WWE NXT Stock Up, Stock Down on the Brand's Prospects for Week of July 13

Johnny Gargano returned to WWE NXT on Wednesday to find new faces standing among him at the developmental brand.

Bobby Fish made his debut. Vanessa Borne arrived. Add Gargano's first appearance since TakeOver: Chicago and the latest NXT was a reminder of how much this ecosystem is constantly shifting.

In these changing surroundings, Gargano ventured on his solo career with a heartfelt promo. 

The former NXT tag team champ made it clear that he's going to be a major player for the brand following the breakup of #DIY. Connecting to the crowd the way did with the fans at Full Sail University, Florida, on Wednesday will be key to that.

Aleister Black made strides on Wednesday night, too. His thunderous strikes and captivating presence made him the talk of his match with Fish.

Borne, on the other hand, looked like a work in progress. And Heavy Machinery didn't knock it out of the park in their first marquee opportunity.

The following is a look at how all of those prospects affected their stock with their performances on the most recent edition of NXT.

Up: Aleister Black

Fish vs. Black was the former Ring of Honor star's debut, but it was more a showcase for Black than the newcomer.

The Dutch bruiser issued smooth counters when the match focused on mat wrestling. He popped up and fired off haymaker kicks. As good as Fish looked, Black's mix of flips, fighting and fury was the story of the bout.

His facial expressions bolstered the action, too.

Black brooded. He smirked. When Fish dared to fight back, Black looked like he would burst with anger.

We're used to seeing Black tear through foes in a hurry. This was a more competitive match than normal, and he looked like a star from bell to bell.

Fish is likely to make a significant impact on the NXT brand as well, but there may be no more clear-cut blue-chipper on the roster right now than Black.

Down: Vanessa Borne

Borne is heading to the Mae Young Classic tournament after winning a qualifier against Jayme Hachey on Wednesday's NXT.

She is not one of the event's most polished performers, though, as we saw in that win. Borne is strong and has solid presence, but she is rough around the edges. 

Her offense was unnatural for the most part. Everything looked rehearsed. It felt like we were seeing footage of a practice match at the WWE Performance Center. 

Zack Zimmerman of ProWrestling.net canned her performance: "That was bad. Borne has no business being on TV at this point."

Borne will be going up against some top-notch talent at the Mae Young Classic, giving her the chance to learn on the job. She'll need it.

Even: Heavy Machinery

In Otis Dozovic and Tucker Knight's biggest match to date, they challenged The Authors of Pain for the NXT tag team titles in Wednesday's main event.

Heavy Machinery churned out a good bout, but not nearly a great one. This was more of a solid single than a home run. 

The contest featured a handful of strong moments. Dozovic's faceoff with Rezar stood out. A charged-up Knight roared and hit a huge clothesline.

For the most part, however, Akam and Rezar were more compelling here. They were the more convincing bruisers, the heavy-hitting hosses who looked like bigger stars.

It wasn't as if Heavy Machinery did anything poorly, they just didn't run with this opportunity as much as they could have.

Up: Johnny Gargano

Gargano's return was powerful, albeit brief.

As he talked about moving forward without Ciampa and being appreciative of fans, his words felt effortless and natural. This was a focused, to-the-point speech with a number of first-rate lines.

Gargano did a good job in emoting here, making us feel his hunger to compete again.

If he can continue this kind of performance, good things lie ahead for him. He's always been great at injecting pathos into his matches and is a smooth, electric in-ring worker. Now as a solo act, he's going to get more space to show what he can do.

Cageside Seats writer Sean Rueter is right to have high hopes for Gargano: "Johnny Wrestling is here and he's primed to be a big babyface star, even in an increasingly crowded WWE field."

It's hard to argue with him. Gargano was the heart of the show on Wednesday.

And when Ciampa returns, those two are going to have a blood feud for the ages.