The winds of change in WWE’s women’s division arrived in the form of the Women’s United States Championship. A tournament to crown the inaugural champion kicked off on SmackDown last Friday when Bayley defeated B-Fab and Candice LeRae and will meet the winner of the Bianca Belair vs. Chelsea Green vs. Blair Davenport. The other side of the bracket sees Jae Cargill vs. Michin vs. Piper Niven and Tiffany Stratton vs. Naomi vs. Elektra. 

The tournament finals will be held on 12/14 at Saturday Night’s Main Event, emanating from the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. The first round will comprise four Triple Threat Matches, with singles matches filling the semi-final rounds.

Fans have clamored for a women’s mid-card title in WWE for years. NXT was the testing ground for the initiative in June when Kelani Jordan became the inaugural Women’s North American Champion.

Fatal Influence’s Fallon Henley recently bested Jordan to hold the gold. There are rumors of either a Women’s Intercontinental Title or a Netflix Title being implemented on Raw as the brand’s secondary women’s championship.

Tony Khan popularized the women’s mid-card title concept in the U.S. when AEW introduced the TBS Championship 2021, and ROH followed suit with the Women’s World Television Championship in May 2024. Mercedes Moné and Red Velvet are the respective title holders. Last year, Billy Corgan’s NWA also implemented a Women’s World Television Title.

Women’s wrestling in WWE and abroad has significantly expanded over the last decade. The top storyline on Monday Night Raw was the love triangle between Rhea Ripley, Dominick Mysterio, and Liv Morgan. In the eyes of many, it demonstrates how female acts on television are now on par with male performers in terms of importance.

While hard-nosed grizzle veterans say title belts are simply props, the right champion differentiates between them being a fashion accessory and a coveted prize. Mid-card championships allow members of a particular roster to work their way up, and as with most things in life, there are levels to professional wrestling.

Throughout WWE lore, most male wrestlers win the secondary or mid-card championship before capturing the World Championship. However, the women’s roster has no silver medal to win. No progression to establish a character’s credibility as they work through the ranks. 

Female wrestlers have either been in the world title mix or have been irrelevant until now. With sixty-eight active women’s wrestlers in WWE and more on the horizon, it is the perfect time to introduce a second singles title across all three brands.