Women's Division: Evolution of women's wrestling in WWE over the years

Light at the end of the tunnel (2007 to 2012)

Beth Phoenix was the embodiment of "strong and sexy", being called The Glamazon.

Trish Stratus and Lita both retired in 2006, barely 2 months apart. That left a huge void in the women's division, but WWE had plenty of highly talented women to fill it. They weren't necessarily utilized spectacularly, but it was a far cry from the egregious sexuality that overwhelmed the actual wrestling for the past decade.

Mickie James was, for all intents and purposes, the successor of Trish and Lita, both of whom helped make her a star in 2006. In fact, Lita's last match as a full-time roster member was a loss to Mickie James. The other top wrestlers in this period were Beth Phoenix, Natalya, Candice Michelle, Eve Torres, Melina, and the Bella Twins. It wasn't quite as solid a lineup as the women who were held back during the majority of the first half of the decade, but solid enough to build a foundation. WWE's women had long been portrayed as "strong and good looking", but in this era, WWE added more emphasis on the word "strong" than ever in the before.

Candice Michelle was the biggest surprise of the bunch, going from a participant in the original Diva Search in 2004 to one of the best female wrestlers on the roster by the beginning of 2007. Sadly her run was cut short when she broke her clavicle twice in less than six months (October 2007 and March 2008). She would return in the latter half of 2008 but was let go by WWE in early 2009. She had the potential to be the second coming of Trish Stratus before the injury sadly cut her career short.

This time period also saw the birth of the Divas Championship. RAW was the holder of the Women's Championship for the first 6 years of the original draft, and in mid-2008 WWE decided to change that. A tournament was held to crown the first-ever Divas Champion and was won by Michelle McCool. The title immediately gained a negative reputation due to its look that was a little too similar to the stereotypical lower back tattoo that shall not be named here. The belt was moved to RAW a year later while the Women's Championship was moved to SmackDown, and in September 2010 it became the lone championship in the women's division when it was unified with the Women's Championship. The aforementioned women held down the ship pretty well before a new crop of talent would appear.