Women's championships in WWE
From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia

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[edit]
Singles[edit]
Name | Years |
---|---|
WWE Women's Championship | 1956 – 2010 (became WWF property in 1984) |
WWE Divas Championship | 2008 – 2016 |
NXT Women's Championship | 2013 – present |
WWE Raw Women's Championship | 2016 – present |
WWE SmackDown Women's Championship | 2016 – present |
NXT UK Women's Championship | 2018 – 2022 |
Tag Team[edit]
Name | Years |
---|---|
WWF Women's Tag Team Championship | 1983 – 1989 |
WWE Women's Tag Team Championship | 2018 – present |
NXT Women's Tag Team Championship | 2021 – present |
Others[edit]
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 |
---|---|---|
WWE Intercontinental Championship | Chyna | 1979 – present |
WWE Cruiserweight Championship | Madusa and Daffney in WCW, Jacqueline in WWE | 1996 – 2007 (became WWF property in 2001) |
WWE Hardcore Championship (explicitly open to all challengers) | Godfather's Ho, Mighty Molly, Trish Stratus, Terri | 1998 – 2002 |
WWE 24/7 Championship (explicitly open to all challengers) | Kelly Kelly, Candice Michelle, Alundra Blayze, Maria Kanellis, Carmella, Tamina, Alicia Fox, Dana Brooke, Nikki A.S.H., Doudrop, Alexa Bliss | 2019 – 2022 |
History[edit]
Singles Women's Championships[edit]
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 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.[9][10] 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.[11][12] The titles switched brands after their respective title holders were drafted to the opposite brands in the 2009 WWE draft.[13][14]
The Women's Championship was unified with the Divas Championship at Night of Champions in September 2010, creating the Unified WWE Divas Championship[15][16][17] 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.[18][19] 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.[20][21][22]
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.[23][24] The WWE Women's Championship was subsequently renamed 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,[25][26][27] which became one of WWE's three main women's titles in September 2019 when NXT became WWE's third major brand but reverted back to a developmental brand in 2021. Another title, the NXT UK Women's Championship, debuted for NXT's sister brand NXT UK in 2018,[28][29] but was recognized as being a step below the others. It was unified into the NXT Women's Championship in September 2022. Nikki A.S.H. is the only woman to have competed for all currently active women's championships, as well as the now retired NXT UK Women's Championship and gender neutral 24/7 Championship.
Tag Team Women's Championships[edit]
In 1983, the reigning NWA Women's World Tag Team Champions of Velvet McIntyre and Princess Victoria joined the WWF. As the WWF had withdrawn from the NWA, which owned the championship, McIntyre and Victoria were recognized as the first WWF Women's Tag Team Champions. The championship continued until 1989 the year when the championship deactivated.[34][35]
The WWE would go without a women's tag team championship for many years afterwards. WWE even talked about reviving the 1983 women's tag team titles, the conversation began circulating all throughout the year 2012 after the Original WWE Women's title had been deactivated after being unified with the WWE Divas Championship in 2010, when a WWE.com article was posted in favor of resurrecting the titles. Female performers were also in favor of adding a women's tag team championship. Online speculation began when WWE announced their first all female event, Evolution, for October, but the titles did not appear. On the December 24 episode of Monday Night Raw, WWE Chairman Vince McMahon officially announced that a new WWE Women's Tag Team Championship would debut in 2019 (and would not carry the lineage of the original title). The Boss 'n' Hug Connection (Bayley and Sasha Banks) became the inaugural champions at Elimination Chamber in February. It was also revealed that the titles would be defended across Raw, SmackDown, and NXT.[36]

Afterwards the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship continued to also be defended on the NXT roster as well as the main rosters until March 2021. On the March 10th, 2021 episode of NXT, when NXT General Manager William Regal established the NXT Women's Tag Team Championship, naming Dakota Kai and Raquel González as the first champions, after their controversial ending of their match for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship a week prior to them winning the first ever Women's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. Afterwards the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship no longer became available to the NXT roster but the main rosters such as SmackDown and Raw only.[37]
Champions[edit]
Current champions[edit]
The following list shows the women wrestlers that are currently holding all active women's and gender-neutral championships in WWE.
Retired championships[edit]
The following list shows retired women championships and the final female title holders before the belts were deactivated in WWE.
Championship | Champion | Reign | Date retired | Days held | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
WWF Women's Tag Team Championship | The Glamour Girls (Judy Martin and Leilani Kai) | 2 | February 14, 1989 | 251 | The championship was abandoned due to a lack of female tag teams. |
WWE Women's Championship | Layla | 1 | September 19, 2010 | 131 | The championship was unified into the WWE Divas Championship. |
WWE Divas Championship | Charlotte Flair | 1 | April 3, 2016 | 196 | The championship was retired and replaced by a new WWE Women's Championship (later renamed Raw Women's Championship). |
NXT UK Women's Championship | Meiko Satomura | 1 | September 4, 2022 | 451 | The championship was unified into the NXT Women's Championship. |
Superlative reigns[edit]
Ten longest[edit]
Singles championships[edit]
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 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 | Meiko Satomura | NXT UK Women's Championship | 1 | 451 | 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. |
6 | Trish Stratus | WWE Women's Championship | 6 | 448 | |
7 | Sensational Sherri | WWE Women's Championship | 1 | 441 | During this reign, the title was known as the WWF Women's Championship. |
8 | Shayna Baszler | NXT Women's Championship | 2 | 416 | |
9 | Mandy Rose | 1 | 413 | Defeated Raquel González in a Chucky's choice Trick or Street Fight match at Halloween Havoc. | |
10 | Bayley | WWE SmackDown Women's Championship | 2 | 380 | |
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 6th title 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. The days recognized by them are 379. |
Tag team championships[edit]
The following list shows the top 10 longest women's tag team championship reigns in WWE history.
Longest per championship[edit]
The following list shows the longest reigning champion for each singles and tag team women's championship.
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 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 | Becky Lynch | WWE Raw Women's Championship | 1 | April 8, 2019 – May 10, 2020 | 398 | WWE recognizes this reign as lasting 398 days (April 8, 2019 – May 10, 2020) due to tape delay. |
6 | Bayley | WWE SmackDown Women's Championship | 2 | October 11, 2019 – October 25, 2020 | 380 | |
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 | Toxic Attraction (Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne) | NXT Women's Tag Team Championship | 1 | October 26, 2021–present | 158 |
Most per championship[edit]
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 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 | 7 | ||
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 | Cross held the title twice with Alexa Bliss and once with Rhea Ripley. |
Sasha Banks | Banks has two reigns with Bayley and one with Naomi. | |||
Alexa Bliss | Bliss held the title with Nikki Cross and once with Asuka. | |||
Asuka | Asuka has one reign with Kairi Sane, one with Charlotte Flair and one with Alexa Bliss. | |||
7 | Dakota Kai and Raquel González | NXT Women's Tag Team Championship | 2 | |
Toxic Attraction (Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne) | ||||
8 | The Glamour Girls (Judy Martin and Leilani Kai) | WWF Women's Tag Team Championship | 2 | |
9 | Kay Lee Ray | NXT UK Women's Championship | 1 | There were only four reigns between four women during the title's four-year existence. |
Meiko Satomura | ||||
Rhea Ripley | ||||
Toni Storm |
Most total reigns[edit]
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 |
| 16 | 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 | 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. Stratus is the woman with the most championship wins with one single title belt. | ||
4 | Mickie James |
| 6 | |
Becky Lynch |
| Lynch was the inaugural SmackDown Women's Champion and she is the only superstar to have held both titles at the same time. | ||
6 | Alexa Bliss |
| 5 | Bliss was the first woman to have won both titles. |
Melina |
| 5 | ||
8 | Asuka |
| 4 | |
Bayley |
| |||
Beth Phoenix |
| |||
Michelle McCool |
| McCool was the inaugural Divas Champion and the first woman to have won both titles. She is also the first-ever double champion of 2010's decade and successfully unified 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 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. |
Most combined days as champions[edit]
The following list shows the top 10 female wrestlers based on their most combined days as champions in WWE history.
† | Indicates this wrestler is currently holding a championship |
---|
Rank | Wrestler | Titles won | Number of reigns | Combined days as champion |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | The Fabulous Moolah | WWE Women's Championship | 4 | 10,984 |
2 | Charlotte Flair † | WWE Divas Championship (1 time) NXT Women's Championship (2 times) Raw Women's Championship (6 times) SmackDown Women's Championship (7 times) | 16 | 1,223+ |
3 | Asuka | NXT Women's Championship (1 time) | 4 | 937 |
4 | Trish Stratus | WWE Women's Championship | 7 | 828 |
5 | Bayley | NXT Women's Championship (1 time) | 4 | 819 |
6 | Becky Lynch | Raw Women's Championship (2 times) | 6 | 813 |
7 | Kay Lee Ray | NXT UK Women's Championship | 1 | 649 |
8 | Beth Phoenix | WWE Women's Championship (3 times) | 4 | 571 |
9 | Shayna Baszler | NXT Women's Championship | 2 | 549 |
10 | Alundra Blayze | WWE Women's Championship | 3 | 539 |
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ 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.
- ^ "The 2002 Draft". Reddit.com. Retrieved December 29, 2022.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "The Brand Extension Draft". M.imdb.com. Retrieved December 29, 2022.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Verma, Manish. "History of the WWE Divas Championship". Www.sportskeeda.com. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Michelle McCool wins the inaugural Divas Championship". YouTube.com. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Sitterson, Aubrey (April 13, 2009). "Results: Rough draft". WWE. Retrieved January 3, 2010.
- ^ STAEHLE, ADRIAN. "WWE Draft 2009: Who Went Where?". Www.syndication.bleacherreport.com. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "NIGHT OF CHAMPIONS". Wwe.com. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Michelle McCool vs Melina: Divas Championship Unification Match, Night of Champions 2010". WWE / YouTube.com. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ LOTT, CHRISTI. "Goodbye Women's and Divas Championship, Hello Unified DivasTitle". Www.bleacherreport.com. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "History of the Unified Divas Championship". World Wrestling Entertainment. 2010-09-21. Retrieved 2010-09-21.
- ^ Unknown, Melanie. "WWE Drops 'Unified' in Divas Championship Name". Www.diva-dirt.com. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ 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.
- ^ Martin, Adam. "Daniel Bryan to reveal two new championships exclusive to Smackdown Live tonight from Connecticut". wrestleview.com. Retrieved August 23, 2016.
- ^ Parks, Greg. "8/23 WWE Smackdown LIVE – Parks's Complete, Real-Time Report". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved August 23, 2016.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Namako, Jason (31 May 2013). "WWE NXT Results – 5/30/13 (#1 Contender Battle Royal)". Wrestleview. Retrieved May 31, 2013.
- ^ 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.
- ^ CURRIER, JOSEPH. "WWE unveils NXT UK Women's Championship title belt". Www.f4wonline.com. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Triple H & Johnny Saint announce the first NXT UK Women's Title Tournament: NXT UK, Nov. 14, 2018". WWE/ YouTube.com. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Caldwell, James. "9/11 WWE Backlash Results – CALDWELL'S Complete PPV Report". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved September 11, 2016.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Cassidy, Gary. "WWE News: [SPOILER] First ever WWE NXT UK Women's Champion crowned". Www.sportskeeda.com. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ MIDDLETON, MARC. "Rhea Ripley Becomes First-Ever WWE NXT UK Women's Champion, Post-Match Celebration (Photos, Videos)". Www.wrestlinginc.com. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Royal Duncan and Gary Will (2006). Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
- ^ Nevada, Vance (June 30, 2005). "Results for Velvet McIntyre". SLAM! Wrestling. Retrieved November 2, 2008.
- ^ Powell, Jason. "Powell's WWE Elimination Chamber 2019 live review: Daniel Bryan vs. AJ Styles vs. Jeff Hardy vs. Kofi Kingston vs. Randy Orton vs. Samoa Joe in an Elimination Chamber match for the WWE Championship, new WWE Women's Tag Champions, Ronda Rousey vs. Ruby Riott for the Raw Women's Championship". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
- ^ Moore, John (March 10, 2021). "3/10 NXT TV results: Moore's review of Finn Balor vs. Adam Cole for the NXT Championship, Io Shirai vs. Toni Storm for the NXT Women's Championship, William Regal's big announcements, Xia Li vs. Kayden Carter". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
- ^ As of January 29, 2023.