On April 3, 2016, WWE Hall of Famer Lita appeared during the WWE WrestleMania 32 pre-show and, after recapping the history of women's professional wrestling in WWE, unveiled the brand-new championship belt and declared that WWE's women would no longer be referred to as WWE Divas, but as "Superstars" just as their male counterparts are. This came after the term "Diva" was scrutinized by some commentators, fans, and several past and present WWE female performers, including then-Divas Champion Charlotte, who was in favor of changing the championship to the Women's Championship.  Lita then announced that the winner of the Triple Threat match between Charlotte, Becky Lynch, and Sasha Banks later that night would become the first-ever champion, and subsequently retiring theWWE Divas Championship. Charlotte became the inaugural champion on April 3, 2016.

On July 19 at SmackDown during the Draft, champion Charlotte, who had won the WrestleMania 32 title was sent to Raw. As a result, the SmackDown Women's Championship was created for the other brand, while the championship was renamed the Women's Primary Championships.