Ranking NXT's Top 5 performers from May 16 episode
With all NXT performers vying for an eventual main roster spot, any act on the roster is in constant competition with each of their peers.
Each week they compete to earn the right to be the one who makes the next jump up to the main roster, move up on the NXT card or simply keep their dreams alive on the brand. This is who I felt shone the brightest on the latest instalment of the black and yellow brand:
Honourable Mentions
Tommaso Ciampa - While Ciampa didn't wrestle, he did open the show with a segment also involving Candice LeRae. This wasn't his strongest promo but he has such incredible heat with the crowd at the moment that anything he does is electric.
Lacey Evans - Evans seems to be developing her move-set nicely and is definitely more suited to her new heel role than she was prior.
Kona Reeves - Reeves started to generate more of a crowd reaction this week following a pretty disappointing re-debut.
Danny Burch - Burch had probably his strongest outing yet in developmental and scored a big pinfall victory that indicates his growing stock on the brand.
#5 Adam Cole
Cole had a relatively minor role to play in the 6-man tag match that main-evented the show but everything he did exude stardom. Cole first tagged into the match barking trash talk at Danny Burch and the look on his face when his team was upset was priceless.
Cole is fantastic at making his opposition look strong without it ever making himself look weak and this match was yet another example of this. Cole is one of the most main-roster-ready acts on the brand and, after his royal rumble cameo, you wonder how long it will be before he gets called up.