Ranking every NXT Women’s Champion (so far)
#5 – Sasha Banks
No. of days as champion: 191
Successful title defenses: 4
Notable appearances: Defended twice on TakeOver events, 3 times on NXT TV
Sasha Banks is known as The Boss for reason. In fact, the Sasha we see today on SmackDown was on top of the world in NXT. After a few months of feuding with Charlotte going into 2015, Banks won the highly-praised fatal four-way over Charlotte, Bayley, and Becky Lynch to win the gold at TakeOver: Rival.
Though there were decent periods in between title defenses, Banks was an active champion with two victories over Charlotte and a successful TV defense against the rising Alexa Bliss. Sasha’s TakeOver: Unstoppable defense marked an incredible victory over Becky Lynch, a match that solidified both competitors as future legends.
The summer of 2015 was a monumental one for Banks when she was called up to Raw while still reigning as the NXT Women’s Champion. Though she never wore the title on Raw, it was still a huge feat for her to be featured as a key player on two brands. As a result of Sasha’s call-up, it only made sense that she would lose the title to Bayley in Brooklyn. Even though the finish was predictable, Banks and Bayley made sure their battle would go down as one of the all-time greats.
#4 – Bayley
No. of days as champion: 223
Successful title defenses: 5
Notable appearances: Won a TakeOver main event, successfully defended at TakeOver twice
From one great champ to another, it only makes sense that Bayley would continue raising the stock of the title after Banks’ run. The NXT Women’s Championship reached new heights in Bayley’s possession when the TakeOver: Respect main event was the first ever 30-minute Iron Woman match with the title on the line. Bayley established herself as a game-changer by defeating Banks once and for all that night.
With three of the Four Horsewomen officially gone from NXT, the responsibility fell on Bayley’s shoulders to lead a new era of the black and gold brand’s women’s division. Even as a reigning champion, I believe she helped elevate a number of rising stars like Alexa Bliss and Eva Marie in back-to-back weeks. The Huggable One even managed to knock off Nia Jax at TakeOver: London to cap off her incredible year.
The first part of 2016 saw Bayley defeat her former bestie Carmella before being faced with the daunting task of defending against Asuka during WrestleMania weekend in Dallas. As fate would have it, Bayley’s run would end to pave way for another all-time great champion.