The Wrestling Prospectus

Caleb Carnes
Jul 30, 2017
3 min read

Now that the we have finished going over NXT's "Top 20" superstar prospects in detail (start here), the Prospectus is going to focus more on the ongoing progress of these superstars on a week to week basis. Who is trending up? Who is trending down? And who is making moves on the NXT prospect rankings? Join YLW contributor Caleb Carnes as he takes us through all of this, and feel free to join the debate by commenting and expressing your thoughts in the Disqus comment board at the end of each week's Prospectus!

TRENDING UP

Welcome to NXT Bobby Fish. Last week Fish debuted unexpectedly and had

a solid match with Aleister Black. Bobby Fish is a great talent and like many coming out of the Indy’s, he is versatile. With Kyle O’Reilly, reportedly on the verge of coming to NXT, these two could be a needed addition to the tag division. But until then, I’ll treat Fish as a singles talent.

As a reminder, Fish will turn 38 in October so he is like Eric Young as a high floor, low ceiling prospect. Fish is fine on the mic and can tell a great story in the ring. What he lacks in size, the New York native makes up with intensity. He could be a solid hand in the mid card and would probably start as a face, due to the recognition for his body of work in Ring of Honor and Japan. What happens after that is totally up to creative. Fortunately, Fish is adaptable and can make adjustments if asked.

TRENDING DOWN

Alexander Wolfe

Wolfe drops off the big board due to the addition of Fish. He has been featured on TV and even did fine with his promo time a couple of weeks ago. But, as the example shows, being fine isn’t enough. There’s a lot of

competition on this list and if Wolfe wants to stand out, he’s going to have to take several more risks. Young is the leader and mouthpiece, Cross the true diamond and Dain the muscle. Wolfe is interchangeable and that’s not a good spot to be in.

I’d love to see Wolfe become more of the wildcard of the faction. Maybe add a prop like a weapon to his entrance. No matter what he does, I’d like to see him add some wrinkles, so he doesn’t become substitutable to my favorite faction under the WWE banner.

NOTES FROM NXT (7/26/17)

1. Ember Moon is developing nicely. I just don’t enjoy her entrance music or her finish. Everything between that is just fine. The promo served its function, but was not exactly logical. Asuka has beaten Moon before so asking her if she’s ready for you doesn’t make much sense.

2. Not sure why you have Authors of Pain run over SAnitY. That didn’t make SAnitY look legit.

3. Velveteen Dream is a lot of fun. I wish he would be a face. The crowd reacted to his hip shake and elbow drop. This character would stick out and be something unique to the WWE/NXT as a face.

4. As great as Galloway is, I can’t include him in my top 5. I equate wrestlers who have been on the main roster coming back to NXT as a prospect in Baseball who’s sent down to AAA. He’s seen enough time in the big leagues that his clock has run out. But he’d be in the top 5 easily.

5. This is the Itami we all wanted when he came to America in 2014. Hopefully he continues to be more aggressive and ups the hard-hitting act.

RANKINGS