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

A visit to Brooklyn, New York, offered twice the looks at WWE NXT prospects.

NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn gave fans their first taste of Apollo Crews in action and featured Baron Corbin's biggest match to date. Wednesday's NXT (taped on the same night as the live special) showcased Bull Dempsey's slowly evolving character and Dana Brooke's lack of progress.

The two shows made for a ton of movement on the NXT hierarchy. Crews leaped onto the big board, while Brooke tumbled down it.

The following is a look at those wrestlers changing rungs, as well as where the entire roster stands in terms of readiness to thrive on the main roster. Which NXT stars would make the biggest impact on WWE proper? The rankings to answer that question are decided by a combination of ring work, mic skills, charisma, gimmick and look. 

Those performers listed as members of the main roster on WWE.com (i.e., Eva Marie and Emma) are not considered.

Male Wrestlers

Rank	Wrestler	Height/Weight	Notes
1.	Finn Balor	5'11'', 190 lbs	Top-tier ring worker, stellar athlete, marketable, serviceable on the mic.
2.	Sami Zayn	6'1'', 205 lbs	Excellent showman, fun move set, good crowd connection, inconsistent talker.
3.	Samoa Joe	6'2'', 279 lbs	Great presence, versatile in the ring, intimidating aura, good mic work.
4.	Apollo Crews	6'1'', 240 lbs	Stellar athlete, great energy, powerful, unproven on the mic.
5.	Tyler Breeze	6'0'', 190 lbs	Excellent heel work, makes most of gimmick, not elite in the ring, good presence.
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	Growing presence, good heel work in the ring, marketable look.
8.	Colin Cassady	6'10'', 276 lbs	Excels at working crowd, great size and look, solid charisma, in-ring work improving.
9.	Solomon Crowe	5'10'', 207 lbs	Unique move set, good energy, strong sense of character.
10.	Simon Gotch	6'1'', 221 lbs	Continues to work gimmick into move set, fun ring work, good presence.
11.	Bull Dempsey	6'2'', 300 lbs	Good brawler, one of NXT's better talkers when not doing comedy gimmick, current persona is ill-fitting.
12.	Baron Corbin	6'8'', 275 lbs	Struggling to deliver standout match, excellent presence, intense, live promos underwhelming.
13.	Enzo Amore	5'11'', 200 lbs	Great connection with crowd, elite charisma, low-level ring work.
14.	Tye Dillinger	6'3'', 223 lbs	"Perfect 10" gimmick allowing him to excel, good showman, solid in the ring.
15.	Chad Gable	5'8'', 187 lbs	Skilled mat wrestler, good energy, size is an issue.
16.	Scott Dawson	5'10'', 224 lbs	Excellent in the ring, good intensity, doesn't have much "it" factor.
17.	Aiden English	6'3'', 215 lbs	Solid charisma, decent ring work, Gotch overshadowing him.
18.	Dash Wilder	5'10'', 222 lbs	Aggressive ring work, good build, below-average charisma.
19.	Murphy	5'11'', 227 lbs	Explosive athlete, underwhelming charisma, showing improvement as a striker.
20.	Mojo Rawley	6'4'', 290 lbs	One-dimensional gimmick, limited in ring, lots of potential athletically.

Prospects just outside the top 20: Blake, Sawyer Fulton, Marcus Louis

Apollo Has Arrived

A glut of highlights is on its way. Crews is now officially a member of the NXT roster.

The debuting star competed against Tye Dillinger at the TakeOver special, and it was hard not to be impressed. Crews displayed an unbelievable vertical, effortless agility and a buzzing energy. He bounced around the ring with a dizzying array of offensive moves.

Everything from an enzuigiri to the standing moonsault that sealed his victory made one take notice.

Crews' striking was a bit inconsistent, but overall there was plenty of reason to get excited. Fans of his work on the independent circuit knew he was capable of this kind of athletic showcase, but now a new audience has seen it live.

He's a combo of Kofi Kingston and Ryback in a way, both a spring-loaded athlete and a bulking powerhouse. 

How high he can climb during his WWE career is going to depend on what kind of persona he develops and how well he does in verbal showdowns. His physical gifts certainly won't be what gets in his way.

Baron Corbin's Big Test

Battling Samoa Joe was the biggest match of Corbin's career. It's a bad sign that this NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn contest made such little impact, though.

There were flashes here of what has made him such a promising prospect, but he wasn't nearly compelling enough.

Corbin came off well as the dismissive heel in a pre-taped promo. He was intense as usual and filled the contest with high-impact action. The bigger takeaway, though, is that this was not a special match.

The Lone Wolf has yet to have one at NXT. He's faced Neville, Rhyno and now The Samoan Submission Machine and has no real wow-worthy clash to brag about. Even Aiden English had a true standout performance against Sheamus; Corbin's is still missing.

And if didn't come in front of a crowd this loud against a veteran like Joe, when will it?

It's not a great sign either that WWE asked him to lose here. If the company was sold on making him the next big thing, it likely would have had him use Joe as a steppingstone, not be his latest victim.

Prince Pretty Steps Up

Tyler Breeze's own major matchup turned out much differently. While he and Jushin "Thunder" Liger didn't compose a classic, it ended up being proof of Breeze's ability to come through on a big stage.

The Gorgeous One was fired up from the opening bell. He helped give the bout that proverbial big-match feel with intensity and presence. Breeze sold Liger's chops really well. He entertained throughout.

Credit: WWE.com

There was a lot of comedy here, and while that made this more of a warm-up for the crowd than a five-star bout, it showed off Breeze's versatility. WWE has now seen him thrive in dramatic, serious affairs like at NXT TakeOver: Fatal 4-Way and goofier, lighthearted bouts like he had opposite Liger.

He is not on Finn Balor or Sami Zayn's level in terms of ring work, so he likely will never reach the height they will. But more and more it's clear that Breeze is a valuable addition to the roster. That will get him a promotion before long and some solid opportunities on Raw and SmackDown.

A Bull in Brooklyn

Dempsey's future is unclear; he's in gimmick limbo.

In a showdown against Elias Samson in his hometown, Dempsey straddled a comedy role and a more predatory brawler persona. Gone is the throwback bruiser gimmick that he began his NXT career with, but so is the complete goofball who runs out of breath and has chip crumbs on his face that he had become as of late.

He's now something in between.

Against Samson, Dempsey had moments as a threatening brawler. At times, he grinned stupidly and tried to draw laughs from the crowd. The first role is his ideal one; the silly stuff does not suit him and does not play to his strengths.

Dempsey's success will largely be determined by what direction his gimmick heads. The dumber it is, the more of a chance he will be a footnote in WWE developmental history.

Female Wrestlers

Rank	Wrestler	Height	Notes
1.	Bayley	5'6''	Stellar connection with crowd, great in-ring storyteller, maximizes gimmick.
2.	Carmella	5'5''	Plenty of presence, still a work-in-progress in the ring, lots of potential.
3.	Alexa Bliss	5'1''	Decent acting, growing into heel role, athletic, good energy.
4.	Peyton Royce	5'7''	Solid striker, strong seller, no real character yet.
5.	Billie Kay	5'8''	Good intensity, given limited opportunities thus far.
6.	Dana Brooke	5'3''	Overacts, awkward in the ring, good athlete, fans already turning on her.

The Total Diva Totally Not Ready

WWE clearly believes in Brooke. And she may one day make the company look smart for having so much confidence in her, but she's getting too much spotlight too soon. Brooke shouldn't be competing on TV right now.

On Wednesday's NXT, she took on Becky Lynch, Charlotte and Emma in a Fatal 4-Way. She was by far the least talented performer in there.

She dished out sloppy kicks. When she got atop Lynch and smashed her head against the canvas, it looked weak and half-hearted. There was an awkward moment when it looked like a shoulder block didn't land right.

There's a reason that the crowd was hot for Charlotte and Lynch and not for her—she's a rookie floundering in there with more experienced athletes.

WWE can't do to Brooke what it did to Eva Marie. Keep her training offscreen until she's up to snuff in the ring.