Tuesday marks one year since WWE crowned its first Women’s Intercontinental Champion. Although still a young title, it has reached full prestige thanks to Becky Lynch.
On this day in 2025, Lyra Valkyria
defeated Dakota Kai to become the inaugural champion. But after just 144 days, Lynch stopped her cold at June’s Money in the Bank.
While Valkyria was a respectable first champion, the title truly soared on the wings of the legendary Lynch. A multi-time WWE and NXT women’s champion and former tag team titleholder, Lynch gave the young championship instant legitimacy as challengers lined up.
And when they did, Lynch knocked them down like dominoes, starting with the former champ, Valkyria. Moving on, she dispatched a series of formidable former champions, including Bayley, Natalya, and Nikki Bella.
Lynch’s path, however, wasn’t without obstacles. Despite a successful defense against Maxxine Dupri, political maneuvering by Raw General Manager Adam Pearce forced her into repeated rematches. Dupri, aided by AJ Lee and questionable officiating from Jessika Carr, eventually upended Lynch for the title.
But as the old saying goes, “You can’t keep ‘The Man’ down.” Lynch rebounded on the first Raw of 2026, beating Dupri to become the title’s first two-time holder. Already the longest-reigning Women’s Intercontinental Champion at 163 days, she has held the title for a combined 170 days and counting — the most in its history.
Lynch’s impact also goes beyond her division. Her total time as Women’s Intercontinental Champion surpasses the combined reigns of several superstars who held the men’s Intercontinental title, including WWE Hall of Famer Chyna — the only woman to ever hold the title.
At one point, it seemed Lynch might be approaching the downside of her career. Instead, she has repeatedly proven skeptics wrong, reinventing herself while elevating her division. Named the greatest women’s wrestler of all time by Sports Illustrated, Lynch’s latest triumph cements her as the greatest Women’s Intercontinental Champion — the standard by which all future champions will be measured.
