Raw Women's Championship

The Raw Women's Championship was introduced by Raw GM Shane McMahon after Nia Jax walked out with the WWE Women's Title. Shane held a nine-woman tournament to win the gold, which finished with Bayley defeating Asuka at Survivor Series to become the first champion. It is the women's championship exclusive to the Raw brand.

## History

The Raw Women's Title was the creation of GM Shane McMahon, as the Raw women needed a belt to compete for. It's design was mirrored by SmackDown for the SmackDown Women's Title. Shane held a tournament consisting of all the Raw women to crown the first champion. Eventually, Bayley, Sasha Banks, Asuka and Nikki Bella were left in the semi-finals. Bayley punched her ticket to the finals with a roll-up of her best friend Sasha Banks, and Asuka submitted Nikki Bella with an Asuka Lock to head to the finals. Former WWE Women's Champion Trish Stratus presented the new belt, which was won by Bayley at Survivor Series with a Bayley-to-Belly. After the match, tired of being overshadowed, Sasha viciously attacked Bayley, slamming her head off the steel ringpost several times before officials could intervene. Bayley and Sasha would meet at Armageddon, where Bayley was the winner. Shane McMahon refused to give Sasha a rematch, so she targeted Bayley, getting the champion to give her another shot. On the final episode of Raw in 2016, the Boss claimed the title, making Bayley tap out to the Bank Statement.

Sasha's title reign wouldn't last long, as she was dethroned in a triple threat match at Royal Rumble, as Bayley pinned Nikki Bella to become a two-time champion. Sasha's quest for another shot led her and Asuka to defeat Bayley and Nikki Bella. It was Asuka that faced Bayley at Fastlane, where the Empress of Tomorrow became the new champion. Asuka and Sasha would then meet at WrestleMania, where Asuka was successful once more. Asuka was scheduled to then take on Becky Lynch at Payback, but Lynch was attacked before the match could happen by Paige, who went on to lose to Asuka in an impromtu title match. In a triple threat number one contender's match featuring the returning Sasha Banks, Paige pinned Becky Lynch to earn another championship match. She then lost to Banks a few weeks later, but at Extreme Rules, in a triple threat match also involving Sasha, Paige was able to pin Asuka and become a Triple Crown winner. She wouldn't hold onto the belt for long, as in the first ever Iron Woman match at Bad Blood, Becky Lynch scored a single fall, finally defeating her long-time rival.

Becky Lynch's reign as champion started with a title retention over Asuka at Summerslam, and then at No Mercy, she defeated SmackDown Women's Champion Alexa Bliss in a Champion vs Champion match. After a win over Mickie James on Raw, Becky Lynch was attacked by Sasha Banks, who looked to become champion for the second time. At Survivor Series , she did just that, but largely thanks to the timely interference of NXT's Ruby Riot. Riot's actions were later explained, as she wanted a title shot and knew that Sasha's ego would force the Boss into attempting to prove her own dominance. Ruby's plan worked, as after defeating Becky in her rematch clause, Sasha declared that she would face Ruby at Royal Rumble . In that match, the Boss was victorious for her second title defense. At Elimination Chamber , Becky earned another title shot, but Asuka interrupted the contract signing between Lynch and Banks. Shane McMahon made it a triple threat match, and at WrestleMania , Becky Lynch surprised everyone, become a two time champion.

Lynch would go on to have a dominant second reign, which started by defeating Alexa Bliss at Backlash . She then tapped out Natalya in a Submissions match at Extreme Rules and managed to defeat Ruby Riott at Vengeance . But then Ronda Rousey would debut, and with some help from Shayna Baszler, would take the title from Lynch at Summerslam . Rousey defeated Candice LeRae at Unforgiven , before a rematch between Ronda and Becky was arranged. The two women would main event No Mercy , but it was Baszler who won the night, cashing in her Money in the Bank contract to win the title. Rousey would try for redemption at Survivor Series , but was unable to defeat Baszler. After taking a month off to heal from injuries, Lynch was back and now hunted Shayna Baszler, who was more than ready for a fight, eager to avenge her previous defeat to Becky at Unforgiven. But once again, Becky got the better of Baszler thanks to a victory roll off the top rope, and Lynch became the first three-time champion at Armageddon.

The Becky Lynch-Paige rivalry resurfaced at Royal Rumble, where in another great match between the two, Lynch retained her title to start her third reign off on the right foot. She then entered the Elimination Chamber, and successfully defended her title in the dreaded structure, outlasting Alexa Bliss, Liv Morgan, Mickie James, Natalya and former rival Ruby Riott. Later at the same event, former friends collided as Ronda Rousey tapped out Shayna Baszler to become number one contender. That set up a massive collision at WrestleMania III, as Lynch and Rousey faced off for the third time in singles competition, and Becky emerged victorious while Rousey took an extended hiatus from Universe Mode. The self-proclaimed "Man of Raw" kept right on trucking, toppling Nia Jax at Backlash in a tremendous effort. Ruby Riott was back for another go, as the leader of the Riott Squad was determined to finally become champion. In perhaps the upset of the year, two Riott Kicks put down Becky Lynch at Bad Blood, ending her third, and possibly best, title reign.

Riott began her first title reign by putting down Toni Storm at Money in the Bank, before facing up against a surprise challenger. Naomi defeated Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair to become number one contender, and took Ruby to her limits on the July 22nd episode of Raw, before the Riott Squad intervened to keep their leader's title. Naomi would then team up with Charlotte and Becky to defeat Riott and her goons at Summerslam, pinning Sarah Logan for the victory. That win earned all three women title shots, and Ruby was in certain danger of her title reign coming to an end. But she managed to turn all of her challengers against each other by using Lynch and Flair's friendship to manipulate Naomi, and escaped the fatal four-way match at No Mercy with belt still safely in her possesion. Ronda Rousey was now back following her hiatus, and put herself next in line to face Riott. The Riott Squad were too afraid of the "Baddest Woman on the Planet" but Riott got the job done on her own, narrowly squeaking out a win over Rousey at Survivor Series. Also on that show, Charlotte Flair defeated Becky Lynch in an emotional grudge match to become the new number one contender and was ready to face Riott once more. Thanks to assistance from Lynch and Rousey, who ran off Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan, Flair tapped out Riott with the Figure Eight at Armageddonto claim the title and mark the second year in a row where the belt changed hands at that specific event.