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The door is closing on 2017. Let’s take a look at the best and worst parts of the WWE NXT brand for the year.
For those who look for an alternative to the offerings of Raw and SmackDown Live every week, WWE NXT offers something a bit different. While officially the developmental branch of WWE, NXT has become a third brand today. Many fans – and certain high-placed executives in the company – look at NXT as being more or less on equal footing within the structure of WWE as a whole.
As a weekly television program, NXT offers a lot of action in its one hour time slot. Factor in the semi-annual TakeOver specials, and there’s a lot of programming out there for fans. The big selling point for NXT is the change in pace from what’s seen on Raw and SmackDown – it’s a faster-paced style more akin to the independent scene than traditional WWE.
Now that we’re reaching the end of 2017, it’s time to take a look at the best and worst of what NXT had to offer this year. We’ve already taken a look at Raw and SmackDown this week. Now we’ll examine – for better or worse – the most memorable matches, promos, debuts, and superstar for NXT.
Please note that for the purposes of this article, we’re ignoring TakeOver events. Yes, Tyler Bate vs. Pete Dunne was my vote for overall match of the year in WWE for 2017. But for our Raw and SmackDown recaps, it was based solely on television episodes and not pay per views. Since TakeOvers are basically NXT’s pay per view events, those are out. Don’t worry, though, there’s plenty of great material from the Wednesday night episodes.
And now, the best and worst of the NXT brand for 2017.