WWE: 10 biggest stories of 2016

2. The rise of the women’s division

2016 was the greatest year that the WWE women’s division has ever had and it’s not even close.

While the “women’s revolution” technically started in 2015 with the addition of Charlotte, Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch, things didn’t really take off until 2016 and it started at WrestleMania 32 when those three women put on the best match of the night. After years of the butterfly belt, the term “divas” was thrown out the window and a new title was introduced that day, marking a new era coming along with it.

Following the brand split, we witnessed some of the greatest matches in history as Charlotte and Sasha Banks had one of the best feuds of the year on RAW. They took part in the first-ever women’s Hell in a Cell match, main-evented the flagship show on numerous occasions, including one of my favorite matches of the year with their Falls Count Anywhere encounter just a few weeks ago, and have set the bar extremely high for 2017.

Over on Smackdown Live, which I think has an even deeper women’s roster, Becky Lynch and Alexa Bliss have been engaging in their own great program, even getting their own specialty match with tables at WWE TLC. But even before that took place, I really enjoyed the Six-Pack Challenge to crown their first champion at WWE Backlash and they followed it up with a great number one contender’s match just two days later.

But even outside of the title picture, there are actually feuds that have been captivating. The grudge matches between Nikki Bella and Carmella were entertaining and throwing Natalya into the mix has been great as well. Monday Night RAW needs to do a little bit better job of developing stories outside of Sasha and Charlotte, but with that feud coming to an end just recently at WWE Roadblock: End of the Line, it looks like Bayley will finally get her real chance to shine on the main roster and Nia Jax is likely to get a big push in 2017 as well.

And I didn’t even mention how great Asuka is down in NXT. The women’s division is hotter than it’s ever been and it’s not going anywhere. Look for more great action from these talented females in the upcoming year.