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.

ROH could take some tips from New Japan

Ring of Honor is always a frustrating company for me. They have all the talent in the world with stars like Jay Lethal, The Young Bucks, Dalton Castle, Moose and Michael Elgin all regularly working their shows. They have a deep roster with a healthy mix of veteran talents (The Briscoes, Kazarian, The Motor City Machine Guns) and new stars (Donovan Dijak, Adam Page, Jonathan Gresham). But they also seem buried in a malaise where stories take months too long to develop and characters are never allowed to evolve naturally. And while the hotshot booking of TNA and WWE isn't necessary for a company as wrestling influenced as ROH, the company seems to have no understanding of how to integrate slower building old school feuds with new school storytelling.

Their Japanese promotional partner New Japan Pro Wrestling has been doing just that for years. In many ways, NJPW continues the wrestling as sports focus of Antonio Inoki it was founded upon forty years ago. The style has become more innovative, but New Japan is a company where wins and losses matter. It is a company where status is something that must be achieved. Even the current champion Kazuchika Okada still has nay-sayers, despite having years now as a major main event player in the company. Hirooki Goto and Tetsuya Naito have worked as heavyweights for nearly a decade each, but now both are entering the title picture for the first time. Yet New Japan continues to tell solid stories with their talents as they develop them through the regular storytelling cycle that kicks off at New Year Dash every year and culminates with the next year's Wrestle Kingdom.

ROH and NJPW have worked together for years now, even debuting full ROH
crossover events in Japan now.

Here are a few tips I think ROH could take from NJPW to help keep so much of its program from routinely feeling stale.

The ROH Top 10

I don't follow Ring of Honor as regularly as I once did now that the regular late night broadcast of the show I used to watch here in Eastern Iowa has became very late night. I do occasionally watch the streamed episodes after they air, but I often find the promotion to be incredibly weak booking wise. Often I feel like they hold off on pushes of hot talents until they grow cold while pushing many stars that the ROH faithful just feel flat about. That doesn't stop the company from having some amazing matches still and as they recently closed out their year with Final Battle it seemed like a fitting time to introduce their inaugural top ten.

Remember, all these talents are available for your voting pleasure in the year end Top 10 list!

So without anymore ado, let's get to the countdown!

Image credit: TheWrestlingMayhemShow.com

Did the Young Bucks make the right decision by signing with ROH?

It was a big news story after being teased by the Young Bucks themselves: who would they sign a contract with at this point in their careers? The answer was Ring of Honor. While the deal in place allows them to continue their work with ROH's partner NJPW and the Bucks' home promotion PWG, Ring of Honor seems like a strange choice for the duo.

Image credit: ROHWrestling.com.

Ring of Honor has had two other high profile signings in the last few months. They signed Moose after rumors that the rising star might be WWE bound. Since that time, he's fought on the early half of every card in negligible matches that do nothing for a star that was massively over entering 2015. The second signing was of Roderick Strong, a man that while often looked at as bland personality-wise can go as well as anyone in the ring. His signing has embroiled him in a feud with Jay Lethal, the perennial booking favorite of ROH's Hunter Johnson.