The Butterfly belt is no more. The pre-show of WrestleMania 32 featured Lita recapping the history of women in professional wrestling, announcing that there will be no more Divas as well. From now on, girls will be Superstars just like the male wrestlers. A new belt was introduced, one very similar to the WWE World Heavyweight Championship belt. Notably, the strap is adjusted in size to fit the female physique. The die-cut logo is in the center of a red background, with two side plates, separated by gold bars, and etched with the new WWE Women’s Championship logos.
The first title holder of this new championship is Charlotte, also the last Diva to hold the previous title. She won a triple threat match against Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks. On Charlotte’s big WrestleMania win, Sevenfold Women’s Champion Trish Stratus said, “And she’s back (the original Women’s Championship). So, go get it girls, this is what we have been fighting for. No matter the outcome, you all will be in the history books for restoring the integrity of the women’s division.”
The WWE Diva’s Division was quite problematic right from the start. WWE played a big part in denouncing its own division by hiring hot models and trying to train them how to wrestle, diminishing any value of real female athletes who were demoted to ‘eye candy’. The legacy of Trish Stratus, Molly Holly, Ivory or Lita was almost ruined, as fans showed lack of interest for mockery of wrestling. But no one spoke better about this issue than last Diva herself, daughter of WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair – Charlotte.
“My dream and goals are to change the face of women’s wrestling, and being champion. I hope that gives me a little more leeway and opportunity to do that. I want main event a pay-per-view. I want to wrestle at WrestleMania. I want to bring back the Women’s Championship. I want longer matches. I want those crossover segments. I want more storylines and just not to be eye candy or popcorn matches. And, hopefully, being champion at the moment, I just can somewhat kick open more doors and pave the way for more opportunities”, said Charlotte.
Damage to the Diva’s Division is done. New championship will carry the burden of WWE’s mistakes from the past. Bringing back serious wrestling and retiring the butterfly belt and the name Diva will take some time.
“I’m not taking away anything from the Divas Championship. I just think as the division is evolving, the title can evolve too. But from what I understand, I think NXT is going to go to not using diva anymore, so it would be only natural for that to happen on the main roster as well. But just think of how many years of branding are behind the butterfly Divas Championship, so it can’t just happen overnight”, said Charlotte.
This more or less sums all the reasons why Divas had to go. It’s not by chance that Charlotte, Becky and Banks were the ones to topple the butterfly belt. WWE hired models and taught them to “wrestle like Divas”. Wrestling simply wasn’t in the focus. Things started changing when Sara Del Rey took over as trainer for the women. Charlotte, Becky Lynch, Bayley and Sasha Banks were all taught by her and all four are at spearhead of revolution of female wrestling. Girls have backing of boss’ daughter, Stephanie McMahon who is out to provide girls with a chance to prove they belong in pro wrestling.
Pressure is not coming only from the girls. Fans have expressed desire to see better women’s wrestling for ages now. Seems that WWE has given at the right moment. While Divas or Lady wrestlers are old terms not likely to die immediately, Lady Superstars is likely to catch on, as women’s wrestling is headed for the next level. New championship is going to be huge for WWE media, seems that female wrestling is going to be event to be excited about, as fans are finally getting what they asked for.
In the conclusion, we can just wish that Charlotte’s wish comes true:
“If I have my WrestleMania moment I would like to have a robe (like Ric Flair’s) made!”
Nick was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, and lived there until the age of 18, when he decided to pack his flack jacket and move to New York City.
