WWE's women's division has changed over the past few years. Finally, the company has begun hiring women who can already wrestle rather than the models that they used to hire based on looks. With their new Performance Center, they now also have all of the tools to create their own female wrestlers before they decide to put them on TV.

The women of WWE over the past few decades have not only paved the way for the women of WWE right now, but they have also left those women with a reputation that no woman actually wants. These women have mostly been involved in sex scandals, mainly because of the way the business was run and the perception of women in the company in the 1990s and early 2000s. The women back then were even portrayed this way on WWE TV, with many of them used by Vince McMahon at a time when he had a relatively creepy persona.

Luckily, many of the women on this list are no longer with the company and have since moved on to have families of their own and moved on from wrestling, but they will always be remembered for their time in the WWE and the scandal that their presence in the company created.

15. Dawn Marie

Sex sells, or so the saying goes, but when WWE came up with Dawn Marie's character they obviously didn't fully think it through. Dawn was a part of some of the most controversial storylines at that time, including an affair with her best friend's dad, then marrying him and watching him die after consummating the marriage on their wedding night.

Dawn was in WWE at a time when the women were used as objects and there to maintain the male demographics attention, and when she finally left the company in 2005 when she found out she was pregnant, she filed a lawsuit against WWE. She stated in the lawsuit that she was wrongfully terminated from her contract because of her pregnancy and that she suffered mental distress as a result. The case was settled in 2007.

14. Ashley

Ashley Massaro won the 2005 Raw Diva Search after she gave her mobile number out to members of the audience. She then went on to date many superstars while she was in the company before she asked for her release a few years later so that she could spend more time at home looking after her sick daughter.

Ashley filed a lawsuit against WWE in November last year, stating that she was sexually assaulted at a U.S. Military base while she was touring with the company and though they were aware of it, they apologized and told her not to report it to the correct authorities. WWE are yet to comment on this. It has also been alleged that Ashley worked as an escort before she auditioned for a contract with WWE.

13. The Fabulous Moolah

Moolah is one of the best-known female wrestlers of all time. She is also the longest reigning women's champion of all time, having held the championship for decades rather than years. Even though she passed away and is remembered as a legend of women's wrestling, Moolah hid a terrible secret.

It isn't very well known but when she was coming through in the wrestling world, it is alleged that Moolah was part of a female trafficking ring and even kept other female wrestlers at her house and took a lot of the money they were earning off them. Many females from Moolah's era of wrestling have stated this, but it seems WWE have ignored it and prefer to remember Moolah in a positive light.

12. Zahra Schreiber

Zahra was not part of the WWE long enough for her to make an impression with the WWE Universe as a character, but it was instead her actions outside of the ring that defined her time with the company.

Zahra was part of a scandal that saw former WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins' nude pictures leaked online, as well as her own. She became Rollins' girlfriend after he broke up with his fiancé. It seems that WWE worked past it until many fans of the WWE found her old Instagram posts with inappropriate and offensive remarks and photos including swastikas.

11. Sable

The former WWE Women's Champion was one of the first women who was ever defined in the company as a "WWE Diva" and definitely paved the path for the women who have come ever since. Sable also posed for Playboy while she was working for the company and gained considerable amounts of popularity when she appeared on WWE TV with just painted hands covering her chest.

Sable left the company in 2001 and filed a $110 million lawsuit against WWE citing allegations of sexual harassment and unsafe working conditions. Obviously, this was settled because Sable returned to the company a few years later before leaving to spend more time with her family and her husband Brock Lesnar.

10. Lana

WWE is now in it's PG Era, which gives the superstars many rules that they should abide by, and despite the fact that she is shown on WWE as the "Ravishing Russian" and one of the most attractive women on the roster, there is only so much of her that WWE will allow their fans to see.

A quick Google search would allow fans to see much more of Lana than the WWE wants, since she also had a career before she signed to the WWE. Lana has some explicit pictures floating around online and while WWE has done everything they can to hide them, they are still out there for the world to see.

9. Jacqueline

The former Women's Champion went into the WWE Hall of Fame for her work while she was with the company, but many fans are unaware of what Jacqueline was doing behind the scenes when she was a contracted performer.

There are many rumours that suggest that Jacqueline was one of the females at the time that would sleep around with many different guys as a way to get ahead. She was the go-to woman for Kurt Angle when he needed "company" while he was one the road away from his wife, and many consider her to be unworthy of her induction when it comes to the stories about her exploits outside of the ring.

8. Sunny

If the WWE were allowed to take people out of the Hall of Fame, then Sunny would definitely already be off the list. Not only was it speculated that she was sleeping with many married WWE Superstars while she was with the company, but since she has left, she has continued to make quite a name for herself in the adult industry.

Sunny has been seen asking for money for "private Skype shows" with several WWE fans and was even offered parts in adult films. She has been arrested and gone to prison many times for crimes involving her own mother and WWE has now gotten to the point where they won't even comment on her infractions.

7. Eva Marie

Recently, WWE has begun hiring women that don't have much of a dirty history for the fans to find, so that these women can become role models for the next generation of female wrestlers, but it seems they overlooked much of Eva Marie's past.

Eva may be one of the most hated women in WWE history, but before she joined the company she was an adult model and actually has naked pictures online, which the company revealed on Total Divas, meaning that they are okay with her past, but not anyone else's. Eva also revealed that she suffered with alcohol abuse when she was younger and is still recovering from it.

6. Mickie James

Mickie James has recently returned to WWE and hopefully, this latest stint will do what it can to erase the old one. Mickie is a former Women's and Divas Champion and has a legacy that anyone would be proud of, except for the fact that she managed to not only break up her own relationship but John Cena's as well.

Mickie and Cena were said to have had a fling while they were working together in the WWE, but Cena was married at the time and she was engaged to another WWE talent, Kenny Dykstra. Dykstra found out about his fiancé's actions and decided to tell Cena's wife, who then filed for divorce. Kenny was released from the company and Mickie was moved away from Cena to SmackDown until she was later released.

5. Melina

Another former Women's and Divas Champion, Melina has been rumoured to be rejoining the company at some point, but it doesn't seem as though she will be returning to the company anytime soon.

While Melina was with the WWE, she had a lot of drama backstage with many other women since she thought she was so much better than them. She also cheated on her boyfriend Johnny Nitro with Batista, who was married at the time. She was then released and actually refused to leave the company and kept showing up with her boyfriend, which lead to him also being released.

4. Rita Chatterton

Though she isn't technically a Diva, Rita was the first ever female WWE referee. She accused Vince McMahon of raping her back in 1986 when it was alleged that she refused to perform an oral sex act on him. The story was never taken to court but was instead part of a TV show that put it out in public a different way.

Rita had a great WWE career before this but was fired from the company, and this is the reason many people say the story lacked credibility. Rita waited six years to file an actual report when many other stars were doing the same, so many thought that these claims were just to extort the WWE rather than make claims about McMahon.

3. Chyna

Chyna sadly passed away last year, but that doesn't change the image she left behind in the WWE Universe following her stint with the company in the 1990s. It is easy to see why Chyna ended up in her position given the way she was released from the company but she is still one of the most controversial figures.

Chyna went on to enjoy a career in adult entertainment following her release from WWE before she alleged that current WWE Chief Operating Officer Triple H had physically abused her whilst they were dating, which made the company distance themselves from her even more.

2. Stephanie McMahon

Stephanie McMahon may still be with the company and the most powerful women in it, but that doesn't mean that she hasn't had her own fair share of controversy over the past few decades.

Not only did Stephanie McMahon take Triple H away from Chyna, and then force the release of the eighth wonder of the world, but there is also a rumour that Stephanie and Randy Savage were much closer than friends when she was younger. This could be why her father Vince was so reluctant to put him in the WWE Hall of Fame and actually waited until after his death to do it.

1. Lita

The former WWE Women's Champion has become quite the figure when it comes to WWE scandals. Her actions when she decided to cheat on Matt Hardy with Edge not only led to one of the biggest WWE storylines of all time, but it also cost Edge his marriage and Lita her relationship with Hardy.

Not only that, but it has also been rumoured that before her WWE career began, Lita trained in Mexico and because she didn't have any money, she would offer sexual favors to anyone who would offer to train her, something that many people brought up after she shared her story at the Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

Sources: wrestlinginc.com, bleedingcool.com, cagesideseats.com, hollywoodlife.com, wrestlingnews.co