WWE Divas Title Should Return Says Former Star
A former WWE Superstar has called for the company to bring back the butterfly belt that represented the company’s polarising Divas Championship.
Back in the not-too-distant past, the female stars of WWE were labelled as Divas. The WWE Divas Championship was introduced in 2008, initially running alongside the more tenured WWE Women’s Championship until the belts were unified by Michelle McCool in 2010. From then the Divas Title was the sole women’s championship in WWE before it was retired at WrestleMania 32.
With women’s wrestling receiving more attention than ever and the in-ring product being as good as it is, some fans look back at the “Divas Era” as one where women’s wrestling was not treated seriously with some – unfairly or not – suggesting that the competitors of the era weren’t on a par with those that came before or since.
Speaking on Grapsody, Maria Kanellis questioned that theory and suggested a number of names from the time that could certainly bring the fight while she also advocated for the Divas Championship to return:
“There were a ton. Trish [Stratus], Lita, Ivory caught the tail end of that. Victoria, Molly was in that era. You had workers. Down the line, you have Beth [Phoenix], Melina, Mickie [James], Nattie. You had a ton of workers that came from the Indies too. It was a mix at that time.”
“I think they should bring back the Butterfly belt. I do. I know people will disagree with me and that’s fine. That’s why wrestling is great because when you watch wrestling, you don’t see everybody looking exactly the same.”
Maria Kanellis was a part of WWE at that time and says even now she still looks back fondly on the time and the label, saying she still considers herself a diva:
“I sometimes write in my Twitter messages, ‘Still a Diva.’ It had to [fluctuate]. You have to go all the way to the right and then all the way to the left and then somewhere in the middle we find what works the best. I still there’s a place for that.”
“I still think if you want to be glamorous and do more girly moves, that’s fine, that’s your style. If you want to be more aggressive and go out there with no makeup and wearing no shorts and t-shirt, fine. Talent comes in all forms. Sexy, there is a whole rainbow of sexy. That’s how society is.”
“I still consider myself a diva because it gave me the first opportunity in my career. I think some of those segments were funny and cute. We should have a little bit of humor to it. There is a place for everyone.”
A former WWE Divas Champion stole the headlines at AEW Grand Slam Dynamite when they made their debut for All Elite Wrestling.