WWE NXT: Updated Prospect Rankings and Analysis, Predictions for Week of June 16

Carmella is finding out just how hard it is to climb the WWE NXT ladder, thanks to how much talent the brand boasts right now.

Progress and refined skills don't necessarily equate to upward movement. The Princess of Staten Island is an example of that, as she continually works on her mat game only to find herself continually looking up at women like Asuka and Alexa Bliss.

Still, the gap is slowly closing between Carmella and that top tier.

Andrade "Cien" Almas and The Authors of Pain are new to this ongoing struggle to be among the developmental brand's top talents. After debuting at NXT TakeOver: The End, those wrestlers performed in front of the Full Sail University crowd on Wednesday's NXT. They all showed promise in these early peeks at their work.

The following is a look at how Almas, Carmella and the rest of the NXT roster stack up against each other. Ring skills, mic work, look, gimmick and presence are among the key factors in determining where all these talents rank.

Only wrestlers who have debuted on NXT TV are considered—so there's no Bobby Roode just yet.

Male Wrestlers

Rank	Wrestler	Height/Weight	Notes
1.	Shinsuke Nakamura	6'2'', 229 lbs	Superb showman, highly charismatic, excellent ring worker.
2.	Finn Balor	5'11'', 190 lbs	Consistently delivers strong matches, growing as a talker, marketable gimmick.
3.	Samoa Joe	6'2'', 279 lbs	Powerful presence, top-notch intensity, excellent in the ring, strong promos.
4.	Scott Dawson	5'10'', 224 lbs	Skilled striker, adept at tag team wrestling, much-improved talker, ample standout performances.
5.	Chad Gable	5'8'', 187 lbs	Improving as talker, strong connection with crowd, deft in the ring, makes technical wrestling entertaining.
6.	Jason Jordan	6'3'', 245 lbs	Great energy, passionate, powerful, impressively athletic, high ceiling.
7.	Austin Aries	5'9'', 202 lbs	Excellent mat technician, strong matches, solid promos, unclear whether he will connect with casual fans.
8.	Hideo Itami	5'9'', 182 lbs	High-level ring work, very athletic, mic skills are current weakness.
9.	Andrade Almas	5'9'', 210 lbs	Makes everything look easy, exciting athlete, good showmanship.
10.	Johnny Gargano	5'10'', 190 lbs	Smooth offense, strong ring work, good connection with fans.
11.	Tye Dillinger	6'3'', 223 lbs	Working gimmick extremely well, solid performances, limited ceiling.
12.	Rich Swann	5'6'', 165 lbs	Out-of-this-world athlete, great energy, size could prove an issue.
13.	Shane Thorne	6'1'', 200 lbs	Good presence, versatile in the ring, athletic, overshadowing tag team partner.
14.	Dash Wilder	5'10'', 222 lbs	Unnatural on the mic, best in tag team role, solid bruiser.
15.	Gzim Selmani	6'4'', 308 lbs	Imposing, intense, solid footwork.
16.	Christopher Girard	6'1'', 199 lbs	Good striker, aggressive, dependable ring work.
17.	Buddy Murphy	5'11'', 227 lbs	Athletic, good power, underwhelming charisma, steady in the ring.
18.	Tommaso Ciampa	5'11'', 210 lbs	Overshadowed by Gargano, good aggression, solid in the ring.
19.	Alexander Wolfe	6'2'', 231 lbs	Solid bruiser, skilled striker, gimmick needs work.
20.	Elias Samson	6'0'', 217 lbs	Showing flashes of compelling viciousness, lacking charisma, gimmick needs development.

Prospects just outside the top 20: Sawyer Fulton, Blake, No Way Jose

The Authors of Pain Arrive

Led by Hall of Fame manager Paul Ellering, the two black-clad bruisers ambushed American Alpha on TakeOver: The End. The duo followed that up this week by making quick work of two unnamed opponents.

The announcers have yet to say either man's name aloud. Perhaps then, Gzim Selmani and Sunny Dhinsa are bound to get new monikers that WWE simply hasn't thought up yet.

Selmani's and Dhinsa's move sets were limited in their in-ring debut to mostly strikes and bowling over their foes; think Baron Corbin when he was held to only working squash matches in his early NXT run.

Early on, Selmani is the more compelling of the pair. A part of that is his look and size, but he was also more intense overall. 

Neither man wowed with his athleticism, but they both showed decent acceleration and impressive power. We will need to see more competitive matches to get a better idea of how good they are. 

What popped out about The Authors of Pain was their attitude and rawness. They exuded an air of danger. They were convincingly mean and angry.

But it's clear that they are still works in progress when it comes to the action between the ropes.

Sean Ross Sapp of Wrestling Inc believes they need a different finishing move:

Add that to a list of things to address as The Authors of Pain move forward.

Thorne Standing Out

TM-61 is sure to be a strong addition to the NXT tag team division, but eventually Shane Thorne is destined to venture out on his own.

Of the two recent arrivals from Australia, Thorne is the clear star of the two. He has more presence and is a better showman. Whether he was getting beat down by Blake and Buddy Murphy or hot-dogging in between moves, he proved more compelling than his partner, Nick Miller.

Thorne employed a fluid offense, showing off some impressive agility. He moved from a flip to a dropkick with ease, for example. And he looked as comfortable with mat wrestling as he did flying around the ring.

Expect big things from him in the months ahead. He has a good supply of physical tools to make a real impact on NXT.

Being as handsome as he is certainly won't hurt his career, either.

Another Look at Cien

In a rematch with Tye Dillinger, Almas showed more glimpses of his potential greatness, but he still seems to be holding back.

Just like in their match at TakeOver: The End, Cien showed off his quickness as he darted from rope to rope. His high-flying arsenal was entertaining, be it a legscissors takedown or his dives outside the ring.

Even so, it feels like his foot is not all the way down on the gas. Whether that's a result of his transitioning from the Mexican Lucha Libre style or officials asking him to pull back on his offense remains to be seen.

Almas has a strong foundation to build on with his physical gifts and ability to entertain, but there are a number of smaller things to refine.

At one point, he slugged Dillinger with forearms, but the strikes lacked oomph. He needs to turn up the aggression there.

And his entrance gear has to change. The suspenders, hat and feather combo is silly. Being more of a warrior than a nightclub playboy would be a better fit.

Female Wrestlers

Rank	Wrestler	Height	Notes
1.	Asuka	5'3''	World-class ring worker, unique, strong showmanship, excellent facial expressions.
2.	Bayley	5'6''	Excellent in-ring storyteller, stellar connection with crowd, one gear on the mic.
3.	Alexa Bliss	5'2''	Superb heel, vicious, stellar presence.
4.	Nia Jax	6'0''	Has improved at impressive rate, high ceiling, great power, growing presence.
5.	Carmella	5'5''	Smoother ring work of late, fun energy, popularity growing.
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.

Carmella Moving Along Nicely

After being one of the rawer prospects in the women's division early on, Carmella's evolution has been fun to watch.

She has always been charismatic and likable, but now her ring work is catching up to her personality.

Against Tessa Blanchard on Wednesday's NXT, Carmella executed a number of smooth transitions. She slid from a headlock to an armbar and a wristlock into a facebuster in more confident, natural fashion than we have seen before. The Princess of Staten Island also dished out quite the superkick.

The Full Sail fans are connecting more with her, as well. In what was likely a reaction to all the chants she received, Total Wrestling magazine commented on her popularity:

Moving past wrestlers like Asuka and Bayley on the NXT hierarchy is going to be extremely difficult, though. The women's division is stacked at the top. Carmella is clearly working hard and absorbing lessons from her trainer, but her competition will remain tough unless WWE calls up a number of women during the draft in July.

Predictions

Dillinger is primarily being used as a stepping stone for higher-ranking stars. He has done well enough with his Perfect 10 gimmick, however, that WWE should eventually take notice.

Count on him going on a brief winning streak and earning a title shot on TV to cap off a short narrative arc. His popularity alone will be enough to propel him to that point.

Blake and Murphy reunited on Wednesday night to face TM-61, but things didn't go well. The two partners collided with each other, resulting in a loss. That's surely a setup for a feud between them.

Murphy will come out of that rivalry with more momentum. This will be a stage for him to show off his explosiveness. Bet on him stepping up and delivering his best bout to date.