Ranking Best Candidates to Be Next WWE Divas Champion

With Nikki Bella's run as Divas champion well over 200 days and increasing by the day, talk will begin to turn toward whether she can possibly complete a year as champion of the division.

Of course, that is still a way away, and recent developments in the division will suggest that there is more chance of someone taking the title away from her before she reaches a full year in possession of the title.

There are now a host of candidates breathing down her neck to potentially wrestle the title away from her, and with the scheduled Divas match for SummerSlam still unclear, it's not inconceivable that a number of Divas could be taking her on at the next pay-per-view.

So with the landscape of the Divas division changing significantly in recent weeks, here are the five most likely candidates to take the belt away from her, ranked from least to most likely. 

Honorable Mentions: If we take the other eight members of this nine-Diva storyline as the realistic contenders to challenge Nikki, the trio of Alicia Fox, Tamina Snuka and Nikki's sister, Brie, all just miss out on the top five. 

5. Naomi

Credit: WWE.com

We start with a woman who, given the recent arrival of some of NXT's hottest talent, finds her some way down the pecking order to realistically become Divas champion.

Naomi has never managed to break through and emerge as a legitimate challenger for Nikki Bella over the last seven or eight months, and although she will certainly play an important role in this triple-stable storyline, she's below several other key stars.

Why? She's failed to get any real connection with WWE fans since splitting from Cameron, and her planned heel turn just hasn't sparked like many hoped it would.

Add to that the three new arrivals from NXT are riding on the crest of a wave of momentum at the moment, and her chances of winning the WWE Divas Championship in the short-term look pretty slim.

4. Becky Lynch

Credit: WWE.com

As bizarre as this sounds, even so early on in this list it begins to get tough to split the remaining candidates.

Becky Lynch comes in at fourth for a couple of reasons, but she's certainly not a distant fourth. She's outranked by the three other women on this list because, since her arrival on this main roster, she hasn't quite made as dramatic an impact as the rest.

Sure she's been impressive, and she certainly commands an imposing presence inside the ring, but her performances haven't quite stood out like the others.

She has a record of one win and one loss on Raw, a stat that will surely be improved on in the coming weeks. But if WWE are looking for a small handful of challengers to take on Nikki Bella at SummerSlam, Becky Lynch may have to wait her turn.

And in fairness, that's no bad thing. With the amount of participants involved, this storyline has months left to run, and throwing her (or any other star) in too soon could be fatal.

3. Charlotte

Credit: WWE.com

If the top four were hard to separate, then the top three are almost impossible to split.

Charlotte may be a surprise entrant at third place on this list, but it's only because the two above her just seem to have a little bit more in their favor. 

That's not to say Charlotte hasn't impressed; if Becky Lynch commands a presence inside the ring, Charlotte takes that particular statement to a whole other level.

She's a natural talent inside the ring, and her family tree—she is the daughter of WWE Hall of Famer Rick Flair—naturally creates a pathway and connection for her with WWE fans.

But much like Becky Lynch, WWE can take a slow-burner approach with Charlotte. Her talent is unquestionable, and her performances have certainly caught the eye, but she might be the woman who takes the Divas championship from the star who defeats Nikki Bella.

2. Paige

Credit: WWE.com

Such has been the momentum of the three NXT Divas since arriving on the main roster, Paige's ranking of second on this list could also be a surprise to some.

But it's important to remember where the Divas division was before this "invasion," and how Paige was arguably the sole shining light.

She looked like the only one who could come close to being a realistic challenger for Nikki Bella, and her roots from NXT still means she has a great connection with WWE fans.

She's different, she's quirky and she certainly stands out, but all in a good way. While some of the new arrivals may not yet be ready for the Divas championship, Paige is certainly in a good place to take the belt and help the division grow.

Alongside both Becky Lynch and Charlotte, Paige is the leader of the one babyface stable in this storyline. That means if Nikki is going to drop the title at all at SummerSlam, the most likely babyface candidate has to be Paige.

1. Sasha Banks

Credit: WWE.com

Given how WWE continues to blur the lines between conventional heel and babyface rivalries, it's not impossible for a heel to be the one who defeats Nikki Bella for the WWE Divas Championship.

And if that is the case, the overwhelming choice has to be Sasha Banks. The current NXT Women's Champion has made a major impact since turning up on the main roster, and she seems to have quickly established herself as the leader of Team B.A.D.

That's an impressive feat given how she's joined forces with two mainstays of the Divas division in Naomi and Tamina Snuka, and after losing at Battleground, she's won two straight on Raw, WWE's flagship show.

Not only that, but Banks wrestles with such flair and creativity, which instantly makes her a somebody to WWE fans. She's created a level of interest around her that the others don't quite seem to have done yet, and while Charlotte and Becky Lynch could benefit from long-term booking toward the Divas championship, Banks' performances and results suggests that her time is right now.

Commentators are making a big deal of the fact Paige is the only woman to hold the NXT Womens Championship and the WWE Divas Championship simultaneously; when they drop those kind of hints, it suggests someone else is about to join the list. 

Banks is clearly a champion in the making, and with the momentum she has behind her, she looks to have skipped to the front of the queue to take down Nikki.