What’s Next for WWE NXT’s Women’s Division?

With Alexa Bliss, Carmella, and Nia Jax all taken in the Draft, what will the NXT Women’s Division look like moving forward?

WWE’s main roster Women’s Division got a much-needed boost during the Draft in the form of three call-ups in Alexa Bliss, Carmella, and Nia Jax. This will certainly help get the ball rolling once again for the company’s so-called Women’s Revolution that started one summer ago when Charlotte, Sasha Banks, and Becky Lynch.

With Nia Jax being on Raw along with the WWE Women’s Championship, one can only assume that she will be in the title picture shortly after the Charlotte vs. Sasha feud wraps up after a proper title match between the two at SummerSlam. Over on Smackdown, while benefitting from two NXT Draft picks in Alexa and Carmella, the show is currently without a championship for its women’s roster, although with Becky Lynch there, it’ll prove to be a good way to build new women’s stars on the main roster level.

must read: WWE Draft 2016: Ranking the 6 NXT Call-Ups

However, this leaves NXT with an interesting situation moving forward with its own highly-praised women’s division. With the exception of Bayley, after the Four Horsewomen were called up one year ago, it was presumed that the next class of women’s wrestlers to take the division forward would have been Alexa, Carmella, Nia Jax, and Asuka. Asuka was not drafted, and as such, she remains the NXT Women’s Champion, but three of her top competitors, all talents you want to have around the champion in order to build a strong division, were all called up at once, leaving a huge void for NXT.

Furthermore, Bayley’s place is still up in the air. A call-up to the main roster within the 2016 calendar year seems all but a virtual guarantee for the immensely popular wrestler. If you recall, Bayley was not brought up with the rest of the Horsewomen so that she could become a huge star on her own, as well as help bolster NXT’s women’s division in the absence of Charlotte, Sasha, and Becky. During Bayley’s time as champ, she helped get Alexa, Carmella, and Nia over by having great matches with all three of them, effectively continuing NXT’s success with women’s wrestling.

If Bayley is to get called-up who does that role of student-teacher fall upon now

If Bayley is to get called-up who does that role of student-teacher fall upon now that the seasoned veterans in Alexa, Carmella, and Nia were all drafted? Does it fall on Asuka’s shoulders to carry the entire division as the champion? With her as champion, who can NXT build up to dethrone her? It can’t be Bayley; although a rematch is most certainly set to take place, possibly at Takeover: Back to Brooklyn, Bayley becoming the first-ever 2x NXT Women’s Champion would definitely set her back in regards to getting called-up and re-joining her fellow Horsewomen on the main roster. Especially, if she wishes to be on the main roster before the end of the year, another reign as NXT Women’s Champion would prevent her from doing so.

If you remove Bayley and Asuka, the NXT Women’s Division on TV as it stands consists of Peyton Royce, Liv Morgan, Aliyah, and Billie Kay. All four are very early into their NXT/WWE careers, and with them getting a scant amount of television time, a feud with the incumbent champ Asuka seems A) unlikely at the moment and B) unfair. Deonna Purrazzo, Santana Garrett, and Tessa Blanchard, while all appearing on NXT TV as enhancement talent, are not signed with WWE at the moment.

Perhaps it would have been in NXT’s best interest to at least keep one of the three draftees, in particular, Carmella (who could have been booked as the rightful heir to Bayley’s spot), in NXT so as to help groom the girls listed above in the same manner that Bayley had done.

Next: WWE Rumors: Bayley to be Drafted?

Bayley and Asuka are practically waiting in the wings to be called up to the main roster to join the Four Horsewomen, Emma, Dana Brooke, and the three NXT women’s draftees. Between the two of them, Bayley appears to be the closest in getting the call-up, but Asuka certainly won’t be far behind. With that said, NXT has to figure out what it is going to do to fill this void in the NXT Women’s Division. Perhaps another big time signing, hopefully, someone with a promising future in the business in Tessa Blanchard, to not only build the division around, but to help develop those around her.