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The pink and silver Divas Championship was unveiled in 2008 on SmackDown as RAW had the WWE Women's Championship. It was the first time in 52 years that WWE had two championships for women.
WWE later unified the Divas Championship with the Women's Championship at Night of Champions 2010. Soon, WWE dropped the women's title, and the Divas Championship became the sole championship for female superstars.
A match between Natalya and Michelle McCool at The Great American Bash 2008 determined the first Divas Champion. It was an intense match that ultimately saw Michelle walk out as the first champion. There were 26 reigns since the title's introduction until its retirement at WrestleMania 32.
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The championship came when WWE was criticized for their portrayal of women, having them compete in matches much shorter than the mens'. Also, the title itself was criticized, with fans complaining it looked like a toy rather than a serious championship.
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Let's look at the five longest-reigning Divas Champions in terms of overall days across all reigns:
#5. Michelle McCool (Two Divas Championship reigns, 218 days overall)
After winning the championship at The Great American Bash, Michelle McCool defended the title against Maryse at Unforgiven 2008 and on the September 16, 2008, episode of SmackDown. She was victorious on both occasions.
Her next defense took place on the November 11, 2008, episode of SmackDown against Maria, who she defeated in 1 minute and 37 seconds. Not all was lost for Maria, though, as Festus presented her with a teddy bear after the match. Michelle's first reign ended after losing to Maryse on the December 22 episode of SmackDown. Maria was the special guest referee.
Michelle took her eye off Maryse to complain about Maria's pin counting. Maryse then landed a solid kick to Michelle's back, knocking McCool down and winning the match. Her first reign was 155 days long.
Michelle & Layla defeated Beth Phoenix in a two-on-one handicap match to win the Women's Championship on May 11, 2010, SmackDown. They were both to women's Champions, and either could defend the title.
Michelle faced Divas Champion Melina in a Lumberjill Match at Night of Champions 2010 to unify both championships. A big boot had Melina down for the pin and allowed McCool to unify the titles. She held the championship for 63 days.
#4. Eve Torres (Three Divas Championship reigns, 260 days overall)
Eve won her first Divas Championship after defeating Maryse on the April 12, 2010 episode of RAW. Maryse was given her rematch at Over The Limit 2010, Eve retained. Eve then lost the title to Alicia Fox 69 days after winning it.
She won the championship back at Royal Rumble 2011, defeating Layla, Michelle McCool, and Natalya in a Fatal Four-Way Match. Her second reign included defenses against Natalya, Nikki & Brie Bella, who beat her to become the new Divas Champion on April 11, 2011, RAW. Thus, her second reign ended at 71 days.
A year and a half later, Eve won the Divas Championship for the third time after pinning Layla at Night of Champions 2012. She then began a feud with Kaitlyn.
It led to a match between the two on the January 14, 2013 episode of RAW. The match had a stipulation: if Eve got herself counted out or disqualified, she'd be stripped of the title.
Kaitlyn pinned Eve to win the match and the championship. It was her last match as she announced that she was leaving WWE shortly afterward. Her third reign was her longest at 120 days. At three, she's tied for most reigns with the Divas Championship.
#3. Maryse (Two Divas Championship reigns, 265 days overall)
The second Divas Champion after beating Michelle McCool for the title, Maryse held the championship for 216 days.
Maryse defended the championship five times during that period, with two matches ending via disqualification. The official stopped the first against rival Michelle McCool due to an interruption by a returning Gail Kim. The second happened after Maryse got disqualified for pushing Kelly Kelly over the announce table.
Mickie James defeated the French-Canadian at the Night of Champions 2009.
She defeated Gail Kim on the February 22, 2010 episode of RAW for the vacant Divas Championship, becoming the first superstar to have held the title more than once. She lost the title to Eve Torres 49 days later.
#2. Nikki Bella (Two Divas Championship reigns, 307 days overall)
The co-creator of Twin Magic has the record for the longest individual reign in the history of the Divas Championship. But that was her second reign.
Before that, Nikki Bella won her first Divas Championship after defeating Beth Phoenix on the April 23, 2012 episode of RAW, only to lose the title six days later to Layla at Extreme Rules 2012.
Her second reign began after she beat AJ Lee at Survivor Series 2014. In a callback to Daniel Bryan and WrestleMania 28, Brie Bella kissed AJ Lee, which distracted her enough for Nikki to hit her with the Rack Attack and win the Divas Championship in 34 seconds.
Fearless, Nikki held the title for 301 days, beating AJ Lee at TLC 2014. She lost the championship to Charlotte at Night of Champions 2015. Her second reign is the 25th and second-last in the title's history.
#1. AJ Lee (Three Divas Championship reigns, 406 days overall)
Aside from having held the Divas Championship for the most days overall, AJ Lee also ties for the most reigns at three.
At 295 days, her first reign was her longest and the second-longest individual reign in the championship's history. She won the title at Payback 2013 after defeating Kaitlyn.
The reign saw her defend the title against Kaitlyn, Bayley, Brie Bella, Naomi, Natalya, and Cameron. She even retained the championship in a 14-woman battle royal at WrestleMania 30. It was the first time WWE put the Divas Championship on the WrestleMania match card.
She infamously lost the title to a debuting Paige on the night after WrestleMania 30 as Paige shocked the world by defeating AJ in just 1 minute and 22 seconds.
The Black Widow returned two months later, RAW on June 30, 2014, and defeated Paige to regain the championship. She retained against Paige at Battleground 2014 but was defeated by her once again at SummerSlam a month later. It ended her second reign at 48 days.
She defeated Paige 35 days later, winning the championship for a record-tying third time. She held the title for 63 days before losing it to Nikki Bella at Survivor Series 2014.
What do you think of this list? Were you a WWE fan during the Divas Championship days? If so, whose reign was your favorite? Let us know in the comments section below!
