The 411 Wrestling Top 5 07.01.09: Week 29 – Top United States Champions

Posted by Michael Bauer on 07.01.2009

From the legendary Ric Flair's six title reigns and Lex Luger's 500 plus day title reign to John Cena's run as champ in 2004, and to MVP's year long reign in 2008, 411's Wrestling Staffers rank their top United States Champions in the latest edition of the 411 Wrestling Top Five! See which moments made the lists by checking out the full article!

Hello everyone and welcome to 411 Wrestling's Top 5 List. What we are going to is take a topic each week and all the writers here on 411 wrestling will have the ability to give us their Top 5 on said topic, plus up to three honorable mentions. At the end, based on where all these matches rank on people's list, we will create the 411 Wrestling Top 5 list. The scoring is very similiar to the Wrestler of the Week as it looks like this:

#1 Choice – 5 points
#2 Choice – 4 points
#3 choice – 3 points
#4 Choice – 2 points
#5 Choice – 1 point
Honorable Mentions will break ties, but get no points.

Also, in the case of a tie, the most votes win, regardless of where it is listed in the individual Top 5. I will also use this rule in the event that one item is mentioned more often, but is one point behind. For example, one second place vote and two Honorable Mentions will defeat simply one first place vote.


So, on to this week's topic…

THE TOP 5 UNITED STATES CHAMPIONS

Well, this weekend marks the Fourth of July, the United States national birthday. And because it is so big, the banks and businesses of the country are closed on July 3rd, being the 4th is a Saturday. Don't we just love it? But the United States also was the name of the second richest prize in the business for the NWA and eventually the WCW. The WWE brought the title back after the brand split, but the luster of the title has not gone to waste. This week, we aske dthe 411 Staff to give us their Top 5 United States Champions.

So what did our group of writers select? Let's find out…



Shawn S. Lealos

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Chris Benoit (5 times) - He held the belt twice in WCW (35 total days combined) and 3 times in the WWE. That ties him for the second most reigns ever.

MVP (2 times) - He hasn't been around long enough to warrant any more than an honorable mention but those two reigns were for a total of 419 days, which is pretty damn good.

Tully Blanchard (1 time) - He only held the belt once, but it lasted 130 days and he was so damn good, I always picture him as the champion in my memories.

5. Roddy Piper (3 times) - Before Roddy Piper won the title, there were numerous United States Champions recognized under the NWA banner. By January 1981, the final promotion to have their own US Champion other than Crockett Promotions closed its doors and making Roddy Piper the first "undisputed" US Champion. He held the belt three times and one of the greatest, most brutal matches you will ever see was the dog collar match at the first Starrcade between Piper and Greg Valentine for the US Championship. That match alone earns Piper a spot on my list.

4. Magnum TA (2 times) - The US Championship is pretty much a secondary title now, more meant for the second tier wrestlers to fight for. However, the NWA used it as a stepping stone for the World Championship. When Magnum arrived in Crockett Promotions, fresh off his successful stint in Bill Watts' Mid South, he quickly won the US Title off Wahoo McDaniel. His feud with the Four Horsemen, and particularly Tully Blanchard for the US Championship was to be a primer for his eventual World Championship run. A car wreck ruined those plans, but Magnum TA remains one of the most popular US Champions in the title's NWA history.

3. Ricky Steamboat (4 times) - Ricky Steamboat was the biggest, brightest youngster on the NWA roster in the late seventies. He was paired up in a feud with a cocky youngster named Ric Flair and went on to beat Flair for the TV title before achieving great success both as a tag team champion (6 times) and the US Champion (3 times). He was one of the most successful NWA wrestlers in the promotion until his defection to the WWF in 1985. Steamboat returned to the NWA in 1989 and finally won the title that always eluded him, the World Heavyweight Championship. He held almost every belt the NWA had to offer and is the second best wrestler to ever hold the US title.

2. Ric Flair (6 times) - As I mentioned before, the US Championship was used as a stepladder to the World Championship. No example is better than the man who went on to be the greatest NWA World Champion of all time. When he entered the promotion, Flair won the TV Championship before breaking his back in a plane crash in 1976. He rehabilitated and returned six months later before winning his first US Championship the next year. Crockett was grooming Flair to be the top star in the NWA and he went on to hold the title on five different occasions over the next three years (a Flair/Valentine title exchange is unrecognized by the WWE for some reason) before finally reaching the top of the mountain when he won the World Championship in 1981. He later held the belt a sixth time when he beat Konnan in 1996. He is, without argument, the best wrestler to ever hold the US Championship.

1. Lex Luger (5 times) - Luger holds the record for the longest title reign, as he held the belt for 523 days (May 22, 1989 to October 27, 1990). He went on to win the World Championship but he was, just as Flair before him, groomed for it with the United States Championship. Luger arrived in the NWA as a highly sought after free agent and immediately joined the Four Horsemen. His first feud was with Nikita Koloff, who he won his first US Championship from. He held the belt for 138 days before dropping it to Dusty Rhodes in a cage match. He quit the Horsemen and started after Flair for the World Championship but never came out on top. He turned his attention to former friend, Horsemen Barry Windham and won his second US title which he would hold for 76 days before losing to Freebird Michael Hayes. He won the title back 15 days later and began his 523 day reign. Stan Hanson won the belt from Luger but Luger regained it after 50 days and held it for 210 days this time around. Luger finally won his first World Championship when Flair left WCW and a match was setup to name a new champion. When Luger beat Barry Windham for the World Championship, he vacated the US Championship, which he held four times for a combined 947 days (2 ½ years). He won the belt one last time in 1998, when he beat Bret Hart during the nWo angle for a 1-day title reign. Steamboat and Flair are the better wrestlers but The Total Package is the greatest United States Champion of all time.



Julian Bond

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Shelton Benjamin - No offense to MVP, whom I almost put on this list for his recent near 1 year run with the belt in 07'-08', but Benjamin's more recent run with the strap displayed the old school "No. 2 guy behind the World Champ" mentality that should be associated with the title. Not sure what the living hell is still holding the guy back from shattering the glass ceiling for main-eventing, but he proved a great deal more in his almost year-long reign going against the likes of Matt Hardy, MVP, and on occasion, The Undertaker.

Harley Race - The man only held the title once, but you gots to give a little bit of play here to the man who was the first to hold the title back in 75'.

Magnum T.A. - I only experience this man's work through the power of DVDs and WWE online, but his crazy-ass feud with Four Horseman Alumni Tully Blanchard over the U.S. Title was awesome to watch and the guy's always seemed like he was like "the All American" (especially with his insane old school mustache). So it was fitting that he was one of the best title holders.

5.Steve Austin - The future "Stone Cold" was an absolute beast as U.S. champ back in the day. After watching a good ton of matches that he had against greats like The Great Muta and Ricky Steamboat, I saw how great of a technical wrestler he really was in comparison to the straight-up brawling style he mostly displayed in his later "Stone Cold" days. Pairing this with his near year-long sole title reign and his massive later success at the top, I say that is Austin is one of the best US champs ever.

4.Chris Benoit - Benoit's title reigns may have not been the most memorable, especially because I honestly had to think for a minute about when he actually had them, but I credit the man for successfully brining the title back the limelight after being buried for so long. After being a horribly excellent opponent for Eddie Guererro in the finals of the U.S. Title tournament when it was brought out of retirement, Benoit always hovered around the title picture and was a great long standing champ with defending the belt on a lot of occasions and helped keep the belt relevant even when it was just used as good opener of a PPV.

3.Diamond Dallas Page - I honest to goodness think that DDP is one of the most underrated champs ever. Sure the guy was old (by wrestling standards) and wasn't the greatest grappler in the world, but the dude provided myself some fantastic memories with his U.S. Title defenses. His feud with Raven and Chris Benoit were some of the best matches I've ever seen from WCW back in the day. From the Triple Threat matches to the Street Fights, DDP always defended his belt like it was something worthwhile. I had such high hopes for the belt after seeing it fought over with DDP as champ, but I wept when I saw it's value drop down significantly after Goldberg sadly won it (great at the time, but the man seriously didn't need it). Despite this, DDP was still awesome as champ though.

2.Ric Flair - After seeing Flair defend the belt multiple times early in his career before his tons and TONS of World Title reigns, it was plain as day to see that the U.S. Title was a perfect tool in leading Ric to his future path of greatness. So essentially if Flair didn't bust his butt off defending the U.S. Title, he may have not reached his height of success as fast as he did. Flair helped define the belt as it should be, which is a true #2 ranking amongst everyone in the company only second to the World Champ.

1.Lex Luger - Honestly didn't religiously watch WCW in the 80s as a kid cause I was purely hooked on the wacky antics of the WWF, but every single time I tuned in during the late 80s I ALWAYS seemed to see Luger with the U.S. Title around his waist. So when I think of the title now, I automatically think of Lex Luger. He held it multiple times and looking at his past lengths of every reign, always seemed to have the title won in a 3 year span. He too wasn't the best wrestler in the world, but he made the belt seem like a must-have next to the World Title and that feat in itself is a good claim to fame for being one of the best U.S. champions.



Ryan Byers

HONORABLE MENTIONS

David Flair - I'm probably going to get a lot of flack for this one, but I LOVED the angle in which David Flair held the United States Title. I love it because I don't think I've ever seen so many supposedly "smart" fans get worked and give an angle exactly the reaction that bookers wanted it to get . . . pure, unadulterated hatred for David as the undeserving titleholder.

Midnight Express (Bobby Eaton & Stan Lane) - Most people forget that a United States Tag Team Title existed, and I doubt that we'll ever get a Top 5 column to sing its praises. As such, I figured that I would use this opportunity to give a nod to the Midnights' work with those straps, which produced as many awesome matches as their reigns with the World Tag Team Titles did.

Bobo Brazil - A lot of people don't realize that WWE had a United States Title prior to 2003. In fact, such a belt existed in the 1960's and 1970's, and its most prolific holder was Bobo Brazil. Bobo was a true pioneer for African Americans in professional wrestling, and he was one of the most popular WWE (or rather WWWF) performers of the period behind perpetual world champion Bruno Sammartino. And, if you want to get technical, he did also hold the Mid-Atlantic Wrestling United States Title that the current WWE version presumably traces its roots back to.

5.John Cena - For years in WCW, the announcers put over the idea that the United States Champion was the de facto number one contender, the man who was supposed to be right behind the World Heavyweight Champion in terms of skill. After a while, that concept was completely thrown out the window, and, around the same time, secondary championships in wrestling promotions ceased being a way to actually elevate wrestlers and instead turned in to a means to generate feuds that killed time before the REAL stars showed up. Perhaps the last great example of the US Champion being a legitimate number two guy who went on to become a main event level performer was John Cena. Cena was synonymous with the strap in 2004, beating the Big Show for it in front of an ultra-hot Wrestlemania XX crowd, feuding over it with Booker T. in a best of five series, and even briefly dropping it to Carlito in a move that gave the latter guy instant credibility. Nowadays, Cena is perhaps the most popular man in all of professional wrestling, and can be traced directly back to his US Title reigns.

4.Roddy Piper - People who only watched wrestling during the Monday Night Wars are probably asking why I chose to acknowledge Piper when he only had a two week reign, beating Bret Hart and losing to Scott Hall in ugly, ugly matches. However, there was a Roddy Piper before he became an international superstar as a result of the Rock n' Wrestling Connection, and there was a United States Title back then as well. In fact, Piper had two runs as US Champ in the early 1980's, both of them more memorable than his reign in the late 1990's. Piper first defeated Ric Flair for the championship. Though he dropped it to Wahoo McDaniel a bit later in the same year, it wouldn't be much longer until the Hot Scot reclaimed his prize, besting rival Greg Valentine in 1982. Perhaps the most memorable part of this second reign was the fact that it gave rise to the blood feud between Roddy and Valentine, with the Hammer regaining the title by referee's decision when a cut over Piper's ear rendered him unable to continue in a championship defense. That injury became an integral part of the story of the legendary Starrcade dog collar match between the two men, and the rest, as they say, is history.

3.Lex Luger - Like Piper, Luger is one of those guys who got the US Title handed to him during the heyday of Monday Nitro, though his work with the title a decade earlier was significantly better. Between 1987 and 1989, the NWA and Jim Crockett Promotions were seemingly priming Flexy Lexy to become THE man, essentially their answer to Hulk Hogan. As a result, he managed to have four US Title reigns during which he got to defend against some of the best opponents imaginable, including Stan Hansen, Dusty Rhodes, Ricky Steamboat, and Barry Windham. Though he would later become a noted stiff, Luger was more than holding up his end of the bargain during this period and becoming quite the formidable contender for the World Heavyweight Championship. Unfortunately, when he ultimately got the big gold belt, he floundered and never fully recovered. However, you can't fault the build with the United States Championship that got him to that level.

2.Ric Flair - The pattern continues, as Flair won the United States Title against Konnan in 1996 but was actually a far more prolific champion in another era. It was in the late 1970's and 1980 that Flair first started to take hold in the Carolinas, and it was largely a result of his United States Title runs in that territory. Though he initially defeated Bobo Brazil for the title, Flair's more famous championship feuds came against former tag team partner Greg Valentine, the legendary Mr. Wrestling II, and Jimmy Snuka, who was a violent brawler and not yet the cartoon that he would become once Hulkamania took hold of wrestling. Heck, Flair even went toe-to-toe with the original Nature Boy, Buddy Rogers, during this period. Perhaps more important than any of these feuds was the fact that Flair as United States Champion in the late 1970's gave us the FIRST iteration of the Ric Flair/Ricky Steamboat feud that would go on to become one of the greatest rivalries in professional wrestling history.

1.Ricky Steamboat - Of course, Steamer also gets some credit here for the previously referenced Nature Boy/Dragon feud as well as great matches against the likes of Sergeant Slaughter and "Dirty" Dick Slater. What is it, though, that gives Steamboat the edge over Flair for the top spot? Remember that pattern that I've mentioned throughout this list? The one in which a guy has an awesome series of US Title reigns in the 70's or 80's and then has a disappointing reign or two in the 90's? Well, Ricky Steamboat bucks that trend. He was an awesome United States Champion in the 1970's, he was an awesome United States Champion in the 1980's, AND he as an awesome United States Champion in the 1990's. Steamboat's final run with the title came in 1994 as part of a feud with a young "Stunning" Steve Austin, and the two men had a series of matches that absolutely put Austin on the map as a singles worker. For longevity as a US Champion, awesome matches throughout his various reigns, and helping to create the biggest star in wrestling history in the process, Ricky Steamboat takes top honors from me.



Larry Csonka

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Harley Race - The first ever gets some love.

Greg Valentine - Great feuds with Piper and Flair get this two-time champion an honorable mention…

Tully Blanchard/Magnum TA - For their I QUIT CAGE MATCH ALONE!

5. Roddy Piper - Roddy Piper was the perfect kind of guy to old thee US Title, that's both a good thing and a bad thing. But the facts are that Piper could talk, he could draw and to his credit has one of the greatest US Title matches ever under his belt, the dog collar match with Valentine. Roddy Piper rules, unfortunately he is nothing but the fat guy in a kilt to new fans.

4. Midnight Express (Bobby Eaton & Stan Lane) - I swear to God that Byers and I share the same brain at times, because every time I think I have something cool or out of the box to add, that fucker beats me to it. But yes, there were US Tag Team Titles, they weren't actually needed, but they were fine to have around. But the Midnight Express had great matches for those titles, and Cornette made them seem just as important as the world tag titles. God I miss those days.

3. Ric Flair - Everyone always talks about Flair's world titles, but most don't even realize that the man was a 6-time US Champions, and had great feuds and matches with Greg Valentine, Mr. Wrestling II, Bobo Brazil and Jimmy Snuka. And then you add into this that the US Title was the table to where the first serving of Flair vs. Steamboat was on the menu, and you just have to give the man the credit he deserves. Like I said, this is a part of Flair's career that is greatly overlooked.

2. Ricky Steamboat - Speaking of Ric Flair, we now come to Ricky Steamboat. Ricky Steamboat grabbed the strap 4-times in his career, and was able to have runs in the 70s, 80s and 90s. In the 70's it was Steamboat vs. Flair, in the 80s it was Steamboat vs. Dick Slater, and in the 90s it was Steve Austin. Steamboat was not only elevated by the US Title, but with the US Title he helped elevate a guy that would become one of the biggest stars the industry would ever see. Steamboat is the man, no doubt, but this week, I give credit to someone most wouldn't.

1. Lex Luger - That's right kids, FLEXY LEXY takes the top spot this week. The man had FIVE US Title runs, including the monster run of 500+ days in 1989-90. So much talk about the US Title beign a steppingstone to bugger and better things back in the day are true, and in Luger's care. The majority of his runs were with and against the Horsemen and also as a part of his development as he rose to the top. Sure it took Flair leaving for him to get the title, but he was being groomed for the big title through the various US Title runs, that was obvious. Plus, Luger takes too much shit to be honest with you, so giving him the top spot is a little "thanks" to him. I know the haters will come out, but as we talked about last week, Luger wasn't nearly as bad as most thought. Shitty booking didn't help him.



Aaron Hubbard

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Eddie Guerrero - Where's the love for this guy? The first holder of the modern incarnation of the title, Eddie and the U.S. Title were a perfect match. It helped Eddie get to the main event scene, and Eddie helped to elevate the prestige of the belt.

Magnum T.A. - Should have been a world champion, but tragedy struck. Still, he didn't overstay his welcome at the U.S. level like Luger and had the best U.S. Title match ever with Tully Blanchard.

Ric Flair - Flair is the MAN. However, I feel that the next five guys gained more prestige/gave more prestige to the U.S. Title.

5.Steve Austin - Austin's run in the WWE went from "lower midcard" to "jobber to the stars" to "THE TOP GUY" rapidly fast, and we never really got to see him run at the midcard level there. However, in WCW, his peak was being the U.S. Champion, and he was awesome in that role. Austin's ring skills were almost at a peak, and he could have good matches with anyone. Still, I don't think anybody could have guessed that he would as big as he would get by watching his stuff here.

4.John Cena - Having to follow up a six month reign of the Big Show is not an easy thing to do. That's not a diss on the big man, but frankly, he's above the U.S. Title and it shows from the lack of defenses. However, John Cena served to bring the U.S. Title to the forefront in 2004. With the hated JBL dominating the WWWE Title scene, Cena was the most popular "champ" on Smackdown. And both Cena and the title helped each other. Don't believe me? "The Champ is HERE!" started with the U.S. Title, and Cena's spinner belt was once the most popular replica belt. That's a LOT of cash.

3.Lex Luger - I don't hate Luger. He was a hard worker in his prime and lumping him in with talentless lugs like SID and WOYAH is just not fair. Was he carried to his best matches by Ric Flair? Yeah, but so was Sting, and people think he's great. That said, I feel his 500 Days + reign is an example of how Luger was misused. The U.S. Title should have been a stepping stone, not a "major career accomplishment". Much like Flair, I think that many of Luger's U.S. Title reigns occured when he was at a world title level.

2.Ricky Steamboat - I feel the U.S. Title is perfect for three kinds of wrestlers: young guns moving up, old vets moving down, and career midcarders. While Steamboat was a very good world champion, I don't think it's out of line for me to say that there is a good reason he only had one short reign. As a pure wrestler, Steamboat is almost without peer, but his promos are....Oh sorry, I feel asleep just thinking about it. Steamboat's early U.S. Title reigns set him up as a big star, and in the twilight of his career, he was able to put over young guys, especially Steve Austin.

1.Chris Benoit - When I hear "U.S. Champion", I immediately think "Chris Benoit".I think the later reigns showcase why he was a perfect U.S. Champ. Benoit was a world class worker, but didn't have the charisma to be a long-term World Champ. By putting the belt on Benoit, you instantly legitimize the prestige of the belt, and you have a Champion that can carry young guys to great matches and give them an education on working at a higer level. Since I don't think he worked very well as World Champ, this was the perfect place for him. The U.S/IC level is the perfect place for great workers with little to charisma to show their strengths and hiding their weaknesses.



Jeremy Thomas

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Rick Rude - The Ravishing One held the title for 378 days, the second-longest single title reign of all-time behind only Luger. That gets him some love from me.

Roddy Piper - I love Piper, and the fact that he became the first Undisputed NWA United States Champion with his first reign gets him some love here.

Montel Vontavious Porter - I wanted to put MVP inside the Top Five, as he held the title just twenty-two days shy of a year in an era where title reigns come and go quickly, but the ones above are too significant to put him over.

5.Magnum T.A. - Magnum T.A. will always be the man I immediately associate with the United States Title, because it was as high as he ever got even though he was clearly destined for more. He was one of the all-time greats and because of the fact that I think of him first, the championship seems more important to me than it sometimes seems to be to others. That's a high compliment to Magnum.

4.Ricky Steamboat - Okay, seriously people...it's Steamboat. How could he NOT be on this list? The guy's feud over the title with Flair was absolutely legendary, and it's common fodder for this column due to how great it was. Then he came back to the belt in the 90's and feuded with Steve Austin over it. When it comes to United States Champions, there's few people who did more with the opportunities the belt gave them then Ricky, and he will undoubtedly be the star of any "History of the United States Title" set that the 'E might ever decide to put out. (Note to the WWE: Put that set out. Seriously.)

3.Blackjack Mulligan - In the earliest days of the United States title, few people were associated with the belt more than Blackjack Mulligan. He won the title from Paul Jones in March of '76, held it for a then-record 217 days and ended up trading it back and forth with Jones a few times until he dropped it to Bob Brazil. By the time he did so he had held the belt three times, the last time for another 200+ tenure. He would come back two years later and take the title from Ricky Steamboat, holding it for another 77 days until he lost it for the last time. Blackjack deserves more love than he gets, and I wanted to give him some props here.

2.Ric Flair - When it comes to people who rocked the United States title, Ric Flair is one of the first and most enduring names that come to mind. Flair feuded with some of the greatest names in the business over the US Title, and in doing so he really shot upward. Sure, you can talk about how he's more important as a World Champion than he was as a US Champion, but that doesn't mean that he doesn't deserve some serious credit for his time at the United States Championship level that ultimately made him ready to become the legend we all know him to be.

1.Lex Luger - Lex Luger does get a lot of shit, and I think a good portion of it is warranted personally. But that doesn't mean that his record 523 days as United States Champion from May of 1989 through October of 1990 isn't a phenomenal achievement, nor that his five runs with the belt aren't incredibly noteworthy. Luger's a guy who I think would have done just fine if he'd never been pushed to the moon and the U.S. Title level always seemed like a perfect fit for him. That may seem like less than stellar compliment, but I disagree and think it's a testament to how well he did with this particular strap around his waist.



Michael Bauer

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Rick Rude - Holding the title for over a year, he deserves mention for the second longest reign in history.

Harley Race - The first never gets credit, he does here.

MVP - He held the title for almost a year, which is unheard of in today's day in age.

5.Ricky Steamboat - Steamboat is most know for his feud with Flair, which created some great matches in the 1980's, but they also had some feud over the title a decade earelier. Overall, he held the title four tmes and in three different decades. This is one thing that no other United States champion can say, oitside of Ric Flair.

4.John Cena - Like it or not, John Cena was the prototypical United States Champion with his reigns in 2004. Him holding the title made him into a legit contender for the World Title and the Main Event status he currently holds today. He won the title in front of a hot crowd at WrestleMania XX and instantly blew his stock off the charts.

3.Chris Benoit - Everyone forgets that Benoit has held the title on five occasions. That is tied for the most recognized reigns of all time. The sad part is that his last reign accounted for 62% of the total days of his title reigns (222 of 357 days). But Benoit was an amazing United States Champion with his last reign, eventually losing to MVP.

2.Ric Flair - He has five offical regins and a 6th the WWE doesn't recognize for whatever reason they have. Flair was the first man to hold the belt and use it as a platform to bigger and better things and it lasted a long, long time.

1.Lex Luger - Yeah, hate to admit it, but Lex Luger was the best. He has the most reigns, he has the longest reign at 523 days, most by around 150 days over Rick Rude's reign. Yeah, sure, he was misused as champion, but so has a bunch of others with more noteworthy titles. Luger definitly had what it took to be better than he was, but this title reign was the "second place" prize as it was. Not too bad of a consolation.



So with all said and done, here is the 411 Wrestling's Overall Top 5 United States Champions.

5.John Cena - 5 points (2 4th place votes, 1 5th place vote)

4.Chris Benoit - 10 points (1 1st place vote, 1 3rd place vote, 1 4th place vote, 1 Honorable Mention)

3.Ricky Steamboat - 19 points (1 1st place vote, 2 2nd place votes, 1 3rd place vote, 1 4th place vote, 1 5th place vote)

2.Ric Flair - 23 points (5 2nd place votes, 1 3rd place vote, 1 Honorable Mention)

1.Lex Luger - 31 points (5 1st place votes, 2 3rd place votes)