WWE Divas

1996–2000
The first modern day Diva in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) was Sunny, who debuted as the manager for the bodybuilder-themed duo The Bodydonnas and went on to manage several other tag teams and singles wrestlers. Although the notion of a female manager had been popular throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, Sunny's character was significantly sexualized, whereas prior female managers were depicted as being involved in either platonic or romantic storylines.

Between 1996 and 1997, Marlena, Sable and Chyna, joined Sunny as prominent female on-air talent in the promotion. Marlena and Sable were as equally sexualized as Sunny, with Marlena suggestively smoking cigars at ringside during matches and Sable coming to the ring in form fitting leather catsuits. Chyna was offered as an antithesis to the rest of the Divas, a masculine bodybuilder whose sexual identity was the subject of early storylines. Sunny, Sable, and Marlena were further marketed as sex symbols through WWF's Raw Magazine, which featured monthly spreads of the women in suggestive poses while either wearing provocative clothing or seminude. In 1998, Debra debuted and shortly thereafter was featured in a Raw Magazine spread in which she shed a series of business suits to reveal lingerie.

Marlena was the manager of Goldust, her then real-life husband, and Sable was manager for her then real-life husband, wrestler Marc Mero. Sable quickly eclipsed her husband in popularity. Her popularity lead to the reinstatement of the WWF Women's Championship, as well as the hiring of more female wrestlers by the promotion. Sable became the first WWF female to proclaim herself as a 'Diva' during the April 19 edition of Raw in 1999; the term proved popular and shortly thereafter became the official title for WWF's female performers, be they managers or wrestlers. In February 1999, the WWF also debuted another veteran female wrestler Ivory.

Sable's popularity led to a shift in the role of women in the WWF, as the promotion began to rely less on its female performers as simply eye candy and placed a greater emphasis on female athletes who actually competed in matches. Having being one of the first female wrestlers to compete in such specialty matches as evening gown matches, intergender tag team matches as well as a strap match and the first ever bikini contest in which she competed against Jacqueline, she was also the first female wrestler to be a Playboy cover girl. Unlike Jacqueline, Ivory and Luna, the more physical Divas and experienced wrestlers at the time, Sable later admitted that it was written in her contract that she was not allowed to take bumps.

Her success also indirectly led to a push in popularity for Chyna. Her masculine features were de-emphasized and her clothing became more provocative. She was put into competition against male opponents, going on to win the WWF Intercontinental Championship twice. Chyna's popularity quickly grew to match that of Sable's, culminating in Chyna being featured as the centerfold in an issue of Playboy magazine.

2000–2002
February 2000 saw the debut of Lita, who performed higher risk moves than the Divas before her, such as moonsaults and diving hurricanranas. Her popularity encouraged a higher standard of athletic competition within the WWF Women's Division, while still retaining the sexual element. The August 21 edition of Raw featured the first Divas match in WWF history to be the main event, a WWF Women's Championship match between defending champion Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley and Lita.

Shortly after Lita's arrival, Trish Stratus made her debut. Stratus started off as a valet, who brought pure sexuality to the ring. Also later that year, Molly Holly made her debut. She was a contrast to most of the other Divas because she was given a more wholesome gimmick and more modest ring attire.

In the Autumn 2001, Stratus was trained by Fit Finlay, who was the road agent responsible for the women's matches, and improved her in-ring ability. She worked her way up to the top of the division and eventually won the Women's Championship at Survivor Series. Also in 2001, Chyna left the WWF due to real-life issues between herself, Triple H, and Stephanie McMahon. In April 2002, Lita suffered a neck injury and was the first Diva to have neck fusion surgery. She was out of action for almost a year and a half.[5]

2002–2006
On May 5, 2002, the WWF officially changed its name to WWE and brought in a host of new female talent. Over the next few years, WWE hired more Divas than ever before, including female winners of the reality TV show WWE Tough Enough featuring contestants aspiring to be professional wrestlers. Numerous Divas competed in contests from "Pillow Fights" and "Bra and Panties" match-ups to "Bikini Contests", which were based more on the sexual appeal of the women involved. Meanwhile, Trish Stratus, Lita, Jazz, Gail Kim, Molly Holly, Jacqueline, Ivory and Victoria competed for the WWE Women's Title featuring match-ups only previously participated in by men, such as Street Fights, Hardcore, Table matches and the first ever Women's steel cage match. Holly (competing as Mighty Molly), Stratus, and Runnels also held the Hardcore Championship briefly.

Beginning in 2002, WWE began hiring new Divas assigned to their development territories to train and wait to be called up to the main roster. These new Divas were recruited from model agencies, the independent circuit, and the Diva Search. In 2003, Gail Kim became the first woman with a Korean background to win the Women's Championship. Also, Jacqueline held the male title, the WWE Cruiserweight Championship briefly in 2004.

Also during this period, new Divas such as Beth Phoenix, Mickie James, Melina and Candice Michelle made their debuts in the company, and more and more of the previous generation of Divas slowly departed from the company.

2006–present
In 2006, Stacy Keibler left WWE to pursue an acting career, Trish Stratus retired at Unforgiven, and Lita retired at Survivor Series. Torrie Wilson retired in mid-2008 due to having back problems and Victoria Had Left in January 2009 after a nine-year career with WWE. Lilian Garcia retired in September 2009 when she made her final WWE appearance on the September 21st edition of WWE Raw. In November 2008, however, Gail Kim returned to WWE after working for rival Total Nonstop Action Wrestling as a Knockout which leaving Gail Kim as the final Diva left from the previous generation of WWE Divas along with a vast majority of newer arrivals.[9]

The division continued to grow as the Divas began to compete in different types of matches. On the March 5, 2007 edition of Raw, Mickie James and Melina competed in the first falls count anywhere match to be contested between two Divas. It was also the first time that the Women's Championship was contested in this type of match. At Vengeance: Night of Champions in 2007, Candice Michelle became the first woman from the WWE Diva Search to become the WWE Women's Champion.[10] At One Night Stand 2008, Beth Phoenix and Melina competed in the first "I Quit" Match to be contested between Divas.

In December 2007, Trish Stratus, Lita, and Sunny returned to WWE for a one night special appearance on an episode of RAW due to the show's 15 year anniversary. On the June 6, 2008 edition of SmackDown, the then SmackDown General Manager Vickie Guerrero announced the creation of WWE Divas Championship, a SmackDown Diva exclusive title. Natalya and Michelle McCool became the first two contenders for the new championship, and, at the The Great American Bash, McCool defeated Neidhart to become the inaugural champion. At Wrestlemania 25, former Divas Sunny, Victoria, Molly Holly, Torrie Wilson, Jackie Gayda, and Joy Giovanni returned to WWE for a one night special appearance in the 25 Divas Battle Royal match to crown Miss Wrestlemania. During the 2009 WWE Draft, then-current Women's Champion Melina was drafted to the SmackDown brand, thus making the Women's title exclusive to SmackDown. Later that same night, then-current Divas Champion Maryse was drafted to the Raw brand, thus making the Divas title exclusive to Raw, effectively switching both female champions and championships between brands for the first time in history. At The Bash in 2009, McCool defeated Melina to capture the Women's title, and became the first Diva to have ever held both the Women's Championship and the Divas Championship. Mickie James became the second Diva to accomplish feat by defeating Maryse at the Night of Champions for the Divas Title. Melina became the third after winning the Divas Title from Jillian.