15 Ups & 6 Downs For WWE NXT In 2019

3. The Women's Division

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WWE.com

Dakota Kai's November heel turn was just one glorious chapter from the most satisfying story in wrestling all year - that of the NXT Women's division.

Far from just a one-shot-per-month league or a collection of aimless wrestlers masquerading as a division, this collection of ultra-talented and diverse performers helped craft something so layered, detailed and dedicated that it may have surpassed the Four Horsewomen golden era of NXT women's wrestling.

With Shayna Baszler as a seemingly unstoppable champion, an upper-midcard formed underneath her that offered such a rich range of stars that it's a wonder more weren't poached for the main roster ahead of the show's move to USA Network. Kairi Sane got every last bit out of her series with the Champion before departing, but it only left space for Bianca Belair, Io Shirai, Candice LeRae, Tegan Nox, Dakota Kai, Mia Yim and most notably Rhea Ripley to all shine in the revitalised spotlight. The matches constantly stole TakeOvers and weekly broadcasts, while the characters themselves became fleshed out enough to proffer one of the best ever iterations of WarGames at the very first attempt.

The division needed Baszler as its loathed leader during this time of exponential growth, and it really can't be mis-sold how important that malevolent leadership really was. 'The Queen Of Spades' owned her throne...

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Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett