WWE NXT Big Board: Updated Prospect Rankings and Analysis for December 31

Sami Zayn's return intensifies the battle among the WWE NXT prospects to be the best.

An emotional lightning rod with springs in his leg is back. Even a step slower after being out for much of the year, Zayn is still among the surest bests Full Sail has to offer. He has some work ahead of him to reclaim the No. 1 spot, though.

Chad Gable made the most upward movement on the final NXT rankings of 2015. The mat wizard is quickly generating buzz thanks to his full-throttle approach to technical wrestling. 

NXT's last show of the year was a "best of" episode, so these rankings instead take a look back at the Christmas Eve edition of NXT.

Elias Samson re-debuted with his guitar-centric gimmick. Gable commanded the crowd. And Zayn poured emotion into the microphone.

Where do those men and their peers now stand on the list of top NXT prospects? The following answers that question, ranking the wrestlers factoring in their ring work, mic skills, look, size, gimmick, crowd connection and charisma.

Note: There is no change in the women's rankings as there were no matches by women on the last two NXT shows.

Female Wrestlers

Rank	Wrestler	Height	Notes
1.	Bayley	5'6''	Superb storyteller, stellar connection with crowd, highly reliable in the ring.
2.	Asuka	5'3''	Best all-around mat worker in the division, good showmanship, limited on promos.
3.	Emma	5'5''	Good intensity, aggressive, increasingly comfortable as a heel.
4.	Alexa Bliss	5''1''	One of the best talkers in the division, convincing heel, improving as striker, excellent viciousness.
5.	Nia Jax	6'0''	Great power, inconsistent intensity, high ceiling.
6.	Carmella	5'5''	Decent in the ring, strong charisma, good facial expressions.
7.	Dana Brooke	5'3''	Working to lessen overacting, excellent athlete, making progress overall.
8.	Eva Marie	5'8''	Outright hated by NXT fans, star look, miles to go in the ring.
9.	Peyton Royce	5'7''	Improving presence, better sense of character, good aggression.
10.	Billie Kay	5'8''	Good power, intensity needs work, OK presence.
11.	Liv Morgan	5'4''	Strong showmanship, smooth in the ring, underwhelming presence as of now.

Male Wrestlers

Rank	Wrestler	Height/Weight	Notes
1.	Samoa Joe	6'2'', 279 lbs	Energized by NXT, great presence, superb intensity, arguably NXT's best talker.
2.	Finn Balor	5'11'', 190 lbs	Stellar showman, tremendous athlete, marketable, consistently delivers in the ring.
3.	Sami Zayn	6'1'', 205 lbs	Not yet back to pre-injury level, superb storyteller, great connection with crowd.
4.	Baron Corbin	6'8'', 275 lbs	Improving as striker, finding voice as a heel, inconsistent intensity
5.	Apollo Crews	6'1'', 240 lbs	Great athlete, highly likable, not yet elite in terms of storytelling.
6.	Colin Cassady	6'10'', 276 lbs	Great intensity, strong crowd connection, good movement for big man.
7.	Jason Jordan	6'3'', 245 lbs	Fantastic athlete, popularity growing, good presence, inconsistent strikes.
8.	Hideo Itami	5'9'', 182 lbs	Showing more charisma, making progress as mic worker, electric in the ring.
9.	Chad Gable	5'8'', 187 lbs	Highly popular, electric ring work, makes mat wrestling fun, limited on the mic,
10.	Scott Dawson	5'10'', 224 lbs	Continuing run of standout performances, vicious, good brawler, making progress as a talker.
11.	Enzo Amore	5'11'', 200 lbs	Much improved ring work of late, top-tier charisma, great talker, decent athlete.
12.	Simon Gotch	6'1'', 221 lbs	Fun move set, strong character work, good charisma.
13.	Tye Dillinger	6'3'', 223 lbs	Has developed strong connection with crowd, found ideal gimmick.
14.	Dash Wilder	5'10'', 222 lbs	Good tag team work, producing quality matches, below-average talker.
15.	Aiden English	6'3'', 215 lbs	Solid all around, not as much presence as Gotch, few standout performances.
16.	Bull Dempsey	6'2'', 300 lbs	Continues to lose momentum, silly gimmick not allowing him to bruiser, strong mic skills when serious.
17.	Sawyer Fulton	6'8'', 285 lbs	Aggressive, good size, needs to find right gimmick.
18.	Elias Samson	6'0'', 217 lbs	New gimmick helping get him noticed, character needs depth, ring work decent so far.
19.	Blake	6'1'', 240 lbs	Overshadowed by Alexa Bliss, lacks presence, solid ring work.
20.	Murphy	5'11'', 227 lbs	Impressive athlete, subpar presence, weak mic work.

Prospects just outside the top 20: Mojo Rawley, Steve Cutler, Riddick Moss

Gable's Fanbase Growing

Gable has clearly won over the NXT crowd. That doesn't always translate to the main roster, but it's certainly a good sign.

When four teams collided on the last live NXT of 2015, it was Gable who garnered the biggest response from fans. Rawley, Blake and others received rumblings, whereas Gable had fans howling for him.

His fanbase continues to grow. Count F4WOnline's Bryan Alvarez among that group:

Gable showed off an infectious swagger and used a high-energy style to make each moment in the ring fun to watch. He was the No. 1 highlight of a crowded match. The fact that he overshadowed everyone so much, his tag team partner included, has to seize WWE officials' attention.

After their victory, he and Jason Jordan now appear to be on a collision course with the tag team champs.

If that's the case, we're set to get a better idea of just what Gable can do. He hasn't had many longer matches. Facing the brawling duo of Dash Wilder and Scott Dawson will be a huge test and a chance to impress further.

Re-Introducing Elias Samson

Weeks of vignettes hyped Samson's return as The Drifter, a guitar-carrying vagabond with a bad attitude. He then took on Bull Dempsey in a short contest.

While the character is far from complete, this gimmick is a strong starting point. He's already miles more interesting beforehand.

Samson brooded and glared for much of the match, but he exuded just average intensity. He'll have to turn the volume knob up on that to make a bigger impact going forward.

As for his in-ring work, he boasted an impressive snap to his offense at times. A thunderous high knee floored Dempsey. Like with his gimmick as a whole, the in-ring part of his act is a work in progress.

We need to see how he sells his foe's offense, how he does with a longer story on the mat and against top-flight competition. The Drifter shtick has to evolve past just being about an angry guy with a guitar. Adding depth and nuances to the character will help him immensely.  

The folks at Daily DDT, like many others, have low expectations for him:

To prove them wrong, Samson has a lot of work ahead. NXT is so rich with talent right now that moving past the middle of the pack takes something special.

Sami Zayn Back In Action

In his bout with Tye Dillinger, Zayn didn't look quite like himself. He was a step slower in the ring. That's to be expected with as much time as he was out.

What hasn't changed is his connection to the fans. They ate up everything he did in there, from selling a pained shoulder to going on an offensive flurry.

This was just standard fare for Zayn, but it was Dillinger's best match. The former NXT champ has continued to exhibit a Ric Flair-like skill of getting the most out of the other guy. That's highly valuable moving forward.

Zayn most shined upon his return, though, when he addressed the audience after the match. 

His emotion flared up as he spoke. He came off as genuine, passionate, a guy you want to root for. This was one of his most moving promos to date.

That's long been his weak point, but he seems to be on his way to making it one of his strengths. Should he do that, it will then be his underwhelming size and concerns about him re-injuring himself that most cause the WWE brass to devalue his stock.