The WWE Divas Era was a period that lasted from 1999 to 2016 in which the primary focus was on attractive women who mainly served as eye candy for the fans. The first WWE Divas included Sable, Trish Stratus, Lita, Dawn Marie, The Kat, Jacqueline and Chyna (though she regularly competed against men and didn't fit the traditional Diva mold). It was also a period where fanservice matches such as pudding matches, bikini contests, costume matches, pillow fights, evening gown matches and of course, bra-and-panties matches as well as short two-minute matches were the norm.
In 2003, WWE introduced the WWE Diva Search which served as a competition for aspiring female wrestlers. The problem was that the competition was strictly reserved for models while experienced female wrestlers were largely ignored due to not having the right look. Among the notable women who competed in the Diva Search included winners such as Christy Hemme, Ashley Massaro, Layla and Eve Torres as well as the likes of Candice Michelle, Michelle McCool, Kristal Marshall, Maryse, Maria Kanellis, The Bella Twins and Rosa Mendes. Other notable women who were hired were Torrie Wilson and Stacy Keibler (both holdovers from WCW), Kelly Kelly, Alicia Fox, Beth Phoenix, Gail Kim, Victoria, Natalya, Melina, Jillian Hall and Katie Lea Burchill.
The beginning of the end of the Divas Era happened when Triple H replaced John Laurinaitis as WWE Head of Talent well as as the transformation of FCW to NXT in the summer of 2012. It became very clear that Triple H was not a fan of the models and instead started to hire independent wrestlers from the likes of SHIMMER, WSU and CZW as well as mixed martial artists and other athletic types. This resulted in the hires of such fan favorites such as Becky Lynch, Bayley, Sasha Banks, Asuka, Charlotte Flair and Rhea Ripley who became very popular with the fans. The term "Diva" eventually became discontinued at WrestleMania 32 as the WWE wanted to promote gender equality on its shows. Nowadays, the current WWE Women's Division has become one of the most entertaining parts of WWE programming with exciting matches as well as a diverse group of women representing all shapes, sizes and looks.
Tropes associated with the WWE Divas Era include:
- Faux Action Girl: With a few exceptions, most of the women from the Divas Era lacked any pro wrestling experience.
- The Generic Guy: During the Divas Era, most of the women had either two characters (the good girl babyface or the mean girl heel).
