WWE NXT: Full Preview, Rumors and More for January 1

Welcome to Bleacher Report's preview for the Jan. 1 episode of NXT on the WWE Network. Spoilers are already out there, but if you want to know what will happen without having the matches spoiled for you, you're in the right place.

As the first official WWE broadcast of 2015, there is a bit of pressure on the developmental system to start the year on a high note. Luckily for management, the men and women of NXT tend to meet and exceed any goal presented to them.

Last year was a period of incredible growth for NXT. Every live special was better than the last, several big names were signed to the developmental system, and we witnessed some amazing wrestling.

All you have to do to measure the success of the brand is look at the list of wrestlers who emerged over the last 12 months as the future of the company.

Sami Zayn, Adrian Neviile, Tyler Breeze, The Ascension, Charlotte, Bayley and Sasha Banks are just some of the names who made NXT as good or better than the main roster on a regular basis.

It sounds cliche to say the future looks bright, but there's no better way to put it. The success of WWE is in good hands if this roster is anything to go by. Now, let's take a look at what we can expect from the first WWE broadcast of the new year.

First of all, there is a bit of a strange situation with this week's show. While the results of the most recent set of tapings are available at the link above, they might not line up the same way they were filmed.

There was a full list of matches filmed for last week's episode, but WWE opted to change the format of the show to a year-in-review setup with only one new contest between Charlotte and Sasha Banks.

The fact that the women of NXT were the main focus of the last show of the year speaks volumes about how hard they have worked to make the division better.

Banks and Charlotte delivered an incredible match at TakeOver: R Evolution, another excellent showing last Thursday and a great performance on Tuesday's Main Event.

With last week leaving four bouts on the cutting room floor, it means the company could opt to edit them in with a couple of the matches from the show taped for this week.

One encounter scheduled for Dec. 25 that will happen this Thursday is a rematch between The Ascension and the team of Hideo Itami and Finn Balor.

The Ascension made their main roster debut on Monday in a winning effort against The Miz and Damien Mizdow. Seeing as NXT was taped several weeks ago, Konnor and Viktor aren't completely safe from defeat.

Typically, a team or person who is brought up to the main roster would experience a period of nothing but victories, but The Ascension are not a lock to win Thursday because their push hadn't started when the show was filmed.

There's logic behind either team winning this match. The Ascension need momentum as they begin their run on Raw and SmackDown, but Itami and Balor need to keep winning because they are still somewhat new to the scene.

The bout these four men delivered at TakeOver was great; hopefully, we get a repeat performance this week.

We now get into what the rest of the show might include. Here is a list of the matches scrapped from last week's show that could end up playing Thursday.

• Carmella vs. Leva "Blue Pants" Bates
• Baron Corbin vs. local jobber
• Lucha Dragons vs. Tye Dillinger and Jason Jordan

The problem is that there is also a full episode's worth of matches that were originally set for this week that could be used.

• Tyler Breeze vs. Chad Gable
• Sasha Banks vs. Alexa Bliss
• Lucha Dragons vs. The Vaudevillains (for the NXT Tag Team Championship)
• Hideo Itami vs. Curtis Axel

 With Itami already announced to face The Ascension with Balor, it probably means his match with Axel will be pushed to next week or scrapped altogether.

The Lucha Dragons have two bouts available to use. The smart move would be to include the title match as a way to help kick off 2015, but it could go either way.

There's also two women's matches that could be used. Seeing as Banks has had several big performances in recent weeks, it might make more sense to give Carmella and Bates the spot on the card.

Bates is someone who could easily find herself signed to a WWE contract in 2015. She is a gifted wrestler with a unique gimmick and a great personality. She even hosts her own geek-themed show on YouTube that shows off her charisma and enthusiasm.

Management could always include both women's matches, but it's more likely it will choose whichever one will come across better on TV.

This leaves two singles matches to choose from. We could either see Corbin bury another enhancement talent or Tyler Breeze get some time in the ring against a new NXT Superstar named Chad Gable.

Gable is a name fans will not know off the top of their heads, but if you watch Olympic wrestling, you may recognize him by his real name, Chad Betts.

Betts competed in the 2012 Olympics for the U.S., becoming the U.S. Olympic trials champion but falling short of placing in the main competition.

He was the Minnesota state wrestling champion in 2004 and has racked up an impressive number of medals in other events, including a gold in the Pan-American Championships in 2012.

Athletes with a great amateur background tend to be talented professional wrestlers. All you have to do is look at names like Kurt Angle, Brock Lesnar, Shelton Benjamin, Jack Swagger, Dolph Ziggler and Cody Rhodes to see how well amateur wrestlers have done in the business.

Seeing as Betts' debut is not being advertised, he will probably fall short against Prince Pretty, but he is still so new to the pro side of wrestling that it won't affect him in the long run. He has plenty of time to improve and make an impact later.

With a lot of cut-and-paste options available, the odds of this episode being good go way up. It's the first show of the new year, so WWE will want to include the best of the best to get off to a good start.

What are you looking forward to on this week's NXT? 

Thanks for reading, and follow me on Twitter @BR_Doctor.