TheWWE Women's Championship was awomen's professional wrestlingworld championship in theWorld Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) promotion.[1] The championship was generally contested inprofessional wrestling matches, in which participants executescripted finishes rather than contend indirect competition. Over the championship's fifty-six year history, there were 59 recognized reigns between 29 recognized champions and 4vacancies (there are 6 reigns and 3 people that are not recognized by the promotion). As recognized by WWE, the inaugural champion wasThe Fabulous Moolah, who won the title on September 18, 1956, which at that time was theNWA World Women's Championship (which still exists today). While she was still champion, it became the WWF Women's Championship in 1984.
In May 2002, after the WWF wasrenamed to WWE, the championship became the WWE Women's Championship. At the start of thebrand extension that began in March 2002, the Women's Championship was defended on any brand until it became exclusive toRaw in September that year. It was the only women's championship in the WWE untilSmackDown created theWWE Divas Championship as a counterpart title in July 2008. The titles switched brands in April 2009. On September 19, 2010, atNight of Champions, the Women's Championship was unified with the WWE Divas Championship, retiring the Women's Championship.
The Fabulous Moolah's first reign is the longest reign, and is officially recognized to be 10,129 days as part of her first reign, due to WWE not recognizing title changes between 1956 and 1984 (her first reign's real number is 3,651 days). Moolah technically also is tied withTrish Stratus for the most reigns at 7, but since WWE does not recognize the title changes between 1956 and 1984, Moolah only has 4 reigns.Mickie James' third reign is the shortest at less than 1 hour. The Fabulous Moolah is the oldest champion, having won the title at 76 years old, whileWendi Richter is the youngest champion, winning the title at the age of 22. The final champion wasLayla, in her first and only reign.
Only four women held the championship for a continuous reign of one year (365 days) or more: The Fabulous Moolah (who achieved the feat on six separate occasions),Sensational Sherri,Rockin' Robin, andTrish Stratus.[2]
| Name[1] | Years[1] |
|---|---|
| NWA World Women's Championship | September 18, 1956 – May 19, 1984 |
| WWF Women's Championship | May 19, 1984 – May 6, 2002 |
| WWE Women's Championship | May 6, 2002 –September 19, 2010 |
| 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 |
| N/A | Unknown information |
| † | Championship change is unrecognized by the promotion |
| <1 | Reign lasted less than a day |
| No. | Champion | Championship change | Reign statistics | Notes | Ref. | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | Location | Reign | Days | Days recog. | ||||||
| National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) | |||||||||||
| 1 | The Fabulous Moolah | September 18, 1956 | Live event | Baltimore, MD | 1 | 3,651 | 10,170 | WWE recognizes Moolah's reign as being uninterrupted until 1984. The title was known as theNWA World Women's Championship (which still exists today) until May 19, 1984, when Moolah sold the rights to the championship to theWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) and the title was renamed to WWF Women's Championship. | [3] | ||
| † | Bette Boucher | September 17, 1966 | Live event | Seattle, WA | – | 16 | — | [1] | |||
| † | The Fabulous Moolah | October 3, 1966 | Live event | Vancouver, BC | – | 524 | — | [4] | |||
| † | Yukiko Tomoe | March 10, 1968 | Live event | Osaka, Japan | – | 23 | — | [1] | |||
| † | The Fabulous Moolah | April 2, 1968 | Live event | Hamamatsu, Japan | – | 3,841 | — | [1] | |||
| † | Evelyn Stevens | October 8, 1978 | Live event | Dallas, TX | – | 2 | — | [1] | |||
| † | The Fabulous Moolah | October 10, 1978 | Live event | Fort Worth, TX | – | 2,113 | — | [1] | |||
| World Wrestling Federation (WWF) | |||||||||||
| 2 | Wendi Richter | July 23, 1984 | The Brawl to End It All | New York, NY | 1 | 210 | 209 | [5] | |||
| 3 | Leilani Kai | February 18, 1985 | The War to Settle the Score | New York, NY | 1 | 41 | 40 | Aired March 5, 1985, onPrime Time Wrestling. | [6] | ||
| 4 | Wendi Richter | March 31, 1985 | WrestleMania I | New York, NY | 2 | 239 | 238 | [7] | |||
| 5 | The Fabulous Moolah | November 25, 1985 | Live event | Montreal, Canada | 2(5) | 220 | 219 | Moolah was disguised as "The Spider Lady". | [8] | ||
| 6 | Velvet McIntyre | July 3, 1986 | Live event | Brisbane, Australia | 1 | 6 | 5 | [9][10] | |||
| 7 | The Fabulous Moolah | July 9, 1986 | Live event | Sydney, Australia | 3(6) | 380 | 379 | [11] | |||
| 8 | Sensational Sherri | July 24, 1987 | Live event | Houston, TX | 1 | 441 | 440 | [12] | |||
| 9 | Rockin' Robin | October 7, 1988 | Prime Time Wrestling | Paris, France | 1 | 502 | 501 | Aired November 8, 1988. | [13] | ||
| — | Deactivated | February 21, 1990 | — | — | — | — | — | The title was considered inactive afterRockin' Robin left the WWF. | [13] | ||
| 10 | Alundra Blayze | December 13, 1993 | All American Wrestling | Poughkeepsie, NY | 1 | 342 | 348 | Aired December 26, 1993. DefeatedHeidi Lee Morgan in a tournament final to win the vacant championship.[14] WWE mistakenly recognizes Blayze's reign as lasting 348 days, ending on November 27, 1994. | [15] | ||
| 11 | Bull Nakano | November 20, 1994 | Big Egg Wrestling Universe | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 134 | 126 | WWE mistakenly recognizes Nakano's reign as lasting 126 days, beginning on November 27, 1994. | [16] | ||
| 12 | Alundra Blayze | April 3, 1995 | Raw | Poughkeepsie, NY | 2 | 146 | 145 | [17] | |||
| 13 | Bertha Faye | August 27, 1995 | SummerSlam | Pittsburgh, PA | 1 | 57 | 56 | [18] | |||
| 14 | Alundra Blayze | October 23, 1995 | Raw | Brandon, MB | 3 | 51 | 50 | [19] | |||
| — | Vacated | December 13, 1995 | — | — | — | — | — | The title was vacated whenAlundra Blayze left theWWF. Blayze then joined rival promotionWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW) and, duringWCW Monday Nitro on December 18, 1995, dropped the title belt, which was still in her possession, in a trash can.[20] | [19] | ||
| 15 | Jacqueline | September 15, 1998[21] | Raw is War | Sacramento, CA | 1 | 61 | 54 | DefeatedSable to win the vacant championship. WWE recognizes Jacqueline's reign as beginning on September 21, 1998, when the episode aired ontape delay. | [22] | ||
| 16 | Sable | November 15, 1998 | Survivor Series | St. Louis, MO | 1 | 176 | 175 | Shane McMahon was thespecial guest referee. | [23] | ||
| 17 | Debra | May 10, 1999 | Raw is War | Orlando, FL | 1 | 29 | 34 | This was anevening gown match.Sable had defeated Debra in the match, but CommissionerShawn Michaels stated that Debra was the winner because she had lost her dress and awarded the championship to her. WWE recognizes her reign as ending on June 14, 1999, when the following episode aired ontape delay. | [24] | ||
| 18 | Ivory | June 8, 1999[25] | Raw is War | Worcester, MA | 1 | 131 | 124 | WWE recognizes Ivory's reign as ending on June 14, 1999, when the following episode aired ontape delay. | [26] | ||
| 19 | The Fabulous Moolah | October 17, 1999 | No Mercy | Cleveland, OH | 4(7) | 8 | 7 | [27] | |||
| 20 | Ivory | October 25, 1999 | Raw is War | Providence, RI | 2 | 48 | 47 | [18] | |||
| 21 | The Kat | December 12, 1999 | Armageddon | Sunrise, FL | 1 | 50 | 49 | This was afatal four-wayevening gownpool match, also involvingJacqueline and B.B., withThe Fabulous Moolah andMae Young asspecial guest referees. | [28] | ||
| 22 | Hervina | January 31, 2000 | Raw is War | Pittsburgh, PA | 1 | 1 | 2 | This was alumberjillsnowbunny match. Hervina wasHarvey Wippleman disguised as a woman and was recognized as the first man to win the Women's Championship. WWE recognizes Hervina's reign as ending on February 3, 2000, when the following episode aired ontape delay. | [29] | ||
| 23 | Jacqueline | February 1, 2000[30] | SmackDown! | Detroit, MI | 2 | 56 | 53 | WWE recognizes Jacqueline's reign as beginning on February 3 and ending on March 30, 2000, when both episodes aired ontape delay. | |||
| 24 | Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley | March 28, 2000[30] | SmackDown! | San Antonio, TX | 1 | 146 | 143 | WWE recognizes McMahon's reign as beginning on March 30, 2000, when the episode aired ontape delay. | [31] | ||
| 25 | Lita | August 21, 2000 | Raw is War | Lafayette, LA | 1 | 71 | 72 | The Rock was thespecial guest referee. WWE recognizes Lita's reign as ending on November 2, 2000, when the episode aired ontape delay. | [32] | ||
| 26 | Ivory | October 31, 2000[30] | SmackDown! | Rochester, NY | 3 | 152 | 149 | This was afatal four-way match, also involvingJacqueline andTrish Stratus. WWE recognizes Ivory's reign as beginning on November 2, 2000, when the episode aired ontape delay. | [33] | ||
| 27 | Chyna | April 1, 2001 | WrestleMania X-Seven | Houston, TX | 1 | 214 | 231 | WWE mistakenly lists Chyna's reign as lasting 231 days, ending on November 18, 2001. | [34] | ||
| — | Vacated | November 1, 2001 | — | — | — | — | — | The title was vacated whenChyna retired and left theWWF in a contract dispute. | [34] | ||
| 28 | Trish Stratus | November 18, 2001 | Survivor Series | Greensboro, NC | 1 | 78 | 77 | This was asix-pack challenge for the vacant championship, also involvingIvory,Jacqueline,Jazz,Lita, andMolly Holly. | [35] | ||
| 29 | Jazz | February 4, 2002 | Raw | Las Vegas, NV | 1 | 98 | 97 | In late March 2002, due to the roster having doubled in size, thebrand extension began, splitting the roster between theRaw andSmackDown brands, represented by the TV shows of the same name. Championships were assigned to be exclusive to a specific brand, with the exception of theUndisputed Championship and theWomen's Championship, which were non-exclusive at this time. After the WWF was renamed World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) due to a lawsuit by theWorld Wide Fund for Nature on May 6, 2002, the title was renamed to WWE Women's Championship. | [36] | ||
| WWE | |||||||||||
| 30 | Trish Stratus | May 13, 2002 | Raw | Toronto, ON, Canada | 2 | 41 | 40 | This was ahardcoremixed tag team match with Stratus andBubba Ray Dudley defeatingJazz andSteven Richards, with Richards'Hardcore Championship also on the line. | [37] | ||
| 31 | Molly Holly | June 23, 2002 | King of the Ring | Columbus, OH | 1 | 91 | 90 | [38] | |||
| 32 | Trish Stratus | September 22, 2002 | Unforgiven | Los Angeles, CA | 3 | 56 | 55 | On the September 26, 2002, episode ofSmackDown!,SmackDown! General ManagerStephanie McMahon revealed that the Women's Championship had been made exclusive toRaw. | [39] | ||
| WWE:Raw | |||||||||||
| 33 | Victoria | November 17, 2002 | Survivor Series | New York,NY | 1 | 133 | 132 | This was ahardcore match. | [40] | ||
| 34 | Trish Stratus | March 30, 2003 | WrestleMania XIX | Seattle, WA | 4 | 28 | 27 | This was atriple threat match also involvingJazz. | [41] | ||
| 35 | Jazz | April 27, 2003 | Backlash | Worcester, MA | 2 | 64 | 63 | [42] | |||
| 36 | Gail Kim | June 30, 2003 | Raw | Buffalo, NY | 1 | 28 | 27 | This was a seven-womanbattle royal, also involvingIvory,Jacqueline,Molly Holly,Trish Stratus, andVictoria. | [43] | ||
| 37 | Molly Holly | July 28, 2003 | Raw | Colorado Springs, CO | 2 | 210 | 209 | [44] | |||
| 38 | Victoria | February 23, 2004 | Raw | Omaha, NE | 2 | 111 | 110 | This was afatal four-way elimination match, also involvingJazz andLita, who Victoria lastly pinned. | [45] | ||
| 39 | Trish Stratus | June 13, 2004 | Bad Blood | Columbus, OH | 5 | 176 | 175 | This was afatal four-way match also involvingGail Kim andLita, who Stratus pinned. | [46] | ||
| 40 | Lita | December 6, 2004 | Raw | Charlotte, NC | 2 | 34 | 33 | [47] | |||
| 41 | Trish Stratus | January 9, 2005 | New Year's Revolution | San Juan, Puerto Rico | 6 | 448 | 447 | [48] | |||
| 42 | Mickie James | April 2, 2006 | WrestleMania 22 | Rosemont, IL | 1 | 134 | 133 | [49] | |||
| 43 | Lita | August 14, 2006 | Raw | Charlottesville, VA | 3 | 34 | 33 | [50] | |||
| 44 | Trish Stratus | September 17, 2006 | Unforgiven | Toronto, ON, Canada | 7 | 1 | <1 | [51] | |||
| — | Vacated | September 18, 2006 | Raw | Montreal, QC, Canada | — | — | — | Trish Stratus relinquished the title due to her retirement. | [52] | ||
| 45 | Lita | November 5, 2006 | Cyber Sunday | Cincinnati, OH | 4 | 21 | 20 | DefeatedMickie James in alumberjill match, which was also a tournament final for the vacant championship. | [52] | ||
| 46 | Mickie James | November 26, 2006 | Survivor Series | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. | 2 | 85 | 84 | [53] | |||
| 47 | Melina | February 19, 2007 | Raw | Bakersfield, CA | 1 | 64 | 63 | [54] | |||
| 48 | Mickie James | April 24, 2007 | Live event | Paris, France | 3 | <1 | <1 | This was atriple threat match also involvingVictoria, who James pinned. | [55] | ||
| 49 | Melina | April 24, 2007 | Live event | Paris, France | 2 | 61 | 60 | Melina was awarded an immediate rematch becauseMickie James pinnedVictoria, who was not the champion. | [56] | ||
| 50 | Candice Michelle | June 24, 2007 | Vengeance: Night of Champions | Houston, TX | 1 | 105 | 104 | [57] | |||
| 51 | Beth Phoenix | October 7, 2007 | No Mercy | Rosemont, IL | 1 | 190 | 189 | [58] | |||
| 52 | Mickie James | April 14, 2008 | Raw | London, England | 4 | 125 | 124 | On July 20, 2008,SmackDown General ManagerVickie Guerrero established theWWE Divas Championship as the counterpart toRaw'sWomen's Championship. | [59] | ||
| 53 | Beth Phoenix | August 17, 2008 | SummerSlam | Indianapolis, IN | 2 | 161 | 160 | This was aWinner Takes AllIntergender tag team match where Phoenix andSantino Marella facedMickie James andKofi Kingston, whoseIntercontinental Championship was also on the line. | [60] | ||
| 54 | Melina | January 25, 2009 | Royal Rumble | Detroit, MI | 3 | 154 | 153 | The title became exclusive toSmackDown following the2009 WWE draft. | [61][62][63] | ||
| WWE:SmackDown | |||||||||||
| 55 | Michelle McCool | June 28, 2009 | The Bash | Sacramento, CA | 1 | 217 | 216 | [64] | |||
| 56 | Mickie James | January 31, 2010 | Royal Rumble | Atlanta, GA | 5 | 23 | 25 | WWE recognizes James' reign as ending on February 26, 2010, when the following episode aired ontape delay. | [65] | ||
| 57 | Michelle McCool | February 23, 2010 | SmackDown | Milwaukee, WI | 2 | 61 | 57 | Vickie Guerrero was thespecial guest referee. WWE recognizes McCool's reign as beginning on February 26, 2010, when the episode aired ontape delay. | [66] | ||
| 58 | Beth Phoenix | April 25, 2010 | Extreme Rules | Baltimore, MD | 3 | 16 | 18 | This was anExtreme Makeover match. WWE recognizes Phoenix's reign as ending on May 14, 2010, when the following episode aired ontape delay. | [67] | ||
| 59 | Layla | May 11, 2010 | SmackDown | Buffalo, NY | 1 | 131 | 127 | This was a Texas Tornado 2-on-1Handicap match whereMichelle McCool teamed with Layla. McCool was unofficially the co-champion during this reign; she defended the championship in Layla's place on some occasions, but was not officially recognized as the title holder. WWE recognizes Layla's reign as beginning on May 14, 2010, when the episode aired ontape delay. | [68] | ||
| — | Unified | September 19, 2010 | Night of Champions | Rosemont, IL | — | — | — | Michelle McCool, who had been unofficially co-reigning withLayla, defeatedMelina tounify theWomen's Championship into theWWE Divas Championship. The Women's Championship was retired with McCool going forward as the unified Divas Champion. | [69][70] | ||
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| Rank | Champion | No. of reigns | Combined days | Combined days recognized by WWE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Fabulous Moolah | 4 | 10,770 | 10,775 |
| 2 | Trish Stratus | 7 | 825 | 835 |
| 3 | Alundra Blayze | 3 | 538 | 543 |
| 4 | Rockin' Robin | 1 | 502 | 501 |
| 5 | Wendi Richter | 2 | 448 | 447 |
| 6 | Sensational Sherri | 1 | 441 | 440 |
| 7 | Mickie James | 5 | 367 | 366 |
| Beth Phoenix | 3 | 367 | ||
| 9 | Ivory | 3 | 331 | 320 |
| 10 | Molly Holly | 2 | 301 | 299 |
| 11 | Melina | 3 | 279 | 280 |
| 12 | Michelle McCool | 2 | 275 | 280 |
| 13 | Victoria | 2 | 244 | 243 |
| 14 | Chyna | 1 | 226 | 231 |
| 15 | Sable | 1 | 176 | 175 |
| 16 | Jazz | 2 | 162 | 160 |
| 17 | Lita | 4 | 160 | 158 |
| 18 | Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley | 1 | 146 | 143 |
| 19 | Bull Nakano | 1 | 134 | 126 |
| 20 | Layla | 1 | 131 | 127 |
| 21 | Jacqueline | 2 | 117 | 107 |
| 22 | Candice Michelle | 1 | 105 | 104 |
| 23 | Bertha Faye | 1 | 57 | 56 |
| 24 | The Kat | 1 | 50 | 49 |
| 25 | Leilani Kai | 1 | 41 | 40 |
| 26 | Debra | 1 | 29 | 34 |
| 27 | Gail Kim | 1 | 28 | 27 |
| — | Yukiko Tomoe | — | 23 | — |
| — | Bette Boucher | — | 16 | — |
| 28 | Velvet McIntyre | 1 | 6 | 5 |
| — | Evelyn Stevens | — | 2 | — |
| 29 | Hervina/Harvey Wippleman | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Layla is the last-ever Women's Champion.