Women's championships in WWE

In addition to titles specifically designated for women, there were also two championships that were explicitly open to all challengers, regardless of gender. The following lists those two championships, the female wrestlers who won the titles, and the years the titles were active.

The original WWE Women's Championship was the first women's world championship of WWE. Its origins predate the company's creation. 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 (CWC), a member of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), since the previous year.[1] In 1963, CWC 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 then 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]

After the company was renamed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in May 2002, the championship was subsequently referred to as the WWE Women's Championship. With the WWE brand extension that began 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.[5][6] In September, the Women's Championship became exclusive to Raw, but remained the sole championship contested by women until June 6, 2008, when a counterpart to the championship, called the WWE Divas Championship, was created for the SmackDown brand.[7][8] The titles switched brands after their respective title holders were drafted to the opposite brands in the 2009 WWE draft.[9][10] The Women's Championship was unified with the Divas Championship at Night of Champions in September 2010, creating the Unified WWE Divas Championship[11][12][13] 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. The final Women's Champion was Layla, although Michelle McCool had defended the title in her place in the unification match.[14][15]

Inaugural WWE Divas Champion Michelle McCool

The WWE Divas Championship was the second women's world championship to be established by WWE. After several years of the WWE Women's Championship being contested exclusively on Raw, SmackDown established the Divas Championship on June 6, 2008, for their women's division. Its name was derived from WWE Divas, the term WWE had used at the time for the women's wrestlers. The inaugural champion was Michelle McCool.[7] The titles would switch brands after their respective title holders were drafted to the opposite brands in the 2009 WWE draft.[9] The following year at Night of Champions in September 2010, the Women's Championship was unified with the Divas Championship, creating the Unified WWE Divas Championship,[11] 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 and the first brand extension ended in August 2011.[14][15] 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 in April that year. The final Divas Champion was Charlotte Flair, at the time known simply as Charlotte.[16][17][18]

Inaugural NXT Women's Champion Paige, shown here with the original version (2013–2017) of the title belt.

The NXT Women's Championship is the women's championship for WWE's developmental brand, NXT. The title was established in April 2013 and the inaugural champion was Paige.[19][20][21] In September 2019, the title became one of WWE's three main women's titles when NXT became WWE's third major brand,[22][23] however, it reverted back to a developmental brand in September 2021.[24]

Charlotte Flair was the inaugural WWE Women's Champion, and she has held the most WWE championships out of any woman in the company's history at 17. She is shown here with the 2016–2023 version of the title belt.

The current WWE Women's Championship is the third women's world championship established by WWE and is currently the women's championship of the SmackDown brand. The title was unveiled at WrestleMania 32 in April 2016 to replace the Divas Championship. 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. This newer championship does not share its title history with the original WWE Women's Championship that was contested between 1956 and 2010. The inaugural champion was Charlotte Flair, who at the time simply went by Charlotte.[16][17][18]

Following the reintroduction of the brand extension in July 2016, reigning champion Charlotte Flair was drafted to the Raw brand, making the championship exclusive to Raw. In response, SmackDown created the SmackDown Women's Championship as its counterpart. The WWE Women's Championship was subsequently renamed as the Raw Women's Championship to reflect its exclusivity to that brand.[25][26] As a result of the 2023 WWE Draft, the championships switched brands,[27] and the Raw Women's Championship reverted back to its original name of WWE Women's Championship on the June 9, 2023, episode of SmackDown.[28][29][30]

Inaugural Women's World Champion Becky Lynch, who won the title as the SmackDown Women's Championship.

The Women's World Championship is the fourth women's world championship established by WWE and is currently the women's championship of the Raw brand. Originally introduced as the SmackDown Women's Championship, its creation came as a result of the reintroduction of the brand extension in July 2016, after reigning WWE Women's Champion Charlotte Flair was drafted to the Raw brand, making the championship exclusive to Raw and renamed to Raw Women's Championship. In response, SmackDown created the SmackDown Women's Championship on August 23, 2016. The inaugural champion was Becky Lynch.[25] As a result of the 2023 WWE Draft, the championships switched brands despite their namesakes.[27] The Raw Women's Championship reverted to its original name while the SmackDown Women's Championship was renamed as Women's World Championship on the June 12, 2023, episode of Raw.[31]

Inaugural NXT UK Women's Champion Rhea Ripley

The NXT UK Women's Championship was the women's championship of NXT UK, a sister brand of NXT based in the United Kingdom. Established in 2018, the inaugural champion was Rhea Ripley.[32][33] After the announcement of the closure of NXT UK, the title was unified into the NXT Women's Championship at Worlds Collide in September 2022. Meiko Satomura is recognized as the final champion.[34]

The WWF Women's Tag Team Championship was the company's first women's tag team championship, established in 1983. In 1983, reigning NWA Women's World Tag Team Champions 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.[35][36] The championship continued until 1989, when the promotion abandoned it due to lack of performers in the division. The Glamour Girls (Leilani Kai and Judy Martin) were the final champions.[37]

Inaugural WWE Women's Tag Team Champions The Boss 'n' Hug Connection (Sasha Banks and Bayley)

The WWE Women's Tag Team Championship was introduced on the December 24, 2018, episode of Raw[38] and is the only women's tag team championship in WWE, shared by the Raw, SmackDown, and NXT brands. After three decades of not having a women's tag team championship and with large support from fans and female wrestlers alike, the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship was established and then debuted in 2019. The Boss 'n' Hug Connection (Bayley and Sasha Banks) became the inaugural champions at Elimination Chamber in February. The title was originally established to be defended across the Raw, SmackDown, and NXT brands.[39] However, in March 2021, after a dispute over the title, the NXT Women's Tag Team Championship was established, thus the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship became no longer available to NXT.[40] On the June 23, 2023, episode of SmackDown, reigning WWE Women's Tag Team Champions Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler defeated the reigning NXT Women's Tag Team Champions Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn in a unification match where the NXT title was unified into the WWE title, retiring the NXT title and subsequently making the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship available to NXT again.[41]

Inaugural NXT Women's Tag Team Champions Dakota Kai and Raquel González.

The NXT Women's Tag Team Championship was the women's tag team championship of WWE's developmental brand NXT. The title was established on the March 10, 2021, episode of NXT, where NXT General Manager William Regal unveiled the championship, naming Dakota Kai and Raquel González as the first champions, due to the controversial ending of their match for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship the week prior and their having won the first Women's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.[40] It would be a short-lived championship, as two years later on the June 23, 2023, episode of SmackDown, reigning WWE Women's Tag Team Champions Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler defeated reigning NXT Women's Tag Team Champions Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn in a unification match where the NXT title was unified into the WWE title, subsequently retiring the NXT title with Fyre and Dawn recognized as the final champions.[41][42]

The following list shows the women wrestlers that are currently holding all active women's championships in WWE.

The following list shows retired women's championships and the final female title holders before the belts were deactivated in WWE.

The following list shows the inaugural holders for each women's championship created and/or promoted by WWE.

The following list shows the top 10 longest women's championship reigns in WWE history.

A + indicates it is the current reign.

The following list shows the top 10 longest women's tag team championship reigns in WWE history.

The following list shows the longest reigning champion for each singles and tag team women's championship.

The following list shows the wrestlers with the most reigns for each women's championship created and/or promoted by WWE.

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 five reigns).

The following list shows the wrestlers who have the most reigns in total for women's tag team 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 three reigns).