In June 2012, WWE established NXT as their developmental territory, replacing Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW).

[1][2][3] During the June 20 tapings of NXT (aired July 24), Paige defeated Emma in the tournament final to become the inaugural champion.

Then-NXT General Manager, John "Bradshaw" Layfield, stripped Paige of the title on the April 24, 2014, episode of NXT, as Paige had recently won the WWE Divas Championship, and was in turn promoted to WWE's main roster.

The finals occurred at TakeOver where Charlotte defeated Natalya to win the vacant NXT Women's Championship.

On the September 16, 2015, episode of NXT, now NXT General Manager William Regal announced that Bayley would defend her title against Sasha Banks in the main event at TakeOver: Respect on October 7 in the first-ever 30-minute Iron Woman match in WWE history.

[9] However, WWE revamped NXT in September 2021 and returned the brand to its original function as a developmental territory.

The original NXT Women's Championship belt featured an oval shaped silver center plate.

The center of the plate was the NXT logo encrusted with pink diamonds; red coloring was behind the letter "X".

Coming in line with all other women's championships in WWE, the plates were on a white leather strap instead of black.

The multi-colored paint from the NXT 2.0 version (2022–2024) was also removed, and the plates are now primarily silver with gold accents.

Only three women have held the title for a continuous reign of one year (365 days) or more: Asuka, Shayna Baszler, and Mandy Rose.

She defeated Roxanne Perez at NXT: New Year's Evil on January 7, 2025, in Los Angeles, California.