WWE NXT Big Board: Updated Prospect Rankings and Analysis for December 17

Whether they were victorious or not, NXT TakeOver: London served as a proving ground for a host of WWE prospects.

Once again, WWE's developmental brand delivered a top-notch show. At the center of that was both the usual suspects (Bayley, Samoa Joe, Finn Balor) and wrestlers making strides toward the top rungs, including Enzo Amore.

Amore had the best in-ring performance of his career in a hard-fought tag title bout. He's doing his best to make sure WWE officials realize that he's more than a loudmouth extraordinaire.

Asuka thrived in London, too. She and Emma kicked off the show in emphatic fashion. Nia Jax and Baron Corbin also improved their stocks under the glare of the spotlight.

Read on for a look at where all those prospects now rank. Order is determined by ring work, mic skills, gimmick, charisma and look. 

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	Superb showman, fun move set, great crowd connection, inconsistent talker.
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	Stellar athlete, adding to move set, impressive power.
8.	Hideo Itami	5'9'', 182 lbs	Showing more charisma, making progress as mic worker, electric in the ring.
9.	Scott Dawson	5'10'', 224 lbs	Continuing run of standout performances, vicious, good brawler, making progress as a talker.
10.	Enzo Amore	5'11'', 200 lbs	Much improved ring work of late, top-tier charisma, great talker, decent athlete.
11.	James Storm	6'0'', 230 lbs	Excellent presence, skilled brawler, has lost a step since his prime.
12.	Chad Gable	5'8'', 187 lbs	Making mat wrestling fun, great energy, OK comic timing.
13.	Simon Gotch	6'1'', 221 lbs	Fun move set, strong character work, good charisma.
14.	Tye Dillinger	6'3'', 223 lbs	Found ideal gimmick, works crowd well, average mat worker.
15.	Dash Wilder	5'10'', 222 lbs	Good tag team work, producing good matches, below-average talker.
16.	Aiden English	6'3'', 215 lbs	Solid all around, struggling to stand out.
17.	Bull Dempsey	6'2'', 300 lbs	Languishing as comedy act, strong bruiser when allowed to be, surprising athleticism.
18.	Sawyer Fulton	6'8'', 285 lbs	Aggressive, good size, needs to find right gimmick.
19.	Blake	6'1'', 240 lbs	Lacks presence, solid ring work, good aggression at times.
20.	Murphy	5'11'', 227 lbs	Impressive athlete, subpar presence, weak mic work.

Prospects just outside the top 20: Elias Samson, Mojo Rawley, Steve Cutler

Joe Rejuvenated

The Samoan Submission Machine is miles better than he was during his last few years at TNA. NXT has seemingly injected him with new energy, inspiring him to be a monster on the prowl.

He and Finn Balor closed TakeOver: London with the kind of thrilling, back-and-forth match you would expect from them.

In the process, he displayed just how much of a force of nature he is. His bull-like intensity and energy make him a must-watch performer. Balor has to get a lot of credit for the quality of the bout, but man, was Joe a raging ball of fury here.

Whether he was locking Balor in submission holds or cracking him in the head, he looked like a beast.

This is nothing new, but Joe has turned up the volume on his act in recent weeks. He is likely sticking around NXT to give guys a rub as he did to Balor on Wednesday, but should WWE promote him, he would be easy to book and get fans invested.

WWE's plan may have been to make him an NXT mainstay, but his performances beg for a change in those plans.

The Lone Wolf's Steady Pace

Corbin keeps getting better. He's not making the kind of leap that Charlotte was making as she rose to the top. It has instead been a plodding climb to become the kind of performer WWE has been waiting for him to be.

He and Apollo Crews put on a solid bout. The wrestling was strong, but his trash talk was better. Corbin tried to rile his foe up by telling him he needs to go back to fighting in little gyms, turning his nose up at Crews' indy background.

That's the ticket to generating the most heat for Corbin, who is the anti-indy darling. As former WWE writer Alex Greenfield said, the big man is finding his voice:

He still needs to grow more intense on the mic. He still needs to work at his in-ring game to catch up to the likes of Balor and Sami Zayn. However, he has already refined his striking and continues to grow more comfortable in roller-coaster battles like the one he had with Crews in London.

Corbin is now poised to start challenging Balor. Those clashes will prove to be his litmus test, giving him a chance to prove he belongs with NXT's elite.

Enzo Amore Showing Us More

It's clear that Amore would be a top-notch manager, a fiery, witty mouthpiece of the highest order. Don't give up on him as a wrestler yet, though.

Up against Dash Wilder and Scott Dawson, Amore was more intense, scrappy and focused than he has been to this point.

He hit a great flying DDT, looked ready to tear his foe's ears off and was a key part in a good match, the best of his career. As a bonus, he sold a clothesline like it was a battering ram knocking him over. 

And as Darren Gutteridge of ProWrestling.net noted, "Good Lord was Enzo over. He had arguably the biggest pop of the night."

The crowd clearly loves him. That's been as true at Full Sail University as it was in London on Wednesday. As a mat worker, he has a series of holes to point out, but he has enough charisma that the crowd doesn't seem to care.

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.

Strong Showing from the Powerhouse

Having not been around for long, NXT was asking a lot of Jax to be in such a high-profile match against Bayley this early on.

She came through, helping to tell a compelling story of David vs. Goliath. While not as thrilling as Emma vs. Asuka, this featured strong work from both women, and Jax played her role well.

There are a number of tweaks to be made, but she's looking like a top heel in the making.

Her pre-match promo was a bit stiff. In the ring, she tries to be too sultry sometimes. She would be better off playing a full-on badass, emulating someone like Vader.

Jax's intensity isn't consistent, either. She roared and charged at Bayley at times, but at other points she underwhelmed in that regard. It feels sometimes like she's holding something back.

The biggest question post-London is whether this loss to Bayley was her best match—a product of working with the division's top talent—or if it was simply a precursor of what's to come.

More Awesomeness from Asuka 

The gap between Asuka and Bayley continues to close. The Japanese star further bolstered her resume with an excellent showing against Emma.

Everything from her theatrical entrance to how fiercely she whipped Emma to the ground with an armbar was picture-perfect. She effortlessly hit a springboard missile dropkick. She generated sympathy with convincing screams as Emma punished her.

While Jax vs. Bayley earned its share of praise, Asuka vs. Emma was stellar, a showcase of how bright the future of the women's division is. Aubrey Sitterson, host of the Straight Shoot podcast, believes it was the night's best offering:

Asuka looks capable of plenty more nights like this. And NXT has wisely masked her weakness as a talker by making her a silent assassin of sorts. 

When she eventually challenges Bayley for the women's title, it will also be a battle for the right to be called the best female prospect at NXT.