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WWE's Women's division has progressed and evolved quite a bit over the last few years, with the women of WWE taking the promotion to new heights and putting on matches and storylines that can compete with the best that the men can offer.
But this evolution hasn't happened overnight as there have been various hurdles and eras that WWE's women had to go through before their crowning glory - headlining WrestleMania. But a few years before Becky Lynch, Ronda Rousey and Charlotte Flair headlined WrestleMania 35, we had the Divas Era of WWE, which was the final transition for women in WWE being offered a level playing field.
The Divas Era, which began in 2008 ended in 2016 with the Divas Championship replaced with the Women's Championship at WrestleMania 32.
There have been 17 Divas Champions in the history of WWE; let's take a look at what these former Divas Champions are doing now.
#1 Michelle McCool
The first-ever Divas Champion was Michelle McCool, who won the title in 2008 when she defeated Natalya at The Great American Bash.
McCool won the title twice in her WWE career, while also winning the Women's Championship twice. She held the title for 159 days in her first reign, before winning the Divas Championship once again in 2010 and held the title for 63 days.
McCool retired in 2011, but has made appearances in the WWE since, and has even wrestled twice, both in 2018 - first at the first-ever Women's Royal Rumble match, and then later at the all-women's Evolution PPV.
#2 Maryse
Many younger fans may not remember that Maryse was an active wrestler in the Divas Era, and became the second Divas Champion in in 2008 when she defeated McCool on an episode of SmackDown, holding the title for 212 days.
She, like McCool, held the title twice, winning the title back in 2010, with her second title reign lasting 49 days. Maryse was released in 2011, but returned to WWE in 2016 to be ringside with her husband The Miz, and has since been a part of WWE, mainly as the manager of The A-Lister.
#3 Mickie James
Mickie James debuted on the main roster way back in 2005 and is one of the most underrated stars in WWE over the last decade and more.
James has won the Women's Championship five times and the Divas Championship once, the latter which happened back in 2009 when she defeated Maryse at Night of Champions.
After a few years with TNA/Impact and other promotions, James returned to WWE in 2016 and has had a few interesting feuds, including an alliance with Alexa Bliss.
She suffered an injury in July 2019 which resulted in her getting knee surgery which will put her out for the remainder of 2019.
#4 Jillian Hall
Jillian Hall has the dubious distinction of being the Superstar with the shortest Divas Championship reign, lasting just five minutes. She defeated Mickie James on RAW in 2009 but lost the title on the same night to Melina. That was her only title in WWE, and she was subsequently released the following year.
After her release from WWE, she wrestled in several promotions, including World Wrestling Fan Xperience, Xtreme Pro Wrestling, Crossfire Wrestling, and TNA. She retired in 2014 from wrestling.Sh e returned to WWE for the RAW Reunion show in 2019.
#5 Melina
Melina held the Divas Championship twice, her first reign beginning in 2009 when she defeated Jillian Hall, which lasted 84 days, followed by another reign in 2010 when she held the title for 35 days.
She was brought to the main roster in 2005 and was part of the MNM faction, and was released in 2011.
Following her release, she wrestled in several indie promotions including Maryland Championship Wrestling, World Wrestling Council, and Southside Wrestling Entertainment, to name a few.
She, too, returned to WWE at the RAW Reunion show in 2019, where she was a referee for a few 24/7 title segments.
#6 Eve Torres
Eve Torres held the Divas Championship three times in her career - the joint-highest in the history of the Championship. Her first reign began in 2010 when she defeated Maryse for the title on RAW, holding the title for 69 days.
Her second reign happened in 2011 when she held the title for 71 days, followed by the last reign in 2012 when she held the belt for 121 days.
She left her in-ring career in 2013 and later became a WWE ambassador. Torres has appeared in a few films and TV shows after her WWE career.
#7 Alicia Fox
Alicia Fox has been a part of the WWE for a long time and here first and only title was the Divas Championship back in 2010 when she won a fatal four-way match, which she held 56 days.
She has been a part of NXT and been moved around between RAW and SmackDown, and has mostly been a mid-carder.
Fox has had some issues with alcohol over the last few years, which has probably held her back. She has been a part of Total Divas as well as Tough Enough over the last few years.
#8 Natalya
Natalya has been with the WWE for over a decade and her first title in the promotion was the Divas Championship which she won at Survivor Series in 2010, holding the title for 70 days before losing it to Eve Torres at Royal Rumble in 2011.
She has since won the SmackDown Women's title once and has become an important of the women's division.
The Queen Of Harts was briefly even in NXT before returning to the main roster. She then formed an alliance with Ronda Rousey, before reuniting with Beth Phoenix in 2019.
Natalya was part of Total Divas television show for a few years.
#9 Brie Bella
Brie Bella won her first and only title in WWE in 2011 when she defeated Eve Torres to win the Divas Championship and held it for 70 days. She and twin sister Nikki left WWE in 2012 before returning in 2013, being a part of tag team with Nikki, and then part of segments featuring her husband Daniel Bryan.
With the popularity of Total Divas and Total Bellas, Brie stepped away from wrestling and announced her retirement from WWE in 2019. Her last match in WWE was a six-person tag team match in 2018.
Brie has a clothing line, various products, and a podcast with her sister Nikki, as well as their Total Bellas show.
#10 Kelly Kelly
Kelly Kelly won her first title in WWE in 2011 when she won the Divas Championship from Brie Bella on an episode of RAW. She held the belt for 104 days and was her only title in WWE until she won the 24/7 title on the RAW Reunion episode in 2019.
She was released from her WWE contract back in 2013 and made a few appearances in indie shows. Kelly Kelly returned to WWE for the RAW 25 episode in 2018 and then at the first-ever Women's Royal Rumble match, followed by another appearance at the Evolution PPV.
Her last WWE appearance was at the RAW Reunion where she became the first-ever woman to win the 24/7 title.
#11 Beth Phoenix
Beth Phoenix won the Divas Championship once back in 2011; the year before she entered the men's Royal Rumble match, becoming the second woman to do so.
She won the title at Hell in a Cell in 2011 when she defeated Kelly Kelly for the title, which she held for 204 days. Phoenix quit WWE in 2013, having won the Divas Championship once and the Women's Championship on three occasions.
She returned to WWE in 2017 to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, commentating (later becoming a part of the NXT commentary team), entering the women's Royal Rumble, becoming the first person to enter the men's and women's Royal Rumble, and also teaming up with Natalya once again to compete for the Women's Tag Team titles at WrestleMania 35.
#12 Nikki Bella
Like twin sister Brie, Nikki has won the Divas Championship, winning it twice in her WWE career. She won the title for the first time in 2012 when she defeated Beth Phoenix, and then won it once again in 2014, holding it for a record 301 days - the longest reign for the Divas Championship.
Nikki has transitioned to becoming a reality TV star and entrepreneur with her sister, and her WWE career took a backseat as she appeared in only big PPVs, including main eventing the Evolution PPV when she faced Ronda Rousey for the RAW Women's title - which was her last WWE match as she announced her retirement in 2019 following the discovery of a cyst in her brain.
Nikki currently has her own product line, a reality show as well as various products.
#13 Layla
Layla won the Divas Championship from Nikki Bella in 2012 at Extreme Rules, which she held for 140 days. She also won the Women's Championship, making her one of the few Divas that won both the Divas Championship and Women's Championship.
She won the 2006 edition of the Diva Search, and after nearly a decade with WWE she left the company in 2015 and retired from professional wrestling.
Layla has since become a real estate agent and has moved away from the pro wrestling business, although she did tease a return to the ring earlier this year.
#14 Kaitlyn
Kaitlyn debuted in NXT in 2010 before featuring on SmackDown and winning the Divas Championshipin 2013 when she defeated Eve Torres. Her reign lasted 153 days, and that was her only title in WWE.
A year later she left the WWE as she wanted to focus on her clothing line, Celestial Bodiez. She returned briefly to wrestle in an indie promotion, Coastal Championship Wrestling, and then once again returned to WWE in 2018 to take part in the Mae Young Classic, where she lost in the second round. She was last seen on WWE television at the RAW Reunion show in 2019.
#15 AJ Lee
AJ Lee, like Eve Torres, held the Divas Championship thrice - the most number of reigns in the history of the Championship, while she also held the belt for the most number of days (combined) - 406 days.
After debuting in 2011 on SmackDown, she won the title for the first time in 2013 when she defeated Kaitlyn and held the belt for 296 days and then winning it back twice in 2014 during her feud with Paige.
She retired from pro wrestling in 2015, and has since written a book about her life which was on The New York Times Best Seller list in 2017, and has also acted in a movie, Rabid.
#16 Paige
Paige held the Divas Championship twice, first winning it in 2014, and her first reign lasted 85 days; she won it back later that year when she defeated AJ Lee for the title, this time her reign lasting 36 days.
She was set to be one of the faces of the Women's Revolution, but a suspension and then injuries set her back. An unfortunate injury to her neck eventually forced her to retire from in-ring wrestling at the age of 25.
Paige became the SmackDown GM, before both GM roles on RAW and SmackDown was removed.
A movie based on her life, Fighting with my Family, was released in 2019, and she then returned to WWE as a manager for the team of Kairi Sane and Asuka. Paige has her own clothing and makeup line.
#17 Charlotte Flair
The last woman to ever hold the Divas Championship before it was retired was Charlotte Flair, who won the title from Nikki Bella at Night of Champions in 2015.
At WrestleMania 32, the Divas Championship was replaced with the Women's Championship, which later became the RAW Women's Championship.
Charlotte, who had held the Divas Championship for 196 days, won the RAW Women's Championship at WrestleMania 32, defeating Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch in a triple threat match.
She has the record for most women's titles having won four RAW Women's Championships, four SmackDown Women's Championships, and one Divas Championship.
The Divas Championship was the first title Charlotte won on the main roster, having only won the NXT Women's Championship before that in WWE. She is the first woman to win the NXT Women's Championship, Divas Championship, SmackDown Women's Championship, and RAW Women's Championship.
Since the Divas Championship win, Flair won eight titles, created history by being a part of the first women's Hell in a Cell match, main evented SmackDown, RAW, and PPVs - the first woman to do so, took part in the first Women's Money in the Bank ladder match, and also part of the first women's match to headline WrestleMania.
