{"id":148096,"date":"2025-12-09T07:00:12","date_gmt":"2025-12-09T12:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/?p=148096"},"modified":"2025-12-08T21:44:03","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T02:44:03","slug":"greatest-wwe-divas-era-matches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2025\/12\/09\/greatest-wwe-divas-era-matches\/","title":{"rendered":"Greatest WWE Divas Era Matches"},"content":{"rendered":"

Staying on theme for this week, we’re still in Diva territory. Last time, we went through the Greatest Divas Champions Of All Time<\/a>. However, there is so much more to discover from that point in time, other than Champions. WWE Divas get a lot of slack when, in actuality, there’s a gold mine of amazing matches untouched and forgotten by hardcore fans and historians.<\/p>\n

These matches vary from personal vendettas to rare stipulations, and some happened just because. Today, we are going to be going through five of the greatest WWE Divas Era Matches, and what made them so great.<\/p>\n

5. Layla vs. Michelle McCool – Extreme Rules 2011<\/h2>\n

This was the culmination of the mishandled feud between Layla and Michelle McCool. Former besties turned bitter enemies collided in one of the three rare non-title PPV matches on this list. This match had a stipulation that the loser would leave WWE. Unfortunately, WWE did not take their time with this feud as they should have. McCool and Layla were friends for years, and indescribably close. Yet, WWE still chose to rush it.<\/p>\n

Regardless, McCool and Layla told an emotional story and delivered a solid match-up. WWE’s mishandling caused the crowd to chime out, which also docked it points completely. After the match, one got traded in for another. Kharma (aka Awesome Kong) would make her WWE debut and stand above McCool.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

4. Beth Phoenix & Natalya vs. LayCool – TLC 2010<\/h2>\n

This match was unexpectedly great, and that’s why The Divas of Doom were so intimidating back then. LayCool were entertaining and solid per usual, but Phoenix and Natalya had power, intensity, and dominance. That kind of thing was unseen during this time for women in WWE, so it was great to go back and see it put on full display. It was fast-paced, had good spots, and everyone in the match got a good hand.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, the finish was botched, and didn’t go as planned. Regardless, all four women played their part in its recovery, which turned out well in the end. If you’re looking for a more violent Divas Match, this one is for you. Just don’t expect anything too crazy; the circumstances and expectations of this time still constrained them.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

3. Paige vs. Emma – NXT<\/h2>\n

On July 23rd, 2013, the finals of the NXT Women’s Championship Tournament took place. This match was very good, especially for being an early NXT match. It had good, clean sequences and enticing action. The mere fact that this match was for a “Women’s” title and not a “Divas” title made it feel more important, and laid very, very, early groundwork of what would come.<\/p>\n

This match had heavy implications and high expectations. The only reason this match ranks a little low is that there isn’t much to say about it. However, still a great match and worth a re-watch.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

2. Brie Bella vs. Stephanie McMahon\u00a0 – SummerSlam 2014<\/h2>\n

This match had seven-year-old me stressing out, big time. Both women pulled off incredible, memorable performances that are still talked about to this day. This was McMahon’s first match in eleven years, and Bella had garnered a reputation for being lackluster in the ring at this time.<\/p>\n

However, neither of these things slowed the women down, and it actually helped play into the story leading into this match. The storytelling in this match was top-tier, and it was rare for women to get a non-title match on a PPV, let alone one of the big four, during this time.<\/p>\n

The feud between Brie Bella and Stephanie McMahon was an offshoot of the Daniel Bryan vs. Authority story. McMahon had been targeting Bryan, and Bella had had enough of it. After Brie infamously slapped Stephanie and said she quit, Stephanie put her sister, Nikki, through hell.<\/p>\n

Unfair match-types were created for her every week, ranging from a handicap match to having an arm tied behind her back. Regardless, Nikki still showed up every week and fought hard, winning often. Nikki endured it all for Brie, which makes the twist near the end of the match so much more impactful.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

1. Kaitlyn vs. AJ Lee – PayBack 2013<\/h2>\n

I mentioned this feud in my last article, and for good reason. Lee and Kaitlyn squared off on a few occasions, but this one stands head and shoulders above them all. It showcased both of their contrasting styles, characters, and told a compelling, intriguing story, which was like…unheard of. Lee and Kaitlyn complement each other so well, and it can be seen in how they execute spots in this match.<\/p>\n

\"A
Photo Credit: WWE<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The crowd was also hot start to finish, which was nice. The match is only 10 minutes, but it did not need to go much longer. It was the culmination of Lee’s crazy character, and the decision to put the belt on her here was the right call. This match is forgotten, a lot. Even though it shouldn’t be, go watch it.<\/p>\n

That’s our list! Did we miss one? Let us know!<\/em><\/h4>\n

More From LWOS Pro Wrestling<\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n

Header photo \u2013 WWE \u2013 Stay tuned to the\u00a0<\/i><\/em>Last Word on Pro Wrestling<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a> for more on the WWE Divas Championship and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world.<\/i><\/em><\/p>\n

You can check out WWE programming on\u00a0<\/i><\/em>Netflix<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a>\u00a0(Raw),\u00a0<\/i><\/em>USA Network<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a>\u00a0(SmackDown),\u00a0<\/i><\/em>The CW<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a>\u00a0(NXT),\u00a0<\/i><\/em>Tubi<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a>\u00a0(WWE Evolve),\u00a0<\/i><\/em>A&E<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a>\u00a0(WWE Superstar Sunday \u2013 Rivals, WWE LFG, and Greatest Moments), and\u00a0<\/i><\/em>Peacock<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a>\u00a0(WWE Main Event, as well as archives and premium live event streaming). Follow WWE on social media to relive top moments and matches on\u00a0<\/i><\/em>YouTube<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a>, and catch fast-paced action on X (<\/i><\/em>WWE Speed<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a>).<\/i><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Staying on theme for this week, we’re still in Diva territory. Last time, we went through the Greatest Divas Champions Of All Time. However, there is so much more to discover from that point in time, other than Champions. WWE Divas get a lot of slack when, in actuality, there’s a gold mine of amazing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5605,"featured_media":148151,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7205,4,3,320],"tags":[1374,4820,2086,326],"class_list":["post-148096","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history","category-wwe","category-wwe-universe","category-wwe-women","tag-aj-lee","tag-divas-championship","tag-michelle-mccool","tag-stephanie-mcmahon"],"modified_by":"Michael Joseph Sugue, Manager","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148096","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5605"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=148096"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148096\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":148153,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148096\/revisions\/148153"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/148151"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=148096"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=148096"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=148096"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}