411’s Wrestler of the Week 05.18.09: Week 7

Posted by Jeremy Thomas on 05.18.2009

Judgment Day meant big things for Edge, Christian, Rey Mysterio and John Morrison among others, but will a big Dragon's Gate event spoil some superstars' chances to hit the ranking boards? Check out the latest edition of 411's Wrestler of the Week for all the details and for an updated look at the Year-End standings!



Welcome to Week 7, Year FIVE, of 411's Wrestler of the Week. A quick overview of the rules to kick things off for us as a reminder…

Each writer chooses FIVE wrestlers from any promotion and each wrestler gets a point total attached to that ranking. It looks a little like this…

1st - 5
2nd - 4
3rd - 3
4th - 2
5th - 1

If you are wondering how some of the writers decide who to vote for, please check out our Wrestler of the Week Supplemental Column!

Then we tally up the votes and the official 411 Wrestler of the Week is crowned. But wait, there's more! Each week the top SIX vote getters get a points value for their ranking which looks something like this…

1st - 15
2nd - 12
3rd - 9
4th - 6
5th - 3
6th - 1

...and they go towards the 411 Wrestler of the Year award to be announced each year at WrestleMania. This will be posted every Monday. Let's see who wins this week…

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The Voting~!
Andy Clark
1) Christian
The return of the Peep Show, a good match with Mark Henry, and a great match with Jack Swagger (with a title retention no less) all get Captain Charisma first place on my ballot.

2) CM Punk & Umaga (tie): I have a feeling their match may be overlooked by most people, but I thoroughly enjoyed their contribution to the Judgment Day card. Unlike last year Punk is actually looking good in defeat and Umaga looks like the beast he was before becoming a JTTS.
3) Rey Mysterio: Two big wins and two very good matches against Shelton Benjamin and Chris Jericho net Rey the third spot.
4) Ric Flair
5) The Miz


Andy Critchell
1. Christian - It's simple; brings back the Peep Show on ECW, got a big win on Superstars, and retained his title at Judgment Day in a great match with Jack Swagger. That's a fantastic week by any measure.

2. MORRISON - God, this guy is so freaking money. First he laid out Shelton on Superstars and walked out tall. Then he picked up the win for his tag team on Smackdown, ending the match with the uber-swank STARSHIP PAIN. Finally he picked up a big PPV win at Judgment Day also with the aforementioned STARSHIP PAIN. His face turn is going along very well and he's got a finisher that will have him over like Grover in no time. It's MORRISON'S world kids, we're just living in it.
3. Ric Flair - Made a big surprise run in on PPV and helped out his old student Batista.
4. Edge
5. THE MIZ


LARRY CSONKA
1) Christian
I have said it numerous times, and I will say it again, Christian has been on a role since his return and he had a great week this week. As mentioned, the PEEP show is back, he defeated Mark Henry and then once again defeated Jack Swagger at Judgment Day. Vince needs to get over his bullshit, because he's money.

2) Rey Mysterio: Rey had a very good match with Shelton on Superstars and then, in my opinion, had the MOTN at Judgment Day with Chris Jericho. That's a damn fine week.
3) Edge: A great match with Chris Jericho on Smackdown and a title retention at Judgment Day earn Edge the third place spot.
4) John Morrison
5) Chris Jericho


ARI
1) Edge
Just a great effort in being the top bad guy and World Heavyweight Champion representing Smackdown (although Jericho is on his heels, no pun intended), a really good match against Chris Jericho and a title defense against Jeff Hardy make this one of the better weeks for Edge in recent memory.

2) Rey Mysterio: A win against Shelton Benjamin on Superstars and a successful defense of the Intercontinental Championship against Chris Jericho are good signals that Rey is more than carrying his own these days in WWE.
3) The Miz: These last few weeks have seen The Miz really come to the fore and begin to tap into his potential as a heel. He is just great doing the "win streak" gimmick against Cena and really pushing the buttons of the fans as he adds on each "win" to his record. This week saw The Miz hold his own against John Cena and "win" in an exhibition match, then "win" on PPV to go 4-0. Not to mention he debuted one hell of a catchphrase and if I may paraphrase: HE IS THE MIZ AND HE IS AWESOME!
4) Christian
5) The Hart Trilogy (David Hart Smith, Tyson Kidd & Natalya Neidhart)


Samuel Berman
1) Rey Mysterio
Defeated Chris Jericho in the clear Match of the Night at Judgment Day.

2) Shingo Takagi: The last man standing in an epic elimination match featuring three of Dragon Gate's biggest factions.
3) Christian: Retained his ECW Title.
4) Masayuki Kono
5) Akira Tozawa


Michael Bauer
1) Edge
It was close between the Top 2, but I give the edge to... well, Edge. He had the main event Title defense against Jeff Hardy in a really good match that saw a clean ending, something that is VERY rare for Edge. Just as rare, Edge successfully defending a Heavyweight Championship.

2) Christian: The Peep Show was brilliant and his matches were pretty good.
3) Rey Mysterio: I don't call it match of the night, but still great title defense.
4) John Morrison
5) Tyson Kidd/David Hart Smith


Robert S. Leighty Jr
1)Edge
I gave him the nod because he finally had a successful title defense on PPV. The match was pretty strong with a great ending.

2) Christian: The Peep show was great, and another win over Swagger on PPV gets Christian the #2 spot. The ending to his match was also pretty sweet as he pulled a fast one on the rookie, Swagger.
3) The Miz: This guy has been on a roll, and is getting massive heat with this Cena angle. Sure, it is a rip-off off Jericho/Goldberg, but at least we will get a proper ending to this one.
4) Rey Mysterio
5) John Morrison


Ryan Byers
1) Edge
Judgment Day appears to have been a fairly mundane pay per view in terms of newsworthy occurrences, but it was a fun show from an in-ring standpoint. The best evidence of this is the fact that we've already got at least three different matches being identified as the most entertaining of the night according to our voters. However, I've got to throw my support behind Edge, who was integral to building up the most intriguing angle heading in to the show and then delivering in a big match situation.

2) The Hart Trilogy - As I've said many times, career advancement is one of my chief criterion in making these votes. Nobody moved up the ladder more than the trio of Tyson Kidd, Harry Smith, and Nattie Neidhart this week. Granted, they weren't made in to insta-main eventers, but this past week's angle on ECW lays the groundwork for their becoming the top act on the show, which, if you look at guys like CM Punk and the Miz, can be the first step to becoming a much bigger star.
3) Shingo Takagi - Dragon Gate had a big three-way, twelve man, faction vs. faction vs. faction elimination match this past week. When the smoke cleared, it was Kamikaze's Shingo Takagi who was still standing in the ring thirty minutes and eleven falls later.
4) Akira Tozawa
5) Mike Mizanin


Chris Lansdell
1) Edge
In a relatively slow week, Edge defended his title in one of the best matches on a fairly strong card at Judgment Day.

2) The Hart Trilogy: People who have been built on ECW tend to go on to big things on the big boy shows. This is a good, strong start for DH Smith, Tyson Kidd and Natalya, especially if they can add a fourth member and go after Legacy. In a year or so.
3) John Morrison and Rey Mysterio (tie): Both came out victorious in two very good matches on the pay per view.
4) The Miz
5) SHINGO


Jeremy Thomas
1) Edge
Edge retained a title on a Pay-Per-View? Say it ain't so! I kid here, folks...mostly, anyway. It was nice to see the formerly Bearded One hold onto his title, and with only a little help this time around. He had a great match with Jeff Hardy, and to add to that he had a damn good match with Chris Jericho on SmackDown. Sounds like a winner of a week to me.

2) Christian: Christian brought the Peep Show back and rocked the house, then beat Mark Henry on Superstars before retaining his title in a damn good match with the Swaggering One at Judgment Day. Nice to see Captain Charisma riding high so far in his return to the 'E.
3) Rey Mysterio/John Morrison: Rey Rey topped his rival Jericho on SmackDown to end the show by coming out to attack while Jericho watched chaos erupt after his match with Edge. After that, he went on to Judgment Day where in a hell of a match he beat Jericho to retain his title. Meanwhile Morrison rocked it on the Blue Brand in a hot opening tag match and then beat Shelton Benjamin at the PPV for a huge singles win. These are huge for both of these guys and seem to spell out big things for them ahead.
4) The Miz
5) Chris Jericho

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THE WINNERS~!

Special Mention…DH Smith & Tyson Kidd - 10 Votes

Fifth Place…The Miz - 13 Votes

Fourth Place…John Morrison - 15 Votes

Third Place…Rey Mysterio - 27 Votes

The Intercontinental Champion heads out of a Pay-Per-View weekend with his title reign intact, defeating one of the top heels in the company in one Chris Jericho in a much-praised effort by both men.

Second Place…Christian - 32 Votes

Captain Charisma rolls into Judgment Day and beats Jack Swagger in their rubber match to solidify his hold on the ECW Title.

Wrestler of the Week…Edge - 35 Votes

The World Heavyweight Champion defeated fan favorite Jeff Hardy in the main event of Judgment Day, securing his place as the top name on SmackDown in an excellent match.and become our Wrestler of the Week!


Year-End Standings~!

The Miz, DH Smith, Tyson Kidd and Rey Mysterio all make their debuts on the charts for this year, and John Morrison moves up into the Top 15 in a tie for fifth place. But the big news is that the "brothers" claim two of the top three spots! Edge currently has the top spot by taking a lead of a mere six points ahead of the former #1 guy Jerry Lynn, who is in turn only two points ahead of Christian at number three! Leaders are starting to take shape, but will the top guy still be Edge come next week? Only one way to find out...

Let's check out the Year-End Standings!

1. Edge – 30 (SmackDown)

2. Jerry Lynn – 24 (ROH)

3. Christian – 22 (ECW)

4. Jeff Hardy – 19 (SmackDown)

5. The Undertaker – 15 (SmackDown)
5. Davey Richards – 15 (ROH)
5. Eddie Edwards – 15 (ROH)
5. Mick Foley – 15 (TNA)
5. Montel Vontavious Porter – 15 (RAW)
5. Manabu Nakanishi - 15 (NOAH)
5. John Morrison – 15 (SmackDown)

12. Shawn Michaels – 12 (RAW)
12. Minoru Suzuki - 12 (All Japan)
12. Brother Devon – 12 (TNA)
12. Brother Ray – 12 (TNA)
12. Randy Orton – 12 (RAW)
12. Bison Smith - 12 (NOAH)

Batista – 9 (RAW)
Rey Mysterio – 9 (SmackDown)
John Cena – 9 (RAW)
MsChif - 9 (SHIMMER)
Go Shiozaki - 9 (NOAH)
Mitsuahara Misawa - 9 (NOAH)

Christopher Daniels – 6 (TNA)
Matt Hardy – 6 (Raw)

CM Punk – 4 (SmackDown)

Hiroshi Tanahashi - 3 (New Japan)
Evan Bourne – 3 (ECW)
Sting – 3 (TNA)
The Miz – 3 (RAW)

Ricky Steamboat– 2 (WWE)

Portia Perez - 1 (SHIMMER)
Nicole Mathews - 1 (SHIMMER)
Tyson Kidd – 1 (ECW)
DH Smith – 1 (ECW)
Ryo Saito (Dragon Gate)
Genki Horiguchi (Dragon Gate)

Voting began 4.06.09

Year-End Rankings Key:

WWE, Raw, ECW and SmackDown Contracted Wrestlers are represented in BLUE.

TNA Contracted Wrestlers are represented in GREEN.

ROH Contracted Wrestlers are represented in RED.

US Independent Wrestlers are represented in MAROON.

Japanese Contracted Wrestlers are represented in BLACK.

Mexican Contracted Wrestlers are represented in MAGENTA.

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**PREVIOUS WINNERS**

Year One Winner: Ric Flair


Year Two Winner: Samoa Joe


Year Three Winner: John Cena


Year Four Winner: Chris Jericho

If you are wondering how some of the writers decide who to vote for, please check out our Wrestler of the Week Supplemental Column!