WWE NXT Big Board: Updated Prospect Rankings and Analysis for March 27

On a night short on matches, Finn Balor made the loudest statement in the ring, further proving himself to be an elite WWE NXT prospect.

The Irishman didn't need to win the NXT Championship on Wednesday night or outlast his foes in the WrestleMania Axxess tournament to be the most talked-about wrestler at Full Sail University, to have fans pining to see him move up to WWE proper. He simply glided in the ring and growled on the mic.

Alexa Bliss, meanwhile, took a step back. Even with as many strides she has made of late, she is clearly still a student of the game.

The following is a look at those prospects and their peers' progress. The wrestlers most ready to jump to the main roster and thrive are ranked based on ring work, mic skills, look, charisma and gimmick. Only prospects who have debuted on TV are considered.  

The Superstars

Rank	Wrestler	Height/Weight	Notes
1.	Sami Zayn	6'1'', 205 lbs	Superb at in-ring storytelling, growing as talker, consistently delivers great matches.
2.	Kevin Owens	6'0", 266 lbs	Great presence, top-notch talker, excellent brawler.
3.	Finn Balor	5'11'', 179 lbs	Stepping up mic game, fluid and compelling in the ring.
4.	Adrian Neville	5'10'', 194 lbs	Top-tier high-flyer, excellent in-ring storytelling, average but improving on the mic.
5.	Tyler Breeze	6'0'', 190 lbs	Nailing gimmick, one of NXT's better talkers, expanding move set.
6.	Hideo Itami	5'9'', 182 lbs	Still adjusting to WWE style, skilled striker, highly athletic, limited promo skills.
7.	Baron Corbin	6'8'', 275 lbs	Elite presence, raw/unproven in the ring, good size and look.
8.	Bull Dempsey	6'2'', 300 lbs	Aggressive, works heel role well, strong in the ring, excellent on the mic.
9.	Colin Cassady	6'10'', 276 lbs	Great energy, adding bulk, good connection with the crowd.
10.	Kalisto	5'6'', 170 lbs	Superb athlete, fun offensive arsenal, not as much presence as top prospects.
11.	Solomon Crowe	5'10'', 207 lbs	Excellent striker, good presence, athletic, well-rounded in the ring, strong on the mic.
12.	Enzo Amore	5'11'', 200 lbs	Great charisma, subpar in the ring, excellent crowd connection.
13.	Simon Gotch	6'1'', 221 lbs	Works gimmick well, high-level showman, good use of facial expressions, has yet to have standout match.
14.	Jason Jordan	6'3'', 245 lbs	Impressive look, good athlete, improving as in-ring storyteller.
15.	Aiden English	6'3'', 215 lbs	Charismatic, works gimmick well, acting background aids him, average in the ring.
16.	Scott Dawson	5'10'', 224 lbs	Excellent mat worker, fits better as part of tag team, lacks "it" factor.
17.	Buddy Murphy	5'11'', 227 lbs	Not nearly as much presence on mic as in the ring, powerful, explosive, good look.
18.	CJ Parker	6'3'', 220 lbs	Solid all-around performer, struggling to stand out.
19.	Chad Gable	5'8'', 185 lbs	High-level technical wrestler, unproven on mic, size is an issue.
20.	Wesley Blake	6'1'', 240 lbs	Solid talker, athletic, unpolished in the ring.

Prospects just outside the top 20: Tye Dillinger, Mojo Rawley, Angelo Dawkins.

Finn Balor Making His Mark

The last NXT before WrestleMania only featured two matches, the second of which saw Balor challenge Kevin Owens for the NXT Championship.

Owens was everything we have come to expect from him: Intimidating, compelling, vicious. He ended the match with a pop-up powerbomb and ended the night with the title still in his grasp.

In defeat, Balor looked terrific. He sold his injured knee extremely well, every limp and grimace coming off as very believable. He did well to churn up sympathy in the process.

That along with his usual fluid, high-flying style helped him and Owens compose a standout match.

In his short time at NXT, Balor has amassed an impressive number of these. While some guys are still searching for their signature bouts, this rising star has two of them in the last two months.

In addition, we saw Balor's best NXT promo to date. His to-the-point speech before clashing with Owens had more intensity than he's shown before. Should he stoke those coals and continue to add fire to his mic work, we will continue his climb up the rankings.

Itami Headed to WrestleMania

Itami wasn't in action on Wednesday's NXT, but last defeated Balor at WrestleMania Axxess to earn a spot in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, as noted on WWE.com.

While that appearance doesn't guarantee him a run on the main roster, the expectation from many was that entering the Battle Royal signaled a promotion. It will be a surprise if WWE does officially call up Itami; he just isn't ready.

Credit: WWE.com

He's slowly been developing into the performer he was in Japan, but is still not there. Keeping him at NXT for now makes sense, as it allows him to continue this adjustment period in a less high-pressure situation.

Even more than his ring work, it's his talking that needs growth. Fans saw a key example of that on Wednesday night.

He confronted Tyler Breeze backstage to set up a future 2-out-of-3 Falls match between them. Itami is still learning to speak English, and that limited him here, forcing his promo to be a rather simple one. 

While not everyone needs to speak well or often to succeed, it makes more sense to let him fine-tune that part of his arsenal before trying to connect with fans on the main roster level.

Other Notes

Wesley Blake and Buddy Murphy ran into Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady backstage to apologize for knocking Carmella over last week. The segment foreshadowed more battles between these teams down the road, but the big takeaway from a scouting perspective is just how much better Blake is than Murphy on the mic.

He comes off as more confident than his tag team partner. His delivery is more natural and he has more presence. 

Blake won't challenge Owens as a mic worker, but this skill pushes him past other prospects who WWE can't rely on to deliver verbally.

The company can lean on Breeze as a talker far more than it can with Blake. His feud with Itami is going to give him chances aplenty to prove himself on the mat. It's as a character and a trash-talker that he has been most impressive so far.

He bad-mouthed his rival on Wednesday night well enough to show that he is more ready than Itami to move up, that he is more of a finished product right now. Officials, meanwhile, are still figuring out how to present Itami.

The Divas

Rank	Wrestler	Height	Notes
1.	Sasha Banks	5'5''	Excellent showmanship, polished ring work, more than ready to move to main roster.
2.	Charlotte	5'10''	Huge upside, great presence, athletic, excellent in the ring and will continue to get better.
3.	Bayley	5'6''	Great connection with the crowd, good but unpolished in the ring, works gimmick extremely well.
4.	Becky Lynch	5'6''	Excellent mat worker, good athlete, gimmick not clicking.
5.	Alexa Bliss	5'1''	Ring inexperience showing, good energy/presence, solid talker.
6.	Carmella	5'5''	Good presence, charismatic, raw in the ring.

Bliss, Still a Work in Progress

Bliss got her title shot and a second straight chance to work with NXT's most polished women's wrestler. Her performance reminded us that despite her ability to pick things up quickly, she still has a lot of learning to do.

Her inexperience showed in a mostly awkward performance.

Many moments looked hampered by mistiming. She ran into Banks at one point, seemingly unsure of what to do. A few times, the women tumbled over each other, looking as if an attempted move never came to fruition.

She later stood inside the ring happily counting along with the referee as Banks struggled to get to her feet outside the ring. The problem is this was a title match and she couldn't have won the championship by count-out. That's poor in-ring psychology; a challenger never settles for that kind of win.

It looked as if the referee had to whisper to her to go help Banks back in.

Still, Bliss showed her usual athleticism and turned a sunset flip into a powerbomb that left fans roaring. It's moments like those that show what she's capable of becoming with continued progress. It's a night like this, though, that serves as a reminder of how difficult an art pro wrestling is to master.