WWE Women's Championship

This article is about the current championship. For the historical championship, see WWE Women's Championship (1956–2010).
Not to be confused with WWE Divas Championship.
WWE Women's Championship

The WWE Women's Championship belt with default side plates
Details
Current champion(s) Charlotte
Date won April 3, 2016
Date established April 3, 2016
Promotion WWE

The WWE Women's Championship is a women's professional wrestling championship in the WWE promotion. It was introduced on April 3, 2016 at WrestleMania 32, to replace the Divas Championship, which had been introduced in 2008 as part of the WWE brand extension to complement the original Women's Championship, before those two titles were unified under the Divas Championship name in 2010. The new Women's Championship has a unique title history, separate from the original.

History

On April 3, 2016, WWE Hall of Famer Lita appeared during the WrestleMania 32 pre-show and, after recapping the history of women's professional wrestling in WWE, unveiled the brand-new championship belt and declared that WWE's women would no longer be referred to as WWE Divas, but as "Superstars" just as their male counterparts are.[1] This came after the term "Diva" was scrutinized by some commentators, fans, and several past and present WWE female performers, including then-Divas Champion Charlotte, who were in favor of changing the championship to the Women's Championship.[2] It was also changed because some WWE female wrestlers felt it diminished their athletic abilities and relegated them to "eye candy".[3][4] Lita then announced that the winner of the triple threat match between Charlotte, Becky Lynch, and Sasha Banks later that night would become the first-ever champion, and subsequently retiring the Divas Championship.[5] Charlotte became the inaugural champion on April 3, 2016.[6]

The title shares its name with the original Women's Championship. However, the new title does not share the same title history as the original, which was unified with the Divas Championship in 2010, with the combined title inheriting the latter's lineage and history. WWE acknowledges the original championship as its predecessor,[1] and notes that the lineage of female champions dates back to The Fabulous Moolah's reign in 1956.[5] Following the announcement, seven time Women's Champion and WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus was quoted: "And she's back! So go get it girls, this is what you (we) have been fighting for, No matter the outcome, you all will be in the history books for restoring the integrity and credibility of the women's division".[7]

Belt design

The Women's Championship is similar in appearance to the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, with a few notable differences. The strap is smaller to fit the champion, and white, as opposed to black. The die-cut WWE logo in the center plate sits on a red background, as opposed to a black one. The very small print below the logo reads "Women's Champion". Like the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, the Women's Championship features two side plates, both separated by gold divider bars, with the WWE logo on the globe as default plates, which are customized with the current champion's logos as a similarity of the name plate feature of other belts.[5]

Reigns

The current champion is Charlotte, who is the inaugural champion. She defeated Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks in a triple threat match at WrestleMania 32 to win the title. The match was originally supposed to be for the Divas Championship, which was held by Charlotte, but was retired when Lita unveiled the new championship on the kickoff show earlier in the evening.[7]

Reign The reign number for the specific champion listed
Location The city in which the title was won
Event The event promoted by the respective promotion in which the title was won
— Used for vacated reigns so as not to count it as an official reign
+ Indicates the current reign is changing daily
No. Champion Reign Date Days held Location Event Notes Ref.
1 Charlotte 1 April 3, 2016 34+ Arlington, TX WrestleMania 32 This was a triple threat match also involving Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks to crown the inaugural champion. The Divas Championship, which Charlotte held going into the match, was retired in favor of the new Women's Championship. [8]

Combined reigns

The inaugural and current champion Charlotte
† Indicates the current champion
Rank Wrestler No. of
reigns		 Combined days
1 Charlotte † 1 34+

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "WWE Women's Championship". wwe.com.
  2. ↑ Konuwa, Alfred (March 30, 2016). "Is WWE Planning To Rebrand Its Divas Division?". Forbes. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
  3. ↑ Ahmed, Tufayel. "WrestleMania 32: By Dumping the 'Divas' Branding, WWE Makes Its Biggest Step to Gender Equality". Newsweek. Retrieved 2016-04-05.
  4. ↑ Gass, Dorathy (2014-06-20). "Wrestlemania 32: How The Women Stole The Show". Wrestle Newz. Retrieved 2016-04-05.
  5. 1 2 3 WWE Staff (April 3, 2016). "All-new WWE Women’s Championship introduced at WrestleMania". WWE. Retrieved April 3, 2016. Lita introduced the all-new WWE Women’s Championship at WrestleMania, and revealed that Charlotte, Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch will compete for this title tonight.
  6. ↑ Caldwell, James. "4/3 WrestleMania 32 PPV Pre-Show Results – CALDWELL’S Complete Report". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved April 3, 2016.
  7. 1 2 Damon Martin. "WWE ditches Divas title, unveils new Women's Championship". FOX Sports.
  8. ↑ Artus, Matthew (April 3, 2016). "Charlotte def. Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks to become first new WWE Women’s Champion". WWE. Retrieved April 3, 2016.

External links

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