411’s Wrestler of the Week 07.20.09: Week 16
Posted by Jeremy Thomas on 07.20.2009
Kurt Angle defends his World Title against Mick Foley, Booker T and Scott Steiner defeat Beer Money, Naruki Doi is a double champion in Japan and more! 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 16, 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…
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…
The Voting~! Andy Critchell
1) MORRISON
The Friday Night Delight was awesome as usual and this week picked up ANOTHER clean win on the World Heavyweight Champ. MORRISON came off looking very strong and there were no funny shenanigans or interference or distractions, just a great counter into a roll up and pin. MORRISON is the future kids, and the future is now.
2) Homicide: He finally makes his big return on Impact and is able to cash in his contract and win the X-Division Title. He's a great wrestler and I hope his title reign is a good one.
3) Booker T & Scott Steiner: Big week for the MEM and these two in particular as they had a big win on Impact and, more importantly, a big title in on the PPV.
4) Big Show
5) Seth Green
ARI
1) John Morrison
A win over the WWE World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk in a non-title contest (and that makes two in a row in head-to-head matches) continues the Morrison push towards the top of the babyface food chain on Smackdown.
2) Kurt Angle: Wrestling injured and still appearing in the main event of the TNA Pay Per View. He kept the belt and had a good match with Foley and given all the factors involved (including Foley's age and doubts about whether or not he could perform), that's definitely something worthwhile.
3) Naruki Doi: Unseated CIMA for the top Dragon Gate title and holds the top two DG belts. Not only is that impressive but it also brings the onus of focus for upcoming DGUSA debut show on Doi.
4) Homicide
5) Big Show
Andy Clark
1) Naruki Doi
Doi is now the co-holder of the top two singles titles in Dragon Gate, a company that is expanding nicely. Now Doi is poised to bring those titles Stateside for the big Dragon Gate USA debut next weekend.
2) John Morrison: For the second time Morrison has scored a non-title victory over World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk. Could a SummerSlam title shot be in his future?
3) Seth Green: The man is, presumably, retiring unbeaten in wrestling competition.
4) Scott Steiner & Booker T
5) Homicide
Larry Csonka
1) Naruki Doi
Naruki Doi beat CIMA in a title for title match with the Open the Dream Gate and the Open the Brave Gate Titles on the line. Doi is now a double champion and is THE MAN in Dragon Gate right now, much respect.
2) Kurt Angle: Angle had a god match with Mick Foley, which all things considered, is something to praise. He also retained the world title.
3) Homicide: Homicide returns to win the X-Division Title.
4) Scott Steiner & Booker T
5) Angelina Love/Kevin Nash
Samuel Berman
1) Naruki Doi
Retained the Open the Dream Gate Championship while winning CIMA's Open the Brave Gate belt in a highly-anticipated Title vs. Title affair.
2) Homicide: Wins the X-Division Title in his return.
3) John Morrison: Non-title win over World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk.
4) Atsushi Aoki & Kota Ibushi
5) Big Show
Jasper Gerretsen
1) Naruki Doi
Naruki Doi starts off Dragon Gate's big American debut as the holder of both of the company's major singles titles, and with Masato Yoshino, BxB Hulk and PAC retaining the Open the Triangle Gate championship his WORLD-1 stable now holds every major Dragon Gate title except for the tag titles.
2) Kurt Angle: Speaking of stable dominance, Kurt Angle not only retained the TNA World Heavyweight championship, but also led his stable to a clean sweep, including two title wins and a win over a legend.
3) MORRISON: The Shaman of Sexy picked up his second non-title win over CM Punk in a win that could have implications for the SmackDown! side of the Summerslam main event.
4) Homicide
5) Atsushi Aoki & Kota Ibushi
Michael Bauer
1) Naruki Doi
Title vs. Title matches are pretty rare nowadays, especially in Japan. Doi took advantage of his opportunity and won the Open the Brave Gate Title while retaining his Open the Dream Gate Title. These are the two major titles on Dragon Gate and there is no question this deserves the top billing.
2) John Morrison: He has two in a row on Punk now and seemingly continues to have the champ's number.
3) Kurt Angle: Got a decent match out of Foley as he leads the Mafia with all the gold.
4) Homicide
5) Vladimir Kozlov
Ryan Byers
1) Naruki Doi
What's a Naruki Doi? A Naruki Doi is a Dragon Gate wrestler who, for quite some time now, has held the company's top championship, the Open the Dream Gate Title. This past weekend, he faced the challenge of CIMA, who held the company's Open the Brave Gate Title. CIMA was also the former ace of the company and is currently the promotion's number one heel. Both men put their titles on the line, and Doi emerged victorious, so he now holds the company's two singles championships AND has defeated the former face of the promotion. If that doesn't establish Doi as the new DG ace, I don't know what does.
2) Johnny Nitro - Yet another victory over his former ECW rival CM Punk makes it clear that this fellow will be challenging for the Big Gold Belt at some point in the not too distant future.
3) Seth Green - Victorious in the main event of Monday Night Raw in his first wrestling match ever.
4) Atsushi Aoki & Kota Ibush
5) Masamune
Jeremy Thomas
1) Kurt Angle
Let's face it, none of us were expecting any greatness out of the TNA World Title Match. Foley's not what he used to be and Angle was nurisng a newly-acquired groin injury. Still, he pulled out all the stops and did the surprising--he retained the TNA World Title cleanly in a pretty good match to boot. Gotta give Angle the props for that.
2) Naruki Doi: Doi is a champion with two titles now, and that just solidifies Doi's position as Dragon Gate's top guy.
3) Homicide: An X-Division title win means that Homicide could well be seeing big things in his singles future.
4) John Morrison & Kevin Nash (tie)
5) Booker T/Scott Steiner
THE WINNERS~!
Special Mention…Seth Green - 7 Votes
Fifth Place…Scott Steiner & Booker T - 8 Votes
Fourth Place…Kurt Angle - 20 Votes
Third Place…Homicide - 21 Votes
Homicide cashes in his Feast or Fired briefcase successfully to win the X-Division Titlle on iMPact.
Second Place…John Morrison - 30 Votes
Morrison continues his push as he pins the World Heavyweight Champion cleanly on SmackDown.
Wrestler of the Week…Naruki Doi - 37 Votes
Naruki Doi wins the Open the Brave Gate Championship from Dragon Gate's top heel and now holds two titles within the promotion...and our Wrestler of the Week to boot!
Year-End Standings~!
Only a couple changes to the top 15 this week, with Kurt Angle moving into the top ten and John Morrison leaping into fourth place. Naruki Doi makes his debut on the list, as do Homicide, Scott Steiner, Booker T and...uh...Seth Green. I think it's safe to say Green won't be winning the Year-End Award at least.
Let's check out the Year-End Standings!
1. Edge – 49 (SmackDown) {INJURED}
2. Jeff Hardy – 40 (SmackDown)
2. CM Punk – 40 (SmackDown)
4. John Morrison – 39 (SmackDown)
5. Rey Mysterio – 36 (SmackDown)
6. Chris Jericho – 34 (SmackDown)
7. Jerry Lynn – 24 (ROH)
7. Randy Orton – 24 (RAW)
wow tna finally cracks the top ten. lol cross the line
Posted By: Guest#4491 (Guest) on July 20, 2009 at 01:33 PM
"What's a Naruki Doi? A Naruki Doi is a Dragon Gate wrestler who, for quite some time now, has held the company's top championship, the Open the Dream Gate Title."
And somehow, still a nobody in America except to a bunch of basement dwelling pro wrestling marks.
Posted By: DUH! (Guest) on July 20, 2009 at 01:44 PM
Can't fault Doi at number one, though it's DRAGON Gate, not DRAGON'S Gate. Likewise, John Morrison is going to be in first place at one point or another this year. I firmly believe he'll be World Heavyweight Champion before year's end.
Posted By: Jason (Guest) on July 20, 2009 at 01:47 PM
Seriously, EVERYTIME WWE has a PPV, they DOMINATE the rankings. However, when TNA has a PPV, they are lucky to get one or two of the slots.
Kevin Nash won his FIRST Title in TNA, having a pretty good match with AJ Styles.
Samoa Joe beat Sting on PPV cleanly.
Homicide won the X-Division title this week for the very first time.
Booker T and Scott Steiner won their first TNA World Tag titles.
Kurt Angle beat Mick Foley CLEANLY.
But John Morrison getting a victory over a champion on a tv show is more important???
Indeed, the PPV wasn't spectacular, but these days, WWE wrestlers just dominate this list because they are held to a lower standard than the TNA guys, who need to shock the world or win a title to get on the list.
Seriously... I am not usually a guy to complain about bias but this is stupid. These Japanese guys, no offense, appear on the list once or twice a year, taking away important points from TNA guys, who have a much bigger world wide audience.
and SOMEHOW, SETH GREEN gets on the list. Are you kidding me??? There is no excuse for it.
I'm sorry for flying off the handle, you guys just need to give TNA a break when they have a PPV.
Posted By: JF (Guest) on July 20, 2009 at 01:49 PM
He changed his name to Morrison, Ryan.
Posted By: Bobby21 (Registered) on July 20, 2009 at 01:59 PM
...
Posted By: Jamal (Registered) on July 20, 2009 at 02:06 PM
The top 6 guys on the year end total ALL wrestle on Smackdown. Wow.
Posted By: AGM (Guest) on July 20, 2009 at 02:47 PM
None of you asswipes better bitch about Naruki Doi winning this week - he's easily one of the best wrestlers in the world, and if he was in America, he'd be a household name. Get cultured, you buttfucking xenophobes.
By the way, how is it that Morrison beats the champ cleanly in a non-title match, and then doesn't get a title match? That's bullshit. In boxing or MMA or any other sport, that would be a fucking outrage. And then he gets another non-title match, no less? Come on, WWE. Let's try to get fans to suspend disbelief here. If the champion gets pinned by anyone in a non-title match, or even a tag match, that should realistically warrant a title match. MORRISON + PUNK = GREAT MATCH EVERY FUCKING TIME
Posted By: Adam Jones (Guest) on July 20, 2009 at 02:49 PM
No mention of Slick Johnson for banging Madison "Horse Teeth" Rayne?
Posted By: StrongStyleSoldier (Guest) on July 20, 2009 at 03:06 PM
The fact that some of you even voted for Seth Green and he got a point makes me wonder if you suffered head injuries as a child.
Posted By: Michael (Guest) on July 20, 2009 at 03:14 PM
VINTAGE BERMAN!
Posted By: Cole Slaw (Guest) on July 20, 2009 at 03:23 PM
None of you asswipes better bitch about Naruki Doi winning this week - he's easily one of the best wrestlers in the world, and if he was in America, he'd be a household name. Get cultured, you buttfucking xenophobes.
if he were in america, you'd hate him. because you think you are so much smarter wacking off to some nip.
Posted By: Guest#1596 (Guest) on July 20, 2009 at 03:27 PM
1.Kurt Angle
2.Steiner&Booker T
3.Nash
4.Morrison
5.Benjamin( I'm surprised that he didn't recieve any love during the voting, but Shelton being overlooked isn't anything new.)
Posted By: The Mack (Guest) on July 20, 2009 at 03:27 PM
"None of you asswipes better bitch about Naruki Doi winning this week - he's easily one of the best wrestlers in the world, and if he was in America, he'd be a household name. Get cultured, you buttfucking xenophobes."
I don't doubt that Doi is a great wrestler. But here in WWEland you have to be 6'4" and weigh 240lbs to be pushed. So no, Doi wouldn't be a household name here in the USA. I'm not a buttfucking xenophobe, just being realistic.
Posted By: mogamer (Guest) on July 20, 2009 at 03:52 PM
"He changed his name to Morrison, Ryan.
Posted By: Bobby21 (Registered) on July 20, 2009 at 01:59 PM
_______
Indeed. Almost two goddamn years to the day, in fact.
Posted By: BJC (Guest) on July 20, 2009 at 04:00 PM
@JF: You make some fair points, but let me make a rebuttal as to Morrison over the TNA guys. Dude beat a World Champ; that merits a high spot to me.
There is no excuse for Seth Green being in over either Nash or Joe though. That's just absurd.
Posted By: Jason (Guest) on July 20, 2009 at 04:21 PM
Wow, Seth Green is on the board with one whole point. Come April, everyone is going to be wondering how the hell he got on this list.
Posted By: Dirk Mantooth (Guest) on July 20, 2009 at 04:26 PM
Go Byers!
Posted By: Guest#8611 (Guest) on July 20, 2009 at 05:15 PM
Seth Green > TNA
Posted By: Guest#6636 (Guest) on July 20, 2009 at 05:34 PM
Hay Adam Jones nice post. Do you eat with that mouth. Did somebody put that hair across your ass. Take it easy narooki doi or whatever won whatever belt japan is giving out this week so he got votes. Yippee for him. no complaints here. I don't want to be a asswipe xenophobe fucking a butthead or whatever you called us. You will wake tommorow and it will be ok sparky
Posted By: ted g (Guest) on July 20, 2009 at 06:31 PM
1.Kurt Angle
2.Steiner&Booker T
3.Nash
4.Morrison
5.Benjamin( I'm surprised that he didn't recieve any love during the voting, but Shelton being overlooked isn't anything new.)
when is mack getting his official vote
Posted By: Guest#4347 (Guest) on July 20, 2009 at 07:15 PM
I have a feeling CM punk & Y2J will be the top two in this list in the near future and one of them will win the whole thing .
Posted By: Lexie (Registered) on July 20, 2009 at 08:28 PM
"None of you asswipes better bitch about Naruki Doi winning this week - he's easily one of the best wrestlers in the world, and if he was in America, he'd be a household name. Get cultured, you buttfucking xenophobes.
if he were in america, you'd hate him. because you think you are so much smarter wacking off to some nip.
Posted By: Guest#1596 (Guest) on July 20, 2009 at 03:27 PM"
---
There's nothing xenophobic about it. It's just reality. The WWE is the biggest wrestling company in the world. It's the most recognizable so when something happens there it's always noticed by far many more people than whatever happens in any other promotion.
That's why when a WWE wrestler has a pretty good week it's comparable to a wrestler in TNA or somewhere in Japan having a great week. Every wrestler in every company isn't measured in the same way. It may not seem fair but it makes sense in the long run.
Yes, most people express the fact that they don't know about these other wrestlers with silly jokes but you're hardly doing yourself or your points any favors by cussing others out and accusing them of things like xenophobia.
Posted By: Ron Mexico (Guest) on July 20, 2009 at 10:57 PM
The writers at 411 should do it this way: have a WWE, TNA, and Japan wrestler of the week.
Posted By: JR (Guest) on July 20, 2009 at 11:09 PM
Seth Green 1, HHH 0
LMAO!
Posted By: Guest#3674 (Guest) on July 21, 2009 at 12:29 AM
"What's a Naruki Doi? A Naruki Doi is a Dragon Gate wrestler who, for quite some time now, has held the company's top championship, the Open the Dream Gate Title."
and i do not fucking care about some jap indy oscure nobody
Posted By: armin (Guest) on July 21, 2009 at 01:30 AM
looking at this list, it's pretty clear that Smackdown is the premiere brand going right now.
Posted By: MRE (Guest) on July 21, 2009 at 08:58 AM
"and i do not fucking care about some jap indy oscure nobody"
Who holds both singles titles and leads the most dominant stable in a company with a TV show and PPV deals in both Japan and America.
Posted By: Skios (Registered) on July 21, 2009 at 09:28 AM
1. NWO Sting
2. John Cena
3. Jeff Hardy
4. Evad Sullivan
5. Tracy Smothers
6. Marcus Alexander Bagwell
7. Horace Hogan
8. Yeti
9. Golga
10. Loch Ness
The true wrastlers of the week.
Posted By: I told you (Guest) on July 21, 2009 at 12:00 PM
Stupid.
Posted By: K-Money (Guest) on July 21, 2009 at 01:13 PM
Cool to see the new "Smackdown Six" in the top six spots.
Smackdown > All
Posted By: Matt (Guest) on July 21, 2009 at 03:36 PM
1. Naruki Doi
2. Beat Takeshi- Won the INJGB Middleweight championship
3. Hideki Matusi- He's technically a baseball player but he's still Japanese
4. Kaneda Tetsuo- Won the Tokyo 300 lb and under Intergalatic open tournament. Enough said.
5. Naruto Ninja- Enough said
Posted By: Mike (Guest) on July 21, 2009 at 03:49 PM
NO love for Sarita or Alyssa? WOW....They easily outperformed Punk and Morrison. No LOVE for Shelton's performance against Christian? WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW
Posted By: Erik (Guest) on July 21, 2009 at 04:41 PM
Wrestler of the Week
Loch Ness, Jake Roberts, Conquistador # 2, Jim Powers, Lizmark, Ken Shamrock, Big Boss Man, The Big Show, Al Snow, Road Dogg, Andre the Giant, Akeem, The Junkyard Dog, Bobo Brazil, and me.
Posted By: Shark Boy (Guest) on July 21, 2009 at 11:52 PM
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