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For quite some time in WWE, the female Superstars of the company were referred to as Divas. During this time, the women were often pushed to the wayside, with fewer big opportunities than the men of WWE.
In spite of this, the women of WWE still managed to shine during this time. Some of these women have been a part of some amazing matches that fans still love today, which is illustrative of their talent and star power in a time where the Divas were not held in the high regard that they deserved.
Some women of WWE's Divas Era are still heavily involved in WWE's product today, and others have even come back to the company for landmark moments. These include Evolution, WWE's first all-women pay-per-view, and the women's Royal Rumble matches that began in 2018.
There are quite a few hidden gems in this era, and we're here to shine a light on those classic bouts. Here are the five greatest matches of WWE's Divas Era.
#5 AJ Lee vs Kaitlyn- WWE Payback 2013
AJ Lee and Kaitlyn began a friendship during their time together in NXT (back when the show followed more of a reality competition show format), which continued into their main roster runs in WWE. The pair, who dubbed themselves the Chickbusters, slowly turned from friends to enemies, leading to a standout rivalry between the pair.
The feud between AJ Lee and Kaitlyn ramped up when Big E, Dolph Ziggler and Lee pranked Kaitlyn by having her believe that she had a secret admirer, which helped AJ Lee get into her head leading into their Divas Championship match at Payback 2013.
In the matchup, AJ Lee played the villain perfectly by hitting Kaitlyn with a belt when the referee was distracted, and eventually defeated her rival with the Black Widow submission that became her go-to finishing move in WWE.
The storytelling in the bout was a great background to the action between the two women, and thanks to the incredible in-ring performance we saw, the match marked the beginning of AJ Lee's standout reign as a WWE Divas Champion.
#4 Mickie James vs Trish Stratus- WWE WrestleMania 22
In the build-up to WrestleMania 22, Trish Stratus was the WWE Women's Champion, and Mickie James was acting as her biggest fan turned obsessive stalker. James had been dressing like Stratus and have even attempted to kiss her on occasion.
The pair finally faced off over the WWE Women's Championship at WrestleMania 22, and it got intense between the two women. Eventually, Mickie James was the winner by executing a Chick Kick on Stratus and pinning the champion to take the title for herself.
In spite of Mickie James portraying an unhinged character who had been overstepping the line for months on end with Trish Stratus, the star received a thunderous reaction from the WWE fans in attendance at WrestleMania 22.
This match set Mickie James' status as one of the biggest stars of the women's division in WWE, and also added to the legacy that Trish Stratus was building. Mickie James is still an active star in WWE, and seven-time WWE Women's Champion Trish Stratus has made some sporadic appearances since her retirement, possibly most notably in the first-ever women's Royal Rumble, and her Summerslam 2019 match against Charlotte Flair.
#3 Paige vs Emma- WWE NXT ArRival
Paige was forced to sadly retire from wrestling at just 25 years old after a series of injuries, but the star was already a veteran of the game by the time that she arrived in WWE as a teenager.
Paige became the inaugural WWE NXT Women's Champion after a tournament going up against the other Divas of the brand aged just 20 in 2013. To this day the British-born star remains the youngest NXT Women's Champion ever. Paige defeated Emma in the finals in a great match, but the pair outdid themselves in early 2014 at NXT ArRival.
After an intense back-and-forth between the two women, Emma grew frustrated by not being able to put Paige away, and slapped her, leading the champion to respond with her signature Paige Turner. The match ended with Paige retaining the NXT Women's Championship by submission, after applying the PTO to Emma.
Just a few months after her win, Paige was forced to relinquish the NXT Women's Championship after defeating AJ Lee to win the WWE Divas Championship on her RAW debut.
#2 Bayley vs Sasha Banks- WWE NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn
The NXT Women's Championship match between Sasha Banks and Bayley came right at the end of the Divas Era in WWE, not long before the moniker was dropped by WWE. At the time, Sasha Banks was on the way to the main roster of WWE with her fellow NXT Divas Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair.
The match between Sasha Banks and Bayley has gone down in history as one of the greatest NXT matches, is one that made fans sit up and pay attention to the women's division of WWE.
The story behind Sasha Banks and Bayley's NXT Women's Championship match was delved into on a recent edition of WWE Untold, where the two women claimed that they had to practice for their match in secret, and keep their plans under wraps as even though it only took place six years ago, the women were often stopped from outshining the men of WWE.
This championship match is one of many amazing ones between Sasha Banks and Bayley, and is one that truly signalled the transition between the Divas and Women's Revolution Eras of WWE.
#1 Trish Stratus vs Lita- WWE Women's Championship match on RAW
2004 wasn't a time when the women of WWE often headlined events and episodes of RAW and SmackDown. In the year 2000, Lita and Stephanie McMahon were the main event of an episode of RAW. Four years later Lita headlined the show again, this time with fellow Hall of Famer Trish Stratus in a WWE Women's Championship match.
In their match on RAW in December 2004, Trish Stratus and Lita managed to tear the house down in less than ten minutes. In the build-up to the match, the on-and-off best friends had an intense rivalry that resulted in Trish Stratus having to wear a faceguard for her storyline broken nose - the same faceguard that she tore off mid-match and used to attack Lita.
The matchup between Trish and Lita was known for some crazy spots between the two women, one of these being Lita's dive onto Stratus between the middle ropes, and the ending of Lita hitting her foe with the Twist of Fate followed by her famous moonsault.
In the 2000's women headlining RAW was a rare event, and on this occasion Trish Stratus and Lita took the opportunity they were given and ran with it, delivering not only the greatest Divas match of the era, but one of the best main events of the decade.
