WWE Divas Championship


 * This article is about the championship that is currently defended on the SmackDown brand of WWE. For Raw's women's championship, see WWE Women's Championship.

The World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Divas Championship is a professional wrestling championship in World Wrestling Entertainment. It is competed for by WWE Divas only and is exclusive to the SmackDown brand. The championship was created by WWE in 2008, and was introduced in storyline by SmackDown General Manager Vickie Guerrero as an alternative to Raw ' s Women's Championship.

Title reigns are determined either by professional wrestling matches with different wrestlers, involved in pre-existing scripted feuds, plots and storylines or are awarded the title due to scripted circumstances. Wrestlers are portrayed as either villains or fan favorites as they follow a series of tension-building events, which culminate into a wrestling match or series of matches for the championship. Michelle McCool became the inaugural champion on July 20, 2008 when she defeated Natalya (Nattie Neidhart) at The Great American Bash.

History
With the first WWE Brand Extension, a storyline division in which WWE assigns its employees to a different program, the others being Raw and ECW, in 2002, the WWE Women's Championship was to be defended on both brands. At some point that year, however, it became exclusive to the Raw brand. Thereafter, only Divas on the Raw brand were able to compete for the WWE Women's Championship, while the Divas on the SmackDown brand were unable to compete for a women's-exclusive championship. Only on four separate occasions was the regulation bypassed, when Torrie Wilson, Nidia (Nidia Guenard), Melina (Melina Perez), and Ashley Massaro challenged for the title while on the SmackDown! brand, but none of them ever won the title.

As a result, WWE created the WWE Divas Championship and introduced it in a storyline on the June 6, 2008 episode of Friday Night SmackDown, in which SmackDown General Manager Vickie Guerrero announced the creation of the title. The championship belt was officially unveiled on the July 4, 2008 episode of SmackDown. After winning respective matches to earn the opportunity to wrestle for the new championship, Michelle McCool defeated Natalya at The Great American Bash to become the inaugural champion.

Current champion
The current champion is Maryse, who is in her first reign. She defeated Michelle McCool at a SmackDown taping on December 22, 2008, which is set to air on December 26, in Toronto, Canada.