Celebrating Five Years of the SmackDown Women's Championship (Part 3)
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 second reign of Charlotte Flair
Won the title on Sunday, August 19, 2018
Event: WWE SummerSlam
Location: Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York
Days held: 28
Televised win/loss record as champion: 2-0
Notables: 1 successful defense in the main event of SmackDown
Key matches
- Charlotte Flair def. Becky Lynch & Carmella (c) - SummerSlam 8-19-18
- Charlotte Flair (c) def. Carmella - SmackDown 8-28-18 [ME]
Charlotte found her way into the scheduled Carmella vs. Lynch match at SummerSlam. After securing her second SmackDown title win, Flair was attacked by Becky, which ignited a major feud that would carry the division through WrestleMania. Unfortunately for The Queen, Becky’s popularity just couldn’t be denied.
The second reign of Becky Lynch
Won the title on Sunday, September 16, 2018
Event: WWE Hell in a Cell
Location: AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas
Days held: 91
Televised win/loss record as champion: 3-1-1
Notables: 1 successful defense, 3 pay-per-view appearances, main-evented WWE TLC 2018
Key matches
- Becky Lynch def. Charlotte Flair (c) - Hell in a Cell 9-16-18
- Charlotte Flair def. Becky Lynch (c) - by DQ - Super ShowDown 10-6-18
- Becky Lynch (c) vs. Charlotte Flair - double count-out - SmackDown 10-9-18
- Becky Lynch (c) def. Charlotte Flair - Last Woman Standing - Evolution 10-28-18
- Becky Lynch def. Nikki Cross - SmackDown 11-6-18
Becky Lynch quickly dethroned Charlotte at the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view less than a month after coming to blows. They continued battling all over the world before colliding in a historic Last Woman Standing match at the first-ever all-women’s WWE pay-per-view Evolution. Lynch won and was supposed to face Ronda Rousey at Survivor Series, but it wasn’t meant to be. Once healed from a face injury, The Man defended her title in the main event of WWE TLC.
The first reign of Asuka
Won the title on Sunday, December 16, 2018
Event: WWE TLC
Location: SAP Center in San Jose, California
Days held: 100
Televised win/loss record as champion: 4-1
Notables: 3 successful defenses, 2 pay-per-view appearances
Key matches
- Asuka def. Becky Lynch (c) & Charlotte Flair - TLC Match - TLC 12-16-18 [ME]
- Asuka (c) def. Naomi - SmackDown 12-18-18
- Asuka (c) def. Becky Lynch - Royal Rumble 1-27-19
- Asuka (c) def. Mandy Rose - Fastlane 3-10-19
Asuka captured her first main roster title in the main event of TLC with an assist from Ronda Rousey. Nevertheless, Asuka was more than deserving of having a breakout moment on the blue brand. She held the title for exactly 100 days with defenses against Naomi, Lynch, and Mandy Rose. She was bound to walk into WrestleMania 35 as champ, but WWE had other plans.
The third reign of Charlotte Flair
Won the title on Tuesday, March 26, 2019
Event: WWE SmackDown Live
Location: Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut
Days held: 12
Televised win/loss record as champion: 1-0
Notables: First woman to hold the title three times
Key matches
- Charlotte Flair def. Asuka (c) - SmackDown 3-26-19
- Becky Lynch & Charlotte Flair def. The Riott Squad - Raw 4-1-19
By this point, Charlotte was already set to compete in the WrestleMania 35 main event with Lynch and Rousey. But by beating Asuka for the SmackDown Women’s Championship less than two weeks before the event, Flair looked to raise the stakes in a monumental winner takes all match.
Check back on Tuesday, September 14, for Part 4 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.