WWE NXT Big Board: Updated Prospect Rankings and Analysis for July 10

Shoddy acting is handcuffing a pair of WWE NXT prospects. 

Marcus Louis is giving maximum effort to make his deranged-monster gimmick work, but he's sputtering. Dana Brooke tries to exude cockiness but overacts. She's blaring into the saxophone when it just needs a delicate breath.

Both wrestlers are hitting a wall thanks to their poor acting skills.

As much as size and in-ring ability are key to making it in pro wrestling, Brooke's and Louis' failures are reminders that the theater aspect of the mat game is vital as well.

And while Aiden English and Simon Gotch are better actors that those two, they failed to make much of an impression on Wednesday's NXT. They were lighting sparklers while a guy like Finn Balor was shooting off bottle rockets. 

The following is a look at the ongoing progress of these grapplers and more. Who is most ready to head to the main roster? Who will have the most promising career once that promotion comes?

Rankings are determined by ring skills, mic work, size, look, gimmick, charisma and showmanship. 

Note: Although Kevin Owens is still listed as an NXT wrestler on WWE.com, he is clearly in transition to the main roster with his recent appearances on Raw, SmackDown and WWE pay-per-views. He is no longer considered a prospect for the sake of these rankings.

Male Wrestlers

Rank	Wrestler	Height/Weight	Notes
1.	Finn Balor	5'11'', 190 lbs	Top-tier ring worker, great connection with crowd, gimmick coming together.
2.	Sami Zayn	6'1'', 205 lbs	Excellent showman, fun move set, inconsistent on the mic.
3.	Samoa Joe	6'2'', 279 lbs	Top-notch presence, great intensity, excellent in the ring.
4.	Baron Corbin	6'8'', 275 lbs	Convincing striker, aggressive, great presence.
5.	Tyler Breeze	6'0'', 190 lbs	Maximizes gimmick, fluid and quick, ring work not at top prospects' level.
6.	Hideo Itami	5'9'', 182 lbs	Showing more charisma, making progress as mic worker, electric in the ring.
7.	Jason Jordan	6'3'', 245 lbs	Intense, fluid, good presence, great look.
8.	Solomon Crowe	5'10'', 207 lbs	Good sense of his character, vicious in the ring, high ceiling if showcased.
9.	Colin Cassady	6'10'', 276 lbs	Great size, good charisma, limited in the ring.
10.	Scott Dawson	5'10'', 224 lbs	Adept at both brawling and mat wrestling, tough-guy aura, aggressive, below-average "it" factor.
11.	Enzo Amore	5'11'', 200 lbs	Below-average ring work, great charisma, better suited as a manager.
12.	Bull Dempsey	6'2'', 300 lbs	Being made a joke with current gimmick, strong on the mic, skilled brawler.
13.	Simon Gotch	6'1'', 221 lbs	Works gimmick, solid in the ring, not creating standout in-ring work.
14.	Tye Dillinger	6'3'', 223 lbs	Steadily improving overall, gimmick still in progress, skilled seller.
15.	Aiden English	6'3'', 215 lbs	Skilled actor, not showing great presence, lacks standout bouts.
16.	Blake	6'1'', 240 lbs	Showing swagger, good athlete, unpolished ring work.
17.	Murphy	5'11'', 227 lbs	Explosive athlete, lacks presence, limited on the mic.
18.	Chad Gable	5'8'', 187 lbs	Showing a touch more personality of late, skilled amateur wrestler, size is an issue.
19.	Dash Wilder	5'10'', 222 lbs	Strong ring work, good build, below-average charisma.
20.	Mike Rallis	6'2'', 246 lbs	Good striker, explosive, skilled at selling, not standing out yet.

Prospects just outside the top 20: Mojo Rawley, Marcus Louis and Angelo Dawkins.

Cartoon Monster

Louis is wearing a gimmick that fits him poorly. He's not convincing as the demented man he's trying to play. For now, he's a poor man's Snitsky. 

It just feels like he's trying too hard.

Whether he will be able to turn down the volume on the gimmick or if he's just not equipped for this role is unclear at this point. Currently, it's not working. Even the announcers seemed confused as he prepared for battle with Solomon Crowe.

"Is he yawning or just angry?" one of them asked.

During the bout there was a flash of the right amount of aggression, but too often his heavy breathing and dramatic facial gestures felt like put-ons.

And this isn't just a case of the gimmick not being doable. When The Missing Link stalked foes in green face paint, he made the audience believe in him. Louis hasn't been able to do that yet.

No Standouts From Tag Team Collision

The Vaudevillains earned the No. 1 contenders' spots on Wednesday night with a win over Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady.

That victory, though, didn't make much of a statement from a performance standpoint. It's hard to remember many highlights from it. It failed to create much electricity.

This is too often the case with all four men involved.

Tyler Breeze has a number of impressive bouts he can brag about. Baron Corbin can point to his clash with Rhyno as a showcase of what he can do. Simon Gotch and Company, meanwhile, have too little work of note to fill out their resumes.

This match was another example of these wrestlers' failure to maximize their minutes. This was far from the kind of bout fans long to rewatch. It was simply nothing special.

Against Gotch and Aiden English, Amore entertained during the sillier moments. He struggled, though, with turning on the aggression when needed.

He offered weak kicks and a headlock that was far from snug enough.

Those kind of minor issues are forgotten with great overall performances. In the context of a classic, little misses don't mean as much. With a match like this one with little to no drama, it's hard not to notice them.

Balor's Coronation

WWE's confidence in Balor is justified each time he steps up big. He did just that at Beast in the East with his win over Kevin Owens.

A match that was hyped quite aggressively didn't disappoint. This was something that would have belonged at the top of a WWE pay-per-view. 

Balor helped give it that proverbial big-match feel. He sold Owens' offense extremely well, looking as if he was going through a war in there at times. He also made the most of his time on offense, as his comebacks churned up the crowd.

All his usual high-flying and fluid ring work was on display that night. Beyond that, one could see how strong a connection he has made with the Japanese crowd over the years. WWE has to be giddy thinking of how Balor will do that with his new fanbase.  

Female Wrestlers

Rank	Wrestler	Height	Notes
1.	Sasha Banks	5'5''	Polished and compelling in-ring performer, great presence, elite showmanship.
2.	Charlotte	5'10''	Great presence, a natural, high ceiling, not quite as sharp as Banks in the ring.
3.	Becky Lynch	5'6''	Thrives when asked to be herself, proving to be a big-match performer, good submission work.
4.	Carmella	5'5''	Showing improvement as a ring worker, strong presence, good showmanship.
5.	Bayley	5'6''	Strong crowd connection, works gimmick well, improving in the ring.
6.	Alexa Bliss	5'1''	Solid heel, striking needs work, awkward at times in the ring, good presence.
7.	Cassie	5'7''	Strong seller, fluid in the ring, generic gimmick as of now.
8.	Jessie McKay	5'8''	Good intensity, hasn't shown much presence yet, unproven commodity overall.
9.	Dana Brooke	5'3''	Poor actor, inconsistent in the ring.

Dana's Growing Pains

Brooke is flailing. She may well fine-tune her acting at one point, but for now it's turned up to 11, making it hard to get lost in the action.

Before their tag match on Wednesday, Sasha Banks called her opponent Ms. Piggy. Brooke's reaction was overblown. It was hammy and contrived. She was treating the moment like one might in an improv comedy skit, not a pro wrestling standoff. 

When she had Charlotte in a submission hold, bending her leg backwards, Brooke tried to sound aggressive, but it came out all wrong. 

She needs to be less like Brie Bella in that regard and more restrained and natural. This is the issue that is poised to hold her back. Her ring work, while not refined yet, is heading in the right direction. She employed good tag team psychology in the bout as well.

Add her outstanding athleticism, and you have quite the package. She just needs to go visit Howard Fine and work on her Achilles' heel.