List of WWE tournaments

List of tournaments held by WWE From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Under its scripted format, WWE has organized numerous professional wrestling tournaments, primarily featuring professional wrestlers from its own roster and occasionally involving talent from other professional wrestling promotions.

Championship tournaments

Inaugural championship tournaments

More information No., Championship ...
No. Championship Winner Finals Ref
Event Date Venue
1 WWE European Championship The British Bulldog Raw February 26, 1997
(Aired March 3)
Berlin, Germany [1]
2 WWF Light Heavyweight Championship[i] Taka Michinoku D-Generation X: In Your House December 7, 1997 Springfield, MA
3 Undisputed WWF Championship[ii] Chris Jericho Vengeance December 9, 2001 San Diego, CA
4 WWE Tag Team Championship Chris Benoit and Kurt Angle No Mercy October 20, 2002 North Little Rock, AR [2]
5[iii] NXT Championship Seth Rollins NXT July 27, 2012
(Aired August 29)
Winter Park, FL [3]
6 NXT Tag Team Championship British Ambition
(Adrian Neville and Oliver Grey)
January 31, 2013
(Aired February 13)
[4]
7 NXT Women's Championship Paige June 20, 2013
(Aired July 24)
[5]
8 NXT Cruiserweight Championship T. J. Perkins Cruiserweight Classic September 14, 2016 [6]
9 SmackDown Tag Team Championship Heath Slater and Rhyno Backlash September 11, 2016 Richmond, VA
10 United Kingdom Championship Tyler Bate United Kingdom Championship Tournament January 15, 2017 Blackpool, Lancashire, England [7]
11 NXT UK Women's Championship Rhea Ripley NXT UK August 26, 2018
(Aired November 28)
Birmingham, England
12 NXT UK Tag Team Championship Grizzled Young Veterans
(James Drake and Zack Gibson)
TakeOver: Blackpool January 12, 2019 Blackpool, Lancashire, England
13 NXT UK Heritage Cup A-Kid NXT UK November 26, 2020 London, England
14 World Heavyweight Championship Seth "Freakin" Rollins Night of Champions May 27, 2023 Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
15 WWE Speed Championship Ricochet Speed April 26, 2024
(Aired May 3)
Cincinnati, OH
16 WWE Women's Speed Championship Candice LeRae October 4, 2024
(Aired October 9)
Nashville, TN
17 WWE Women's United States Championship Chelsea Green Saturday Night's Main Event December 14, 2024 Uniondale, NY
18 WWE Women's Intercontinental Championship Lyra Valkyria Raw January 13, 2025 San Jose, CA
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Vacant championship tournaments

Legend
  Tournament winner(s) did not win championship
  Tournament was for an interim championship

Active championships

More information Tournament summary for active championships, WWE Championship ...
Tournament summary for active championships
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Defunct championships

More information Tournament summary for defunct championships, WWE Women's Championship (1956–2010) ...
Tournament summary for defunct championships
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Tournament brackets

WWF Tag Team Championship Tournament (1997)

More information Tournament bracket ...
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WWE Championship Tournament (2011)

More information Tournament bracket ...
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No. 1 Contender's tournaments

Summary

Legend
  Tournament winner won championship match
  Tournament winner lost championship match
  Tournament winner won championship match but not the title
  Tournament winner did not get their championship match

Active championships

More information No. 1 Contender's tournaments for active championships, WWE Championship ...
No. 1 Contender's tournaments for active championships
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Defunct championships

More information No. 1 Contender's tournaments for defunct championships, World Heavyweight Championship (2002–2013) ...
No. 1 Contender's tournaments for defunct championships
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Tournament brackets

Gold Rush Tournament (2005)

More information Tournament bracket ...
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SmackDown World Cup

More information Tournament bracket ...
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WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship No. 1 Contender's Tournament (2023)

More information Tournament bracket ...
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United States Championship Invitational (2023)

More information Tournament bracket ...
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WWE Tag Team Championship No. 1 Contender's Tournament (August 2024)

More information Tournament bracket ...
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WWE Intercontinental Championship No. 1 Contender's Tournament (2024)

More information Tournament bracket ...
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World Tag Team Championship No. 1 Contender's Tournament (2024)

More information Tournament bracket ...
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WWE Tag Team Championship No. 1 Contender's Tournament (October 2024)

More information Tournament bracket ...
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WWE United States Championship No. 1 Contender's Tournament (2025)

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WWE Championship No. 1 Contender's Tournament (2026)

Standalone tournaments

The Wrestling Classic

The Wrestling Classic, also known as Wrestlevision, was a pay-per-view event that took place on November 7, 1985, from the Rosemont Horizon in Rosemont, Illinois. It revolved around a 16-man single-elimination tournament, and also featured a WWF Championship match. Junkyard Dog won the tournament after defeating Randy "Macho Man" Savage.

Sam Muchnick Memorial Tournament

Frank Tunney Sr. Memorial Tag Team Tournament

The Frank Tunney Sr. Memorial Tag Team Tournament was held at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on March 15, 1987.[66][67]

More information Tournament bracket ...
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Kuwait International Tournament (1996)

The Kuwait International Tournament was held throughout a five-day house show tour from May 8 to May 12, 1996, in Kuwait.[68]

More information Tournament bracket ...
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Middle East Cup

The Middle East Cup took place in Dubai on December 2, 1996.[69][68]

More information Tournament bracket ...
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Kuwait International Tournament (1997)

The Kuwait International Tournament was held throughout a 1997 house show tour in Kuwait.[68] During the tour, Vader and The Undertaker appeared on Good Morning Kuwait where Vader attacked the host of the show when he asked about the legitimacy of professional wrestling; Vader was fined $164 by Kuwaiti authorities for the incident as well as being held in custody for several days.[70][71]

More information Tournament bracket ...
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Brawl for All

The WWF Brawl for All was a shoot fighting tournament that occurred from June 29 to August 24, 1998.

Royal Rumble Entry Tournament

The Royal Rumble Entry Tournament was a tournament on NXT where the winner entered the 2013 Royal Rumble Match.[72] Bo Dallas won the tournament.

Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal qualifying tournament

The Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal Qualifying Tournament was a tournament at WrestleMania Axxess for a spot in the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal.[73]

WWE World Cup

The WWE World Cup took place on November 2, 2018, at Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia. Four participants came from Raw and four participants came from SmackDown.[74] In the final, Shane McMahon defeated Dolph Ziggler to be crowned "Best In The World".[75] At the 2019 Crown Jewel, another World Cup was held, however; it did not take place in the form of a tournament.[76]

The Last Time Is Now Tournament

The Last Time Is Now Tournament was a 16-man tournament held to determine John Cena's opponent in Cena's retirement match at Saturday Night's Main Event on December 13, 2025. The tournament began on the November 10 episode of Raw in Cena's hometown of Boston, Massachusetts, and featured wrestlers from WWE's Raw, SmackDown, and NXT brands. Gunther won the tournament by defeating LA Knight in the tournament final on the December 5, 2025, episode of SmackDown.

King of the Ring

King of the Ring is a professional wrestling single-elimination tournament held by WWE. It was held annually from 1985 to 2002 (excluding 1990 and 1992) and from 1993 to 2002 the tournament was produced as a pay-per-view event. Tournaments have since been held periodically - in 2006, 2008, 2010, 2015, 2019, 2021, and 2024

Dates and venues of finals

In 2002, in addition to being crowned "King of the Ring", the winner also earned a match for the WWE Undisputed Championship at SummerSlam. A world championship match at SummerSlam would become an additional permanent prize beginning in 2024, with the winner specifically earning a match for the world championship of their respective brand at the event.

Winner from Raw brand Winner from SmackDown brand
More information No., Year ...
No. Year Winner Runner-up Finals date Finals location
1 1985 Don Muraco The Iron Sheik July 8, 1985 Foxborough, Massachusetts
2 1986 Harley Race Pedro Morales July 14, 1986
3 1987 Randy Savage King Kong Bundy September 4, 1987 Providence, Rhode Island
4 1988 Ted Dibiase Randy Savage October 16, 1988
5 1989 Tito Santana Rick Martel October 14, 1989
6 1991 Bret Hart Irwin R. Schyster September 7, 1991
7 1993 Bam Bam Bigelow June 13, 1993 Dayton, Ohio
8 1994 Owen Hart Razor Ramon June 19, 1994 Baltimore, Maryland
9 1995 Mabel Savio Vega June 25, 1995 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
10 1996 "Stone Cold" Steve Austin Jake Roberts June 23, 1996 Milwaukee, Wisconsin
11 1997 Hunter Hearst Helmsley Mankind June 8, 1997 Providence, Rhode Island
12 1998 Ken Shamrock The Rock June 28, 1998 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
13 1999 Billy Gunn X-Pac June 27, 1999 Greensboro, North Carolina
14 2000 Kurt Angle Rikishi June 25, 2000 Boston, Massachusetts
15 2001 Edge Kurt Angle June 24, 2001 East Rutherford, New Jersey
16 2002 Brock Lesnar Rob Van Dam June 23, 2002 Columbus, Ohio
17 2006[a] Booker T Bobby Lashley May 21, 2006 Phoenix, Arizona
18 2008 William Regal CM Punk April 21, 2008 Greenville, South Carolina
19 2010 Sheamus John Morrison November 29, 2010 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
20 2015 Bad News Barrett Neville April 28, 2015 Moline, Illinois
21 2019 Baron Corbin Chad Gable September 16, 2019 Knoxville, Tennessee
22 2021 Xavier Woods Finn Bálor October 21, 2021 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
23 2024 Gunther Randy Orton May 25, 2024 Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
24 2025 Cody Rhodes Randy Orton June 28, 2025 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
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  1. The King of the Ring Tournament in 2006 was exclusive to the SmackDown brand.

Winner's championship opportunity

  Victory
  Loss
More information No., Winner ...
No. Winner Brand Event Date Championship Result
1 Kurt Angle SummerSlam August 27, 2000 WWF Championship Lost to defending champion The Rock in a triple threat match that also involved Triple H.
2 Brock Lesnar Raw SummerSlam August 25, 2002 WWE Undisputed Championship Defeated The Rock.
3 Gunther SummerSlam August 3, 2024 World Heavyweight Championship Defeated Damian Priest.
4 Cody Rhodes SmackDown SummerSlam August 3, 2025 Undisputed WWE Championship Defeated John Cena in a Street Fight.
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    Queen of the Ring

    In 2021, WWE debuted the Queen's Crown tournament for female wrestlers considered to be the counterpart to King of the Ring. Zelina Vega was the inaugural winner, defeating Doudrop at Crown Jewel 2021, which took place on October 21 at Mohammed Abdu Arena on the Boulevard in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. In 2024, the second edition of the tournament was held, this time under the name Queen of the Ring.

    Dates and venues of finals

    A women's world championship match at SummerSlam would become an additional permanent prize beginning in 2024, with the winner specifically earning a match for the women's world championship of their respective brand at the event.

    Winner from Raw brand Winner from SmackDown brand
    More information No., Year ...
    No. Year Winner Runner-up Finals date Finals location Ref.
    1 2021 Zelina Vega Doudrop October 21, 2021 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia [77]
    2 2024 Nia Jax Lyra Valkyria May 25, 2024 Jeddah, Saudi Arabia [78]
    3 2025 Jade Cargill Asuka June 28, 2025 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia [79]
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    Notes

      Queen of the Ring winner's championship opportunity

        – Victory
        – Loss
      More information Winner, Event ...
      Winner Event Year Championship match
      1 Nia Jax SummerSlam 2024 Jax defeated Bayley to win the WWE Women's Championship.
      2 Jade Cargill SummerSlam 2025 Cargill lost to WWE Women's Champion Tiffany Stratton.
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      Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic

      The Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic is an annual tag team tournament featured on the NXT brand and is named after WWE Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes, who died in 2015. Exclusively for male wrestlers from 2015 to 2020, a female version of the tournament debuted in 2021, running simultaneously with the men's version.

      Summary

      Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic winner's championship opportunity

      Men's

      Starting with the 2019 edition, every tournament winner has earned a future NXT Tag Team Championship match.

        – Victory
        – Loss
      More information No., Winner ...
      No. Winner Event Year Championship match
      1 Aleister Black and Ricochet NXT TakeOver: New York 2019 Lost to The War Raiders (Hanson and Ivar).
      2 The Broserweights
      (Matt Riddle and Pete Dunne)
      NXT TakeOver: Portland 2020 Defeated The Undisputed Era (Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly).
      3 MSK
      (Nash Carter and Wes Lee)
      NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver Night 1 2021 Defeated the Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake and Zack Gibson) and Legado del Fantasma (Joaquin Wilde and Raul Mendoza in a Triple threat tag team match for the vacant titles.
      4 The Creed Brothers
      (Brutus Creed and Julius Creed)
      Stand & Deliver 2022 Lost to new champions MSK (Nash Carter and Wes Lee) and defending champions Imperium (Fabian Aichner and Marcel Barthel) in a Triple threat tag team match.
      5 Baron Corbin and Bron Breakker NXT
      (February 13, 2024)
      2024 Defeated The Family (Channing "Stacks" Lorenzo and Tony D'Angelo).
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      Women's

      Every tournament winner has earned a future title match either for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship or NXT Women's Tag Team Championship.

        – Victory
        – Loss
      More information No., Winners ...
      No. Winners Championship match Notes
      Championship Event Date Result
      1 Dakota Kai and Raquel González WWE Women's Tag Team Championship NXT March 3, 2021 Lost to Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler. The finish was controversial due to Kai, who was not the legal participant, submitting to Baszler after a new referee sent by WWE Official Adam Pearce called the match. The following week, NXT General Manager William Regal awarded the new NXT Women's Tag Team Championship to Kai and González.
      2 Kay Lee Ray and Io Shirai NXT Women's Championship Stand & Deliver April 2, 2022 Both lost to defending champion Mandy Rose in a fatal four-way match that also involved Cora Jade.
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      Mae Young Classic

      The Mae Young Classic was an all-women's tournament produced by WWE. The event was named of WWE Hall of Famer Mae Young.

      Summary

      More information Year, Winner ...
      Year Winner Runner-up Date City Venue Source
      2017 Kairi Sane Shayna Baszler July 13, 2017 Winter Park, Florida Full Sail University [80]
      July 14, 2017
      September 27, 2017 Paradise, Nevada Thomas & Mack Center
      2018 Toni Storm Io Shirai August 8, 2018 Winter Park, Florida Full Sail University
      August 9, 2018
      October 28, 2018 Uniondale, New York Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
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      Mixed Match Challenge

      The Mixed Match Challenge is a seasonal mixed tag team tournament produced by WWE that was streamed on Facebook Watch.

      Summary

      More information Season, Winner ...
      Season Winner Runner-up Finals date
      1 The Miz and Asuka Bobby Roode and Charlotte Flair April 3, 2018
      2 R-Truth and Carmella Jinder Mahal and Alicia Fox December 16, 2018
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      NXT Breakout Tournament

      The NXT Breakout Tournament is a tournament featured on the NXT brand, consisting of eight wrestlers who are new to NXT (usually WWE Performance Center recruits making their NXT television debuts). The winner of the tournament receives a championship match of their choice which they can cash in anytime. Originally introduced in 2019 for male wrestlers, a female version was created in 2022.

      Summary

      More information Year, Winner ...
      Year Winner Finals
      Event Date Venue City
      2019 Jordan Myles NXT August 10, 2019 Scotiabank Arena Toronto, Ontario, Canada
      2021 Carmelo Hayes August 23, 2021 WWE Performance Center Orlando, Florida
      2022 Roxanne Perez June 7, 2022
      2023 Lola Vice Halloween Havoc October 31, 2023
      2024 Oba Femi New Year's Evil January 2, 2024
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      NXT Breakout Tournament winner's championship opportunity

      Color key
             Won championship match
             Lost championship match

      Male

      More information No., Winner ...
      No. Winner Event Date Championship match
      1 Jordan Myles NXT August 15, 2019 Myles lost to Adam Cole for the NXT Championship.
      2 Carmelo Hayes NXT October 12, 2021 Hayes cashed in after Isaiah "Swerve" Scott retained the NXT North American Championship against Santos Escobar.
      3 Oba Femi NXT January 9, 2024 Femi cashed in after Dragon Lee retained the NXT North American Championship against Lexis King.
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      Female

      More information No., Winner ...
      No. Winner Event Date Championship match
      1 Roxanne Perez NXT July 12, 2022 Perez lost to Mandy Rose for the NXT Women's Championship.
      2 Lola Vice Vengeance Day February 4, 2024 Vice cashed in during a singles match between the defending champion Lyra Valkyria and Roxanne Perez for the NXT Women's Championship, thus converting it into a triple threat match.
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      WWE Speed

      WWE Speed is a streaming television program produced by WWE that aired on X from April 2024 to July 2025. It follows a bracket-style format featuring wrestlers from the Raw, SmackDown, NXT, and eventually Evolve brands, with matches contested under a three-minute time limit. However, matches contested for the WWE Speed Championship or WWE Women's Speed Championship were held under a five-minute time limit. Following the cancellation of WWE Speed, the championships were moved to the NXT brand, with the first tournament broadcast on WWE NXT additionally featuring wrestlers from Total Nonstop Action Wrestling and Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide.

      Results of WWE Speed Championship matches

      All matches took place on Speed until July 9, 2025. Matches then took place on NXT or NXT Premium Live Events. The No. 1 contenders have been determined in tournaments.

      Legend
        Won title by defeating the reigning champion
        Won vacant title
        Failed to win title

      WWE Speed Championship Tournaments

      More information No., Tournament winner ...
      No. Tournament winnerNo. Championship match
      OpponentEventFilming dateBroadcast date
      1 Ricochet1 Johnny GarganoSpeedApril 26, 2024May 3, 2024
      2 Tyler Bate1 Ricochet (c)May 20, 2024May 24, 2024
      3 Andrade1 June 7, 2024June 14, 2024
      4 Xavier Woods1 Andrade (c)June 28, 2024July 5, 2024
      5 Baron Corbin1 July 19, 2024July 24, 2024
      6 Pete Dunne1 August 23, 2024August 30, 2024
      7 Dragon Lee1 November 15, 2024November 20, 2024
      8 Chad Gable1 Dragon Lee (c)January 31, 2025February 1, 2025
      9 Ivar1 March 7, 2025March 19, 2025
      10 El Grande Americano[a]2 May 5, 2025May 7, 2025
      11 Berto1 El Grande Americano (c)[a]June 17, 2025June 18, 2025
      12 Jasper Troy1 El Grande Americano (c)[b]NXTNovember 11, 2025
      13 Tavion Heights1 Jasper Troy (c)January 13, 2026
      14 Elio Lefleur[c]1 February 24, 2026
      Eli Knight[c]1
      (c) – denotes the defending champion
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      1. El Grande Americano was portrayed by Chad Gable at the time, who previously won the tournament as himself.
      2. El Grande Americano was portrayed by Ludwig Kaiser, who replaced Chad Gable in the role on June 30 due to injury.
      3. The tournament final between Elio Lefleur and Eli Knight ended in a time limit draw, making them the co-winners. Interim NXT General Manager Robert Stone announced a triple threat match among defending champion Jasper Troy and the co-winners of the tournament for the WWE Speed Championship.

      WWE Women's Speed Championship Tournaments

      More information No., Tournament winner ...
      No. Tournament winnerNo. Championship match
      OpponentEventFilming dateBroadcast date
      1 Candice LeRae1 Iyo SkySpeedOctober 4, 2024October 9, 2024
      2 Natalya1 Candice LeRae (c)January 3, 2025January 8, 2025
      3 Zoey Stark1 February 21, 2025February 26, 2025
      4 Sol Ruca1 April 11, 2025April 16, 2025
      5 Ivy Nile1 Sol Ruca (c)May 23, 2025May 28, 2025
      6 Alba Fyre1 July 8, 2025July 9, 2025
      7 Jaida Parker[a] No MercySeptember 27, 2025
      8 Fallon Henley1 ZariaGold RushNovember 18, 2025November 25, 2025
      9 Wren Sinclair1 Fallon HenleyNXTMarch 17, 2026
      (c) – denotes the defending champion
      Close
      1. Jaida Parker replaced Lainey Reid, the original tournament winner, who suffered an injury during training and did not win the tournament herself.

      WWE Speed Championship

      Inaugural WWE Speed Championship Tournament

      The WWE Speed Championship Tournament was a tournament to crown the first-ever WWE Speed Champion, the flagship championship of WWE Speed. It concluded on April 26, 2024, with Ricochet defeating Johnny Gargano.[81]

      WWE Speed Championship No. 1 Contender's tournaments

      More information Tournament brackets, May 8–24, 2024 ...
      Tournament brackets
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      WWE Women's Speed Championship

      Inaugural WWE Women's Speed Championship Tournament

      The WWE Women's Speed Championship Tournament was a tournament to crown the first-ever WWE Women's Speed Championship. It concluded on October 4, 2024, with Candice LeRae defeating Iyo Sky.[87]

      WWE Women's Speed Championship Tournament (November 4–25, 2025)

      This tournament was held to determine the new WWE Women's Speed Champion after champion Sol Ruca relinquished the title on the October 28, 2025, episode of NXT.[88] The tournament began on the November 4 episode of NXT and is scheduled to conclude at NXT Gold Rush on November 25. WWE LFG season 2 winner Dani Sekelsky, under the ring name Skylar Raye, made her NXT in-ring debut in this tournament.

      WWE Women's Speed Championship No. 1 Contender's tournaments

      More information Tournament brackets, November 27, 2024 – January 8, 2025 ...
      Tournament brackets
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      Notes

      1. First introduced for the Universal Wrestling Association, but the WWF recognizes Michinoku as the inaugural champion.
      2. This was a tournament held to unify the WWF and World Championships.
      3. The tournament was titled, the "Gold Rush Tournament".
      4. The tournament was titled, "Deadly Games WWF Championship Tournament".
      5. The tournament was titled, "Tag Team Eliminator".
      6. The tournament was titled, "Championship Chase Tournament".
      7. The tournament was titled, "SmackDown World Cup".
      8. The tournament was titled, "RK-Bro-nament".
      9. The tournament was titled, "Worlds Collide Tournament".
      10. The tournament was titled, "Gold Rush".
      11. The tournament was titled, "Championship Competition".
      12. The tournament was titled, "Race to the Rumble".
      13. The tournament was titled, "ECW Homecoming".
      14. The tournament was titled, "Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship Contender Series".

      See also

      References

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