10 Pivotal Moments from the Women's Evolution in WWE

#8 The End of the Divas Era

WWE Legend Lita unveils the new WWE Women's championship at Wrestlemania 32

To understand why the WWE ever had Divas in the first place, you have to examine late 1990s culture in North America.

Due to a popular concert featuring stars like Aretha Franklin and Celine Dion on the VH1 cable network, called VH1 Divas, drew public consciousness to the idea of women engaging in diva-ish behavior. Before this time, Diva was definitely an insult, a term used to describe a woman who was arrogant and believed herself to be above other people.

But the concert made the term acceptable. Ever wary of trends in the entertainment industry, the WWE would trademark the term with regards to female wrestling talent. Unfortunately, the Divas division would be driven primarily by appearance and not by wrestling ability. In fact, the belt itself was a gaudy piece of costume jewelry that would be more at home in a thirteen year old girl's room.

Thankfully, the WWE ended the Divas era in a most fitting way, by using one of the early pioneers of women's wrestling in the modern era, Lita. The new Women's Championship looked like a proper wrestling title, not a bedazzled bauble.