NXT Divas Still Have a Long Road Ahead for Success on WWE's Main Roster

The NXT Divas have been in the midst of a revolution on WWE programming for the past several weeks. The momentum they've built has been huge for the company and for the first time in a very long time, fans have become invested in women's wrestling.

But while the process seems to be working, the fact is there's still a long road ahead for the women from NXT.

No one can argue with the progress made thus far. The trio of Charlotte, Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks have turned heads and amassed a following since debuting on the main roster. In a division dominated by The Bella Twins, the three girls have been a nice change of pace and have brought more spotlight than the Divas have seen in quite some time.

Fans were likely not as excited about Total Divas on E! as they were about three of the Four Horsewomen being on Raw.

The reason for that is the treatment the Divas have received in recent years. The girls became more of a fashion show, a pop culture crossover, than a wrestling division. It was more about pushing the sex appeal than the talent in the ring, and it seemed as though it would never change.

But Natalya and AJ Lee began to challenge the status quo, and that challenge fell to Paige. But if a woman wants to be taken seriously as a wrestler, then she must differentiate herself from the models around her, and that meant Paige needed help.

Charlotte, Lynch and Banks are that help, and they have turned the Divas division upside down.  

However, no matter how well it's gone so far, there may be cause for concern. While the girls have impressed the fans and their peers alike, the journey is still ongoing. This is a massive change for the Divas division and after conditioning fans that runway models are the norm, WWE will not be able to change it back that quickly.

The truth is that may not be the intent anyway.

WWE seems to want it both ways. The Divas are to be one part sexy and mainstream with one part athletic and very talented. That may sound like easy math for a billion dollar company, but the fact is no one seems to have taken the Divas division seriously until now.

The pro wrestlers showed up, and now it's exciting again.

The vibe has been very positive, but this revolution is far from over. It's being handled by a company that has showed very little commitment to the women as top-level workers in the past. Not since Lita and Trish Stratus have WWE had this much promise in the Divas division, and it remains to be seen where this will lead to.

Charlotte is believed by some fans to be the breakout star of the group, the one that will dethrone Nikki Bella for the Divas Championship at Night of Champions. While this would surely be a favorable outcome and Charlotte would certainly be a very capable champion, Banks is not far behind.

Perhaps Banks is the best choice of the two. She seems to have both ends of the spectrum, with ability and crossover potential as well. The crowd has responded very positively to her, and her match against Bayley from NXT Takeover: Brooklyn is still being talked about.

Lynch is the wild card of the three, though, and could be a very intriguing choice to take Nikki's spot atop the Divas food chain. The best part about having three women of their caliber is that any choice would be a good choice.

But does the NXT trio's revolution have the potential to backfire? Are fans perhaps seeing too much of them on Raw and SmackDown? Is that even possible, considering WWE is trying to establish them on the main roster, and fans obviously want them there?

If this is a case of overexposure, then it will eventually fall flat. If that happens, then the Divas division is perhaps beyond evolution and will continue to be the weakest division in WWE. The company is walking a very fine line between the Hollywood environment it created and the new wave pro wrestling hybrid it could become.

WWE must prove it is fully committed to the improvement of women's wrestling, and that means staying the course. Characters must be fleshed out to keep the fans' interest, and the women involved must be prepared to face crowds that are perhaps growing tired of seeing the same matchups every week. They must continue to work hard and not be deterred despite how difficult it may become.

If the booking is right and the work is done to maintain the women's momentum, then this revolution will indeed be successful. But the work is not over yet.

Tom's work can be regularly found on Bleacher Report, and his podcast Tom Clark's Main Event is available on iTunes, Google Play, Windows Phone, Amazon Android and online here