The 10 most important matches of The WWE Divas Championship Era
It has been 6 years since the WWE Divas Championship and the term "Divas" was retired. The era of the WWE Divas Championship, from 2008-2016, is well remembered for women not being given a lot of TV time and not being treated the same as male superstars.
The topic of the Divas Championship is one that is discussed regularly by fans on social media, with some remembering the era well, while others do not.
However, there are several matches that stand out amongst the rest due to how important they were to the women's division at the time. This list will examine 10 significant matches during the Divas Championship Era.
#10. Michelle McCool vs. Natalya - Inaugural WWE Divas Champion (The Great American Bash July 20, 2008)
Before the introduction of the Divas Championship in 2008, WWE had only one title for its female competitors, the WWE Women's Championship, which was mostly exclusive to the RAW brand. In June 2008, the Divas Championship was introduced to give the women on SmackDown their own title.
On the June 6 and July 4, episodes of SmackDown, Michelle McCool and Natalya won their respective Golden Dreams matches to qualify for the Divas Championship match. At The Great American Bash, McCool defeated Natalya to become the inaugural champion.
#9. Michelle McCool vs. Melina - Championship Unification Match (Night of Champions, September 19, 2010)
At the 2010 Night of Champions PPV, both the women's title belts, the WWE Women's Championship and the WWE Divas Championship were set to be unified. As McCool, who was co-Women's Champion alongside tag partner Layla, took on the Divas Champion Melina in a Lumberjill match. This match would see McCool come out victorious and be named the Unified WWE Divas Champion, resulting in the Women's Championship being retired.
Retiring the Women's Championship could be seen as a low point in the Divas era as the championship was held by some of the all-time greats such as Trish Stratus, Lita and Chyna.
#8. Michelle McCool & Layla vs. Natalya & Beth Phoenix - Tag Team Tables Match (TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs, December 19th, 2010)
Although this was not a championship match, it was a first for WWE. For the first time in history, the Divas competed in a tables match.
The tag team of WWE Divas Champion Natalya and Beth Phoenix proved formidable against the team that had dominated the Divas division, LayCool (McCool and Layla).
In the closing moments of the match, the Divas Champion plunged LayCool through a table in a first-time moment that will live on forever in WWE history.
#7. AJ Lee vs. Kaitlyn - Divas Championship Match (Payback, June 16, 2013)
Thanks to storylines involving CM Punk, Daniel Bryan and John Cena, AJ Lee was thrust into the main event scene in 2012 and quickly became one of the most popular Divas.
Her 2013 rivalry with real-life best friend Kaitlyn was one that had fans invested in the Divas Championship and the Divas division. At the Payback pay-per-view, Lee would have a shot against Divas Champion Kaitlyn.
In a time where the women having 3-5 minute matches, AJ and Kaitlyn went almost 10 minutes in what was perhaps the best match of the Divas era. AJ Lee would prevail thus winning her first WWE Divas Championship.
#6. Divas Championship Invitational - WrestleMania 30 (April 6, 2014)
Although previous WWE Divas Champions competed at the Grandest Stage of Them All, WrestleMania 30 saw the title being defended for the first time at the event.
AJ Lee, then the longest reigning Divas Champion, defended the championship against most of the other WWE Divas on the main roster and emerged victorious.
Lee remains the only woman to have ever defended the championship at WrestleMania.
I was a dreamer in the crowd at WM20. At WM30 I walked in and out as the Champion. I was one determined kid. http://t.co/5W71wIRsoe
#5. AJ Lee vs. Paige - WWE Divas Championship Match (RAW After WrestleMania, April 7, 2014)
Fresh off her victory at WrestleMania 30, Divas Champion AJ Lee would come out on the RAW after WrestleMania and cut a promo about how she was the "best diva in the world".
She was interrupted by the then current and inaugural NXT Women's Champion, Paige. AJ would challenge Paige to a match and put her WWE Divas Championship on the line.
In a shocking victory, Paige would dethrone Lee in a short match to become the new Divas Champion.
#4. #GiveDivasAChance - The Bella Twins vs. Paige & Emma (RAW, February 23rd, 2015)
On a February episode of RAW, a Divas tag match was given just under 3-minutes of TV time.
This upset fans on Twitter and started the trend #GiveDivasAChance in support of the WWE Divas. The trend was noticed and acknowledged by higher ups in WWE, including Stephanie and Vince McMahon. The trend would be the catalyst into the Divas Revolution that would begin several months later.
5 years ago #GiveDivasAChance sparked a revolution and changed the @WWE Women’s Division forever. #WWEBackstage https://t.co/XfWsw63c96
#3. Becky Lynch vs. Sasha Banks vs. Brie Bella vs. Paige - WWE Divas Championship Contender Match (RAW, November 2, 2015)
2015 saw the Divas Revolution explode onto the WWE scene as Charlotte, Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch from NXT debuted on the main roster.
On a November episode of RAW, Becky Lynch, Sasha Banks, Brie Bella and Paige competed to see who would face the Divas Champion, Charlotte Flair. The four competitors completed a superplex-like maneuver from the tope rope which resulted in a "This is awesome!" chant from the crowd, a chant that had rarely been chanted at the Divas before.
#2. Nikki Bella vs. Charlotte Flair - WWE Divas Championship Match (Night of Champions, September 20, 2015)
The 2015 Night of Champions event saw Charlotte Flair end Nikki Bella's record-setting Divas Championship reign.
Charlotte was part of the NXT call-ups along with Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks, three women who helped start the Divas Revolution in WWE. During the bout, Charlotte had the support of Lynch and Banks at ringside, while Bella had her sister and Alicia Fox by her side.
Charlotte's Divas Championship reign would be the last in the title's existence.
#1. Charlotte vs. Becky Lynch vs. Sasha Banks - WWE Women's Championship Match (WrestleMania 32, April 3, 2016)
The match was originally scheduled for Charlotte to defend her WWE Divas Championship.
However, before the start of WrestleMania 32, it was announced that the Divas Championship, along with the term "Divas" would be retired and that a new title, the WWE Women's Championship. The winner of the triple threat match between Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, and Sasha Banks, would be declared the new champion and hold the new title.
In the end, Charlotte walked into WrestleMania as the Divas Champion, and walked out victorious as the new WWE Women's Champion.
Although the WWE Divas Championship was looked down upon by many fans and even certain superstars, it still had a rich lineage with some of the all-time greats, such as Mickie James, Michelle McCool, Melina, Eve Torres, AJ Lee and more having successful and memorable reigns.