Record-tying three-time and the longest combined reigning Divas Champion AJ Lee
Longest individual reigning Divas Champion Nikki Bella

The WWE Divas Championship was a women's professional wrestling championship in the WWE promotion. The championship was generally contested in professional wrestling matches, in which participants executed scripted finishes rather than contending in direct competition. The word "Divas" in the championship's name refers to the pseudonym WWE Diva, which WWE used to refer its female wrestlers.

The creation of the championship was announced on June 6, 2008, by then SmackDown General Manager Vickie Guerrero as a counterpart to the Raw brand's WWE Women's Championship.[1] The inaugural champion was Michelle McCool, who defeated Natalya on July 20, 2008, at The Great American Bash.[2][3] On April 13, 2009, the title was moved from SmackDown to Raw as a result of then Divas Champion Maryse being drafted to Raw in the 2009 WWE draft.[4][5] On September 19, 2010, at the Night of Champions pay-per-view event, Michelle McCool (defending the Women's Championship on behalf of tag team partner and official champion, Layla) defeated Divas Champion Melina, retiring the Women's Championship and unifying it with the Divas Championship.[6]

The title was retired on April 3, 2016, at WrestleMania 32, after Lita revealed the new WWE Women's Championship would replace the Divas Championship.[7] Reigning champion Charlotte defeated Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks in a triple threat match at the event to become the new Women's Champion and therefore the final Divas Champion.[8]

Overall, there were 17 different champions. Eve Torres and AJ Lee held the record for most reigns as Divas Champion with three. AJ Lee also had the longest combined reign as Divas Champion at 406 days. Nikki Bella had the longest individual title reign at 301 days, while Jillian Hall had the shortest reign at 5 minutes.

Title history

Names

Name[9] Years[9]
WWE Divas Championship July 20, 2008 – April 3, 2016
Unified WWE Divas Championship September 19, 2010

Reigns

Key
No. Overall reign number
Reign Reign number for the specific champion
Days Number of days held
Days recog. Number of days held recognized by the promotion
No. Champion Championship change Reign statistics Notes Ref.
Date Event Location Reign Days Days recog.
WWE: SmackDown
1 Michelle McCool July 20, 2008 The Great American Bash Uniondale, NY 1 155 158 From September 2002 until July 2008, the SmackDown brand was without a women's championship as the WWE Women's Championship was exclusive to the Raw brand. To remedy this, SmackDown General Manager Vickie Guerrero established the WWE Divas Championship as the counterpart title to the Women's Championship. McCool defeated Natalya to become the inaugural Divas Champion.
WWE recognizes McCool's reign as ending on December 26, 2008, when the episode aired on tape delay. 		[10]
2 Maryse December 22, 2008 SmackDown Toronto, ON, Canada 1 216 211 Maria served as the special guest referee.
The championship became exclusive to the Raw brand following the 2009 WWE draft.
WWE recognizes Maryse's reign as beginning on December 26, 2008, when the episode aired on tape delay. 		[11][12][13][14]
WWE: Raw
3 Mickie James July 26, 2009 Night of Champions Philadelphia, PA 1 78 78 [15]
4 Jillian Hall October 12, 2009 Raw Indianapolis, IN 1 <1 <1 [16]
5 Melina October 12, 2009 Raw Indianapolis, IN 1 84 83 [17]
— Vacated January 4, 2010 Raw Dayton, OH — — — Vacated after Melina sustained a torn anterior cruciate ligament. [18]
6 Maryse February 22, 2010 Raw Indianapolis, IN 2 49 48 Defeated Gail Kim in a tournament final to win the vacant title. [19]
7 Eve Torres April 12, 2010 Raw London, England 1 69 68 [20]
8 Alicia Fox June 20, 2010 Fatal 4-Way Uniondale, NY 1 56 55 This was a fatal four-way match also involving Gail Kim and Maryse. Fox pinned Maryse to win the championship. [21]
9 Melina August 15, 2010 SummerSlam Los Angeles, CA 2 35 34 [22]
WWE (unbranded)
10 Michelle McCool September 19, 2010 Night of Champions Rosemont, IL 2 63 62 This was a lumberjill match where the Women's Championship was unified with the Divas Championship. The title subsequently became defended on both the Raw and SmackDown brands and was briefly referred to as the Unified WWE Divas Championship, keeping the lineage of the Divas Championship while the Women's Championship was retired. Layla was unofficially the co-champion during this reign; she defended the championship in McCool's place on some occasions. [23][24][25][26]
11 Natalya November 21, 2010 Survivor Series Miami, FL 1 70 69 This was a handicap match also involving Layla as Michelle McCool's tag team partner. [27]
12 Eve Torres January 30, 2011 Royal Rumble Boston, MA 2 71 70 This was a fatal four-way match also involving Layla and Michelle McCool. Eve pinned Layla to win the championship. [28]
13 Brie Bella April 11, 2011 Raw Bridgeport, CT 1 70 70 [29]
14 Kelly Kelly June 20, 2011 Raw: Power to the People Baltimore, MD 1 104 103 This was a "Power to the People" special episode of Raw, where Brie Bella's opponent was determined by a fan-voted poll. Kelly Kelly received the highest number of votes over Beth Phoenix and Eve Torres. [30]
15 Beth Phoenix October 2, 2011 Hell in a Cell New Orleans, LA 1 204 203 [31]
16 Nikki Bella April 23, 2012 Raw Detroit, MI 1 6 5 This was a lumberjill match. [32]
17 Layla April 29, 2012 Extreme Rules Rosemont, IL 1 140 139 Beth Phoenix was originally scheduled to challenge for the title, but was not medically cleared at the time before the match got started. Layla made her return as a surprise challenger for the title. Layla pinned Brie Bella to win the title from Nikki Bella after the twins switched places during the match while the referee was distracted. [33]
18 Eve Torres September 16, 2012 Night of Champions Boston, MA 3 120 120 [34]
19 Kaitlyn January 14, 2013 Raw 20th Anniversary Special Houston, TX 1 153 152 [35][36]
20 AJ Lee June 16, 2013 Payback Rosemont, IL 1 295 295 [37]
21 Paige April 7, 2014 Raw New Orleans, LA 1 84 83 [38]
22 AJ Lee June 30, 2014 Raw Hartford, CT 2 48 47 [39]
23 Paige August 17, 2014 SummerSlam Los Angeles, CA 2 35 35 [40]
24 AJ Lee September 21, 2014 Night of Champions Nashville, TN 3 63 63 This was a triple threat match also involving Nikki Bella. [41]
25 Nikki Bella November 23, 2014 Survivor Series St. Louis, MO 2 301 300 [42]
26 Charlotte September 20, 2015 Night of Champions Houston, TX 1 196 195 If Nikki Bella was counted out or disqualified, she would lose the title per the stipulation. [43]
— Deactivated April 3, 2016 WrestleMania 32 Arlington, TX — — — WWE Hall of Famer Lita announced that the winner of the triple threat match in which Charlotte was to defend the Divas Championship against Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks would instead be for the new WWE Women's Championship, subsequently retiring the Divas Championship. [44]

Combined reigns

Paige was the youngest Divas Champion. She won the title on her main roster debut at the age of 21. She was also the NXT Women's Champion when she won the Divas Championship, but was forced to vacate the NXT title after winning the Divas.
Rank Wrestler No. of
reigns 		Combined

days

Combined days

recognized by WWE

1 AJ Lee 3 406 405
2 Nikki Bella 2 307 305
3 Maryse 2 265 259
4 Eve Torres 3 260 258
5 Michelle McCool 2 218 220
6 Beth Phoenix 1 204 203
7 Charlotte 1 196 195
8 Kaitlyn 1 153 152
9 Layla 1 140 139
10 Paige 2 119 118
Melina 2 119 117
12 Kelly Kelly 1 104 103
13 Mickie James 1 78
14 Brie Bella 1 70
Natalya 1 70 69
16 Alicia Fox 1 56 55
17 Jillian Hall 1 <1

See also

References

General
Specific
  1. ^ Verma, Manish (4 January 2016). "History of the WWE Divas Championship". Www.sportskeeda.com. Archived from the original on December 30, 2022. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
  2. ^ Hillhouse, Dave (July 24, 2008). "The Great American Soap Opera". SLAM! Sports: Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Archived from the original on July 15, 2012. Retrieved September 27, 2009.((cite web)): CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  3. ^ "Michelle McCool wins the inaugural Divas Championship". YouTube.com. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
  4. ^ Martin, Adam (April 14, 2009). "Raw results – 4/13/09". WrestleView.com. Archived from the original on September 28, 2012. Retrieved September 28, 2009.
  5. ^ STAEHLE, ADRIAN. "WWE Draft 2009: Who Went Where?". Www.syndication.bleacherreport.com. Archived from the original on December 30, 2022. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
  6. ^ Tylwalk, Nick (September 19, 2010). "Few gimmicks, more title changes at Night of Champions". SLAM! Sports: Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Archived from the original on July 16, 2012. Retrieved January 3, 2011.((cite web)): CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  7. ^ Caldwell, James (April 3, 2016). "4/3 WrestleMania 32 PPV Pre-Show Results – Caldwell's Complete Report". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on April 4, 2016. Retrieved April 3, 2016.
  8. ^ Caldwell, James (April 3, 2016). "4/3 WrestleMania 32 PPV Results – Caldwell's Complete Live Report on Mainland PPV". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on April 7, 2016. Retrieved January 18, 2024.
  9. ^ a b "WWE Divas Title". Wrestling-titles.com. Archived from the original on November 27, 2013. Retrieved July 1, 2007.
  10. ^ "Michelle McCool wins the inaugural Divas Championship". YouTube.com. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
  11. ^ "Maryse's first reign". WWE. Archived from the original on January 18, 2014. Retrieved January 26, 2009.
  12. ^ Beauvais, Mike (December 23, 2008). "WWE News: Complete WWE Smackdown 12/22 tapings report – Spoilers on title change, Jeff Hardy in main event". PW Torch. Archived from the original on October 2, 2013. Retrieved January 3, 2011.
  13. ^ Sitterson, Aubrey (April 13, 2009). "Results: Rough draft". WWE. Archived from the original on November 3, 2012. Retrieved January 3, 2010.
  14. ^ STAEHLE, ADRIAN. "WWE Draft 2009: Who Went Where?". Www.syndication.bleacherreport.com. Archived from the original on December 30, 2022. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
  15. ^ "Divas Championship". WWE. Retrieved January 18, 2024.
  16. ^ "Divas Championship". WWE. Retrieved January 18, 2024.
  17. ^ "Melina's first reign". WWE. Archived from the original on May 28, 2012. Retrieved October 13, 2009.
  18. ^ "Divas Champion Melina injured". WWE. Archived from the original on March 24, 2013. Retrieved January 4, 2010.
  19. ^ "Divas Championship". WWE. Retrieved January 18, 2024.
  20. ^ "Divas Championship". WWE. Retrieved January 18, 2024.
  21. ^ "Divas Championship". WWE. Retrieved January 18, 2024.
  22. ^ "Divas Championship". WWE. Retrieved January 18, 2024.
  23. ^ Adkins, Greg (September 20, 2010). "Results: CU in Hell!". WWE. Archived from the original on November 3, 2012. Retrieved January 3, 2011.
  24. ^ "NIGHT OF CHAMPIONS". Wwe.com. Archived from the original on December 29, 2022. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
  25. ^ "Michelle McCool vs Melina: Divas Championship Unification Match, Night of Champions 2010". WWE / YouTube.com. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
  26. ^ LOTT, CHRISTI. "Goodbye Women's and Divas Championship, Hello Unified DivasTitle". Www.bleacherreport.com. Archived from the original on December 30, 2022. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
  27. ^ "Natalya's first reign". WWE. Archived from the original on May 28, 2012. Retrieved November 21, 2010.
  28. ^ "Eve's second reign". WWE. Archived from the original on April 11, 2012. Retrieved January 31, 2011.
  29. ^ "Brie Bella's first reign". WWE. Archived from the original on May 28, 2012. Retrieved October 3, 2011.
  30. ^ "Kelly Kelly's first reign". WWE. Archived from the original on May 28, 2012. Retrieved October 3, 2011.
  31. ^ "Beth Phoenix's first reign". WWE. Archived from the original on March 20, 2012. Retrieved October 3, 2011.
  32. ^ "Nikki Bella's first reign". WWE. Archived from the original on May 28, 2012. Retrieved April 23, 2012.
  33. ^ "Layla's first reign". WWE. Archived from the original on May 28, 2012. Retrieved April 29, 2012.
  34. ^ "Eve's third reign". WWE. Archived from the original on November 2, 2012. Retrieved September 16, 2012.
  35. ^ "Kaitlyn's first reign". WWE. Archived from the original on January 18, 2013. Retrieved January 21, 2013.
  36. ^ "Kaitlyn def. Eve to win the Divas Championship". WWE. Archived from the original on 2016-10-24. Retrieved February 10, 2013.
  37. ^ "AJ Lee's first reign". WWE. Archived from the original on June 21, 2013. Retrieved June 17, 2013.
  38. ^ "Paige's first reign". WWE. Archived from the original on April 11, 2014. Retrieved April 7, 2014.
  39. ^ "AJ Lee's second reign". WWE. Archived from the original on July 26, 2014. Retrieved June 30, 2014.
  40. ^ "Paige's second reign". WWE. Archived from the original on August 19, 2014. Retrieved August 17, 2014.
  41. ^ "AJ Lee's third reign". WWE. Archived from the original on August 1, 2015. Retrieved September 21, 2014.
  42. ^ "Divas Championship". WWE. Retrieved January 18, 2024.
  43. ^ "Divas Championship". WWE. Retrieved January 18, 2024.
  44. ^ Caldwell, James (April 3, 2016). "4/3 WrestleMania 32 PPV Pre-Show Results – Caldwell's Complete Report". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on April 4, 2016. Retrieved January 18, 2024.

External links

Championships and accomplishments in WWE
Women in WWE
WWE Divas Champions
Categories