WWE NXT Results: Biggest Winners, Losers and Moments from December 9

To say Samoa Joe's early months in NXT were a disappointment would be an understatement the size of his championship resume. He was directionless, and fans never really had the opportunity to see the essence of the character. That all changed recently when Joe turned heel and betrayed former tag partner Finn Balor.

Wednesday night, he proved to be the biggest winner of the December 9 episode of NXT, choking out the world champion and standing tall with the title in his grasp just one week before a potential date with destiny at TakeOver: London.

The Samoan Submission Machine was only one of a handful of stars who had an extraordinary night on the WWE Network, though—some for the right reasons and others...not so much.

There was Enzo Amore, who proved he could set aside the jokes and provide the intensely serious promo necessary to really get a feud over, and there was Peyton Royce, who proved she could very well be one of the bright lights of the Divas division's future.

On the other hand, there was Buddy Murphy and Wesley Blake, whose loss to The Hype Bros has them headed for irrelevancy.

With so much emphasis put on building to next week's live special, these are the Superstars and Divas who earned the status of being the night's winners and losers.

Winner: Enzo Amore

Before Wednesday's broadcast hit the WWE Network, there was a misconception among fans that Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady were a comedic act, an opening-match duo who fired crowds up with one-liners and catchphrases.

Then they were attacked, beaten down by Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder en route to that team's NXT Tag Team Championship victory, and everything changed. The injuries inflicted on them by the devious duo altered something inside of them, bringing out an angry and vengeful side of the popular babyfaces.

Amore unleashed an impassioned promo Wednesday night, refusing to allow the tag champions to take food out of the mouths of their family through some sneak attack that caused injuries. He spoke to being the longest-tenured tag team in NXT and how they will decide their own futures, not someone else.

It was an excellent piece of mic work, one of the best promos of Enzo's career.

Now it will be up to the two tag teams involved to follow up their hot rivalry with a match that encapsulates the intense hatred that exists between them. Otherwise, all the passion and fire were for naught.

Credit: WWE.com

Losers: Buddy Murphy, Wesley Blake and Alexa Bliss

Remember when Buddy Murphy and Wesley Blake were NXT tag team champions, on the receiving end of a sizable push despite not having characters that had been fleshed out? Remember when Alexa Bliss turned heel and seemed to give the duo the manager they needed, not to mention the attitude that was essential to their success?

You would be hard-pressed to find any mention of their past greatness, outside of a mention here and there by Corey Graves on commentary.

Wednesday night was further proof of the team's downward spiral, as it lost to the increasingly annoying Hype Bros team of Zack Ryder and Mojo Rawley.

One could suggest that Ryder is a main roster star, thus he should be beating guys like Murphy and Blake, but shouldn't NXT be used for putting younger performers over in hopes of ensuring the future of the business?

More importantly, is it not time for Murphy and Blake to have some sort of defined characters rather than being the one-dimensional, vanilla villains?

And what happened to Bliss? A fantastic heel, she wrestled a very good match against Bayley just over a month ago but has descended into irrelevancy ever since. All in all, no group has had as disappointing a last four months as Murphy, Blake and Bliss.

Winner: Peyton Royce

One of the beautiful things about the NXT women's division is the fact that it has proved to be self-sustaining over time. When Paige and Emma were called up, Charlotte, Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch and Bayley stepped up. When three of those four left, Asuka, Nia Jax and Eva Marie became centerpieces of the division.

Now, management is preparing for the next round of future Divas, booking Peyton Royce, Billie Kay and Liv Morgan with more frequency.

Wednesday night, Royce showed flashes of brilliance in what was her best performance to date. Her opponent? The NXT women's champion, Bayley, who had no problem selling for her or putting her over.

Royce had a new attitude and was clearly a heel, answering one of the questions that had plagued her since arriving. More importantly, she looked comfortable and confident in the ring for the first time and has clearly been working on her strikes. Overall, her performance was significantly improved from the last time fans saw her in the NXT ring, and a lot of that can be attributed to her time in the WWE Performance Center.

Royce will play a huge part in the future of the NXT Divas, as will the aforementioned Kay and Morgan, and the women's division will benefit in a way few other portions of either WWE roster could imagine.