Best (And Worst) Of NXT 2016

To be generous, 2016 was...a year. With all of the celebrity deaths, nation disintegration, and general terribleness one has done to their neighbors, it's safe to say that we are ready to start fresh and move on to the next year.

But before we do that and wipe our hands with the last 365 days, we should look back at the WWE's developmental territory NXT. Besides declining ratings and a lack of main event level talent - especially in the women's division - NXT had a relatively great year. The Full Sail crowds are just as crazy as ever, the tag team division has had itself a bit of a renaissance, and the TakeOver specials have been a real shining point in a PPV schedule that has been shaken up so much. Even if the main product starts suffering, you could always count on NXT to be your hour of great wrestling.

It wasn't always great though. Here's the best and worst from NXT this year.

If you take a look at the past year or so, seven of the top women of NXT have been taken from Full Sail and made their way to the main roster. Although this is great for them as performers, it has left NXT's Women's division with a serious problem: who are left to be the faces of the company? Sure, there's Asuka, who has already taken up the top spot perfectly (she looks pretty comfortable up there, doesn't she?), but the rest of roster right now is pretty darn thin.

If you take a quick look at who's left, you'll see a lot of question marks more than anything definitive. Ember Moon looks great and she can go in the ring, but can she be the babyface to replace Asuka when she eventually moves up to the main roster? Can Liv Morgan, someone that NXT already has high hopes for, improve in the ring so that she can realistically compete with The Four Horsewomen?

And then there's Peyton Royce and Billie Kay, the two heels that basically took the mean girl act Emma and Dana Brooke did a year ago, and haven't done anything substantial with it. To say that the division is in good hands with Asuka as champion is a bit of a stretch, but if you have any faith in what they are doing down there at Full Sail, then I say that there is a high hope for a productive 2017.