Image via Complex Original
SummerSlam is this Sunday, and as much as we enjoy a bunch of roided-out dudes in spandex throwing themselves at each other, we prefer to see the ladies get some love. The WWE Women's Championship has been going on sinde 1956, and although it's taken on different names and leagues over the years (the WWE Divas Championship exists now), beautiful women have been putting on serious moves in the ring for nearly 60 years now. From the OGs like Sable to new star AJ Lee and even the the iconic Trish Stratus, check out this gallery of The Hottest Divas in WWE History.
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Chyna
Years active: 1997-2001
Billed as the "Ninth Wonder of the World," Chyna made WWE history several times. A one-time Women's Champion, she was the first female wrestler to hold the WWF Intercontinental Championship, and the first to participate in the Royal Rumble. Since leaving WWE, she's written a book and made four pornos. And she appears as a character named "She-Hulk" in her last film. Welp.
Francine
Years active: 2005-2006
Her time as a WWE employee was brief, but at least her presence granted us multiple bikini contests with Kelly Kelly. We're fine with that.
Stacy Carter a.k.a. Miss Kitty
Years active: 1999-2001
Miss Kitty was never a trained wrestler, but she managed to hold her own enough to win the Women's Championship once. Infamous for intentionally flashing her rack during Armageddon in 1999, that event opened up the world of female nudity in WWE pay-per-view events. Porn disguised as a sporting event? Why wasn't this thought of sooner?!
AJ Lee
Years active: 2009-present
The current WWE Divas Championship holder, AJ Lee is a rising star. Known as the "Geek Goddess" for her "nerd" persona, Lee is made out to be a real pro in the industry. After all, she studied at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts for six months before financial issues forced her to drop out. The lady knows how to hold and create a role.
Stephanie McMahon
Years active: 1999-present
Was Stephanie McMahon ever going to not become a wrestler? As Vince McMahon's daughter, she became the center of attention in women's wrestling last decade (nepotism, anybody?). With good looks, the McMahon name and WWE fortune, and a marriage to Triple-H, Stephanie is as WWE as it gets.
Beth Phoenix
Years active: 2004-2012
Beth Phoenix had a rough start in the WWE. Soon after making her Raw debut, she suffered a broken jaw during a match. Ayo! She had multiple surgeries to fix her injury, and spent time back in the Ohio Valley Wrestling development league after. Phoenix didn't stop grinding, coming back strong with Raw in 2007. She's since won the Women's Championship three-times and the Divas title once.
Lisa Marie Varon a.k.a. Victoria
Years sctive: 2000-2009
What a mix of beauty and brains. Before her wrestling career, she studied at UCLA and worked at a Tissue Bank in California, working in organ donation. While working and studying to become a doctor, she also became a personal trainer at a gym. Through a chance meeting with Chyna, she was encouraged to take up wrestling. She made her national television debut at WrestleMania XVI, and mere months later, she was the WWE Women's Champion. She's got brains, brawn, and could probably remove all of your vital organs. Don't fuck with Victoria.
Christy Hemme
Years active: 2004-2005
Christy Hemme has been making her body work for her all her life. Before wrestling, she was a waitress at Hooters, a model, and a competitor in the Lingerie Bowl. She found her calling with the WWE in 2004, and a year later, she was on the cover of Playboy.
Lita
Years active: 1999-2006
The WWE has had plenty of on-camera relationships, but they're almost always just for show. Lita actually had an off-camera, real-life relaitonship with wrestler Matt Hardy, but then cheated on him with Edge. Not even Vince McMahon could've scripted that one!
Eva Marie
Years active: 2013-present
A newcomer to the WWE circuit, Eva Marie is quickly making a name for herself as one of the hottest women in the sport. Her Maxim photoshoot and interview was just released, and fellas, she's definitely one to watch.
Brooke Adams
Years active: 2006-2010
Brooke Adams has given us memoeries to last a lifetime. Namely, she was a star in the Memorial Day Bikini Beach Blast Battle Royal, leaving little to the imagination. *sweats* After leaving WWE in 2010, she's competed in different modeling events, winning Miss Hawaiian Tropic Texas in 2008 and the International Hooters Swimsuit Pageant.
Dawn Marie
Years active: 2002-2005
Dawn Marie started a long ways away from the ring. She first made her living as a real estate agent, but decided that she'd be better at selling her body than houses, and took up an acting and modeling career. After meeting a wrestling promoter, she started managing independent wrestlers on the side before making her WWE come-up. She made her Smackdown! debut as Vince McMahon's legal assistant which was fitting considering her old white collar life. This girl is just way too hot for an office.
Sunny a.k.a. Tammy Lynn Sytch
Years active: 1995-1998
In the mid-90s, nobody was hotter than Sunny. That's a fact. She was AOL's Most Downloaded Woman of the Year in 1996, helping teenage boys around the United States come to terms with puberty and an internet connection. Inside the ring, Sunny killed it too, winning the tag team championship at WrestleMania XII. In 1998, she was released from WWE after a catfight with Sable. She wouldn't be forgotten in WWE circles though, as she was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame 2011.
Maryse
Years active: 2006-2011
Since so much of the WWE is show, we don't really know if these gals would actually fair in a real fight against each other. If things ever got sticky, we'd have our money on Maryse. Aside from being a WWE hottie, she's also a black belt in martial arts.
Michelle McCool
Years active: 2004-2011
Before she was a wrestler, Michelle McCool was a middle school teacher. Guaranteed none of her male students ever wore sweatpants to class. Inside the ring, she became the first wrestler to unify the Diva and Women's Championships.
Candice Michelle
Years active: 2004-2009
A former Playboy cover girl, she became involved with WWE through their Diva Search contest. After making the cut, she went on to become the first WWE Women's Champion to come through the Diva Search. Bless the Diva Search contest for giving us the one and only Candice Michelle.
Ivory
Years active: 1999-2005
Ivory has been in the game since before most of you were born. Her friend got her to try out for the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling in 1986, and she continued to pursue different wrestling circuits until the WWF came calling in 1999. She's gone on to win three WWE Women's Championships, and even at 51 years old today, this cougar can definitely still get it. Rawr.
Gail Kim
Years active: 2002-2011
Forbes named her one of "America's Most Eligible Bachelorettes" in 2007, but since then, she's tied the knot with celebrity chef/muscle head Robert Irvine. Watch out Robert—your new wifey can definitely kick your ass back to England.
Melina Perez
Years active: 2002-2011
A five-time WWE Women's Champion, Melina Perez has also dabbled in some off-camera activities. She was the manager of tag-team MNM, and managed Dave Batista and Johnny Nitro—two wrestlers whom she dated too. Nothing wrong with mixing a little business with pleasure, especially when the pleasure is Melina Perez.
Terri Runnels
Years Active: 1996-2004
Terri Runnels made her rebut at the Royal Rumble in 1996, and also managed her then real-life husband Goldust. She would go on to win the WWE Hardcore Championship before retiring in 2004. Since then, she's been engaged in a legal battle with wrestler and ex-boyfriend New Jack, who was out here selling naked photos of her. We'll let you do the googling.
Molly Holly
Years Active: 2000-2005
Not many professional wrestlers get their start working at a Subway. After she graduated from high school in 1996, she drove to Florida with $200 and promptly went to work putting together subs. One of her assistant managers, who was also an independent wrestler, suggested that she try wrestling. Six years later, she was the WWE Hardcore Champion, and on her way to becoming a two-time WWE Women's Champion. Later in her career, she took on a schoolgirl persona, preying on our naughtiest sexual fantasies.
Kristal Marshall
Years active: 2005-2011
Fan of hip-hop? Then Kristal Marshall shoud look oddly familiar to you. Or just sexy. She was the vixen in 50 Cent's "Candy Shop" video, and has been in Ma$e's videos as well. We wouldn't be opposed to her making a hip-hop scene comeback.
Mickie James
Years active: 2003-2010
A winner at WrestleMania XXII, Mickie James is a six-time Women's Champion, and the second woman to hold the Diva and Women's titles. In addition to her wrestling career, she's release two country music albums, inlcuding Somebody's Gonna Pay last May.
Kelly Kelly
Years active: 2006-2012
Previously a gymnast and a cheerleader, Kelly Kelly's flexibility gives her a big advantage in the ring, among other places...
Layla El
Years active: 2006-present
Whoever said nobody gets hurt in WWE? In 2011, she tore both her ACL and MCL during a match, requiring surgery and 11 months of rehab. Ouch. Months later, she won her first Divas Championship. Great to see this beauty overcome serious injury to get back to the top.
The Bella Twins
Years active: 2007-present
Take your pick: Nikki or Brie? We certainly can't choose, or even tell them apart for that matter. They originally tried to get into wrestling through the 2006 WWE Diva Search, but they didn't make the cut. FOH. In 2008, they got their big break, and made their debut on Smackdown. They had to bide their time until they were able to win the WWE Divas Championship, but in 2011, Brie won the title, and in 2012, Nikki took it home. Twinning.
Maria Kanellis
Years active: 2004-2010
Since leaving the WWE Maria Kanellis been on episodes of Celebrity Apprentice, Project Runway, Outback Jack, and Family Feud. Hey, any way she can get on TV, we're game for it. We want more Maria!
Alicia Fox
Years active: 2006-present
Alicia Fox was destined for stardom. Spotted at 19 years old by fashion magazine talent scout Johnny Ace, she worked her way around the industry before being discovered by WWE in 2006. She won the WWE Divas Championship in 2010, and has been going strong since.
Eve Torres
Years active: 2007-2013
A USC grad and a former member of the Clippers' dance team, Eve Torres is a former Divas Champion. Considering she was a Clippers' girl back when Shaun Livingston was supposed to be the saving grace of the franchise, we don't blame her for running to WWE.
Sable
Years active: 1996-2004
The two-time Women's Champion has given a lot to the sport. One of the first WWE Divas, she managed to become more popular than her husband, former champ Brock Lesnar. Outside of busting beauties in the ring, she's posed for Playboy three times, with her April 1999 cover becoming one of the highest selling issues in the magazine's history. It happened right after Sable took home her second WWF Women's title—a brilliant PR move on her part.
Miss Elizabeth
Years active: 1985-2000
Miss Elizabeth is the OG of WWE Divas. Without her beauty and managing skill, this list wouldn't exist. She first got the attention of WWE fans for being Randy Savage's manager and real-life wife at the time. In 2003, she died of a drug and alcohol overdose. R.I.P. to the OG, Miss Elizabeth.
Joy Giovanni
Years active: 2004-2009
The Former Diva Rookie of the Year originally made her debut on Smackdown!. Aside from being the most beautiful Italian woman this side of the Atlantic, she's also been in a few Lingiere Bowls. An admitted lover of pork rinds, it's a miracle that she's able to keep her body like THAT. Breaking it down here: She loves football and wrestling. #wifeymaterial
Torrie Wilson
Years active: 2001-2008
Torrie Wilson would've been a star without wrestling. Outside of her eight-year WWE career, Wilson has also posed for Playboy twice and been named Miss Galaxy. She's also been dating A-Rod since 2011. *cues the soundtrack*
Stacy Keibler
Years active: 2001-2011
Out of every WWE Diva, only Stacy Keibler has had legitimate crossover success. She's been on Dancing with the Stars, and appeared on sitcoms like What About Brian?, George Lopez, October Road, and How I Met Your Mother. She even dated George Clooney up until last month. If her acting chops prove to be as good as her wrestling and looks, she'll become even more of a WWE icon than she already is. Without a doubt, she's the gold-standard for WWE Divas today.
Trish Stratus
Years active: 2000-2006
This WWE Hall of Famer, one-time WWE Hardcore Champion, and seven-time WWE Champion is by far the most recognizable female figure in the sport. The "Diva of the Decade," Trish Stratus retired in 2006, and has since gone on to do various acting, hosting, and philanthropic gigs. Stratus is as accomplished, iconic, and hot as it gets in the WWE. Excuse us while we flip through her gallery images for the millionth time. Salute to the baddest!