WWE NXT: Updated Prospect Rankings and Analysis, Predictions for Week of May 19

In the shadow of bigger stars, it was WWE NXT's lesser-known names who most improved their stocks on Wednesday night.

The latest edition of NXT TV saw Peyton Royce show off how much she has developed her gimmick. Her time off-screen has been used well. In a loss, she made sure the audience won't forget to include her when discussing the deep women's division.

Murphy also impressed in a loss, and he looks to soon have a solo opportunity ahead. Johnny Gargano looked good in tag team action on Wednesday. And Nia Jax's progress was on display in the night's main event.

The following is a look at where those wrestlers and their peers sit on the list of NXT's best prospects. Ring work, mic skills, look, gimmick and presence all help determine the order of the rankings. Only talents who have debuted on TV are considered.

Male Wrestlers

Rank	Wrestler	Height/Weight	Notes
1.	Shinsuke Nakamura	6'2'', 229 lbs	Hugely charismatic, excellent striker, big-match performer, unique.
2.	Finn Balor	5'11'', 190 lbs	Rock-star aura, explosive athlete, highly dependable in the ring.
3.	Samoa Joe	6'2'', 279 lbs	Powerful presence, top-notch intensity, excellent in the ring, strong promos.
4.	Chad Gable	5'8'', 187 lbs	Crisp offense, excellent mat skills, infectious energy, growing connection with crowd.
5.	Scott Dawson	5'10'', 224 lbs	Skilled bruiser, excellent striker, improving talker, several top-notch performances on his resume.
6.	Jason Jordan	6'3'', 245 lbs	Growing connection with crowd, fantastic athlete, unproven as singles competitor.
7.	Austin Aries	5'9'', 202 lbs	Crisp ring work, versatile offense, good heel promos.
8.	Hideo Itami	5'9'', 182 lbs	Excellent ring work, highly athletic, mic skills are current weakness.
9.	Eric Young	5'11'', 225 lbs	Entertaining, charismatic, works well against a variety of opponents.
10.	Rich Swann	5'6'', 165 lbs	Out-of-this-world athlete, great energy, size could prove an issue.
11.	Johnny Gargano	5'10'', 190 lbs	Smooth offense, strong ring work, good connection with fans.
12.	Tye Dillinger	6'3'', 223 lbs	Popularity growing, excelling with gimmick, fun presence, solid in the ring.
13.	Christopher Girard	6'1'', 199 lbs	Good striker, aggressive, dependable ring work.
14.	Dash Wilder	5'10'', 222 lbs	Best in tag team role, solid bruiser, underwhelming on the mic.
15.	Murphy	5'11'', 227 lbs	Good selling, explosive athlete, underwhelming presence.
16.	Tommaso Ciampa	5'11'', 210 lbs	Good aggression, solid in the ring.
17.	Alexander Wolfe	6'2'', 231 lbs	Solid bruiser, skilled striker, gimmick needs work.
18.	Sawyer Fulton	6'8'', 285 lbs	Impressive size, limited in the ring, will need right gimmick to succeed.
19.	Blake	6'1'', 240 lbs	Serviceable in the ring, generates solid heel heat, decent athlete.
20.	No Way Jose	6'3'', 245 lbs	Corny gimmick, good size and agility.

Prospects just outside the top 20: Elias Samson, Mojo Rawley, Riddick Moss

Murphy

With Alexa Bliss being so charismatic and compelling, it's easy to not notice Murphy's skills at times. Every so often, though, he flashes a look at his potential that has to have WWE officials psyched.

In a tag team match against Shinsuke Nakamura and Austin Aries, we saw some of those flashes in between Murphy taking a beating. When he was on the attack, the powerhouse looked explosive. His athleticism was impressive, making power moves and sprinting between the ropes look easy.

But even when he was taking punishment from Nakamura and Aries, Murphy managed to make his mark. He sold well, looking punch-drunk after Nakamura's strikes and convincingly expressing frustration as he failed to stop his opponents.

The talk after this bout, though, will be about Bliss leaving the former NXT tag champs behind and then Blake seemingly splitting with Murphy. That could prove to be a boon for Murphy, who will get to shine on his own.

It will be a major test for him, as Bliss and Blake (to a lesser extent) provided the bulk of the personality for that group.

Johnny Wrestling

The Full Sail University crowd getting behind a wrestler is not necessarily an indication of success outside of NXT, but getting over anywhere is a good sign. Gargano has done that with the NXT faithful, earning "Johnny Wrestling!" chants for much of his tag match.

Fans weren't calling out Tommaso Ciampa's name. Nor were they as invested in Danny Burch or Rob Ryzin. Gargano was the star of the show here.

His offense is crisp, smooth and unique. Since coming to NXT, he has put on solid performances against anyone, and on Wednesday night, he made the most out of what was essentially a squash match. 

Sean Ross Sapp of Wrestling Inc. sees big things ahead for both him and Ciampa:

And while Gargano has more presence than his tag team partner, showing off more personality is going to be the key to moving up the NXT ranks. Be it through mic work or a gimmick, he's going to have to find ways to stand out beyond just what he does on the mat.

Female Wrestlers

Rank	Wrestler	Height	Notes
1.	Asuka	5'3''	Strong connection with crowd, top-notch ring work, great presence.
2.	Bayley	5'6''	Excellent in-ring storyteller, stellar connection with crowd, Daniel Bryan-like aura on the mic.
3.	Alexa Bliss	5'2''	Superb heel, vicious, magnetic presence.
4.	Nia Jax	6'0''	Increasingly fierce, great power, growing presence.
5.	Carmella	5'5''	Strong presence, charismatic, improving in the ring, needs to work on striking.
6.	Peyton Royce	5'7''	Has developed character, strong ring work, aggressive.
7.	Aliyah	5'2''	Eye-catching intensity, highly athletic, comfortable as a heel.
8.	Eva Marie	5'8''	Marked improvement in the ring, star presence, still a work in progress.
9.	Liv Morgan	5'4''	Showing lots of potential, good energy, strong showmanship.
10.	Billie Kay	5'8''	Solid in the ring, underwhelming presence, gimmick still in progress.

Venus Fly Trap Blossoming

Peyton Royce hasn't been seen much lately. She made the most of her return to TV, though, displaying the ongoing evolution of her character.

Carmella got the win, but Royce was the one who most grabbed the audience's attention. Royce's personality is louder and bigger than it was when she first arrived. She has become a cocky, sassy, Poison Ivy-like villain along the way.

In the ring, she came off as vicious and intense.

There are still some kinks to work out there, though. Some of her strikes were off the mark, and overall, her offense isn't as fluid as what we see from the top wrestlers in the division.

Nia the Beast

With Nia Jax's size, she has to play a ferocious predator, a giant looking to maul her foes. Over time, she has become more comfortable with that role, embracing intensity and showing off a nasty side.

Against Bayley on Wednesday's NXT, she proved that by batting around the former champ while wearing a convincingly fierce expression. Total Wrestling magazine noticed:

Jax effectively used her power by flinging Bayley around. She looked merciless while on the attack.

As a result, she and Bayley put on a match that outdid their collision at NXT TakeOver: London. This was the powerhouse's best work to date, a contest that felt right at home in the main event.

The trick now will be to keep up this level of intensity, to follow up the strong match with more of the same. Seemingly on a collision course with Asuka, she will get a chance to continue to prove herself.

Predictions

Carmella is not going to join her boys, Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady, anytime soon. Expect her to stay at NXT for at least another year.

As much as she has improved, she is still an unfinished product. Against Royce on Wednesday, that was most apparent when she went on a punching barrage with strikes that were far too soft.

She needs a lot of experience, and WWE will look to give that to her by making her earn her stripes at NXT in 2016 and 2017.

No Way Jose will drop the goofy act before he gets a sniff of the main roster. The smiling, chipper, dancing shtick isn't going to allow him to reach his potential.

Count on him evolving into a darker, more serious character in the months ahead. Jose will end up impressing but only after he takes the reverse path of Bull Dempsey, going from comic relief to hard-nosed competitor.