New Divas Championship is Born by Matt C

For the longest time in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), there was just one prized belt that the female wrestlers competed for. The title known as the Women's Championship was held by some of the best in the business, such as Trish Stratus, Lita and Victoria. In the year 2002, after the WWE Women's Championship had been defended on both the Raw and Smackdown programs, a change was made. The women's title became exclusive to the Raw television show and only the WWE divas on Raw competed for it. It was contested on four different occasions on Smackdown afterwards, with Torrie Wilson, Nidia, Melina and Ashley Massaro of Smackdown each trying for the belt on separate occasions. None of these WWE divas won the belt, and it continued to be the prized women's title on Raw. It wasn't until earlier this year that a new title was added for the divas, and made exclusive to Smackdown.

On June 6, 2008, Smackdown General Manager Vickie Guerrero decided that her show also needed championship gold for its divas. Vickie announced that there would be a brand new WWE Divas Championship belt created. The belt itself was unveiled on July 4, 2008 on Smackdown, and featured the color pink on it. The Smackdown General Manager held a series of matches to decide who would fight for the title. There were two separate "Gold Star on a Pole" matches held in which the first diva to climb the corner of the ring and retrieve a golden star hanging on a pole would win. The match featured divas such as Victoria, Maryse, Cherry, Natalya and Michelle McCool. One match was won by Natalya, while the other was won by Michelle McCool. The two WWE Divas would meet at the Great American Bash in Uniondale, New York on July 20, 2008.

At the Great American Bash Pay-Per-View, it was Michelle McCool who was able to defeat her opponent Natalya in the first title match. Michelle won the title by submission, using a Brazilian Heel Lock to force Natalya to tap out. Michelle etched her name in WWE history by becoming the first WWE diva to win the WWE Divas Championship. Up until now, Michelle has been the only WWE Divas Champion as she has successfully defended the title against the likes of Natalya and Maryse. Both the Raw and Smackdown brands now enjoy competitive diva divisions thanks to the creation of the new belt. On Raw divas continue to fight for the prized Women's title and on Smackdown the newly created WWE Divas Championship has earned its spot in WWE history.