Every Major Wrestling World Title - Ranked From Least To Most Prestigious

13. SmackDown Women's Championship

Adam Cole ROH champion
WWE.com

There is no base-level requirement to hold, much less "achieve", the SmackDown Women's Title. Really, it's not beyond the realms of possibility to see it around the waist of Lana. She can't wrestle, but in this everybody-gets-a-turn landscape, it does not matter.

Initially held by Becky Lynch, who hasn't really orbited it since, reinforcing the above, it felt initially like the main roster equivalent of the title that eluded her in NXT. Quickly, this nascent prestige crumbled. Alexa Bliss captured the title before she grew into the performer she is today before, in a cynical gesture defying any commitment to a careful lineage, Naomi was handed the blue belt for a second time purely to engineer a feel-good hometown WrestleMania "moment" in Orlando - the patently engineered element undermining the celebrations.

Naomi subsequently feuded with Natalya throughout the summer of 2017 when neither woman was the most over nor talented in the division, all but confirming that the title was, in more than one definition, a prop: a mere signifier used to support those who competed for it. The brief rivalry between Charlotte Flair and Asuka was an aberration; the belt is now worn by Carmella, a comedy undercard act whose male equivalent - Elias - would never wear the Universal Title at this stage in his career.

If Tamina alone is the rule-proving exception, a dire rule must be in place.

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Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!