WWE NXT: Preview and Predictions for Year-End Awards

2015 was a banner year for the NXT brand. Many firsts took place both in and out of the ring, and the men and women of the developmental system will be honored with the first NXT Year-End Awards on January 13.

NXT is where hopeful Divas and Superstars perfect their craft before going to the main roster, but the developmental brand often seemed like it was more enjoyable than Raw and SmackDown over the past 12 months.

One of the main reasons why it's so easy to love the brand is because it only airs for one hour each week. Nobody gets overexposed, so we actually look forward to every appearance by our favorites.

The roster deserves these awards for making NXT into an international success. The categories will include match, male competitor, female competitor, best overall competitor, TakeOver and tag team of the year.

Let's take a look at the nominees and attempt to predict some winners.

Tag Team of the Year

The tag team division in NXT had its ups and down in 2015. It was depleted when The Ascension and The Lucha Dragons were called up to the main roster, but it has been replenished with duos such as Chad Gable and Jason Jordan, Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder, and The Hype Bros.

The five teams nominated for Tag Team of the Year are Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady, The Lucha Dragons, Wesley Blake and Buddy Murphy, The Vaudevillains, and Dash and Dawson.

This is one of the harder awards to predict because everyone is going to use different criteria to judge the candidates.

Amore and Big Cass have been one of the most consistently entertaining acts in the entire company. Kalisto and Sin Cara are exciting in every match, and The Vaudevillains have turned what should have been a terrible gimmick into something enjoyable.

The Lucha Dragons spent most of the year on the main roster, so if we take that into account, it seems like Amore and Cassady have this one locked up.

With Carmella by their side, the loud-mouthed Amore and Cassady have won over the NXT Universe with their unconventional style and hilarious personalities. The fact that they never won the NXT Tag Team Championships seems like a crime.

TakeOver of the Year

When it comes down to it, there's no good way to predict the winner of this award. Every TakeOver special in 2015 had something for everyone to like, but if you ask this writer, the decision should be easy.

TakeOver: Brooklyn had everything you could want packed into two incredible hours. Even the undercard matches were great, and that can't be said about most live events and pay-per-views.

Jushin Thunder Liger made his WWE debut in a fun match against Tyler Breeze, Apollo Crews had an impressive debut against Tye Dillinger, and Samoa Joe handed Baron Corbin his first major defeat.

Then there were the title matches. Fan-favorite Blue Pants helped Aiden English and Simon Gotch capture the NXT Tag Team Championships, and Finn Balor and Kevin Owens excited the crowd with a great ladder match for the NXT title, but one bout stands above the rest.

Bayley and Sasha Banks had one of the most exciting and emotional matches of the year, not just in NXT but the entire company.

After a journey that seemed to last forever, Bayley finally won the NXT Women's Championship with a performance that blew away everything else on the card.

She and Banks would go on to be the first women to headline a major event at TakeOver: Respect in a 30-minute Iron Man match, but it was their contest in Brooklyn that showed the world how good they really are.

If you didn't feel something when Bayley, Banks, Becky Lynch and Charlotte stood together in that ring to celebrate all they have accomplished, you might want to check yourself for a soul.

Match of the Year

Ten bouts have been nominated for Match of the Year, and if you examine the list, you will notice how a few people appear more than the rest. Here is a rundown of the nominees:

• Bayley vs. Sasha Banks (TakeOver: Brooklyn)
• Finn Balor vs. Kevin Owens  (Brock Lesnar: The Beast in the East, Live from Tokyo)
• Women’s Fatal 4-Way (TakeOver: Rival)
• Samoa Joe vs. Finn Balor (TakeOver: London)
• Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens (TakeOver: Rival)
• Bayley vs. Sasha Banks – 30-Minute WWE Iron Man Match (TakeOver: Respect)
• Sasha Banks vs. Becky Lynch (TakeOver: Unstoppable)
• Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks (WWE NXT, July 15, 2015)
• Finn Balor vs. Neville – No. 1 Contender’s Tournament Final (TakeOver: Rival)
• Kevin Owens vs. Finn Balor (WWE NXT, March 25, 2015)

Owens and Bayley each have three nominations, but it's Balor and Banks who lead the pack with four and five, respectively. It also has to be pointed out that every TakeOver bout Banks had in 2015 made the list.

In case you couldn't tell from the previous slide, one of these bouts blows away the competition. Bayley vs. Banks from TakeOver: Brooklyn should win this award, hands down.

One could argue as to why several of the bouts on the list have a chance, but the two women who stole our hearts in Brooklyn are the most deserving.

Male Competitor of the Year

The nominees for Male Performer of the Year are Finn Balor, Kevin Owens, Tyler Breeze, Samoa Joe and Sami Zayn.

While it would be nice to see Tyler Breeze get an award for all his hard work, it seems unlikely when you look at the other nominees.

Samoa Joe has been a great addition to the roster, but his impact wasn't as big in 2015 as some of the other names up for the prize.

Owens was a great NXT champion, but he was done with NXT by the summer. Sami Zayn is one of the most popular wrestlers on the roster, but he was sidelined for several months with a shoulder injury. That just leaves Balor.

The former NJPW standout was the only person who churned out great matches throughout the entire year, and that is why he deserves to win this award.

Since fans are voting, this is essentially a popularity contest. That gives Zayn a chance to win, but Balor's unique Demon persona and inventive style in the ring have earned him a special place in the hearts of NXT fans.

Female Competitor of the Year

The nominees for Female Performer of the Year are Charlotte, Lynch, Banks, Bayley and Asuka. It's a great lineup of women's wrestlers, but two stand out as the most likely to win.

Banks and Bayley each had their own emotional journey to take in 2015, and it led both of them to the NXT Women's Championship.

Banks is the charismatic heel who is so good we can't help but cheer for her, while Bayley is the underdog we all connect with on a personal level.

The two matches they had at TakeOver: Rival and Brooklyn were showstoppers in every sense of the word. They made jaded, longtime WWE fans feel like kids again because they embody everything we loved about pro wrestling growing up.

They told a story in the ring, used great wrestling psychology and helped prove that two young women can outperform every man and woman in the company.

It's a toss-up between Bayley and Banks for this award. They both deserve to be recognized for their efforts in 2015. Bayley has the younger fans on her side, and that is going to have an impact on the voting, which is why she has a razor-thin edge over Banks in this category.

Overall Competitor of the Year

It might seem odd to have categories for best male performer, best female performer and best overall performer, but it will hopefully lead to three different talents being acknowledged for their hard work.

The list of nominees is made up of both sets of names from the male and female competitor categories, so 10 people have a chance to win.

You would think it would be a race between whichever two people win the male and female awards, but the NXT Universe might surprise everyone and give us three different winners.

If that happens, this award needs to go to Sasha Banks. She has just about mastered every quality one needs to be a great wrestler, and that is rare these days.

Not only did she have some of the best matches of the year at every TakeOver special, but she also helped launch the Divas Revolution on the main roster.

Again, this is all a popularity contest, so it could go to Zayn, Balor, Bayley or anyone else who is nominated, but seeing Banks win would be the most satisfying outcome.

When the winners are announced on January 13, some people who are bound to be unhappy that their favorites didn't take home a prize, but that is always going to be the case. The important thing is that these men and women are being honored for making NXT what it is today.

Who do you think will win the first NXT Year-End Awards?

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