Realistic Expectations for WWE's Divas Division for 2016

The revolution will continue in the WWE Divas Division in 2016, but it will crawl along. Where NXT has moved toward an improved women's division like a speeding train, WWE has progressed more like a pump trolley.

Still, WWE has too much female talent to ignore. There is too much demand from fans for women wrestlers to step out of the background for the company to simply continue on without making changes.

Sasha Banks is an in-ring artist, a compelling heel with a surplus of swagger. Nikki Bella has vastly improved over the years, going from subpar to someone WWE can build a strong women's division around. Becky Lynch is looking more and more like a star, and Paige hasn't yet reached her full potential. 

WWE called its uneven attempt to raise the profile of women's wrestling a "revolution."

It was a slower, more subtle transformation than that, though. Expect a similar pace in 2016. As much as 2015 was a banner year for women in many ways, there is ample work left to be done.

Remember that the division's ultimate prize is a sparkled, butterfly-shaped title. Remember that WWE still refers to its women as "Divas" and heavily promotes Total Divas. Remember that as fans chanted, "We want Sasha!", WWE kept trotting other grapplers.

The year won't be one marked by overhaul, but instead one of measured steps toward what lies ahead.

Lost in Transition

By adding Bayley to the mix on the main roster, the women's division will be brimming with talent. The gutsy babyface who has made the grit-through-the-pain comeback a work of art is arguably the woman with the most potential for stardom on WWE's payroll.

There's a strong chance that she'll be the next female from NXT who is called up.

She's been killing it at NXT for over two years. She looks every bit ready for increased spotlight. And with Asuka or Alexa Bliss taking over as champion, the NXT women's title would be in good hands.

Fans should temper their expectations, though.

Count on her not being nearly well-utilized on the main roster. WWE has shown just how different a species it is compared to NXT, especially with its female prospects.

Emma fell into a booking pit upon arrival. Gone was the endearing, tough NXT version of herself. Instead, she was presented as a bumbling goof who was the second coming of Santino Marella.

Her comedy skits stank. Having her use a socket puppet as a weapon a la Marella failed. 

Bayley is in danger of a similar situation unfolding. WWE could easily tilt her character more toward comic-relief territory. Officials on the main roster aren't guaranteed to believe in her with as much conviction as the NXT decision-makers have.

In an interview with Channel Guide Magazine, Paige said of her, "I feel like she will hopefully be called up really soon."

That's one of the safer bets in the WWE prediction game. What happens to Bayley after that, though? Is she going to wish she was back at Full Sail University after a few months?

Year of The Boss

Banks is poised to be biggest deal in the women's division since AJ Lee.

At NXT and WWE last year, Banks made her case as WWE's best in-ring performer. That talent combined with her electric presence and vocal fanbase will allow her to shove her way to the top of the mountain.

She certainly believes that 2016 will be her breakout year. Banks told Cory Garcia of the Houston Press, "2016 I promise you will be the year of The Boss. 2015 was just the beginning. Everyone heard the buzz from it, but [in] 2016 I'm making my name, making my statement, and I am taking over."

That's easy to believe. 

It's something many members of the audience are foreseeing. Diva Dirt readers voted Banks "One to Watch in 2016":

Ryan Pappola of WWE.com predicted that Banks "will break new ground in 2016 when she inevitably injects herself into the Divas Championship hunt." Winning that title will be just one of her highlights in a huge year for her.

She won't get quite the portion of the stage that NXT offered her, but she should compose a handful of matches that deserve a spot in the top 25 bouts of 2016.

She'll force WWE to rethink how it books the division, spearheading the next stage of the Divas Revolution. Look for her to own a more high-profile position than any female wrestler in the last five years.

Fans have to expect some stumbling from WWE along the way, however. WWE's record of making the best use of female talent is poor. Refer to Natalya, Beth Phoenix and Gail Kim's histories as proof.

Banks is so special in the ring, though, that she can overcome a good amount of flawed storytelling. She will work to make even barely hyped matches feel momentous. 

A Struggle to Tell Multiple Stories

When it comes to the women's division, WWE is often the coach who doesn't make good use of his bench. Too often, all but the champion and challenger at any given time is left to sit on their hands.

During AJ Lee vs. Kaitlyn, Paige vs. Nikki and Charlotte vs. Becky Lynch, the other women struggled to get airtime. WWE didn't work hard enough to craft non-title feuds.

Credit: WWE.com

That should change to a degree with as much talent as the division now boasts, but imbalanced booking promises to be a fatal flaw once more.

It's hard to imagine a scenario where while Banks and Charlotte feud over the belt, Paige is in a well-developed rivalry with Lynch and Naomi is surging up the ladder to an eventual championship opportunity.

WWE just hasn't proved that it can handle that many women-centered narratives at once.

In late 2015, Paige and Charlotte's issue took center stage. Banks, Naomi and Tamina Snuka were left to watch the action from the backstage monitors, theoretically teasing Team B.A.D.'s eventually going after what was left of PCB.

Time and time again, WWE left stories unfinished, not even halfway into the first chapter.

Someone (presumably Paige) attacked Natalya backstage. Nothing came of it. Natalya had no revenge quest as a result. Banks and Team B.A.D. targeted Natalya, but no rivalry unfolded.

Hopefully, there's improvement on that front in 2016, but don't expect a drastic departure from the norm.

Several wrestlers will inevitably get lost in the shuffle. Is that going to be Lynch, Paige, a newly arrived Baley or Natalya, someone WWE has consistently underused? Or worse yet, is it going to be every single one of them who warms the bench too often all year?

Ready for the Marquee?

In 2015, NXT women main evented a house show and headlined NXT TakeOver: Respect. NXT recognized that the biggest match of the night may well be between women, and the only smart move was to treat it as such.

That kind of prime placement is possible at the WWE level. It will require a change in philosophy from Vince McMahon and a female feud to get red hot.

Banks and Charlotte main eventing a WWE pay-per-view is certainly much more possible than it would have been five years ago.

Credit: WWE.com

WWE has the talent to do so, and the calendar is crowded. In the days when WWE just produced "The Big Four," it would have been next to impossible to break through that glass ceiling. Now the company has over a dozen pay-per-views a year, not to mention live events broadcast on the WWE Network like Beast in the East.

Even if WWE does it just so that it can say it did, and just so it can throw around the term "history-making," it could decide that this is the year to make a leap and feature women at the top of a card.

Paul Heyman, for one, believes it can happen. He told Denny Burkholder of CBS Sports, "I think the women have an opportunity just in the next year or so to become bona fide, first-time-ever pay-per-view main eventers in WWE."

At the very least, fans can count on WrestleMania's women's match to be miles more significant than previous representations of the division on that stage.

Banks vs. Charlotte is the kind of money match that can be a key part of the show. Those two have shown themselves to be legitimate stars who beg to be showcased. Their bout can surpass the kind of buzz that Mickie James vs. Trish Stratus created back in 2006. 

Just don't expect a full-scale takeover by the women. Change doesn't happen at breakneck speed at WWE.