After five years, Kelly Kelly‘s time has come.

The young Diva defeated Brie Bella tonight to become the new WWE Divas Champioon during a ‘Power to the People’ themed episode of Raw.

After winning a fan vote with 53% of the vote, Kelly beat out competition from Eve Torres and Beth Phoenix to earn the right to challenge Brie.

It was a coming of age moment of sorts for young K2, who celebrated her five year anniversary with WWE last week. Kelly had joined the roster at the tender age of 18 in 2006 and has very much grown before the WWE audience’s eyes.

Congratulations to the new champion!

How do you feel about K2′s victory? Tell us in the comments!

Brie Bella became the new WWE Divas Champion just moments ago on Raw, after defeating Eve Torres.

At the start of the match, Eve had the referee mark Brie’s hand to make sure the twins couldn’t switch during the match. Despite this, Nikki tried to switch places with Brie but was caught. The distraction allowed Brie to hit the X Factor and win the belt.

“I felt like I couldn’t stand up, I was so overwhelmed with emotion,” the new Divas Champion told WWE.com. “I really just took in every bit of it.”

“I really get to share this with my family,” the only female graduate of the Hart Dungeon said. “My dad kept saying how proud he is of me. He also said he had originally told me not to get into this business because he didn’t want to see me get hurt,” Natalya revealed. “I proved him wrong,” she said with a grin.

“I think about my life and what’s important to me sometimes. Working for WWE and being a Diva has really been the only thing that’s made me feel great about myself,” the new Divas Champion said. “I get to share this with my WWE family, the WWE Universe and my family. It’s a great feeling.”

You can read the full article here.

Once again, congratulations to Nattie.

Just announced tonight on Raw: The third generation Diva, Natalya will be facing off against not one, but both members of Lay-Cool at Survivor Series. Natalya has come up short on two occasions due to Lay-Cool’s antics in the past. How will she fare when both of the flawless ones are legal participants in the match? Can Natalya overcome the odds and finally bring home the Divas Championship?

Thoughts: This seems like the perfect opportunity for Natalya to recruit someone to have her back. Hmmmm… I hear a certain Glamazon is healing up pretty nicely…

It’s fair to say that WWE pay-per-views are either hits or misses. The events are either successful surprises or true epic fails all around. Bragging Rights was no exception. For once, it fell into the positive category as the WWE put together a strong show on all accounts, and for us Diva fans, we were treated to something truly special. The decision to put Layla in the ring against Natalya was met with some skepticism and a few eye-rolls, but judging from their SmackDown interaction it had all the ingredients to make a yummy recipe. To say Natalya versus Layla delivered would be an understatement. They put together a gorgeous, pure wrestling match that told a story and left everyone wanting just a little more. Michelle McCool once again put on a flawless performance on the microphone and on the outside of the ring. And to add the icing to this already delicious cake, Aksana and Maryse got involved in the Bragging Rights action by fighting for their men during the Goldust/Ted DiBiase grudge match.

What a night.

The match us Diva fans waited patiently for all night kicked off in grand style. Lay-Cool made their way to the ring and they had microphones in their hands. Layla and Michelle walked out on stage where Layla promptly demanded that the sound techs in the back cut their music. Once it was quiet, Layla turned to Michelle and with a cheeky little grin, she told her BFF that Natalya was no doubt excited to have a title match in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Michelle looked confused and wanted to know why Natalya could be excited over such a thing and Layla simply pointed out that Nattie would be at home amongst all the stupid accents. Massive heat for that comment. Michelle chuckled and began to imitate the accent in question. She said the men in Minnesota like their women larger because it’s so cold. Layla agreed and said that by the looks of things, it got extremely cold in Minnesota. Cue the collective “brrrrrrrrrrrrr”. Lay-Cool got inside the ring and Michelle continued speaking. She said that the comfortable surroundings won’t help Natalya out tonight. She’s going to need more help than that because tonight, they (Lay-Cool) will beat Natalya faster than they can delete all those text messages they keep getting from Brett Favre.

Real Talk. Ewwwwwww. Stop. According to Lay-Cool, Favre is doing nothing but embarrassing himself. Both members of Lay-Cool agree that Brett can’t help himself when it comes to them because they are flawless. They started to check their reflections in their championships when Natalya’s music hit. The third generation Diva walked to the ring with a smile etched across her lovely face. The commentators went over the fact that this match was for the WWE Diva’s Championship (apparently they’ve dropped the ‘unified’ part) and Natalya played to the crowd. Both girls got ready for the match and when the bell rang, Natalya and Layla started to circle one another. They went for a lock-up but Natalya effortlessly scooped up Layla and grounded her. She tried to work over Layla’s arm, but the British-born Diva was able to reverse it into a headscissors. Natalya was able to spring out of it and land on her feet, but Layla responded with a swift kick to the back of Nattie’s thigh. Layla took hold of Natalya’s wrist and started to twist it, but Natalya flipped through it, reversed it, and got Layla up in the air. While holding Layla upside, Natalya showed off her strength by doing a few squats, an homage to her late uncle, the British Bulldog Davey Boy Smith. She planted Layla in the mat and went for a cover. Layla kicked out right before the two.

Natalya brought the two of them to their feet and locked her arms round Layla’s waist. Layla screamed like a banshee and started to struggle against Nattie’s grip. Layla tried to fight her way to the ropes, but Natalya ripped her from that safety net. But Layla was able to land an elbow to Natalya’s face and subsequently dropped her to the outside of the ring with a dropkick. Natalya landed hard on the outside and Layla seized the opportunity to collect her bearings. When she went to the ropes, Natalya was waiting and Layla found herself hurled from the safety of the ring to the outside. Natalya picked Layla up and tossed her back inside the ring. With the referee distracted by the screaming co-champ, Michelle tried to assert herself in the match. Nattie deflected a kick and sent Michelle back first into the guardrail. The crowd gasped at the sheer force of the impact and Michelle crumpled to the mat. Natalya went off on her blond rival and turned her attention back towards the ring.

Layla was waiting and she attempted to lift Nattie back inside by grabbing a handful of hair. The referee pulled her off and that allowed Michelle to gingerly sneak up behind Natalya and jerk her off the apron. The back of Natalya’s head bounced off the mat. With Natalya down, Layla went back to the outside and successfully tossed her opponent back inside the ring. Natalya was on her knees holding her head, and Layla followed up Michelle’s interference with a nice drop kick that sent Nattie’s face into the canvas. Layla went for the cover, but Nattie was able to power out.

Wanting to keep her offense going, Layla decided to lock Natalya in a submission move. She grabbed the arm and put Natalya in a gorgeous modified surfboard submission hold. Natalya withered in the hold for awhile, pain obvious thanks to the look on her face, and she finally started to pound her fist against Layla’s thigh in desperation. Layla let up on the hold and Natalya squirmed free, only to get on top of Layla. Layla locked her legs around Natalya’s waist and started squeezing her. Natalya tried to fight free but Layla reached up and slapped her right across the face. That proved to be a mistake for Layla, because Nattie fired with a slap of her own and brought Layla up. The co-champ found herself planted into the canvas thanks to another beautiful slam from the Calgary native but Nattie was unable to immediately follow it up. Once she finally went for it, Layla caught her and the two girls exchanged blows. Natalya finally gained the upper-hand with a nice looking clothesline that sent Layla sprawling. Natalya went for another cover, but Layla once again kicked out.

Both Divas got back to their feet and Layla struck Natalya with a kick to the gut. Layla was able to whip Natalya into the ropes, but Natalya came back with a clubbing blow to the back of Layla’s neck. She followed it up with a double underhook suplex and two clothesline each time Layla got back to her feet. The third time Layla attempted to stand, Nattie caught her with a devastating right hand. Natalya tossed Layla into t he corner right after that and charged the other girl, but Layla got her foot up just in the nick of time. Natalya staggered back but caught Layla with a dropkick. Natalya went for the pin and this time, Layla BARELY got her shoulder up. Both girls once again worked their way back to their feet and Natalya spun around to deliver her fancy trademark clothesline. Layla crashed and burned, but came alive when Natalya went to finish the match off with the Sharpshooter. Layla scratched and clawed her way to the ropes and a helpless Michelle stood on the outside unable to help her friend. Layla finally reached her destination and promptly rolled out of the ring.

She’d had enough.

Layla snatched her title from the broadcast booth and threw her hands up in disgust. She decided to walk out of the match and that decision was met with massive crowd heat. Michelle grabbed her championship and ran after Layla, asking her what was going on. Layla stuck her nose in the air. Natalya jumped from the ring and ran after them. She tossed Michelle to the side like an empty tin can and grabbed Layla by the hair. She ran Layla back into the ring and turned her attention to Michelle. Nattie berated Michelle and told her to stay out of this and Michelle promised that she didn’t do anything wrong. Nattie climbed back inside while the referee walked the Diva’s Championship out of the ring. Layla rolled to the outside but Natalya went right after her. As she was attempting to pull Layla back inside the ring, Michelle came swooping in and kicked Natalya right in the skull. Natalya fell back and Layla went for the cover.

1…

2…

…………………..3!

Layla secured the pinfall and Lay-Cool’s championship reign of terror remained intact. Michelle pulled Layla from the ring and together, the girls celebrated another successful victory. Natalya looked heart-broken inside the ring and we can only hope she gets the opportunity to fight for the title another day.

Random Observations: Ohmygod, wow. I called it during my SmackDown Redux on Friday that I felt as if Natalya and Layla could put together an epic match, and well I hate to brag, but I was totally right! What amazing chemistry between these two women. This match had a little bit of everything. It had a hilarious opening promo, great heel tactics, wonderful babyface offense, and a twist at the end that kept Natalya looking strong despite the fact she couldn’t get the job done. Where do I even want to begin?

Michelle and Layla heeled it up perfectly last night. They went for the cheap heat and they got it big-time. Michelle was great with her impersonation and Layla ripping on anyone for having an accent is just brilliant writing in my opinion.

The WWE has done the right thing with this Lay-Cool push. It pisses me off when I see people bashing them. For so long the fans have been begging for Diva promos, storylines, and matches that matter and when they finally get it, the fans bitch because they don’t like the girls who are involved. Is there any middle ground? Why can’t people see past their own personal bias and snobbery and recognize the work that is being done. Lay-Cool aren’t being pushed anymore than the Nexus, Cena, Orton, Edge, ect. are being pushed and to be quite honest, it’s flattering that the ‘E seems to have faith in at least two of the girls on their roster.

I’ll admit some of the Lay-Cool feuds have fallen flat. I didn’t care for their half-assed feud with Melina a few months ago but neither Lay-Cool nor Melina are to blame for that. The writing and build-up for that was pure crap, and it didn’t help that Melina was rushed into the storyline right as she came back from injury. The Michelle/Melina angles in the past have been nothing short of top notch, so the WWE missed the ball on that one. But they’ve made up for it with Natalya versus Lay-Cool.

Natalya has made the most of her push and she’s been basically perfect in this feud. I love how she’s been booked and personally, I don’t see why everyone was quick to write last night’s match off as horrible simply because Nattie didn’t pick up the W. That’s a huge disrespect to Natalya. Does the outcome really matter when two women like Natalya and Layla throw it all out there like they did last night? The match was perfect. It was pay-per-view quality and it stood out by itself on a night that was filled nothing BUT great matches. I think it’s a selfish injustice for people to write the match off because Natalya wasn’t given the victory. She worked her butt off last night and who cares if she didn’t win? There’s always next and yes, there will be a next time. So put that in your juice box and suck it. I guarantee that there would have been an even bigger uproar had Layla gone over Natalya cleanly last night.

This match was memorable on so many levels. Natalya doing squats while holding Layla up was just incredible. Layla getting so frustrated that she just up and walked out on the match was just vintage heel right there. Yeah, I used vintage. The hold for hold exchange at the beginning was beautiful and proved that Layla is no longer a model trying to be a wrestler. She is a true wrestler. How can you not respect the fact she’s come so far?

This match was amazing. For the first time in a long time, I was able to watch the Divas wrestle and not have to be satisfied because they put on a great Diva match. I got to sit back and watch the girls put on a strong wrestling match. And that alone makes Bragging Rights the best WWE pay-per-view of the year.

Match Rating: 5/5

A delicious match between Natalya and Layla wasn’t the only thing us Diva fans were treated too. Earlier in the day, via Twitter, WWE announced that there would be a grudge match of sorts between Goldust and Ted DiBiase. The WWE made sure everyone knew that Aksana and Maryse would be at ringside with their respected male counterpart. Watch below:

Throughout the course of the match, Maryse constantly tormented Aksana, who did her best to rally the crowd behind her future husband. At one point, Maryse got annoyed that Aksana continued to ignore her.

Towards the end of the match when both Goldust and DiBiase were down for the count, a huge cheer went up through the crowd. Maryse ran to Aksana’s side of the ring and began to attack her. Aksana was watching the match, reacting to the fact Goldust and DiBiase had a pretty violent mid-air collision, when Maryse comes flying at her from the side. Aksana fell to the ground but that wasn’t enough for Maryse. She helped Aksana up and threw her back first into the security railing. Maryse backed her against it, held her in her devious French-Canadian clutches, and began screaming in the poor girl’s face. Aksana never fought back and Maryse unleashed the mother of all bitchslaps that connected on Aksana’s cheek. Maryse attempted to through Aksana into the ring, but she didn’t quite make it. That didn’t disturb Maryse. She just did it again and this time Aksana rolled into the ring, clutching her face and crying.

The referee went to check on Aksana, and Goldust did as well. The referee got the NXT rookie out of the way and while Goldust had his back turned, DiBiase came up from behind. Goldust was clubbed in the back of the head and laid out with a modified neck breaker. I don’t know the correct way of describing it, to be fair. He won the match and as his terrible theme music started to play, Maryse went to Justin Roberts and grabbed the Million Dollar Championship. She brought it back into the ring and was going to hand it off to Ted when Aksana came at her and took her down. She began to slam Maryse’s head into the mat and once she rolled the other girl out of the ring, Aksana scooped up the championship and started to cradle it like it was her baby.

Of course, DiBiase was watching. Aksana caught his eye and immediately fixed her hair. That bright smile flashed across her face and she walked a little closer to Ted. The Southern-born millionaire stared deep into the eyes of the Lithuianian beauty and Aksana placed her hand directly on Ted’s chest. She started to feel his body while seducing him with her eyes. DiBiase looked intrigued and rather than checking on his girlfriend, who was on the outside of the ring, he started to give into Aksana’s feminine wiles. He began to smile and his hand touched Aksana’s back. She brought him in for a kiss. Right when DiBiase was about to go for it, Aksana jerked back. She frowned. DiBiase turned around. Goldust was waiting. DiBiase was flattened by Goldust’s finisher and the golden couple of NXT waltzed off into the Bragging Rights sunset with the Million Dollar Championship still firmly in their grasps.

Random Observations: How adorable are Aksana and Goldust? You can say what you want about NXT but these two are enough of a reason to watch. From their ring entrance to Aksana’s seduction of Ted “The Chick-O-Stick Colored” DiBiase, Aksana and Goldust are a duo to be reckoned with. In my oh so humble opinion, the Maryse/Aksana catfight on the outside of the ring rivaled the Tiffany/Rosa Mendes catfight from the last episode of ECW and I never thought I’d write that. Aksana got tore up on the outside of the ring. Maryse was a total beast last night. She clubbed Aksana in her sneak again and damn near broke the poor girl in half when she smashed her against the guardrail. Maryse was at her best last night and we haven’t seen that in a long, long time.

Aksana’s interaction with Ted made him the most interesting he’s been since the Legacy days and lets be real, that stable wasn’t very good. It was just pretty to look at. Whenever Ted’s on camera with Maryse, I watch her because he’s just so bland and out of his element. It pains me to write that because I’m such a fan of his, but it’s the unfortunate truth. He may be a great wrestler, but he lacks charisma and so far, not even Maryse has helped get him over. I do feel like he took a nice step though. Between the combined efforts of Maryse, Aksana, and Goldust, Ted finally showed some personality. I love the fact he was a “typical male” last night and fell victim to a busty blond with a pretty smile. His girlfriend was on the outside of the ring and the fact Maryse could have been hurt didn’t seem to faze him as Aksana presented herself to him. That was great.

And come to think of it, the pre-match promo with Ted, Maryse, and Josh Mathews wasn’t to shabby either. When Maryse jumped in to speak, Ted cut her off and politely reminded her that the question was directed at him.

The Ted/Maryse angle seems to be developing some substance now and I don’t know about you, but I would love to see them crash Aksana and Goldust’s wedding right before the couple can say “I do” with the news that Aksana has conviently been eliminated from NXT. As shockwaves reverberate throughout the arena, Ted snaps his fingers and immigration officers appear. They cart Aksana off as the show comes to an end much to the shock and horror of Goldust. Ted stands proudly in the ring having made good on his promise to get Aksana deported and suddenly you have a feud that is nothing but personal. Love it!

As if you couldn’t tell, I stand up for Bragging Rights (har har). As a Diva fan, I’m completely over the moon at what I got to watch last night. If the WWE could consistantly book like this, then they would be well on their way to gaining back all the female wrestling fans they’ve driven away with their nonsensical misogynistic views towards women. I want more Nattie. I want more Lay-Cool. I want more Maryse and Aksana. I want more Divas. I hope and pray that by some grace of God, Raw can match up to what Bragging Rights offered.

The belt was referred to under that name in the early weeks following last month’s Night of Champions match which saw the Divas and Women’s Championships unified.

In the last week or so, the ‘Unified’ has been dropped on television and on WWE.com.

From now on, the belt is simply the Divas Championship with Lay-Cool being referred to as ‘Co-Divas Champions’.

Seeing as how the match is being contested under Lumberjill rules, all the WWE Divas (including a pissy looking Layla) make their way out to the ring first. There are a crap ton of fashion mistakes going on tonight but the Bella Twins certainly look nice, as does Maryse. The Lumberjills get settled around the ring and Michelle’s theme music begins to play. She walks out with both halves of the Women’s Championship and she’s rocking some fierce new red gear. Unfortunately, she gets absolutely no reaction from the crowd during her entrance. Michelle poses with the belt and then Melina’s music hits. She waltzs out to an absolutely massive pop and sadly, she is not in new ring gear. She gets on the apron of the ring and sinks down into her sexy split, and that’s when Michelle decides to attack. Melina hops up just in the nick of time and Michelle ends up on the mat.

Melina goes after her but both women end up in the ring. Michelle scrambles to the ropes and Melina stands tall and proud. Melina sheds her fur vest and the bell rings. The match is on. Both girls lock up and begin to jockey for position. Michelle forces Melina back into the corner, but Melina whips it around. Michelle forces her foe to the ground and both roll around before tumbling out of the ring. They finally break the hold and both girls get to their feet. Several Lumberjills stand around and wait for their cue, but Michelle diverts their attention by slapping Rosa across the face and getting in the ring. None of the Lumberjills bother to attack Melina and she slides back into the ring after kicking Michelle in the stomach. She then throws her down by the hair and starts throwing forearms. Melina throws herself into the ropes and attempts what looks like a hurricanrana, but it doesn’t work out. Instead she lands on her feet and Kaval kicks (hee hee) Michelle to the ground. Melina goes back at Michelle but the co-Women’s Champion is able to fend her off. They both block a kick from each other and end up in the corner.

The fight goes on until finally Melina gains the upper-hand. She throws Michelle’s legs through the ropes and climbs up to the top turnbuckle on her knees. She signals for one of her trademarks but Michelle anticipates it and throws Melina off the top rope onto the concrete. The Lumberjills make no move to go after Melina. The LA beauty is slow to her feet but she finally ends up back inside. Michelle is waiting and takes Melina down. Michelle begins laying into Melina with kicks and forearms, and goes for the cover. She only gets a two. Melina is picked up but only to be knocked down again not once, but twice. She tries to get up using the ropes but Michelle is absolutely relentless. Her offense continues and she locks Melina in a head scissor.s The Diva’s Champ tries to get out of it and eventually Michelle breaks the hold. Thinking that she’s sufficiently worn Melina down, Michelle goes for the Faith Breaker.

Melina pulls herself up into a mid-air sitting position and fights her way out of the move. Michelle gets planted face first into the mat and Melina gingerly goes on the attack. Michelle is able to get Melina in a belly-to-belly suplex and ground her, and then she goes for the pin. Afterward, things get interesting when Natalya decides to get involved. She distracts Michelle and they have a heated exchange. This draws the attention of the official in charge and while he is chastising Nattie, Melina rolls Michelle up for the victory. She seriously has the FSU grad pinned for a count of 234972039874234 before home dude turns around and begins to count. It surprises no one when Michelle kicks out.

Michelle is quick to her feet and takes down Melina with a clothesline. Then she jumps to the outside. She goes right for Nattie, but the one-on-one doesn’t last. All the Lumberjills get involved and they start tearing Michelle to pieces. There’s a funny moment when Rosa tries to throw a punch at Jillian, but Jillian blocks it. That was an obvious miscommunication/epic fail. Anyway, the girls toss Michelle back in the ring and Melina takes control. She eventually ends up laying Michelle out on the ropes and using them for her own momentum, Melina charges towards her blonde headed opponent and lands in the middle of Michelle’s back on her knees. Melina lets out a Primal Scream and Michelle rushes her. Melina drops into a back bend to miss whatever Michelle was trying to throw, but Michelle catches on and slams Melina to the mat. She forces Melina in the corner and sets her on the top rope.

Now things get tricky.

I can’t tell if this was a botch or planned. Michelle looks to be going for a superplex but maybe she missed her footing because all of a sudden both girls take a big tumble to the outside of the ring. None of the Lumberjills except for Nattie make a move. Natalya throws one punch but that’s it. Gail Kim goes to help Melina up and things temporarily stop for a few seconds. Once Melina is safely inside the ring, the girls start attacking Michelle again. This gives Miss Layla El all the time in the world to waltz into the ring and start beating down Melina. Melina fights back and she dumps Layla to the outside. The Divas turn their focus on Layla and Michelle slips away. She gets back in the ring and greets Melina with a big boot to the skull. Melina goes down and Michelle makes the cover. Layla climbs back into the ring and the Lay-Cool lovefest is on. The girls hug and celebrate next to Melina’s fallen body and every other Diva stands there disgusted over what just transpired. Lay-Cool celebrate on their way up the ramp while the face Divas get in the ring to console Melina and watch in horror.

Observations: Lots to talk about so lets get started. The match didn’t do it for me. I thought this was one of their worst matches in my opinion. It seemed sloppy and their transitions were slow. They do have amazing chemistry, but tonight it wasn’t working as well as it usually does. I think the factors involved contributed to that. They weren’t able to hit as hard like they did at NOC ’09 and that’s due to the fact their outside action was limited. What I did enjoy about the match is how the Lumberjills played a huge part. I really enjoyed the story they told tonight. The fact all of them were just waiting for Michelle to get tossed on the outside was brilliant. I really enjoyed seeing them gang up on her. Layla sneaking in the ring was pretty good, but the ending was predictable.

I didn’t want Michelle to win. I really thought Melina deserved it out of the two. Michelle has accomplished so much already and I wanted Melina to have this moment. That said, I think the forgotten element in all this is Layla. She did get screwed out of an epic opportunity and I can’t wrap my head around why that happened to her. Layla has improved so much and as the woman on record as the actual holder of the Women’s Championship this should have been her moment. The only thing I can think of to justify this is that perhaps the WWE went with Michelle in this case because she and Melina do bring out the best in each other. I may not have been crazy about the match, but it is the best thing we’ve seen on television in a very long time from any combination of Divas.

The parts of the match that stand out the most to me are the beginning when Melina is down in her split entrance. Michelle has attacked her before from that position but this time the savvy vetran was waiting for her. All the Lumberjills ganging up on Michelle was another highlight. We’ve never seen that in one of these matches before and it was nice seeing everyone play a role tonight. Last but not least, Rosa’s epic fail with Jillian was another highlight. I’m not sure what happened there but Rosa got real confused. It was a nice little hot mess and you know me! I looooove hot messes!

Tonight’s pay-per-view was a whole was just okay. There’s nothing more to really say. I wish the outcome would have been different, but Michelle is a good champion. She’s got a damn good storyline on SmackDown and I’m definitely anxious to see where this is going to lead. How close is the Glamazon to returning? Is the Hart Dynasty title loss a blessing for Natalya? What happens to the Raw girls now? Where does Melina go? The questions could go on and on, but this Redux is coming to a close. Hell In A Cell is only two weeks away. Wonder if there will be a Diva match on that one?

Match Rating: 3/5

It looks like the new unified championship will carry on the lineage of the Divas Championship which was launched in 2008, as Michelle McCool is listed as the new champion on the WWE.com title history for that belt.

Meanwhile, Michelle isn’t the only Diva to make history tonight. It seems the historic 60+ year lineage of the Women’s Championship has ended with Layla being recognised as the final Women’s Champion, according to that belt’s title history.

It could be possible that WWE resurrects the Women’s Title somewhere down the line but for now, Layla book-ends the history of the Women’s Title along with The Fabulous Moolah. Truly the end of an era.

The WWE Divas and Women’s Championships will be unified at Night of Champions when Melina faces either Layla or Michelle McCool.

The match will also be a lumberjack match with all the other WWE Divas surrounding the ring.

Night of Champions takes place on September 19th.

A-List Diva, Melina became Divas Champion just moments ago at SummerSlam, defeating Alicia Fox in her hometown of Los Angeles, California.

However, Melina’s celebration was cut short by SmackDown Divas, Lay-Cool who attacked the new Divas Champ, leaving her unconscious after Michelle hit her with a sick running knee into the announce table.

EDIT: As a result of Melina’s title win, the term ‘Melina’ began trending worldwide on Twitter. Double congrats to Melina!

We have a new Divas Champion! Alicia Fox was just crowned the new champion moments ago defeating Eve Torres, Maryse and Gail Kim in a fatal four-way match.

After Eve hit a moonsault on Maryse, Alicia quickly re-entered the ring, throwing Eve out and stealing the win by pinning Maryse.

This is Fox’s first major championship in professional wrestling. Her only other credit is the OVW Women’s Championship.

Fox — real name Victoria Crawford — joined WWE in 2006 along with Kelly Kelly after being scouted in a catalogue. She spent two years in the developmental system before making her main roster debut in the summer of 2008.

At just 23 years old, Fox makes history as the youngest Diva to win the Divas Championship. I believe [but don't quote me on this] she may even be the youngest Diva to win a WWE championship, period. [Wendi Richter won the Women's Title at age 22].

New WWE Divas Champion, Eve Torres posted the following on her WWE Universe page just hours after winning the belt:

I am still on a high! This feeling is indescribable. Who would have thought, 3 years ago when I was just interviewing for the WWE Diva Search, that I would hold the WWE Divas Championship in my hands tonight. In some eyes, I may still be considered a rookie to the Divas division, but I have had my eye on the title since I was interviewing champions backstage. Tonight, I realized how far believing in yourself, working hard, training hard, and most importantly, acting with respect and integrity can take you in life. I would not be able to call myself Divas Champion if I hadn’t taken the opportunity to learn from the best. When you respect your teammates, coworkers, teachers, or superiors, which in my case, happens to be other WWE Superstars, and even my opponents, they will respect you… and want to help you succeed. No one gets anywhere in life on their own, and without the guidance of those with more experience than you. But beyond the help and advice of others, I also respected and believed in myself. I knew in my heart that if I worked and trained hard enough, and continued to believe in my own potential, that this opportunity would eventually present itself. And here I stand, Divas Champion!!

And truthfully, I feel that now is only the beginning! The hard work and discipline gets turned up ten notches, because now that I have won the title, I have to keep it! I have to defend it, and bring honor and pride to the WWE Divas Championship every time I do. So the training continues, and the matches and opponents will continue to get harder, but I am definitely up for the challenge. I have a feeling that Maryse may be a little upset ;-) so I am sure the heat will be turned up with every encounter.

It’s been a whirlwind 24 hours for Eve and the Divas division. I’m definitely intrigued to see where Raw goes next with Eve firmly in her place as the new top babyface of that brand. Roll on next week to find out!

Congratulations to Eve Torres on becoming the new WWE Divas Champion on an edition of Raw taped in London, England earlier tonight.

Eve’s title win makes some history as she becomes the first Diva Search winner to win a championship.

Torres defeated Maryse, a two time Divas Champ, for the belt.

The finals for the Divas Championship Tournament are set to (finally) take place in less than two weeks at the Elimination Chamber PPV. Maryse will take on Gail Kim, obviously, and we will at last have some closure for the tournament that was prompted all the way back in December when champion Melina injured her knee.

The Divas Championship tournament comes to an end tonight when Gail Kim and Maryse battle it out for the gold silver in the finals. Who will be the new Divas Champion? Will Gail Kim make history and complete the trifecta of singles gold in WWE and TNA? Will Maryse make history by becoming the first multi-time Divas Champ? The Diva Dirt writers weigh in with their predictions:

Cryssi: Are predictions really needed for this? It’s been set in stone since Maryse needed surgery that when she returned her precious butterfly belt will be waiting on her. We already know she was supposed to go over Melina. We already know this tournament is just a pointless way of giving her the title back without it being to obvious. She’s the only Diva on Raw who gets mic time. She has random little bits and pieces with the Miz (who for some reason the WWE thinks is better than John Morrison). Maryse is the WWE’s ‘it’ girl and there is nothing any of us can do about it. That said… I’m picking Gail Kim to win the Diva’s Championship. Why the hell not?

Erin: I feel like it’s been obvious from the start that this has been Maryse’s tournament to lose. Meaning, it’s been all about her from the get-go (if placing her in the forefront of the tournament by putting her on commentary and giving her mic time when no other Divas receives the same didn’t make it obvious) and the only twist the tournament could have had is if someone shockingly managed to defeat her. I didn’t see that happening, and it didn’t. Pitting her against Gail was another obvious move, but it’s not because I feel that the WWE is jonesing to put the Divas Championship on Gail–it’s because she was the default top babyface in Melina’s stead and thus is the one destined to be the last one to fall to Maryse. Still, maybe she can have a title feud with Maryse as a consolation prize. But the point is that tonight, Maryse will win the Divas Championship. It was destined to happen back before Melina got injured, and Maryse’s victory tonight will fulfill that destiny.

Melanie: First let me just say, Cryssi I love your style haha! Anyway, WWE has made no effort in masking the chances of both of these Divas. Let us compare: Gail’s qualifying match was on WWE Superstars, Maryse is guaranteed a spot on Raw every week. After Gail and Maryse had advanced and there were just two spots to be filled, Gail was nowhere to be seen during the Alicia-Kelly match but Maryse was ever-so prominent in the Eve-Katie match. Last week in the semis, Maryse got a better spot with more time and got to cut a promo before her match. Gail didn’t get an entrance and her victory celebration was cut short for a segment between Alicia Fox and Dule Hill. We know WWE always has their favourites so it’s not Maryse’s fault, but if you’re going to have a tournament at least freakin’ try and mask that the girls all have equal opportunity. There’s nothing to suggest Gail will win tonight. Maryse is the hot act right now and she has it in the bag.

Fresh from crowning a new Women’s Champion, WWE will crown a new Divas Champion tonight as Gail Kim and Maryse compete in the finals of the Divas Championship tournament tonight on Raw.

The Divas Title was vacated one month ago when former champion, Melina suffered an injury at a house show.

Announced for next week is a semi-final match between Alicia Fox and Gail Kim.

Feeling lucky? In this new feature we’ve dubbed Playing the Odds, we will weigh the odds of certain Diva or Knockout events occurring, be it a championship win or heel turn.

We classify each like so: if the event’s occurrence is highly unlikely, it gets the Long Shot stamp; if it’s within the realm of possibility, it’s a Safe Bet; if it is extremely likely, it is a Sure Thing. Now, this does not mean everything we brand a Sure Thing is destined to happen–it just lines up with what we feel to be feasible from precedent or a person’s current position. Also, this is from our point of view, so don’t take this as fact or anything of the sort.

In this first edition, we will take a look at the ongoing Divas Championship Tournament, seeing which Raw Divas have the best shot at coming out on top. We may not be in Vegas, but we’re placing our bets anyways–take a look at ours and make a few of your own in the comments.

Alicia Fox
Odds: Safe Bet. Even though the WWE has been noticeably fickle about giving Alicia big pushes (they’re more of a “now-you-see-it-now-you-don’t” type thing), she is certainly a rising star in the company. They have felt comfortable giving her title shots before (twice, actually), and though her pushes were always short lived, they showed that she’s not destined to be merely a background player. Comparatively, a Diva such as Layla, who is still pretty much a background player, has never seen the kinds of pushes Alicia has been given. This makes us believe that Alicia might have better luck than her “replacement” (remember, Alicia was Michelle’s tag along first). This year could hold Alicia’s big breakout, and winning this tournament or even giving a good showing in it could effectively kick-start that. Though, as promising as her future looks, the WWE’s fickleness when it comes to her makes us hesitate to give her our full confidence in this tournament. It’s certainly possible that she could go all the way, but we’re not going to be betting the farm on it either.

Brie Bella
Odds: Long Shot. Yes, she’s already out of the tournament, which makes this sort of irrelevant, but when looking at it from an objective standpoint, pretending that the match had not taken place yet, it’s quite the long shot to picture Brie getting pushed all the way to the title. It’s not that we lack the faith in Brie having success on her own, but with the way the WWE books Brie and her sister–that is, extremely inconsistently–it’s tough to imagine the WWE giving either of them a title run. They seem to only use them in the ring when they need extra bodies. Otherwise, it’s escort duty fro the GM of the week. Bottom line, there’s just been no real investment made in the Bellas by the WWE. Until the WWE starts taking them seriously as competitors, they pose no real threat.

Read more to see how the other Raw Divas’ odds stack up.

Eve Torres
Odds: Safe Bet. While her move to Raw has pretty much cut the legs off of her in-ring progression, that doesn’t mean she isn’t improving or not worthy of a serious push–the WWE just hasn’t seen fit to give her the ring time she had on SmackDown, and it has hurt her as a result. Being demoted to backstage segments and randomly pairing her with Chris Masters isn’t using her to her full potential, to say the least. We obviously feel that there are big things in store for Eve, but her treatment on Raw so far hasn’t been foretelling a serious push. With Melina’s injury, though, it leaves the top babyface spot wide open, and Eve could be a prime candidate for that spot. This question is, will the WWE see fit to use her as such, or will she remain in the state of regression that resulted from one of the most ill-fated Diva draft moves in recent memory?

Gail Kim
Odds: Sure Thing. She’s passed the first round, and has all the flash and pizazz that could easily place her in that open top babyface spot, so this gives us a bit of a hunch that she might just make it to the finals, if not capture the title. She certainly has some momentum going, having already got that one win under her belt, so she has a leg up on the other babyfaces in that respect. Overall, when we look at the candidates, no babyface stands out as much as Gail–she has that experience of holding a title (both in the WWE and TNA), and she’s certainly not inexperienced. She would be the safest bet for the writers to take if they wanted a face champ to, say, be chased by Maryse, as Melina was. She, we believe, could step up in Melina’s place better than any other Diva at their disposal. Many Diva fans would be all for it, too–a crowd pleasing move and a feasible one in the business sense–what could be better?

Jillian
Odds: Long Shot. Again, as with Brie, this is irrelevant, as she has already been eliminated from the tournament. Still, judging by Jillian’s lack of luck when it comes to pushes (she held the Divas Championship for a hot minute and went on the have a botch-filled mini-feud with Melina that the WWE pulled the plug on pretty quickly) it seems like the WWE lacks faith in Jillian, especially now given her lackluster feud with Melina. They seem content to make her a side show act, and a serious push towards the Divas Championship seems out of the question. Now, given all of this, it’s no big surprise that she was the second Diva eliminated, but I don’t think anyone had much faith in her chances to begin with. Maybe some day Jillian will get another moment in the sun, but it ain’t now.

Kelly Kelly
Odds: Sure Thing. While we have every confidence in Gail’s ability to pick up Melina’s slack, it’s no sure thing that the WWE would go for her. The more obvious candidate for the company to call on is her blonde counterpart. Kelly is easily the biggest crowd-pleaser of the babyfaces, getting the biggest Diva crowd reaction pretty consistently. While usually the WWE have used those sympathetic qualities in a more humbling way–as a glorified heel punching bag–they could easily spin that into a full-fledged push as the brand’s top face. If the WWE are looking for a solid figure for the fans to get behind, Kelly is the one. There have been underdog champions before (early Trish, to name one) and it is realistic to think that the WWE would go for that. She’s arguably the face of the WWE Divas in mass marketing already, so why wouldn’t the WWE want to actually push her to the forefront–in more than just commercials and Slurpee cups?

Maryse
Odds: Sure Thing. We’ve already expressed our concerns that the tournament could end in the most predictable way possible–crowning Maryse as Divas Champion. It really is the most obvious choice, as she was destined to win the championship sooner or later, had Melina not been taken out with her injury. The WWE could have easily given her the championship in a Battle Royal and saved all the fuss that comes with an 8-Diva tournament, but this provides the opportunity to build Maryse up to the title in a way that the Battle Royal wouldn’t–she’ll defeat her competition in place of Melina and assume the position she would have been in eventually. It’s highly predictable, as we’ve said, and we sincerely hope that it doesn’t turn out to be so obvious. It’s not that we don’t have faith in Maryse to be a decent champion, it’s just that it takes all the fun out of things when you can see the ending from a mile away. Still, this is by far the safest bet of them all. Put your life savings on this one, folks.

Nikki Bella
Odds: Long Shot. With Brie already eliminated, it doesn’t leave much hope for Nikki’s chances. The WWE, as we mentioned above, doesn’t seem all that sure what they want to do with the Bellas. Whether they wrestle or not, it seems unlikely that they would push one over the other, especially to such heights as the Divas Championship. The short-lived sibling rivalry was ret-conned rather quickly too, so don’t expect a split any time soon. By the way, with Nikki taking the pin for Brie, that would make for an interesting squabble between the two, with Brie claiming that Nikki has been eliminated, and not her. Of course, the powers the be could then just disqualify them both for admitting to cheating. Ah well..

How do you think the odds stack up? Vote for what you think it the best bet below and let us know how you see it in the comments
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Brackets are subject to change if WWE changes up the semi-final matches.

We’ve also put together a play-along brackets sheet for you to print off and/or mess around with in Photoshop/Paint/whatever. Just fill out your predictions, upload it somewhere and reply here in the comments with the link or send it to us via Twitter [@divadirt]. Warning: contains spoilers.

For an example of how it could be filled out, click here. Send us your completed play-along sheets by Friday! Happy predicting!

The Divas Championship has changed hands not once, but twice in an unfathomable episode of Raw. [Still in shock!] Jillian and Melina became the fourth and fifth Divas Champions, respectively.

Jillian defeated Mickie James in a short singles match to take the title and can now claim that in her long five year career, she has held a major championship. [Happy now, Jillian fans?] Afterwards, Guest Host Nancy O’Dell announced a Diva trade which saw Melina being traded back to Raw. O’Dell gave Melina a Divas Championship match, which was even shorter than the one prior; Melina pinned Jillian with the Last Call to become the third woman to hold the Women’s & Divas Championship.

Needless to say, this whole situation is mind blowingly… er, mind blowing.

The full details of the Diva trade will be announced after Raw on WWE.com, however already announced is that Beth Phoenix has been traded to SmackDown.

A Divas Championship match was part of the original plans for WWE Breaking Point, which emanates tomorrow night from Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

The match would have been a rematch from Monday Night Raw two weeks ago, when Beth Phoenix challenged Mickie James. After winning a six Diva battle royal and then facing Mickie later in the night, there was expected to be a renewed push for the Glamazon but the match has since been scrapped.

Of course, Mickie suffered a ruptured breast implant last weekend, though it’s not clear if the cut came from script changes [as with SummerSlam last month] or if it was a recent decision made due to the injury.

Get out your pitchforks, people, ’cause Michelle McCool‘s talking. Surely that fact alone would be enough to send certain fans into a raging frenzy, but this instance is a bit more meaningful. In a new WWE.com article, she’s making sure everyone’s aware of her history-making Women’s Championship win and becoming the WWE’s first Diva Grand Slam Champion (as we’ve lovingly dubbed it). Of course, the comments are in character, but it’s nice to see them paying attention to the distinction. Michelle says:

“Being the first to win both the WWE Women’s Title and WWE Divas Championship is just the latest reason why I am better than all of the so-called ‘Divas’ who preceded me,” McCool said.

“Making history is difficult, almost impossible, for those without my athletic ability and intelligence,” the champion said. “I’m a collegiate All-American athlete and earned a master’s degree in education from Florida State University.”

WWE.com also listed a few record-setting Divas who paved the way for Michelle:

• The Fabulous Moolah (First title reign lasted nearly 34 years; WWE Hall of Famer)
• “Sensational” Sherri Martel (AWA and WWE Women’s Champion; WWE Hall of Famer)
• Madusa/Alundra Blayze (All Japan, AWA and WWE Women’s Champion)
• Trish Stratus (Record-setting seven-time Women’s Champion; retired as Champion at Unforgiven 2006 in her hometown of Toronto)

How do you think Michelle and her history-making win stacks up next to the likes of those girls? Do you think, in 10 years time, we’ll be saying the name McCool in the same breath as Moolah and Trish Stratus, or is that nothing but a pipe dream? Is being the Grand Slam Champ as momentous as Michelle says? Sound off, because we know you’re itching to!

The WWE certainly shook things up when they drafted Melina and Maryse to opposite brands – with them went their respective championships. Thus, a new record suddenly looms, and the race is on: who will be the WWE’s first ever double champion? We’ve taken possible candidates (former Womens Champions and Divas Champions) and calculated their odds, ordering them in rank of most likely to least likely. Over the following weeks we’ll be updating this chart, taking into account wins, losses, and budding feuds. Place your bets folks because it’s happening, and it’s happening soon.

Candice remains at #5, still injured. Until she makes her return, she’ll be setting up camp at this spot.

Gail lost to Michelle McCool twice, once teamed with Maria and the second time one-on-one. She stays at #4, with her string of losses and permanent SmackDown status making her odds at winning Raw’s Divas Championship highly unlikely.

Michelle has a friend in Alicia Fox, and with her has been victorious in both tag team action and singles action. Yet, with no Champ appearing on SmackDown yet, she slips to #2. With Melina‘s return looming on the horizon, will Alicia be Michelle’s good luck charm in a possible feud with the Women’s Champion?

Mickie jumps from #2 to #1, thanks to two weeks of wins over Maryse under her belt. First, she beat her in one-on-one action, then pinned the Divas Champion again in a tag team match. It looks like Mickie’s got Maryse’s number, and if she keeps this streak up, it’s looking highly likely that Mickie could become our first Double Champ.

The WWE certainly shook things up when they drafted Melina and Maryse to opposite brands – with them went their respective championships. Thus, a new record suddenly looms, and the race is on: who will be the WWE’s first ever double champion? We’ve taken possible candidates (former Womens Champions and Divas Champions) and calculated their odds, ordering them in rank of most likely to least likely. Over the following weeks we’ll be updating this chart, taking into account wins, losses, and budding feuds. Place your bets folks because it’s happening, and it’s happening soon.

Candice in still on the disabled list, and thus hasn’t moved in the rankings, still settled at #5.

Gail blew her shot at the Divas Championship last week on SmackDown, and with the brands now officially separated, it looks like she let her best opportunity slip through her fingers. She’s still next to last at #4.

Michelle with others losing steam, Michelle stays steady and prepares for Melina’s official SmackDown debut. A feud looks likely, and with that a Women’s Championship shot looms on the horizon, making her our best bet. She tops the list at #1.

Mickie She’s still in the background somewhat, but with Beth busy playing dress-up with Santino, a great opportunity has opened up. It would make perfect sense for Maryse to battle with Mickie, Raw’s top face, and a feud is made even more likely with Beth’s preoccupation. Not much else stands in Mickie’s way, and she stays at #2.

The WWE certainly shook things up when they drafted Melina and Maryse to opposite brands – with them went their respective championships. Thus, a new record suddenly looms, and the race is on: who will be the WWE’s first ever double champion? We’ve taken possible candidates (former Womens Champions and Divas Champions) and calculated their odds, ordering them in rank of most likely to least likely. Over the following weeks we’ll be updating this chart, taking into account wins, losses, and budding feuds. Place your bets folks because it’s happening, and it’s happening soon.

Candice has been moved to SmackDown, and thus is out of range of a Divas Championship match, but never say never! She’s been out of commission as of late, and thus her chances are even slimmer. Though, I wouldn’t put it past the WWE to pull a fast one on us.

Gail faced Maryse on her very last SmackDown appearance (read spoilers), and it’s not out of the question that their feud could spill across the brands. Friday’s results make one wonder if this earns Gail a shot at Maryse’s title, and if that were to happen, we may have the first dobule champ on our hands.

Michelle is very likely to be Melina’s first feud on SmackDown. She’s the brand’s top heel, so it’s quite obvious that those two will butt heads. The question is: will Michelle be able to best Melina?

Mickie has been put on the back-burner time and time again, but perhaps this is her time to shine – the “shaking up” the draft did could be just what she needs to “get her groove back”, so to speak. She’s easily Raw’s most popular Diva, so it would be easy for the WWE to pit her against the new, arrogant heel in Maryse and produce a attention-grabbing feud.

Holding a hot pink, Barbie-esque title belt is every female wrestler’s dream. Well now you can live the dream too! WWE will finally be releasing authentic Divas Championship replica belts for sale. And only $300? Money well spent in this time of economic recession!

The belts will go on sale next month, but you can preorder yours at Highspots.com right now!

DIVAS CHAMPIONSHIP: MARIA VS MICHELLE MCCOOL (C)

I have to say, I’m really disappointed. The match was about two and a half minutes long. You’d think they’d give a title match a little more time, hell Brie and Victoria got way more time last week. More thoughts will be available in the SmackDown Redux.

The Divas Championship match between Michelle McCool and Maria has been announced for next week on Friday Night SmackDown. Maria won an opportunity to face the Divas Champ a few weeks ago on the show by winning a Las Vegas Pole Match. I assumed the match would take place at Survivor Series, but apparently not.

More details as available.

Just as we suspected, WWE.com has announced that Michelle McCool will be defending her Divas Championship against Maryse this Sunday at Unforgiven. This will mark her first title defense thus far:

At Unforgiven, proud Divas Champion Michelle McCool will risk the gold she has tirelessly fought for against the cunning Maryse in a match of toughness and sheer determination to be the top Diva on Friday Nights.

Since making history by overcoming Natalya to become the first-ever Divas Champion at The Great American Bash, Michelle has done everything in her power to bring integrity and class to her reign, while setting the bar high for her challengers. Her considerable ability is only surpassed by the belief she has in herself and what she is capable of inside the squared circle.

Maryse has demonstrated little respect for the champion and even less modesty, noting that the gold would look better around her waist. Tensions have built to a fever pitch as the sultry Diva has aggressively pursued the champion, going so far as to attack her prey at the conclusion of their tag team competition in recent weeks, initiating a knockdown brawl between the two. Maryse insists she is the sexiest of the sexy and desires nothing more than to capture the gold.

At Unforgiven, Michelle will attempt to silence her outspoken challenger once and for all. If Maryse hopes to unseat the All-American Champion, she will need to bring the skills to match her silver tongue.

So what do we think, readers? Are you glad the WWE went with a SmackDown match this time, or were you hoping to see the Raw girls in action?

It seems to me that this Sunday’s Unforgiven pay per view will be going to the ladies of Friday nights. If you read spoilers from both Raw and SmackDown’s tapings last night, it certainly seems SmackDown is the more progressive and “PPV ready” of the two brands at this stage. Raw is in a state of transition, no real feuds or storylines have been mapped out meanwhile SmackDown definitely has a clear cut Divas Championship match between Michelle McCool and Maryse. We’ll see if the announcement is made during SmackDown or on WWE.com this weekend.

From Raw, we have the Women’s Championship scramble match featuring champion Beth Phoenix, Jillian, Katie Lea, Kelly Kelly and Mickie James. Meanwhile from SmackDown, Divas Champion Michelle McCool defending against Maria, Maryse, Natalya and Victoria. Vote below!

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It’s official, ladies and gents… Michelle McCool is your first ever Divas Champion! Results are below! Happy? Sad? Pissed? Sound off in the comments!

Match Number Five: Michelle McCool versus Natalya Neidhart for the Divas Title

They lock up and Michelle with a waist lock take down. Natalya with a standing switch. Michelle with a drop kick for a near fall and then she works on the arm. Michelle with a series of European uppercuts. Michelle with a kick to Natalya. Michelle tries for a wheelbarrow move but Natalya turns it into a hot shot. Natalya with a near fall and then she slams Michelle’s head into the mat. Natalya works on the knee and then she tries for a surfboard move. Michelle powers out of the move and turns it into a heel hook but Natalya gets to the ropes and apron. Natalya wraps Michelle around the ring post. Natalya with a kick to the head and then she starts to work on the hamstring before getting another near fall.

Natalya with forearms and then she sets for the Sharpshooter and she locks it in. Michelle makes it to the ropes to get Natalya to release the hold. Natalya slams Michelle’s head into the mat. Natalya tries for the Sharpshooter again, but Michelle with the heel hook again. Natalya rolls to the ropes but she cannot reach them and she taps out.

Winner: Michelle McCool

It is officially Great American Bash weekend! We’re going to be celebrating and keeping you posted all weekend on this historic weekend, because tomorrow night we will be crowning the first ever Divas Champion! Anyway, WWE.com has a really interesting article on the new title, including comments from many Divas including the challengers – Michelle and Natalya - and even Raw’s Beth Phoenix.

After nine years of battling without a title, the Divas of SmackDown finally have their golden opportunity — the newly-created Divas Championship.

When SmackDown General Manager Vickie Guerrero, referring to herself as “the woman in power in a male-dominated world” introduced the new title, she made history. Now, only one question remains: Will it be Natalya or Michelle McCool who will join the GM in carving her name into the history books as the first to wear the Divas Championship crown?

Third-generation Diva Natalya became the first contender in line for the honor after reigning victorious in a Golden Dreams Match against six of the Sexiest Women on Television. In that match, she managed to plow through her best friend Victoria, as well as Michelle McCool, who she will face one-on-one at The Great American Bash for the title.

“It felt amazing to win. I accomplished something very big for myself, especially being on SmackDown for only a few months,” said the dominant beauty. “All my years in The Dungeon, training ruthlessly, and all my hard work has paid off. We finally have a title to compete for and I am more than a contender. I see myself wearing that gold.”

SmackDown’s All-American Girl, who fittingly won her chance at the Divas Championship on Independence Day, knows that going against Natalya for the coveted title on Sunday will be no easy feat, but McCool says she is prepared to prove herself, and will stand tall over her competition.

More after the cut:

“I deserve this chance,” she explained. “Natalya made her debut by attacking me from behind and I haven’t been able to get my hands on her one-on-one yet. She is living on the fact that she is a third-generation Diva. She may be a Hart, but her heart isn’t nearly as big as mine. I plan on wearing the gold around my waist and will do whatever it takes.”

Natalya and Michelle McCool have had quite the rivalry since Natalya burst on to the SmackDown scene. At the pay-per-view, they will finally get their chance, not only to face one another in singles action for the first time, but also to be a part of history.

“I’ve been watching Michelle very closely and studying her work. I really think I’ve met my match. She’s one of the hardest working Divas in WWE, but she better be prepared for the fight of her life.” Natalya said of her opponent.

Once a Divas Champion is crowned, the titleholder becomes a target. All SmackDown Divas will be eyeing the prize.

“To be a contender, I know I have to be on my best game,” said Cherry. “I’m ready.”

Victoria, a two-time Women’s Champion expressed similar sentiments. “I have been here longer than any of the Divas, and I’m the best, and I will win the title!”

Former Women’s Champion Beth Phoenix, although a Raw Diva, is also looking to get her hands on the Divas Championship and make some history of her own. The Glamazon said recently that she believes Vickie Guerrero’s decision to create the title will only assist her in becoming a Diva legend.

“The Divas Championship will allow a SmackDown Diva to stay in the spotlight,” Beth said. “There’s nothing I love doing more than soaking up the spotlight. In the future, I’m certain that I’ll be the first Diva to hold both the Women’s and Divas Titles at the same time.”

“I’d love to take a trip to SmackDown to destroy every Diva there,” she continued. “If there’s competition looking for me, I want them to please send me an invitation.”

An invitation is exactly what Michelle McCool plans to extend to Phoenix if she defeats Natalya at the Bash on Sunday.

“I hope Beth Phoenix does come to SmackDown. We have some unfinished business,” McCool stated. “As far as holding both titles goes, we all want that, but my suggestion to her is to get the Women’s Championship back first before she starts running her mouth so much.”

Find out whether it will be Natalya or Michelle McCool who will shine as the first-ever Divas Champion by checking out The Great American Bash, Sunday at 8/7 CT, only on pay-per-view.

In an international airing of SmackDown, WWE confirmed that the Divas Championship will be decided at the Great American Bash between Michelle McCool and Natalya. Bring it on!!!

Of course, Torrie and Victoria were drafted to SmackDown during the WWE Draft last year, possibly in anticipation? What do you think of the news? Do you prefer the current plans or would you (like me) had loved to have seen Torrie realise the dream of a career?

They say first impressions count, but what about second impressions? Here is a more clear look at the newly created Divas Championship direct from WWE.com itself. Have your initial impressions changed or is the Divas Championship still gaudy as hell? Sound off in the comments!

Above is a look at the new Divas Chaampionship, to be unveiled on this week’s episode of SmackDown. If there was ever a word to describe the title it would be G-A-U-D-Y, gaudy. Definition below:

gaud·y1 /?g?di/ Pronunciation[gaw-dee]
–adjective, gaud·i·er, gaud·i·est.
1. brilliantly or excessively showy: gaudy plumage.
2. cheaply showy in a tasteless way; flashy.
3. ostentatiously ornamented; garish.

Pretty much sums it up. And I thought Mariah Carey’s obsession with butterflies was a little odd, this just takes the cake. I’ll probably pee myself laughing if I see this around the waist of Victoria or Natalya. It’s about as classy as Snoop Dogg’s pimp cup…

- According to one fan, the Divas Championship title was on show during the Divas match on SmackDown. So we will get out first look at the title tomorrow! The title apparently looks like the WWE Championship with pink diamonds on it. Not tacky at all… I guess I should reserve judgement till I see it!

- Elsewhere, it is expected that the title will be decided at The Great American Bash later this month. If you ask me this is a pretty good deal, given Raw’s women’s division has kind of been derailed by injuries of late. I think giving Raw and the Women’s Championship a rest from a pay per view could help. Plus they’d probably just have a Katie Lea-Mickie James match which we’ve already seen on pay per view, why not put the rematch on Raw and let SmackDown have a shot?

The SmackDown Divas title match was likely nixed from tonight’s Night of Champions pay-per-view event due to time constraints. WWE pay-per-views usually only feature seven matches, but had they added this one, it would have made for nine matches on the card, and WWE doesn’t like rushing matches on PPV. For instance, WWE had to cut the Rey Mysterio vs. Kurt Angle vs. Randy Orton Triple Threat title match at WrestleMania 22 down to nine minutes because they were running out of time and they didn’t want to cancel the heavily promoted Playboy Pillow fight match featuring Torrie Wilson vs. Candice Michelle. Because the Playboy match wasn’t being called off, and Triple H vs. Cena definitely wasn’t being shortened, Rey’s big match was forced to be cut down significantly. Anyway, the SmackDown Divas title is not really that high of a priority, and they can always push it back to another date anyway.

In any event, the title is mentioned in this week’s SmackDown preview:“Finally, what about the new Divas Championship? When will Natayla find out who she will face for the coveted new title? And when will the title finally be contested?”

Looks like we will finally find out what the sitch is this Friday (or tomorrow night if you like spoilers). There’s a vicious rumour circulating on the boards today that Maria will end up as Natalya’s opponent and even win the title. I say vicious because that would be an eyesore if I ever saw one…`