Women's championships in WWE
WWE (formerly the WWF, WWWF, and its predecessor, Capitol Wrestling) has maintained several women's professional wrestling championships since acquiring The Fabulous Moolah's NWA World Women's Championship in 1984. Whenever brand division has been implemented, separate women's titles have been created or allocated for each brand.
Overview of titles[]
Singles[]
| # | Name | Years |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | WWE Women's Championship | 1956 – 2010 (became WWF property in 1984) |
| 2 | WWE Divas Championship | 2008 – 2016 |
| 3 | NXT Women's Championship | 2013 – present |
| 4 | WWE Raw Women's Championship | 2016 – present |
| 5 | WWE SmackDown Women's Championship | 2016 – present |
| 6 | NXT UK Women's Championship | 2018 – present |
Tag Team[]
| # | Name | Years |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | WWF Women's Tag Team Championship | 1983 – 1989 |
| 2 | WWE Women's Tag Team Championship | 2019 – present |
| 3 | NXT Women's Tag Team Championship | 2021 – present |
Others[]
In addition to titles specifically designated for women, women in WWE have also won four other championships. Two of these titles have been explicitly open to all challengers, while two others were traditionally considered "men's titles".
| # | Name | Wrestler | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | WWE Intercontinental Championship | Chyna | 1979 – present |
| 2 | WWE Cruiserweight Championship | Madusa and Daffney in WCW, Jacqueline in WWE | 1996 – 2007 (became WWF property in 2001) |
| 3 | WWE Hardcore Championship (explicitly open to all challengers) | Godfather's Ho, Mighty Molly, Trish Stratus, Terri | 1998 – 2002 |
| 4 | WWE 24/7 Championship (explicitly open to all challengers) | Kelly Kelly, Candice Michelle, Alundra Blayze, Maria Kanellis, Carmella, Tamina, Alicia Fox, Dana Brooke | 2019 – present |
History[]
On September 18, 1956, The Fabulous Moolah became the third NWA World Women's Champion. Moolah had worked for the northeastern United States-based Capitol Wrestling Corporation, a member of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), since the previous year.[1] In 1963, Capitol Wrestling seceded from the NWA and established itself as the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF); it quietly rejoined the NWA in 1971. Moolah bought the rights to the championship in the 1970s, and continued to defend the championship as the NWA World Women's Champion. The WWWF, renamed to the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1979, withdrew from the NWA for good in 1983. Moolah sold the championship's rights to the WWF in 1984, and she was recognized as the WWF Women's Champion.[2] Instead of beginning her reign in 1984, the WWF claimed the lineage of her reign from when she first became champion in 1956. The preceding champions and the title changes between 1956 and when Moolah lost it in 1984 are not recognized by WWE, although they are recognized by the NWA.[3] As a result, The Fabulous Moolah's first reign is considered to have lasted 28 years by the promotion.[4]
In 1990, the Women's Championship became inactive after Rockin' Robin vacated the championship following her departure from the WWF.[5][6] Then in December 1993, the title was reactivated with Alundra Blayze winning a tournament for the vacant Women's Championship.[7] However, the Women's Championship became inactive again when Blayze was released from the WWF. Blayze, as Madusa, unexpectedly signed with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in 1995 and threw the championship belt, which was still in her possession, in a trash can on an episode of WCW Monday Nitro.[8] The Women's Championship was reactivated again in September 1998 when Jacqueline Moore defeated Sable to win the title.[8]
After the WWF/WWE name change in 2002, the championship was subsequently referred to as the WWE Women's Championship. With the WWE brand extension in March 2002, the Women's Championship at first was still defended on both the Raw and SmackDown brands, while most titles were exclusive to one brand. In September, the Women's Championship became exclusive to only the Raw brand, but remained the sole championship contested by women until July 4, 2008, when a counterpart to the championship, called the WWE Divas Championship, was created for the SmackDown brand. The titles switched brands after their respective title holders were drafted to the opposite brands in the 2009 WWE draft.
The Women's Championship was unified with the Divas Championship at Night of Champions in September 2010, creating the Unified WWE Divas Championship and rendering the Women's Championship defunct as the unified title followed the lineage of the Divas Championship; shortly after, the title dropped the "Unified" moniker.[9] The Divas Championship continued as the only women's championship of the main roster until 2016 when it was retired and replaced by a new WWE Women's Championship at WrestleMania 32. This came after the term "Diva" was scrutinized by some commentators, fans, and several past and present WWE female performers who were in favor of changing the championship to the Women's Championship. The division itself was also changed from being called the Divas division to being called the Women's division. The new championship does not share its title history with the previous championships.[10][11][12]
Following the reintroduction of the brand extension in July 2016, then-champion Charlotte Flair was drafted to the Raw brand, making the championship exclusive to Raw. In response, SmackDown created the SmackDown Women's Championship on August 23, 2016. The WWE Women's Championship was subsequently renamed to Raw Women's Championship to reflect its exclusivity to that brand. In addition, WWE's former developmental territory NXT established the NXT Women's Championship in April 2013, which became one of WWE's three main women's titles in September 2019 when NXT became WWE's third major brand. Another title, the NXT UK Women's Championship, debuted for NXT's sister brand NXT UK in 2018, but is recognized as being a step below the other three.
Current women's champions[]
The following list shows the wrestlers that are currently holding all active women's and gender-neutral championships in WWE.
| No. | Champion | Championship | Reign (with the title) | Date won | Days held | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Becky Lynch | WWE Raw Women's Championship | 2 | October 22, 2021 | 140+ | As a result of the 2021 Draft, then–SmackDown Women's Champion Becky Lynch was drafted to Raw while Charlotte Flair was drafted to SmackDown. To keep the titles on their respective brands, WWE official Sonya Deville had the two women exchange championships. |
| 2 | Charlotte Flair | WWE SmackDown Women's Championship | 6 | |||
| 3 | Mandy Rose | NXT Women's Championship | 1 | October 26, 2021 | 136+ | This was a Chucky's choice Trick or Street Fight match. |
| 4 | Meiko Satomura | WWE NXT UK Women's Championship | 1 | June 10, 2021 | 274+ | WWE recognizes this reign as beginning on June 10, 2021, when the episode aired on tape delay. The actual date the match took place is unknown. |
| 5 | Carmella & Queen Zelina | WWE Women's Tag Team Championship | 1 | November 22, 2021 | 109+ | |
| 6 | Toxic Attraction (Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne) |
NXT Women's Tag Team Championship | 1 | October 26, 2021 | 136+ | This was a Scareway to Hell Ladder Triple Threat tag team match also involving Indi Hartwell and Persia Pirotta. |
| 7 | Dana Brooke | WWE 24/7 Championship | 2 | February 21, 2022 | 18+ |
Longest championship reigns[]
Top 10 women's championship reigns[]
Singles championships[]
The following list shows the top 10 longest women's championship reigns in WWE history.
A + indicates it is the current reign.
| No. | Champion | Title | Reign | Length (days) |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Fabulous Moolah | WWE Women's Championship | 1 | 3,651 | During this reign, the title was known as the NWA World Women's Championship and was renamed to the WWF Women's Championship when the WWF bought the rights to the championship in 1984. WWE recognizes this reign as lasting 10,170 days (September 18, 1956 – July 23, 1984) as they do not recognize the title changes of the NWA World Women's Championship from 1956 to 1984. |
| 2 | Kay Lee Ray | NXT UK Women's Championship | 1 | 649 | WWE recognizes this title reign as ending on June 10, 2021, when the match aired on tape delay. The actual date when the show took place is currently unknown. |
| 3 | Asuka | NXT Women's Championship | 1 | 510 | WWE recognizes this reign as lasting 523 days due to tape delay. |
| 4 | Rockin' Robin | WWE Women's Championship | 1 | 502 | During this reign, the title was known as the WWF Women's Championship. |
| 5 | Trish Stratus | WWE Women's Championship | 6 | 448 | |
| 6 | Sensational Sherri | WWE Women's Championship | 1 | 441 | During this reign, the title was known as the WWF Women's Championship. |
| 7 | Shayna Baszler | NXT Women's Championship | 2 | 416 | |
| 8 | Bayley | WWE SmackDown Women's Championship | 2 | 380 | |
| 9 | The Fabulous Moolah | WWE Women's Championship | 3 | During this reign, the title was known as the WWF Women's Championship. In reality, this was Moolah's 7th reign, but because WWE does not recognize the title changes of the NWA World Women's Championship between 1956 and 1984, they recognize this as Moolah's 3rd reign. | |
| 10 | Becky Lynch | WWE Raw Women's Championship | 1 | 373 | WWE recognizes this reign as lasting 398 days due to tape delay. |
Tag team championships[]
The following list shows the top 10 longest women's tag team championship reigns in WWE history. A + indicates it is the current reign.
| No. | Champion | Title | Reign | Length (days) |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Glamour Girls (Judy Martin and Leilani Kai) |
WWF Women's Tag Team Championship | 1 | 906 | |
| 2 | Velvet McIntyre & Princess Victoria | 1 | 574 | McIntyre and Victoria were the reigning NWA Women's World Tag Team Champions upon the WWF's withdrawal from the National Wrestling Alliance and were recognized as the first WWF Women's Tag Team Champions, which ended the lineage of the NWA title. | |
| 3 | The Glamour Girls (Judy Martin and Leilani Kai) |
2 | 251 | ||
| 4 | Velvet McIntyre & Desiree Petersen | 1 | 237 | ||
| 5 | The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka and Kairi Sane) |
WWE Women's Tag Team Championship | 1 | 171 or 172 | The event that they lost the title was taped across two days, and it is currently not known which date they lost the titles. WWE recognizes The Kabuki Warriors' reign as lasting 181 days due to tape delay. |
| 6 | The Jumping Bomb Angels (Itsuki Yamazaki and Noriyo Tateno) |
WWF Women's Tag Team Championship | 1 | 136 | |
| 7 | Natalya & Tamina | WWE Women's Tag Team Championship | 1 | 129 | |
| 8 | The IIconics (Billie Kay and Peyton Royce) |
1 | 120 | ||
| 9 | Io Shirai & Zoey Stark | NXT Women's Tag Team Championship | 1 | 112 | |
| Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler | WWE Women's Tag Team Championship | 1 | 112 | ||
| 10 | 2 | 103 |
Longest reign per championship[]
The following list shows the longest reigning champion for each singles and tag team women's championship.
A + indicates it is the current reign.
| No. | Champion | Title | Reign | Dates held | Length (days) |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Fabulous Moolah | WWE Women's Championship | 1 | September 18, 1956 – September 17, 1966 | 3,651 | During this reign, the title was known as the NWA World Women's Championship and was renamed to the WWF Women's Championship when the WWF bought the rights to the championship in 1984. WWE recognizes this reign as lasting 10,170 days (September 18, 1956 – July 23, 1984) as they do not recognize the title changes of the NWA World Women's Championship between 1956 and 1984. |
| 2 | The Glamour Girls (Judy Martin and Leilani Kai) |
WWF Women's Tag Team Championship | 1 | August 1, 1985 - January 24, 1988 | 906 | |
| 3 | Kay Lee Ray | NXT UK Women's Championship | 1 | August 31, 2019 – June 10, 2021 | 649 | |
| 4 | Asuka | NXT Women's Championship | 1 | April 1, 2016 – August 24, 2017 | 510 | WWE recognizes this reign as lasting 523 days (April 1, 2016 – September 6, 2017) due to tape delay. |
| 5 | Bayley | WWE SmackDown Women's Championship | 2 | October 11, 2019 – October 25, 2020 | 380 | |
| 6 | Becky Lynch | WWE Raw Women's Championship | 1 | April 8, 2019 – April 15, 2020 | 373 | WWE recognizes this reign as lasting 398 days (April 8, 2019 – May 10, 2020) due to tape delay. |
| 7 | Nikki Bella | WWE Divas Championship | 2 | November 23, 2014 – September 20, 2015 | 301 | |
| 8 | The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka and Kairi Sane) |
WWE Women's Tag Team Championship | 1 | October 6, 2019 – March 25 or 26, 2020 | 172 or 171 | The event that they lost the title was taped across two days, and it is currently not known which date they lost the titles. WWE recognizes The Kabuki Warriors' reign as lasting 181 days (October 6, 2019 – April 4, 2020) due to tape delay. |
| 9 | Io Shirai and Zoey Stark | NXT Women's Tag Team Championship | 1 | July 6, 2021 — October 26, 2021 | 112 |
Most championship reigns per title[]
The following list shows the wrestlers with the most reigns for each women's championship created and/or promoted by WWE.
| No. | Champion | Title | No. of Reigns |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Trish Stratus | WWE Women's Championship | 7 | Moolah first won the championship when it was called the NWA World Women's Championship and it was renamed to the WWF Women's Championship when the WWF bought the rights to the championship in 1984, which was what the title was known as for her subsequent reigns. However, WWE only recognizes that Moolah held the championship four times as they do not recognize the title changes of the NWA World Women's Championship from 1956 to 1984. |
| 2 | Charlotte Flair | WWE Raw Women's Championship | 6 | During her first reign, the title was known as the WWE Women's Championship. |
| 3 | WWE SmackDown Women's Championship | 6 | ||
| 4 | AJ Lee | WWE Divas Championship | 3 | |
| Eve Torres | ||||
| 5 | Shayna Baszler | NXT Women's Championship | 2 | |
| Charlotte Flair | ||||
| 6 | Nikki A.S.H./Nikki Cross | WWE Women's Tag Team Championship | 3 | During her first two reigns, she held the title with Alexa Bliss under the ring name Nikki Cross. During her third reign, she held the title with Rhea Ripley under the ring name Nikki A.S.H. |
| 7 | The Glamour Girls (Judy Martin and Leilani Kai) |
WWF Women's Tag Team Championship | 2 | |
| 8 | Kay Lee Ray | NXT UK Women's Championship | 1 | There have only been four reigns between four women thus far.
|
| Meiko Satomura | ||||
| Rhea Ripley | ||||
| Toni Storm | ||||
| 9 | Ember Moon and Shotzi Blackheart | NXT Women's Tag Team Championship | 1 | There have only been five reigns between five teams thus far.
|
| Dakota Kai and Raquel González | ||||
| The Way (Candice LaRae and Indi Hartwell) | ||||
| Io Shirai and Zoey Stark | ||||
| Toxic Attraction (Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne) |
Most championship reigns[]
The following list shows the wrestlers who have the most reigns in total for women's singles championships, combining all titles they have held as recognized by WWE. This list also shows the titles that they won to achieve this record (minimum of four reigns).
| No. | Champion | Titles | No. of Reigns | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charlotte Flair |
|
15 | Flair was the last Divas Champion and the inaugural Raw Women's Champion, which at that time was known as the WWE Women's Championship. She is also the only woman to have held as many different championships. |
| 2 | Mickie James |
|
10 | Mickie James reigns as Knockouts Champion were recognized by WWE after her participation in the Royal Rumble |
| 3 | Sasha Banks |
|
7 | During her first reign with the Raw Women's Championship, the title was known as the WWE Women's Championship. |
| Trish Stratus |
|
During her first reign, the title was known as the WWF Women's Championship. | ||
| 4 | Becky Lynch |
|
6 | Lynch was the inaugural SmackDown Women's Champion and she is the only superstar to have held both titles at the same time. |
| 5 | Alexa Bliss |
|
5 | Bliss was the first woman to have won both titles. |
| Melina |
|
5 | ||
| 6 | Asuka |
|
4 | |
| 7 | Bayley |
|
||
| Beth Phoenix |
|
|||
| Michelle McCool |
|
McCool was the inaugural Divas Champion and the first woman to have won both titles. | ||
| Lita |
|
|||
| The Fabulous Moolah |
|
Moolah was WWE's first Women's Champion. The title was known as the NWA World Women's Championship (which still exists today) until May 19, 1984, when Moolah sold the rights to the championship to the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) and the title was renamed to WWF Women's Championship. Moolah's title reigns in total are actually 8, however, WWE recognizes Moolah's first reign as being uninterrupted for 28 years, as they do not recognize the title changes of the NWA World Women's Championship from 1956–1984. |
See also[]
References[]
- ^ Chris Schramm (October 5, 1998). "Moolah: Twenty-eight years was the reign". SLAM! Wrestling. Retrieved 2007-10-26.
- ^ Steve Slagle. "The Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame: Fabulous Moolah". The Ring Chronicle. Archived from the original on 2011-05-26. Retrieved 2007-10-26.
- ^ "NWA World Women's Championship". Extreme Canadian Championship Wrestling. Archived from the original on January 18, 2010. Retrieved 2009-03-26.
- ^ "WWE: Inside WWE > Title History > Women's > 19560918 - Fabulous Moolah". WWE.com. Retrieved 2007-10-06.
- ^ "Women's Championship reign". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2007-11-24.
- ^ Ellison, Lillian (2003). The Fabulous Moolah: First Goddess of the Squared Circle. ReaganBooks. p. 197. ISBN 978-0-06-001258-8.
- ^ "Alundra Blayze's first reign". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2009-03-22.
- ^ a b Scott Fishman (October 20, 2007). "Rena enjoys home life". Miami Herald.
- ^ "History of the Unified Divas Championship". World Wrestling Entertainment. 2010-09-21. Retrieved 2010-09-21.
- ^ Konuwa, Alfred (March 30, 2016). "Is WWE Planning To Rebrand Its Divas Division?". Forbes. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
- ^ Ahmed, Tufayel. "WrestleMania 32: By Dumping the 'Divas' Branding, WWE Makes Its Biggest Step to Gender Equality". Newsweek. Retrieved 2016-04-05.
- ^ Gass, Dorathy (2014-06-20). "Wrestlemania 32: How The Women Stole The Show". Wrestle Newz. Retrieved 2016-04-05.
- WWE women's championships
- Women's professional wrestling championships