Ever since the company’s inception, WWE has had its fair share of Women’s Champions. From Jacqueline and Ivory to Trish Stratus and Lita, there have been many women who have their named etched in the history books.
However, there have also been a few who haven’t had the distinction of calling themselves a WWE Women’s Champion. So, without further ado, here is five women who have never won a title in WWE, along with four honorable mentions!
5. Aja Kong
Kicking off my list is a Japanese legend and dream opponent for many women, Aja Kong.
Graduating from All Japan Women’s Pro-Wrestling in 1986, Kong has won numerous titles across various promotions during her career.
But many might not remember that Kong was a part of the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1995. She competed in the Survivor Series women’s elimination match that year, pinning every member of the opposing team.
The following year, she was set to challenge Alundra Blayze for her WWF Women’s Championship. Before their match at Royal Rumble, however, Blayze was fired and the bout never happened.
Who knows what could have been if Kong was able to capture the belt, but at this point in her career a WWE comeback is highly unlikely. Regardless, she has had great success in other promotions and continues to be a living legend to this day.
4. Ashley Massaro
Up next is the 2005 Raw Diva Search winner, Ashley Massaro.
After winning the contest and earning a one-year contract with WWE, she entered a feud with Vince’s Devils (Candice Michelle, Torrie Wilson, and Victoria). Once that was over, Massaro then became involved in the Mickie James and Trish Stratus rivalry of 2006. But after fracturing her left fibula in a battle royal, she was forced to sit out a number of months.
Massaro would return in June 2006 as a part of the SmackDown! brand. In February 2007, she revealed her Playboy cover that would be the focal point of several feuds, including with WWE Women’s Champion, Melina. The two would compete in a LumberJill match for the belt at WrestleMania 23, where Melina retained. This would be the only title match Massaro would receive in her WWE career.
While riding into the company on a wave of momentum, Massaro would never quite regain that after her injury. Even though she was rather popular during her time in WWE, she will always be remembered as the Diva Search winner and not a champion.
3. Maria Kanellis
Coming in at #3 is the First Lady of Pro Wrestling, Maria Kanellis.
She was another Divas Search contestant, placing fifth in 2004 and being hired by WWE shortly after. Kanellis took part in various feuds from 2005 to 2008 until she finally earned a championship opportunity.
After winning a number one contender’s match, Kanellis earned the right to face then-WWE Divas champion Michelle McCool. She would come up short and would never receive another chance at the title, despite her popularity with the fans.
She would then go on to win championships in Family Wrestling Entertainment and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling before eventually returning to WWE in a managerial role for her husband, Mike Kanellis.
Maybe she could have been a champion in WWE, but the timing of her championship opportunity was not great. With the way McCool was being booked, there was no chance of her losing the title at that point in time. Add that to the fact that Kanellis won’t be wrestling in WWE anytime soon, and we’ll never know what kind of champion she could have been.
2. Kharma
Second on the list is the intimidating and dangerous Kharma.
Signed to WWE in 2011, Kong—now named Kharma—already had a dominant reputation for her time in Japan, Ring of Honor, TNA, and other independent promotions. In May 2011, she made her debut at Extreme Rules, attacking Michelle McCool.
Kharma would continue to run through her competition, and it looked like WWE would have an unbeatable force in the women’s division for the first time in a while. But unfortunately, Kharma became pregnant and took a leave of absence from the company. She would return once at the 2012 Royal Rumble match, becoming only the third woman to do so.
We’ll never know what could have been if Kharma’s time in WWE wasn’t cut short. It’s a shame that things ended the way it did, because she easily could have been a multi-time champion and opened the door for more women who didn’t fit the ‘diva’ mold a lot sooner.
1. Luna Vachon
Rounding out the list was a woman who was well ahead of her time, Luna Vachon.
A member of the famous Vachon family, Luna made her debut for the World Wrestling Federation in April 1993. Soon after, she would challenge Alundra Blayze for the WWF Women’s Championship. After a series of title matches in which she failed to win, Vachon would leave the company.
Vachon would return to WWF in 1997, and in December 1998, unsuccessfully challenged Sable for the WWF Women’s Championship. Her only other title opportunity would be in 2000 when she was defeated by Jacqueline.
Her style was unlike anything that any other woman had during her time with WWF. She would have been a perfect fit in today’s women’s division, and probably would have been a champion as well. Unfortunately, she never got the title reign she deserved back in the day.
Honorable Mentions
For my honorable mentions, I decided to go with a few more current women who have never held a title. Some are still with WWE, and maybe they’ll win one at some point, but only time will tell.
Emma
Emma is a perfect example of WWE not always listening to their fans.
She made her NXT debut back in 2012 and quickly became a fan favorite because of her quirky and clumsy personality. Emma then competed in the NXT Women’s Championship tournament, making it to the finals before losing to inaugural champion, Paige. At NXT Arrival she got her rematch, but was once again unsuccessful in capturing the belt.
In April 2014, Paige was stripped of the title and another tournament was held to determine a new champion. However, Emma was eliminated by Charlotte Flair in the first round.
Her only other title opportunity came in 2017 at No Mercy for the RAW Women’s Championship, which was another losing effort in a fatal five-way match against Sasha Banks, Bayley, Alexa Bliss, and Nia Jax.
It was sad to see Emma never get her chance to shine, but it never felt like the timing was right for her to win a title. Hopefully she’ll have more success on the independent circuit.
Tamina Snuka
Up next is someone who is one of the longer-tenured women in WWE, Tamina Snuka.
Debuting in 2010 with the Usos, Snuka would be a part of various alliances and feuds for the better part of two years before finally getting a title shot. She challenged Beth Phoenix for the WWE Divas Championship at the 2012 Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, but came up short.
In 2013 at Elimination Chamber, Snuka faced Kaitlyn for the Divas Championship but was once again unsuccessful. She then began her role as AJ Lee’s bodyguard after she won the title. A debuting Paige would defeat Lee for the title on the RAW after WrestleMania XXX, furthering tensions between Snuka and Lee.
Snuka would go on to unsuccessfully challenge for the Divas title two more times, once against Paige in 2014 at Extreme Rules and once against Paige and Nikki Bella in a triple threat match in 2015 at Beast in the East.
She has not had a title opportunity since, mostly due to various injuries sidelining her for long periods of time.
It would be nice to see Snuka get at least one run with a title, but with her age and injury history working against her, it seems highly unlikely. She’ll unfortunately always been seen as an enforcer and never a champion.
Nikki Cross
These final two honorable mentions are personal favorites of mine, starting with Nikki Cross.
Making her wrestling debut in 2008, Cross (then billed as Nikki Storm) made a name for herself across the independent circuit before being signed by WWE in 2016. She would then make her NXT debut in April 2016 before returning in October as a member of Sanity.
Even though she was part of a faction, she made sure to make her presence known in the NXT Women’s division as well. Throughout 2017 she would be a part of the NXT Women’s Championship title picture, starting in January when she lost a fatal four-way match between herself, Peyton Royce, Billie Kay, and champion, Asuka at NXT TakeOver: San Antonio.
Cross would be a part of another multi-woman title match at NXT TakeOver: Chicago in May, where she and Ruby Riott lost against Asuka. The champion would again retain her title in June on NXT in another match against Cross and Riott. Two weeks later, Cross would challenge Asuka for the title in a Last Woman Standing match where she was again unsuccessful.
Once Asuka relinquished the title to move up to the main roster, Cross won a battle royal to become the final woman to qualify for a match to determine the new champion. She competed against Ember Moon, Kairi Sane, and Peyton Royce at NXT TakeOver: WarGames, which Moon won.
After being kept out of the title picture for a little while, Cross challenged then-champion Shayna Baszler at NXT TakeOver: Chicago in June 2018. She lost by submission and hasn’t been in the title picture since.
It’s a shame that Cross hasn’t won a title yet, but it’s a good thing that she was kept in NXT to shine by herself while the rest of Sanity went to SmackDown Live. Maybe sometime soon she’ll be given her time at the top, because she sure deserves it.
Ruby Riott
My last honorable mentions pick is none other than the leader of the Riott Squad, Ruby Riott.
Much like Cross, Riott made a name for herself on the indies starting in 2010 before being signed by WWE in December 2016. She made her NXT TV debut in March 2017, and shortly after entered a feud with Cross.
In 2017, Riott was a part of the NXT Women’s Championship matches at NXT TakeOver: Chicago and a June NXT episode, where she was unsuccessful both times. In November she was called up to the main roster along with Sarah Logan and Liv Morgan, debuting as the Riott Squad on SmackDown Live.
Riott’s most recent title opportunity came at the Fastlane pay-per-view in 2018 in a losing effort to champion Charlotte Flair. Since then, her and the Riott Squad were drafted to RAW and have been involved in various feuds with the likes of Sasha Banks, Bayley, the Bella Twins, and Ronda Rousey.
Riott has been one of my favorite wrestlers and it’s a surprise that she hasn’t had more title opportunities since she’s been with the company. She has all the tools to be a star and a look that sets her apart from most of the women’s roster. Her WWE career is still young, so hopefully it’s only a matter of time before she adds some more hardware to her collection.