AEW Women's World Championship

 

AEW WOMEN'S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

Date established: June 18th, 2019

Current champion(s): Mariah May

Date won: August 25th, 2024

First champion(s): Riho

Most reigns: Hikaru Shida and Toni Storm (3 reigns each)

Longest reign: Hikaru Shida (372 days; 1st reign)

Shortest reign: Hikaru Shida (2nd reign, 25 days)

Oldest champion: Nyla Rose (37 years, 193 days)

Youngest champion: Riho (22 years, 120 days)

Heaviest champion: Nyla Rose (185 lb (84 kg))

Lightest champion: Riho (93 lb (42 kg))

History:

On June 18th, 2019, six months after the formation of All Elite Wrestling (AEW), AEW President and Chief Executive Officer Tony Khan announced plans for both a singles and tag team championship for the women's division. It was then announced by then-AEW Chief Brand Officer Brandi Rhodes that the AEW Women's World Championship belt would be unveiled on August 31st, 2019 at AEW ALL OUT 2019, and that the first champion would be crowned on October 2nd, 2019 during the inaugural episode of AEW's weekly television show, later revealed to be called AEW Dynamite.

Both participants for the inaugural championship match were determined at AEW ALL OUT 2019. The first competitor was determined by the women's Casino Battle Royale during the Buy In pre-show, which was won by Nyla Rose. Later that night on the main show, Riho became her opponent by defeating Hikaru Shida. On the premiere episode of AEW Dynamite on October 2nd, 2019, Riho defeated Rose to become the inaugural champion.

At AEW ALL OUT 2022 on September 4th, 2022, reigning champion Thunder Rosa was originally scheduled to defend the championship against Toni Storm; however, due to Rosa suffering a back injury in late August, the match was called off. Instead of  vacating the title, it was decided that an interim champion would be crowned until Rosa's return, after which, the interim champion would face Rosa to determine an undisputed champion. A 4-Way match was scheduled for AEW ALL OUT 2022 where Storm defeated Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D., Jamie Hayter and Hikaru Shida to become the interim champion. 

At AEW Full Gear 2022 on November 19th, 2022, Hayter defeated Storm to win the interim championship. However on the November 23rd, 2022 episode of AEW Dynamite, it was announced that Rosa had relinquished the lineal championship, thus Hayter became the undisputed champion by default and Storm's interim reign was retroactively made an official reign. 

Toni Storm became the first person to win the title twice and held the title for 76 days from AEW ALL OUT 2022 til the 200th episode special of AEW Dynamite on August 2nd, 2023, when she lost the title to former champion Hikaru Shida (making Shida the second woman to win the title twice). Shida would make history at the Title Tuesday special episode of AEW Dynamite on October 10th, 2023 when she won the AEW Women's World Championship for a record-setting three times. 

Title Design:

The original version of the AEW Women's World Championship (used from 2019-2021)

The second version of the title, introduced on May 28th, 2021, was awarded to Hikaru Shida to celebrate her 370 day reign. This design would stay until AEW Revolution 2022 when a new Women's World Championship was unveiled.

The original AEW Women's World Championship belt had a small oval shaped center plate. There were a total of six side plates, three on each side of the center plate. The top of the center plate had a crown and ornamentation lined the edge of the center plate. At the very center of the plate was a name plate to display the reigning champion's name. Above the name plate was AEW's logo while below the name plate read "Women's World Wrestling Champion". The side plates had a globe at the center with ornamentation around the globe.

On the May 28th, 2021, special Friday night airing of AEW Dynamite, reigning champion Hikaru Shida was awarded with a slightly updated version of the title. The updated version featured the overall same design, but was slightly bigger with extra encrusted diamonds and extra gold plating. The unveiling of this updated design was to commemorate Shida's reign of 370 days, which at the time was the longest reign for any AEW championship (this record would later be broken by Jade Cargill's AEW TBS Championship reign in January 2023). Shida, however, would lose the title just two days later at AEW Double or Nothing 2022 to Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D.

At AEW Revolution on March 6th, 2022, Baker unveiled a new design of the championship belt with bigger plates, similar to the men's AEW World Championship. The new belt was designed by Belts By Dan, which took three weeks to complete, and it was inspired by the Mid-South North-American Championship belt of the 1980s.

Title Reigns:

1. Riho - Won on: October 2nd, 2019 @ AEW Dynamite: Premiere Episode - Reign: 1, Held for: 133 days (defeated Nyla Rose on the premiere episode of AEW Dynamite to become the inaugural champion)

2. Nyla Rose - Won on: February 12th, 2020 @ AEW Dynamite - Reign: 1, Held for: 101 days

3. Hikaru Shida - Won on: May 23rd, 2020 @ AEW Double or Nothing 2020 - Reign: 1, Held for: 372 days (This was a No Disqualification, No Countout Match)

4. Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. - Won on: May 30th, 2021 @ AEW Double or Nothing 2021 - Reign: 1, Held for: 290 days

5. Thunder Rosa - Won on: March 16th, 2022 @ AEW Dynamite: St. Patrick's Day Slam - Reign: 1, Held for: 172 days (This was a steel cage match)

- VACATAED - September 4th, 2022 @ AEW ALL OUT 2022 (Lineal champion Thunder Rosa suffered a back injury in late August and an interim champion was crowned at this event. On the November 23rd, 2022, episode of Dynamite, Rosa relinquished the lineal championship and the subsequent interim reigns were retroactively made official.)

6. Toni Storm - Won on: September 4th, 2022 @ AEW ALL OUT 2022 - Reign: 1, Held for: 76 days (Lineal champion Thunder Rosa was originally scheduled to defend the title against Storm at this event but was pulled due to suffering an injury. Storm instead faced and defeated Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D., Hikaru Shida and Jamie Hayter in a four-way match to become the interim champion. Due to Rosa forfeiting the lineal title on the November 23rd, 2022, episode of Dynamite, Storm's interim reign was retroactively made an official reign)

7. Jamie Hayter - Won on: November 19th, 2022 @ AEW Full Gear 2022 - Reign: 1, Held for: 191 days (Hayter defeated Toni Storm to win the interim championship. On the November 23rd, 2022, episode of Dynamite, it was announced that Thunder Rosa had forfeited the lineal championship, making Hayter the undisputed champion) 

8. Toni Storm (2) - Won on: May 28th, 2023 @ AEW Double or Nothing 2023 - Reign: 2, Held for: 76 days (defeated an injured Jamie Hayter to end her 191 day reign as champion. Toni Storm is the only person to have won the championship twice)

9. Hikaru Shida (2) - Won on: August 2nd, 2023 @ AEW Dynamite: 200th Episode - Reign: 2, Held for: 25 days (defeated Toni Storm to end her 76 day reign as champion. Shida is the second woman to have held the title more than once)

10. Saraya - Won on: August 27th, 2023 @ AEW ALL IN: London 2023 - Reign: 1, Days Held: 45 (defeated Shida, Toni Storm and Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D. in a four way match to win the title in front of over 80 thousand fans at AEW's largest event ever in front of her hometown crowd)

11. Hikaru Shida (3) - Won on: October 10th, 2023 @ AEW Dynamite: Title Tuesday 2023 - Reign: 3 (defeated Saraya to end her reign at 45 days. With her win, Shida sets the record for most title reigns with the title at 3)

12. "Timeless" Toni Storm (3) - Won on: November 18th, 2023 @ AEW Full Gear 2023 - Reign: 3, Days Held: 275 days (She was previously known as just Toni Storm)

13. Mariah May - Won on: August 25th, 2024 @ AEW ALL IN: LONDON 2024 - Reign: 1 (May was the 2024 Owen Hart Cup Women's Tournament Winner. She defeated her former mentor 'Timeless' Toni Storm to end her title reign at 275 days)