WWE Divas Championship | |||||||||||||||||||||
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![]() Charlotte was the last champion. | |||||||||||||||||||||
Details | |||||||||||||||||||||
Promotion | WWE | ||||||||||||||||||||
Date established | July 20, 2008 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Date retired | April 3, 2016 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Other name(s) | |||||||||||||||||||||
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The WWE Divas Championship was a championship in WWE competed for by women, called Divas by WWE. It was established in 2008 and Michelle McCool was the first champion. It was deactivated in 2016 in favor of the new WWE Women's Championship. Charlotte was the final champion.
As a result of the WWE Brand Extension in 2002, the WWE Women's Championship was made exclusive to the Raw brand. Thereafter, only Divas on the Raw brand were able to compete for the WWE Women's Championship, while the Divas on the SmackDown brand were unable to compete for a women's-exclusive championship. The rule was, however, ignored on rare occasions as Melina and Ashley have been the only divas who were on the SmackDown brand to challenge for the title. This led to the creation of the WWE Divas Championship, which was announced on June 6, 2008 during an episode of SmackDown by SmackDown General Manager Vickie Guerrero.[1] In order to determine the competitors for the new title, two 'Golden Dreams matches[broken anchor]', the object of which was to retrieve a star that was hanging on a pole above one corner of the ring, were held.[1] The first Golden Dreams match was won by Natalya, and the second by Michelle McCool.[1][2] The championship belt was officially unveiled on the July 4, 2008 episode of SmackDown prior to the second Golden Dreams match. Natalya and McCool competed against each other at The Great American Bash, which McCool won and became the first champion.[3][4]
At WrestleMania 32 on April 3, 2016, Lita announced that a new WWE Women's Championship would be created. In the process, the Divas Championship would be retired.[5] Later in the night, the Divas Champion Charlotte beat Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks to win the new Women's Championship.[6]
See the main article: List of WWE Divas Champions |
There were 26 reigns and 1 vacancy. The first champion was Michelle McCool. She beat Natalya to win the title at The Great American Bash on July 20, 2008.[7] The last champion was Charlotte. She beat Nikki Bella at Night of Champions. At WrestleMania 32, Charlotte beat Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks to win the new WWE Women's Championship, retiring the WWE Divas Championship in the process.[5]