the NXT Championship". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
  27. ^ "WWE grabará Wrestlemania 36". 21 March 2020.
  28. ^ Moore, John (June 7, 2020). "NXT Takeover: In Your House results – Moore's live review of Adam Cole defeated Velveteen Dream in a Backlot Brawl for the NXT Championship, Charlotte Flair vs. Rhea Ripley vs. Io Shirai for the NXT Women's Championship, Keith Lee vs. Johnny Gargano for the NXT North American Title, Tommaso Ciampa vs. Karrion Kross". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
  29. ^ Moore, John (April 7, 2021). "NXT Takeover Stand & Deliver results: Moore's live review of night one with Io Shirai vs. Raquel Gonzalez for the NXT Women's Championship, Walter vs. Tommaso Ciampa for the NXT UK Championship, MSK vs. Grizzled Young Veterans vs. Raul Mendoza and Joaquin Wilde for the vacant NXT Tag Titles". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
  30. ^ Moore, John (October 26, 2021). "10/26 NXT 2.0 results: Moore's review of Halloween Havoc with Tommaso Ciampa vs. Bron Breakker for the NXT Title, plus Spin the Wheel, Make the Deal stipulations for Raquel Gonzalez vs. Mandy Rose for the NXT Women's Title, and MSK vs. Fabian Aichner and Marcel Barthel for the NXT Tag Titles". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved October 26, 2021.

External links[]

Retrieved from ""