Celebrating Five Years of the SmackDown Women's Championship (Part 4)
A digital Ring Post Journal series
September 11, 2021, marked the five-year anniversary of the crowning of the first SmackDown Women’s Champion. This five-part series serves as an oral history of the SmackDown Women’s Championship lineage. Every titleholder, title change, televised and pay-per-view defense, and main event. Every iconic moment over the last five years is recounted and supported by research and statistics for celebration and reflection. Happy reading!
The third reign of Becky Lynch
Won the title on Monday, April 8, 2019
Event: WWE WrestleMania 35
Location: MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey
Days held: 41
Televised win/loss record as champion: 3-0
Notables: 1 pay-per-view appearance, first woman to hold both the Raw and SmackDown titles at the same time
Key matches
- Becky Lynch def. Ronda Rousey & Charlotte Flair (c) - WrestleMania 35 4-8-19
- Becky Lynch def. Bayley - SmackDown 4-30-19
For the first time ever, women headlined WrestleMania 35 when Becky Lynch beat Ronda Rousey and Charlotte Flair to win both the Raw and SmackDown Women’s Championships. The monumental win marked Lynch’s third run with the blue brand’s title. While she mostly competed on Raw at the time, she regularly appeared on SmackDown as her feud with Flair continued through Money in the Bank.
The fourth reign of Charlotte Flair
Won the title on Sunday, May 19, 2019
Event: WWE Money in the Bank
Location: XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut
Days held: Mere minutes
Televised win/loss record as champion: N/A
Notables: First woman to hit four reigns
Key matches
- Charlotte Flair def. Becky Lynch (c) - Money in the Bank 5-19-19
With two titles on her shoulders, Lynch was faced with a double defense at Money in the Bank. After retaining the Raw title against Lacey Evans, a worn down Becky came up short to Charlotte with the SmackDown title on the line. However, The Queen’s celebration didn’t last long.
The first reign of Bayley
Won the title on Sunday, May 19, 2019
Event: WWE Money in the Bank
Location: XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut
Days held: 140
Televised win/loss record as champion: 15-5
Notables: 4 successful defenses, 4 pay-per-view matches, time spent on both Raw & SmackDown
Key matches
- Bayley def. Charlotte Flair (c) - MITB Cash-In - Money in the Bank 5-19-19
- Bayley (c) def. Alexa Bliss - Stomping Grounds 6-23-19
- Bayley (c) def. Nikki Cross & Alexa Bliss - Handicap - Extreme Rules 7-14-19
- Bayley (c) def. Ember Moon - SummerSlam 8-11-19
- Bayley (c) def. Charlotte Flair - Clash of Champions 9-15-19
Bayley wasted little time when she cashed-in her Money in the Bank contract the same night she won it. And by doing so, she beat Charlotte to win her first SmackDown Women’s title. That summer, Bayley appeared on both SmackDown and Raw while feuding with Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross. After retaining against Ember Moon at SummerSlam, Bayley realigned with Sasha Banks as another feud with Charlotte began.
The fifth reign of Charlotte Flair
Won the title on Sunday, October 6, 2019
Event: WWE Hell in a Cell
Location: Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California
Days held: 5
Televised win/loss record as champion: 0-1
Notables: First woman to hit five reigns
Key matches
- Charlotte Flair def. Bayley (c) - Hell in a Cell 10-6-19
- The Kabuki Warriors def. Becky Lynch & Charlotte Flair - Champions vs. Champions - Raw 10-7-19
During their second consecutive pay-per-view match, Charlotte beat Bayley to win the title for a record fifth time. Much like her last two reigns, it didn’t last long.
The second reign of Bayley
Won the title on Friday, October 11, 2019
Event: WWE Friday Night SmackDown
Location: T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada
Days held: 380
Televised win/loss record as champion: 22-16-1
Notables: Longest SmackDown title reign ever (as of this writing), 9 successful defenses, 8 pay-per-view appearances, headlined Survivor Series 2019, the most wins/appearances thus far with time spent on Raw, SmackDown & NXT
Key matches
- Bayley def. Charlotte Flair (c) - SmackDown 10-11-19 [ME]
- Bayley (c) def. Nikki Cross - SmackDown 11-1-19
- Shayna Baszler def. Bayley & Becky Lynch - Survivor Series [ME]
- Bayley (c) def. Lacey Evans - Royal Rumble 1-26-20
- Bayley (c) def. Carmella - SmackDown 2-14-20
- Bayley (c) def. Naomi - Super ShowDown 2-27-20
- Bayley (c) def. Lacey Evans, Sasha Banks, Naomi & Tamina - WrestleMania 36 4-5-20
- Bayley (c) def. Tamina - Money in the Bank 5-10-20
- Bayley (c) def. Nikki Cross - Extreme Rules 7-19-20
- Bayley (c) def. Nikki Cross - SmackDown 7-31-20
- Bayley (c) def. Asuka - SummerSlam 8-23-20
- Asuka def. Bayley (c) - by DQ - Clash of Champions 9-27-20
- Sasha Banks def. Bayley (c) - by DQ - SmackDown 10-9-20
Bayley’s second run with the title has gone down as one of the most important in the title’s brief lineage thus far. An official, appearance-altering heel turn helped Bayley beat Charlotte for the title again in the main event of the October 11th SmackDown. From there, she survived several defenses, including a five-way match at WrestleMania 36.
That summer, Bayley and Sasha Banks won the Women’s Tag Team Championship and competed in main events across Raw, SmackDown, and NXT. The end of her historic run was highlighted by defending against Asuka at SummerSlam before The Golden Role Models came to blows at the end of August.
In October, Bayley faced her greatest challenge when she defended her title against Sasha Banks inside Hell in a Cell.
Check back on Wednesday, September 15, for Part 5 of celebrating five years of the SmackDown Women’s Championship. Subscribe for free or chip in a monthly donation to have future articles delivered right to your inbox.
In search of more women’s wrestling stats and history? Look no further than Ring Post Journal’s 2020 Women’s Wrestling Year in Review available exclusively on Amazon in print and digital formats.