From 2008 to 2016, the Divas era in WWE was strong, but not in a good way. It was consistently horrible, full of misogyny, sexualization, and a lack of focus or seriousness, which I highlighted in my last article. However, I can’t help but feel like I was a bit harsh.
Even though this era of WWE is best left forgotten, not all of it is bad. Furthermore, many women were simply a product of their time. They were strong, focused, and had the talent, but just lacked the respect from those around them. Today, we will highlight these women, who are the greatest Divas Champions of all time.
3. Michelle McCool
We can’t talk about the Divas Championship without talking about its first title holder. Michelle McCool became the first Divas Champion at the Great American Bash in 2008. During this time, the original WWE Women’s Championship was still being defended, but only on Raw. The Divas Championship was created to give women on SmackDown their own championship.
McCool would have a long first reign, but her most memorable was her second. She teamed with Layla to form the infamous LayCool, an entertaining but devastating duo. They would become one of the very, very few female acts of this time to earn the same TV time as men. In 2010, McCool would also be the one to see the end of the original Women’s Championship. She defeated Melina in a unification match at Night of Champions that year.
