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The 2016 Draft saw WWE separate the roster of Monday Night RAW and Friday Night SmackDown (then known as SmackDown Live). With there being two different rosters, WWE introduced a second women's title on August 23, 2016, the SmackDown Women's Championship, exclusive to the Blue brand.
There have been a total of nine different WWE women Superstars who have held the title across 18 reigns. The championship has been defended in some great and unique matches, including the WrestleMania 35 main event. Currently, Sasha Banks holds the title which she won by defeating Bayley at WWE Hell in a Cell 2020.
Let's take a look at all the nine SmackDown Women's Champions so far and find out where they are right now. Be sure to comment down and let us know who do you think has been the best champion in the history of the title.
#1 Becky Lynch - The first SmackDown Women's Champion
Becky Lynch became the first SmackDown Women's Champion at Backlash 2016 when she defeated Alexa Bliss, Naomi, Carmella, Natalya, and Nikki Bella in a six-pack elimination challenge. This was the first championship victory for Becky Lynch in WWE and established her as the top babyface on SmackDown's women roster.
Becky Lynch has had a total of three title reigns with the SmackDown Women's Championship, the second-most in the history of the title. Her second reign started at WWE Hell in a Cell 2018 when she defeated Charlotte Flair. Her third and so-far the final reign with the title began at WrestleMania 35 when she defeated Flair and Ronda Rousey in the historic main-event of the pay-per-view.
All combined, Becky Lynch has held the SmackDown Women's Championship for a total of 216 days, the second-most by any WWE Superstar. She has arguably been one of the best champions in the history of the championship, uplifting the title as well as the roster of SmackDown.
Currently, Becky Lynch is out of action as she is soon going to give birth to her and her fiance and WWE Superstar Seth Rollins' first child. There is no confirmation yet on when or if she will return to the ring but there have been rumors of Vince McMahon planning a match between her and Ronda Rousey for WrestleMania 37 next year.
#2 Alexa Bliss - The youngest SmackDown Women's Champion
The second-ever SmackDown Women's Champion, Alexa Bliss won the title by defeating Becky Lynch at TLC 2016 in a tables match. At that time, she was 25 and so far holds the record of being the youngest champion in the history of the title. Bliss had two reigns with the SmackDown Women's Championship, holding the title for a combined 109 days.
While she was unable to win any gold during her time in NXT, Alexa Bliss has established herself as one of the most prominent Superstars on WWE's main roster. Recently, Alexa Bliss has gone through a massive character change and has aligned herself with 'The Fiend' Bray Wyatt, both of whom were drafted to Monday Night RAW last month.
#3 Naomi
Naomi is one of the most underrated Superstars on WWE's current roster. But the 'Land of Opportunities' SmackDown gave her a chance to shine and show her worth to the WWE Universe. Naomi won her first title in WWE at Elimination Chamber 2017 when she defeated Alexa Bliss to become the new SmackDown Women's Champion.
Unfortunately, she was forced to vacate the title after eight days due to a knee injury. She then went on to win the SmackDown Women's Championship for the second time at WrestleMania 33 in a six-pack challenge. Combined, she has held the title for a total of 148 days and a decent second reign.
Recently, there was a social media trend #GiveNaomiAChance as fans showed their support to her. At the 2020 WWE Draft, Naomi was drafted to Monday Night RAW.
#4 Natalya
Natalya is one of the most experienced Superstars in WWE's women's division. Signing a contract with WWE back in 2007, Natalya continues to wrestle full-time for the company. A former Divas Champion, Natalya won the SmackDown Women's Championship at SummerSlam 2017 by defeating Naomi.
That has been her only reign with the SmackDown Women's title so far. Last year at Crown Jewel 2019, Natalya wrestled Lacey Evans in the first-ever women's WWE match in Saudi Arabia. Recently at the 2020 WWE Draft, she was drafted to SmackDown again.
#5 Charlotte Flair - Most reigns as the SmackDown Women's Champion
The Queen of WWE, Charlotte Flair has arguably been one of the most successful Superstars of the modern era. Already a record 12-time women's champion in WWE, Charlotte Flair holds the record for the most reigns as the SmackDown Women's Champion, winning the title on five different occasions.
She first won the SmackDown Women's title by defeating Natalya on an episode of the Blue brand in November 2017. While her first reign lasted for 146 days, the next four reigns have all been very short with her holding the title for 27, 12, less than one, and four days. In fact, her fourth title reign was the shortest in the history of the championship, lasting less than five minutes.
WWE Universe has been critical of the company for putting the Championships on Flair just to increase her number of title reigns and get her closer to her father Ric Flair's record of 16 world title reigns.
Yet, Charlotte Flair remains one of the best WWE Superstars, both in the ring and on the mic, some even considering her the greatest women's Superstar in the history of the company. Currently, she is on a hiatus from WWE due to cosmetic surgery. There's no confirmation on her return yet but The Queen has teased that she is back in the gym, training again.
#6 Carmella
The first-ever Women's Money in the Bank winner, Carmella became the SmackDown Women's Champion when she cashed-in her contract on Charlotte Flair on the SmackDown after WrestleMania 34. That was the first instance in WWE history of a women's title changing hands via a Money in the Bank cash-in. Carmella had a decent run with the title, holding it for 130 days.
After spending most of her last year in the 24/7 Championship picture with R-Truth, Carmella recently returned after a hiatus with a new gimmick. Turning heel, she is now calling herself 'Untouchable' and has immediately jumped into the title picture on the Blue brand.
#7 Asuka - Oldest SmackDown Women's Champion
One of the most entertaining and talented WWE Superstars, Asuka has held the SmackDown Women's Championship once. She won the title at TLC 2018 in the first women's triple threat TLC match and held it for 99 days. With this victory, she holds the record of being the oldest champion in the history of the title.
Winner of the first-ever women's Royal Rumble and only the second women's Grand Slam Champion in WWE history, Asuka is the current RAW Women's Champion. With the absence of names like Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair, Asuka is the top face of the women's roster of the Red brand.
#8 Bayley - Longest reign as the SmackDown Women's Champion
Arguably the greatest SmackDown Women's Champion in the history of the title, Bayley won the title first at WWE Money in the Bank 2019. After winning the women's Money in the Bank match, she went on to cash-in on Charlotte Flair later that night to capture her first SmackDown Women's title.
Bayley lost the title to Charlotte at Hell in a Cell 2019 but went on to win it back five days later. Her second reign, which saw her turn into a full-blown heel, lasted for a massive 379 days, the longest in the history of the title. Her work as a heel champion was praised by fans and critiques, especially during the pandemic era of WWE. She recently lost the SmackDown Women's Championship to Sasha Banks at WWE Hell in a Cell 2020.
#9 Sasha Banks - Current SmackDown Women's Champion
Sasha Banks, one of The Four Horsewomen of WWE, is one of the best women's wrestlers in the world right now. Having won all other women's titles in the company, it was only the SmackDown Women's Championship that was eluding her from becoming the third women's Grand Slam Champion in WWE history.
That wait ended last month at WWE Hell in a Cell 2020 when she defeated her 'best friend' Bayley inside the HIAC to end her record-breaking title reign. With that, she became the sixth woman to have won both the RAW and SmackDown Women's Championships.
