The Top 10 Stars of NXT, Post-Dallas Edition

It has been seventh months since the last NXT Top 10, so an update to the list seems more than overdo. Seven of the ten entries on that list are no longer NXT wrestlers, now regularly plying their talents on the Raw and Smackdown brands. The other three return to the list, but you will just have to see who and when a bit down the page.

As always, the wrestlers all have a pair of numerical entries behind their profile. The first number represents their last place on the list. The second represents the number of repeated Top 10 lists each wrestler has been on. Got it? On to the list!

Image credit: WWE.com.

1. Billie Kay and Peyton Royce: The bad girls of NXT have been working their way around the roster for years now. But these leggie Aussies are finally getting their do as they try to establish their dominance of the NXT women's roster. Of course, they have several other dangerous talent to contend with, including Ember Moon and the other two women on this list. (U/1)
2. The Revival: Injuries and storylines have limited The Revival's NXT appearances in the weeks leading into Dallas. But never underestimate Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder. The old school beatdown they bring make them two of the most dangerous men on the roster and with two NXT Tag Team titles in their history, even the current champions should be wary of the pair. (8/4)
3. #DIY: Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano may have dropped their tag titles, but it is hard to argue that they've secured their place as the show stealers of NXT. They put on amazing match after amazing match, even against talents greener than they (such as the new tag champions.) Both men should have solid main roster careers in the near future, whether on 205 Live or the main brand. (U/1)
4. Roderick Strong: Strong still suffers from the same problem he had in ROH: lack of a strong gimmick or personality to match his amazing in ring abilities. NXT is a great place to help round Strong off to a world class performer. And if they're looking for gimmicks, may I suggest frat boy whose cruel to midgets? (U/1)
5. Authors of Pain: It's amazing to see how far the new NXT Tag Team champions have came in in ring proficiency. They are slowing turning into talented monsters and the presence of Paul Ellering continues to lend legitimacy to their dominating run. While I am not as sure they will be as dominant now that they hold the titles, I suspect both men to have a solid run in NXT and a huge showing on the main roster in years to come. (U/1)
6. Nikki Cross: While the rest of Sanity seems almost directionless, focused pointlessly on Tye Dillinger joining their cause, the completely insane Nikki Cross has in just a matter of a couple matches established her place as one of the top threats to the NXT Women's Champion. She has a huge upside ahead of her in the months to come. (U/1)
7. Shinsuke Nakamura: A big loss at Takeover: Dallas cost Nakamura his NXT title and left him with an injured leg, but he is still one of the biggest stars the promotion has to offer. Even a roster as stacked as NXT is hard pressed to match up with the former New Japan star. (1/2)
8. Tye Dillinger: It is hard to believe that a year ago "The Perfect 10" was barely a jobber on the NXT roster. After making his Royal Rumble debut, he seems intent on staying in NXT to continue his feud with Eric Young. While I suspect his days in NXT are numbered, with a call up to Smackdown coming by the post-Wrestlemania season, he still has a lot to offer the brand especially as he settles into the role as the company's most likable star.  
9. Bobby Roode: Not since the days of Bo Dallas could I argue a wrestler wasn't established enough to take the NXT title. But despite years in TNA, Roode still seems less than established in NXT. I suspect he will have a "Glorious" reign as NXT champion however and cement himself as something of a Triple H like figure on the brand. It will be especially interesting if his spot on the top of the card might mean a face turn for his old rival Eric Young and Sanity. 
10. Asuka: She is now the longest running champion in NXT history. It seems unlikely she will lose the NXT Women's title until at least Takeover: Orlando. Even against three other women, she showed her total dominance in Dallas. With Royce, Kay, Cross and Ember Moon in the wings, she has plenty of challengers, but I suspect Asuka will continue her dominance of the NXT women for several more months. (3/4)

Image credit: WWE.com.

NXT has a midcard problem

So having been almost a month behind on NXT viewing, I've been playing catch up on the post Takeover: London editions of the show. And watching the roster in action, I have to say WWE's second brand has a huge problem in the middle of the roster.

For the last few months, WWE has lost the men and women that filled the middle of the roster, whether to call ups, removals from television or outright poor booking. Talents like Tye Dillinger and Bull Dempsey that once could be considered micarders have long ago become jobbers.

Sasmson is racking up wins but it remains to be seen how far he can go.
Image credit: WWE.com. 

With a solid main event picture featuring Baron Corbin, Samoa Joe, Sami Zayn, NXT Champion Finn Balor and NXT newcomer Austin Aries, once you move under that spot, WWE doesn't have many non-tag team talent to fill out any cards. Apollo Crews and the recently debuted Elias Samson are the only real talent WWE has to fill the card, although unsigned wrestler Tommaso Ciampa seems to be getting some wins actual signed talents like Dempsey can't seem to receive. And while Crews has tons of potential, both Ciampa and Samson have a lot to prove before they can be regularly taking seriously on the NXT roster.

Outside those three men however, the company seems to bank on a few main eventers and a few too many jobbers. It makes the company read a bit too much like WWE's main roster instead of teh solid across the card booking that once made NXT work so well.

The women's roster had a much wider hole in their roster after Takeover: Respect, but the company started to rebuild that roster at the end of the year. But while folks like Nia Jax, Carmella, Eva Marie and even Peyton Royce and Billie Kay are starting to get booked with wins, the women's division is still clearly built around only two figures. Asuka and Bayley are the only actual stories of the women's division with their opponents only getting time against them or against others to prepare them to face the two top stars. With the two women seemingly on a collision course for the NXT Women's championship, it could put the rest of the women's division on perilous footing.

Billie Kay and Peyton Royce looked dangerous earlier this month, but more
consistent booking could turn them into huge stars. Image credit: WWE.com.

NXT can certainly fix these issues. The women's division has all the talent it needs (with Adrienne Reese also now filtering in) while the men's ranks desperately need a few new talents to start picking up wins. Rich Swann and Chris Girard can both fill those roles, but only if they reach television as more than just job talent.

Alexa Bliss is ready to replace the Four Horsewomen

With Charlotte, Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks now main roster regulars, NXT’s divas roster was left depleted in the aftermath of Takeover: Respect. But with the advent of Asuka at the same show and the continued presence of Dana Brooke and Emma, Bayley wasn’t without contenders.

But instead of going with any of those three women, NXT is pushing Alexa Bliss. Two weeks into her feud with Bayley, she seems ready to take over as the top mean girl of NXT.

Alexa Bliss is perfectly bad. Image credit: WWE.com.

Alexa wrestled a solid match with Peyton Royce on this week's NXT. Peyton got in far more offense than I think I’ve seen before, but Alexa Bliss looked like a million bucks as she did everything she needed to pick up the win over Royce. Blake and Murphy surprisingly remained only as ringside spectators, though one suspects they will become far more important once she regularly starts wrestling Bayley.