Ranking NXT's top 5 performers - June 7 2018

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 these superstars 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 week wasn't the strongest episode to date but did serve to increase anticipation for both the NXT Women's Championship match between Shayne Baszler and Nikki Cross and the Chicago Street Fight between Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa.

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This is who I felt shone the brightest on the latest instalment of the black and yellow brand:

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Honourable Mentions:

Cross was not called up with the rest of the SAnitY faction

Nikki Cross - Cross interrupted Baszler's promo to kick-off the show and was surprisingly over with the fans from the get-go. She has been highlighted much as a singles competitor in her time in NXT, having been aligned with the SAnitY faction recently, but really seems to be coming into her own. Cross was the star of the segment and while she had far fewer lines than Baszler, came across at more believable before laying out the current champion afterwards.

EC3 - Only briefly featured in a backstage segment with Kassius Ohno but stole the show. He was at his smug, arrogant best here and this was a fun, alternative way of setting up a match for the following week as EC3 interrupted Ohno's photo shoot.

Velveteen Dream - Briefly featured in a video package building up his upcoming match with Ricochet but oozed star quality throughout. Dream's charisma is off the charts and he showcased it here, doing a great job of making a match with seemingly little on the line feel incredibly important.

#5 Shane Thorne

Which member of The Mighty is better?

TM61, now renamed The Mighty, competed in a squash match in the opening bout of the episode. Thorne and his partner Nick Miller have been embracing their dark side in recent weeks and using underhanded tactics to pick up victories. While this week they stuck to the rule book, they were more vicious and calculating than before.

The move has made the team more entertaining as they were somewhat spinning their wheels beforehand. Thorne seems to have particularly embraced the change and seems a natural at portraying a more aggressive, sneaky character. He was the star of this match and outperformed his partner once again which seems to have been a trend in the duos recent matches.

#4 Roderick Strong

Strong seems a much more convincing performer having aligned himself with the undisputed era

Strong has looked much better as part of The Undisputed Era than he did before joining forces with them at NXT Takeover: New Orleans. This week, he returned to singles action in an average match against Danny Burch.

Strong did a good job of putting Burch over as a dangerous striker and ring technician. He also delivered solid offence and used his new buddies from The Undisputed Era to get the win following a distraction. His face when he bumped into Pete Dunne after winning the match was priceless and definitely bumped him up a couple of places on this list.

#3 Lacey Evans

Evans lost to Kairi Sane via pinfall this week

Evans seems to be getting better every week at the moment. While Sane eventually got the win this week, presumably to challenge Baszler for the title down the line, Evans stood out as the more interesting and dominant competitor.

Her character work is getting more and more interesting, this week she revealed the name Kairi written on her right hand before the match, and her moveset has evolved into both unique and highly entertaining. If Evans continues on this upward trajectory perhaps she might become a contender for the NXT women's championship in the future.

#2 Johnny Gargano

Gargano brutally attacked his arch nemesis this week

Gargano charged down the ring like a man possessed this week. He hurled security around like they weren't even there and did a great job of showing how he has now snapped at the hands of Ciampa's mind games.

He no longer cared about anyone else and was fixated on Ciampa showing a different side to his character than we've seen before. Gargano concluded the segment by bloodying his opponent at NXT: TakeOver Chicago and this left a brilliant shocking image to end the show.

#1 Tommaso Ciampa

Is Ciampa the best performer in NXT right now?

Ciampa was at his villainous best this week. He shrugged off the enormous crowd reaction he gets seemingly every week as if it no longer bothered him. He toyed with and mocked the crowd effortlessly before insulting Gargano and twisting the truth. Following a great promo, he was attacked by Gargano and did a great job of emphasizing his own wickedness as well as portraying just how obsessed Gargano has become with destroying him.

The rematch is destined to be a classic and this segment did a great job of increasing everyone's anticipation for it. Due to this, Ciampa earns the top spot this week.

What do you think of this list? Do you agree or disagree? Let us know in the comments below!

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