On July 24, 2013, Paige became the first NXT Women’s Champion—and the youngest woman in WWE history to win a title—when she defeated Emma in a tournament final. The native of Norwich, England had also defeated Tamina Snuka and Alicia Fox en route to her historic victory.

After 274 days on top, Paige, who also held the WWE Divas Championship at the time, was stripped of the NXT Women’s Championship by NXT general manager JBL, because of the conflicts holding both titles would create. He announced that a tournament will be held to crown a new champion.