A Period of Uncertainty
The WWE Divas Era remains incredibly polarizing today. For fans who grew up on the Attitude Era, this PG-rated chapter brought mixed feelings, plenty of disappointment, and a locker room full of underrated Divas whose true talents were pushed to the sidelines.
We watched the division plummet rapidly. Just years prior, Trish and Lita made history by main-eventing Raw. Fans invested deeply in rewarding storylines, like the famous Hair vs. Title match between Victoria and Molly Holly at WrestleMania.
Suddenly, everything changed. The company replaced solid 5-to-8-minute matches with rushed, 3-minute segments and quick pins. Consequently, it felt like WWE completely lacked care for its female performers.
However, time brings wisdom. When I look back now, I view this era through a different lens. This period was far from perfect, but it undeniably served as a revolutionary bridge for women in WWE. In fact, these performers laid the groundwork for modern milestones like Total Divas and the Women’s Revolution.
Today, we honor five incredible underrated divas. Fans may have overlooked their efforts back then, but their hard work gave us the exact entertainment we craved.
1. Melina
Melina debuted alongside Johnny Nitro and Joey Mercury as the mastermind of MNM. Remarkably, she connected with the live crowd the absolute second she walked through the curtain.
Her visual presentation was completely unmatched. From her Hollywood red carpet rollout to her jaw-dropping, ultra-flexible entrance split on the ring apron, she demanded attention. Furthermore, her work on the microphone was second to none. Very few Divas received promo time back then, but Melina turned every single second into pure theatrical entertainment.
Beneath the “Hollywood Siren” screech and the paparazzi cameras, however, stood an absolute pioneer. Melina constantly pushed the physical boundaries of what a Divas match could look like. She captured the Women’s Championship three times and the Divas Championship twice. As a result, she made history as the first woman to hold both titles multiple times.
She also proved her grit by competing against Beth Phoenix in WWE’s first-ever women’s “I Quit” match at One Night Stand 2008. Innovative maneuvers like her California Dream submission and her devastating Last Call powerbomb showed incredible athletic depth. Ultimately, Melina forced audiences to take the division seriously, even when segments only lasted three minutes.
2. Candice Michelle
Candice Michelle holds a unique distinction as our first Women’s Champion to come from the WWE Diva Search. At the time, critics dismissed the Diva Search contestants as simple models with zero wrestling background. Yet, when given a legitimate platform, Candice proved she could match the legendary accolades of fellow models-turned-wrestlers like Trish Stratus.
Early on, she primarily appeared in comedic backstage segments. She even briefly served as Christian Cage’s makeup artist. In later interviews, Candice admitted that while she lacked formal training initially, her lifelong love for the product helped her leverage her natural talents.
She quickly delivered iconic moments, including her famous Go Daddy “twirl” and her star wand. She also formed a key pillar of the early stable, Vince’s Devils.
However, her competitive feuds against Melina and “The Glamazon” Beth Phoenix truly defined her legacy. When she went toe-to-toe with Beth Phoenix, fans realized the Go Daddy girl was officially gone. In her place stood a fully reformed, legitimate professional wrestler.
3. Jillian Hall
Jillian Hall famously stands as our shortest-reigning Divas Champion in history. She first entered the main roster as the “fixer” for MNM. For some reason, WWE creative believed that adding a physical deformity to her face would elevate her character. Looking back, the ultimate purpose of that mole remains bizarre, but it undeniably caught the audience’s attention during her debut.
Ultimately, Jillian represents the definition of a “worker.” She was so exceptionally talented at her craft and dedicated to putting others over that fans frequently overlooked her true value. Yet, without Jillian’s commitment, we would lack classic, viral moments like the Boogeyman eating her mole.
In the ring, she secured a record-breaking title win by defeating the great Mickie James on Raw. Unfortunately, she lost the title a mere 4 minutes later to Melina. Despite the short reign, Jillian served as a critical anchor for the entire division. She was the trusted veteran whom inexperienced performers completely relied on to keep them safe and make them look like stars.
4. Maria
Maria began her WWE journey in the 2004 Diva Search, finishing in fifth place. Despite her elimination, management wisely recognized her charisma and hired her anyway. When she first hit television screens, her character relied on a naive, bubbly, and innocent “ditzy” persona. Consequently, her early matches focused mostly on model-based segments like bikini contests.
Interestingly, Maria is the only wrestler on this list who never held a championship belt in WWE. It says an immense amount about her talent that she sustained such a long, prominent wrestling career through pure character work alone.
While she never claimed to be a technical mat wizard, she operated as a psychological powerhouse. She seized every available second of television time. Because segments were limited to three minutes, Maria focused on drawing massive, organic crowd reactions. She became incredibly “over” with the fans.
In fact, her beloved babyface persona directly built the dominant heel version of Michelle McCool. Because Maria was so sweet and lovable, it created intense emotional heat when McCool finally snapped. The audience was genuinely shocked when McCool brutally dragged Maria through the barricade and down the steel steps. Her initial run left an permanent mark on the company.
5. Layla
Winning the 2006 Diva Search officially launched Layla’s historic WWE career. She successfully parlayed that reality show victory into championship gold, eventually winning both the original Women’s Title and the Divas Title. Like modern icon Naomi, Layla brought an elite professional dancing background to the ring, having danced for the NBA’s Miami Heat.
Layla remains a personal favorite because her character work provided pure entertainment. Whether she paired with Michelle McCool or valeted for Fandango later in her career, she always forced the crowd to interact with her performance.
Her historical impact is immense. She became the first British woman in company history to capture a title. Furthermore, her alliance with Michelle McCool as “Lay-Cool” revolutionized women’s storytelling before the division fully transitioned.
They famously co-ruled SmackDown as co-Women’s Champions, literally cutting the physical title belt in half. In reality, Lay-Cool acted as WWE’s first de facto women’s tag team champions. While their “Mean Girls” characters were basic bullies, they gave the era a genuinely dominant, cohesive faction.
Layla achieved so many milestones that it is hard to believe how easily fans forget her legacy. To top it all off, she won the high-stakes “Loser Leaves WWE” match that retired Michelle McCool, and she made history by competing in the first-ever Women’s Tables Match alongside McCool, Natalya, and Beth Phoenix.