The Women's World Championship is a Women's professional wrestling championship in the American professional wrestling promotion World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) on the Raw brand. It is one of two women's championships for WWE's main roster, along with the WWE Women's Championship on the SmackDown brand.
Unveiled on the August 23, 2016 episode of SmackDown Live, 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. That title was subsequently renamed after the crowning of the inaugural SmackDown Women's Champion, Becky Lynch.
History[]
Following the reintroduction of the WWE brand extension and subsequent draft on July 19, 2016, WWE Women's Champion Charlotte was drafted to Raw, leaving SmackDown without a women's championship. Immediately following SummerSlam on the August 23, 2016 episode of SmackDown Live, SmackDown commissioner Shane McMahon and general manager Daniel Bryan unveiled the SmackDown Women's Championship (Raw's title was subsequently renamed). A six-pack elimination challenge was then scheduled for Backlash on September 11, 2016 to determine the inaugural champion. The six women who competed at SummerSlam in the six-woman tag team match were chosen for the six-pack challenge: Alexa Bliss, Becky Lynch, Carmella, Naomi, Natalya, and Nikki Bella. Lynch became the inaugural champion when she last eliminated Carmella.
The championship belt design is nearly identical to the Raw Women's Championship with the difference being that the background of the center plate and the default side plates' globes are blue (as opposed to red for both) to symbolize its exclusivity to SmackDown. As with Raw's Women's Championship, the side plates can be customized with the champion's logo.
In 2023, on the June 12th episode of Raw then SmackDown Women's champion Rhea Ripley was presented with a new championship belt and the SmackDown Women's championship was rebranded as the Women's World Championship.
Inaugural championship match[]
| Eliminated | Wrestler | Eliminated by | Method of elimination | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1
|
Alexa Bliss | Naomi | Pinned after a powerbomb/neckbreaker combination with Natalya | 9:38 |
| 2
|
Naomi | Natalya | Submitted to the Sharpshooter | 10:52 |
| 3
|
Natalya | Nikki Bella | Pinned after a fireman's carry cutter | 12:00 |
| 4
|
Nikki Bella | Carmella | Pinned with a roll-up | 12:08 |
| 5
|
Carmella | Becky Lynch | Submitted to the Dis-arm-her | 14:40 |
| Winner
|
Becky Lynch | |||
Reigns[]
Becky Lynch was the inaugural champion, who defeated Alexa Bliss, Carmella, Naomi, Natalya, and Nikki Bella in a six-pack elimination challenge on September 11, 2016 at Backlash in Richmond, Virginia. Asuka is the oldest champion, having won the title 81 days after turning 37, while Bliss is the youngest at 25.
Belt gallery[]
Custom Designs[]
See also[]
- World Wrestling Entertainment
- Champion history - History of the wrestlers who have held the belt.
- Title matches - Matches in which the title was defended.
- Champion gallery - A gallery of all champions.
