Top 5 SmackDown Women's Champions so far

In 2016, there was only one women's title in WWE. When champion Charlotte Flair was drafted to RAW in the reintroduction of the brand split, the title became exclusive to the red brand. After SummerSlam, the SmackDown Women's Championship was born.

It was unveiled by Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan, who were SmackDown commissioner and general manager respectively at the time. The pair announced that a six-pack elimination challenge would determine the inaugural champion at the upcoming Backlash pay-per-view.

The women who faced off against one another for the title were Carmella, Alexa Bliss, Nikki Bella, Naomi, Natalya and eventual winner Becky Lynch. Many women have held the SmackDown Women's Champion over the past four years, and here are the top five holders so far.

---

#5 Smackdown's Carmella

Carmella won the SmackDown Women's Championship in 2018

In 2017, Carmella became the inaugural Miss Money in the Bank, helped by James Ellsworth. Carmella held onto her Money in the Bank contract for a record-breaking 287 days, before cashing in on SmackDown Women's Champion Charlotte Flair following a beating from The IIconics.

Carmella had an entertaining reign and was involved in some great matches. She managed to defend the championship against Charlotte at Backlash 2018, followed by successful defences against Asuka at both Money in the Bank and Extreme Rules.

At the time, Carmella was performing under more of a heel persona and often resorted to underhanded tactics and back-up from Ellsworth to keep hold of the belt.

After an eventful 131-day reign, Carmella lost the title to Charlotte at SummerSlam in a triple threat match between the pair and Becky Lynch. The match was decided after both Flair and Lynch defeated Carmella on separate occasions.

Carmella is currently absent from WWE television, but maybe she could contend for the SmackDown Women's Champion again upon her return?

#4 Smackdown's Naomi

Naomi won the SmackDown Women's Championship at WrestleMania 33

In 2016, Naomi moved to SmackDown in the draft and underwent an overhaul to her image and character. Before winning the SmackDown Women's Championship, she had only competed for it once at Backlash 2016 in the six-pack elimination challenge to determine the inaugural holder.

Naomi competed for the title again at the 2017 edition of Elimination Chamber. The performer not only won the SmackDown Women's Championship for the first time in her WWE career, but also became the first African-American woman to win the belt.

Unfortunately, Naomi's first time with the SmackDown Women's Championship was cut short when she had to relinquish the title due to an injury sustained during the match.

The SmackDown Women's Championship was captured by Naomi for a second time at WrestleMania 33, where the star won the title in front of a hometown crowd. Naomi was able to defeat Alexa Bliss to win the title and also retained it during a rematch shortly after the event.

Naomi truly made her mark on SmackDown during her time as champion, showcasing a customised glow-in-the-dark belt that matched her attire. She retained the title over Lana at Money in the Bank and also in rematches on SmackDown.

The performer eventually dropped the title to Natalya at SummerSlam 2017, ending her reign at one-hundred and forty days.

#3 Smackdown's Charlotte Flair

Charlotte Flair is a five-time SmackDown Women's Champion

When the SmackDown Women's Championship was established, Charlotte Flair was a RAW superstar. In the spring of 2017, Flair moved to SmackDown as a part of the Superstar-Shake Up.

Later that year, The Queen won a fatal four-way match to become the number one contender for the title which was held by Natalya at the time.

Charlotte won the SmackDown Women's Championship and became the first-ever woman to win the Divas, NXT, RAW and SmackDown titles in doing so. During her first reign as champion of the blue brand, Flair defended the title against Ruby Riott and ended Asuka's undefeated streak at WrestleMania 34.

Flair lost the championship for the first time after Carmella cashed in her Money in the Bank contract, following an attack from The IIconics, ending her reign at 147 days.

Flair quickly earned a shot for her recently-lost title against Carmella and Becky Lynch in a triple threat match at SummerSlam. She pinned Lynch to win the SmackDown Women's Championship for a second time, causing her former friend to turn against her.

An intense feud between the two started, with Lynch winning the title from Flair at Hell in a Cell. Her second reign lasted just 27 days.

Shortly before WrestleMania 35, Charlotte defeated Asuka to become champion for the third time. As champion, Flair was involved in the first-ever women's main event of WrestleMania. She lost the title for a third time to Becky Lynch, who pinned Ronda Rousey to win both women's titles.

Charlotte won the SmackDown Women's Championship for a fourth time at Money in the Bank after Lacey Evans interfered in her match with Lynch. However, this was Flair's shortest reign yet as the 2019 Miss Money in the Bank Bayley cashed in her contract on the same night.

140 days later, Flair won the title for a fifth time against Bayley at Hell in a Cell. Flair's fifth reign was another short one, with Bayley winning back the belt a mere four days later on SmackDown.

#2 Smackdown's Bayley

Bayley is the current SmackDown Women's Champion

Bayley is a two-time SmackDown Women's Champion and the longest-reigning holder to date. In May 2019, Bayley became the third Miss Money in the Bank, pushing Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville off the top of the ladder to win the contract.

Later that night, Bayley cashed in her contract against Charlotte Flair, who had won the SmackDown Women's Championship from Becky Lynch just minutes prior. With her win, she became the first women's grand slam champion in WWE history, having previously won the NXT Women's Championship, RAW Women's Championship and WWE Women's Tag Team Championships.

Bayley then defeated Alexa Bliss, Nikki Cross and Ember Moon to retain the SmackDown Women's Championship. During her reign, Bayley also turned heel for the first time in her WWE career, debuting a new theme, look and attitude. The Role Model then lost the title to Charlotte Flair, before winning it back four days later.

Bayley's second reign with the SmackDown Women's Championship is currently ongoing. During her reign so, she has successfully defended the title against a multitude of superstars, including Lacey Evans, Naomi, Tamina and Cross. Bayley has often been helped in these title defences by former tag team partner Sasha Banks.

As well as holding the SmackDown Women's Championship, Bayley also became a Women's Tag Team Champion for a second time with Sasha Banks. Whilst having two championships, Bayley dubbed herself Bayley Dos Straps, even getting her new moniker shaved into her hair.

Recently, Bayley and Banks lost the tag team belts to the new team of Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax at Payback, leading to The Role Model launching a venomous attack on her supposed best friend.

With Bayley still reigning as SmackDown Women's Champion, it will be interesting to see which route the superstar will take in the future and who will step up to become her next challenger.

#1 Smackdown's Becky Lynch

Becky Lynch won the SmackDown Women's Championship for the third time at WrestleMania 35

After winning the six-pack challenge in September 2016, Becky Lynch became the first-ever SmackDown Women's Champion. Lynch's first feud after winning the title was with Alexa Bliss and she eventually dropped the belt to her at TLC after an 84-day reign.

Over the years that followed, Lynch came close to winning the SmackDown Women's Championship on numerous occasions but just missed out each time. Most notably, she earned a shot against then-champion Carmella in a triple threat match and very nearly caused her to tap out, before Charlotte Flair pinned her to win the championship herself.

The events of SummerSlam 2018 triggered a change in Lynch. Following the match, she attacked Fair, igniting an intense rivalry with her former best friend. Lynch began dubbing herself The Man and won the title from Charlotte, before defending against her at Super Shown-Down and again in a Last Woman Standing match at Evolution, a bout highly-praised by fans.

Lynch then dropped the SmackDown Women's Championship to Asuka at TLC following an interference from Ronda Rousey, who pushed both her and Charlotte Flair off a ladder. Her second reign with the championship ended at 91 days.

In the build-up to WrestleMania 35, The Man was involved in a rivalry with both Rousey and Charlotte. A triple threat, winner-takes-all match was set for the three of them in the first-ever women's main event at WrestleMania.

Lynch won both the RAW and SmackDown Women's Championships by pinning Rousey, a historic moment in WWE history. Lynch's third reign as SmackDown Women's Champion ended after 41 days after Lacey Evans interfered at Money in the Bank to help Flair win back the title.