NXT Power Rankings: Zayn Takes Down the Man Beast, Brooke a Knockout

Five good matches and plenty of intrigue set the scene on a solid episode of NXT that also gave the brand some much-needed momentum after a few lackluster episodes as of late.

Check out this week’s NXT Power Rankings to see who’s debut garnered some fanfare and which former WWE superstar continues to make waves in NXT.

Honorable Mention: Baron Corbin: Another squash win may be cool, but Corbin’s potential, much like another former super face Mojo Rawley, is beginning to wear thin. In order to reach his true potential, Corbin needs to work longer matches and cut promos. Otherwise, all his TV time over the last few months will be for nothing.

5: Solomon Crowe: Don’t let his tiny frame fool you- this guy has a ton of potential. Similar to ECW Legend Taz, Crowe uses strikes and submissions to wear down his opponents. From his cool hacker gimmick, awesome Stretch Muffler submission finisher and ability on the mic, he’s someone that in a few months can and will be in the middle of the NXT title picture.

4: Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady: Their match this week was a disaster. Soft and sloppy, these guys are better in the ring than what they showed. Regardless, they are the best NXT Tag Team on the microphone and hopefully working with Blake and Murphy will bring out the best in them.

3: Dana Brooke: Holy crap is she smoking’ hot. From her entrance to her taunts, Brooke has the look of a future WWE Diva. In the ring, however, she’s still a bit green. Although she relied on strikes in her first match, Brooke also unveiled a unique seated Death Valley Driver finisher to give her debut a bit more depth.

2: Rhino: He’s still in good shape and has something to give. While NXT may not be exactly where Rhino wants to be, he’s proven that he can be a teacher in the ring and someone that fans still want to see.

1: Sami Zayn: He’s not the NXT Champion, but he’s still a one-of-a-kind performer with plenty of skill. His win over Rhino this week proves once again that he can hold his own with anyone, regardless of their size.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 13819 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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