11 Ups & 7 Downs For NXT In 2018

6. Surprisingly Shallow Divisions

That NXT's featured title fights always seem to deliver is a booking triumph, and a symbol of the brand's quality as a whole, but disappointing job the writers do in building credible threats up beneath the mainline feud returned to the forefront in 2018.

The NXT Championship scene is largely fine, and there are a number of different wrestlers WWE could cycle into the picture at any given the moment. As is the North American belt. It's a midcard strap, so anyone from Danny Burch to Marcel Barthel could be thrown into the mix without any issues. Even debutants are suitable for contention.

Unfortunately, the same can't be said for the Women's and Tag Team straps. Dominated by the awesome Kairi Sane vs. Shayna Baszler for months, the women's scene is only now starting to build layers with the Horsewomen, Io Shirai, Dakota Kai, and Bianca Belair. Elsewhere, Undisputed Era, War Raiders, and Burch and Lorcan are developmental's only developed tag teams, with The Mighty, Heavy Machinery, and Street Profits falling short.

This is a byproduct of the one-hour show, which leaves NXT to prioritise non-TakeOver programmes. Still, the sterling work done with this year's Kai vs. Baszler mini-feud shows it can be accomplished. More of that, please.