With the SmackDown Women’s Championship coming to prominence, I decided to write about the previous titles as a tribute of sorts. This is a huge deal for the women of WWE, especially SmackDown. In the initial brand split, the Champion would go on both shows to defend her Championship. Turns out that the Divas Championship was introduced to the SmackDown brand in 2008 as a Women’s Championship for SmackDown. You learn something every day, and even I need to remind myself about the history every now and again!
The Divas Championship was introduced by WWE in 2008 and it has since been the premier Championship from 2010 until its retirement at WrestleMania 32 this year. For seven to eight years, there have been over fifteen Divas Champions with several names having more than one reign. Michelle McCool was the inaugural champion and had two reigns with the Divas Championship. Charlotte was the last to hold the Championship before retiring it at WrestleMania 32 when she won the WWE Women’s Championship.
Now, this may be a controversial list, as everyone has their own opinion when it comes to their favorite Divas. What I am looking at in this list is the reigns, the number of days and the impact that each woman has had with the Championship. While we can argue as to who is, in fact, the greatest Divas Champion, we can’t argue with the facts.
7. Maryse
The French beauty is on this list because of the time she held the Divas Championship and the records that came with it at that time. Maryse was the longest-reigning Divas Champion until AJ Lee broke the record in 2014. Since then, Maryse has ended up as the third longest-reigning Divas Champion, with her first reign lasting for 216 days.
She became the second Divas Champion when she defeated Michelle McCool on an episode of SmackDown. Maryse eventually would be the first Diva to capture the Championship twice, defeating Gail Kim in a tournament to crown a new Divas Champion. Maryse held the Divas Championship for 265 days combined.
6. Michelle McCool
McCool was the first Divas Champion when it was introduced back in 2008 and she would go on to hold the Championship for a span of 155 days before losing it to Maryse. When McCool won the Women’s Championship the next year, she became the first woman to have held both the Women’s and Divas Championship. McCool would later unify both the Women’s and Divas Championships, which also makes her the only unified Divas Champion.
As McCool got better in the ring with those records under her belt, she was included as pasrt of further analysis. She held each Championship twice and has been the Diva of the Year on one occasion. She was also one of the participants in the first-ever Divas tables match in 2010.
5. Melina
Melina is the first woman in WWE history to have held both the Women’s Championship and Divas Championship multiple times. After further analysis, I decided to include her in this list. Melina was one of the most athletic Divas on the roster during the time she was in the company. She competed in the first ever Women’s “I Quit” match and “Falls Count Anywhere” match.
Melina forfeited the Divas Championship when she tore her ACL at a WWE Live Event, but regained it shortly after she returned to action. She would lose the Championship to Michelle McCool, who went on to unify the Women’s and Divas Championships at Night of Champions.
4. Beth Phoenix
Though Phoenix was a dominant Diva during her time with the WWE, perhaps her greatest accomplishment while with the company was her 204-day reign with the Divas Championship. Phoenix would win the Championship one time and while I think there was a lot of wasted potential with the Glamazon, her lengthy reign proved that quality and quantity went hand in hand.
During that time, she would team up with Natalya as “The Divas of Doom” and the two would plow through the Divas Division as Phoenix held onto the Divas Championship. She would eventually lose it to Nikki Bella in a Lumberjill match on Raw. Phoenix joins the list with Melina as one of the Divas who held both the Women’s and Divas Championship. Phoenix was a three-time Women’s Champion before becoming the Divas Champion.
3. Eve Torres
Eve Torres goes on this list, mainly because she was the first Diva to hold the Divas Championship three times. Torres did well for herself after coming from the 2007 Divas Search that she won. She showed little promise in the beginning because of her participation in non-wrestling matches. Come 2010 and 2011, Torres would capture the Divas Championship twice, defeating Maryse first and Layla for the second.
Perhaps her third reign as Divas Champion was her best reign, as Torres was a heel at that time and had a major advantage by being aligned with General Managers Teddy Long and John Laurinaitis. Once she lost the Championship to Kaitlyn, Torres would “quit” the company. She held the Divas Championship a total of 260 days.
2- Nikki Bella
Though Bella’s first reign with the Divas Championship lasted for six forgettable days, her second reign turned out to be historic. Her reign at 301 days makes her the longest reigning Divas Champion of all time. While that comes with much controversy, one can’t deny that Bella did improve in the ring over the last eight years with the company.
During the reign, Bella found herself in the middle of the Divas Revolution angle last summer. She would be dethroned by Charlotte at Night of Champions after a failed attempt on Raw the week before, which stirred up quite a controversy. Bella has held the Divas Championship for a total of 307 days.
1. AJ Lee
I could not have done this list and not include Lee in it. While Lee is the second longest-reigning Divas Champion at 295 days, the impact she had with that first reign was monumental and played a major hand in changing the Divas Division. During that 295 days, Lee cut the Pipebombshell promo, and would defend the Divas Championship for the first time at a WrestleMania.
She would win that match, which was the Vickie Guerrero Invitational at WrestleMania XXX. Lee would defeat the entire roster of Divas by making Naomi tap out to the Black Widow. Lee is the second woman to hold the Divas Championship three times all thanks to her feud with Paige. While Lee is the second longest reigning Divas Champion, she also has the most combined days record, holding the Championship for 406 days.
Lee also put Paige over as the next big Diva in the Divas Division on her way out of the company.
