She won the title by defeating Dakota Kai in a tournament final to become the inaugural champion on the January 13, 2025, episode of Raw.

[2][3][4] Later that same month prior to the November 25 episode of Raw, the brand's general manager Adam Pearce unveiled the WWE Women's Intercontinental Championship for the main roster women's division on the Raw brand, countering the men's WWE Intercontinental Championship.

Prior to that episode's broadcast, WWE Chief Content Officer Paul "Triple H" Levesque revealed the tournament bracket, featuring 12 women from the Raw roster in four triple threat matches for the first round, with the winners of each advancing to the semifinals in singles matches, with those winners then facing off in the tournament final on Raw on January 13, 2025.

Tournament participants announced were Dakota Kai, Shayna Baszler, Katana Chance, Zoey Stark, Raquel Rodriguez, Kayden Carter, Lyra Valkyria, Zelina Vega, Ivy Nile, Alba Fyre, Kairi Sane, and Natalya.

[8][6] The belt design is identical to the men's version, but like all women's championships in WWE, it is smaller and on a white strap.