411’s Wrestler of the Week 02.01.10: Week 44

Posted by Jeremy Thomas on 02.01.2010

Edge returns and wins the Royal Rumble while Sheamus, the Undertaker, Christian, Mickie James, and Miz leave with gold around their waists! Elsewhere Austin Aries beats a Japanese legend, Doug Williams with the X-Division Title 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 43, 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~!
Michael Bauer
1) Edge
I don't think there is any doubt here. Edge makes the surprise return and goes on to win the Rumble, a la John Cena in 2008. Still, in a match where everyone could have sworn Cena was winning at the final two, Edge earns his shot at Wrestlemania and screws every Wrestlemania prediction card. This Rumble was very impressive in my mind, so 3 of my top 5 go to that.

2) Austin Aries: But I have to give this spot to Aries for beating Jushin Liger at RoH's Wrestle Reunion 4 card.
3) Shawn Michaels: Great match with Mysterio, MVP of the Rumble with 6 eliminations.
4) CM Punk (just pure awesomeness)
5) Tne Undertaker/ Rey Mysterio (tie)


Robert S. Leighty Jr
1) Edge
Should there even be a question here? Edge returns at the Royal Rumble to send the crowd in a frenzy and then he wins the thing by eliminating Cena at the end. Edge has now punched his ticket for WrestleMania XXVI and the question now is what title does he want?

2) Mickie James: God Bless the WWE for giving us the proper payoff to this feud. I don't even care if Mickie drops the strap back in short order, but for one night they got this thing right.
3) The Undertaker: Fantastic match with Rey that showed Taker still has something left in the tank as long as he has someone to work with him.
4) CM Punk/Rey Mysterio
5) Christian


Joseph F. Martinez
1) Edge
The surprise Rumble entrant shocks the world and wins. It wasn't the greatest surprise victory or anything, and compared to Cena's it was just okay. Despite that, Edge is the 2010 Royal Rumble winner. It looked like we were going to get a Cena or Batista victory but we got Edge.

2) CM Punk: I believe CM Punk's last major match before Friday was against John Cena at the 2009 Slammy Awards. Punk got squashed and looked awful. On Smackdown he was allowed to shine against Triple H and dominated the opening moments of the Rumble. This guy is on a roll.
3) Shawn Michaels: Had a solid match with Rey Mysterio on Smackdown and told an exciting story during the Rumble. Michaels eliminated six people in the match and was fantastic during his elimination.
4) The Undertaker
5) R-Truth


Samuel Berman
1) Edge
Returned from injury to win the Royal Rumble.

2) Fire Ant & Soldier Ant: Retained the Campeonatos de Parejas over blood rivals Icarus & Gran Akuma.
3) Tim Donst: Wins the Young Lions Cup from Player Dos
4) Shawn Michaels and CM Punk (tie)
5) Austin Aries


Chad Nevett
1) Edge
Winning the Royal Rumble is pretty much a guaranteed WotW top spot. A 'surprise' return, an elimination of Chris Jericho, and a Rumble win...

2) The Undertaker: Retained the World Heavyweight Championship and did a double chokeslam of Rey Rey and Shawn Michaels on Smackdown. I do love double chokeslams...
3) Rey Mysterio / Shawn Michaels (tie): Put on a good match together on Smackdown plus each did great work at the Rumble and on Raw.
4) CM Punk
5) The Miz


ARI
1) Edge
As stated, shocked the world by winning the Royal Rumble. Most fans expected him back during the match, but winning the whole thing? That's pretty freaking cool and where we go from here to Wrestlemania is anyone's guess, but its actually an interesting curve ball in this case.

2) CM Punk: The MVP of Smackdown went toe-to-toe against Triple H on Smackdown and held his own, then owned the first third of the Rumble, using his Straight-Edge gimmick to attempt to convert them to his cause (or in many a case, lulling them in and throwing them out of the ring). Punk's cult character is pure genius right now.
3) Shawn Michaels: Right on the heels of the other two in terms of all-star caliber performances this week, first in a confrontation and then a match against Rey Mysterio on Smackdown and in his Rumble performance, making it so far only to lose in the final four and then snap in anger.
4) The Undertaker
5) Randy Orton / Sheamus (tie)


Shawn S. Lealos
1) Edge
I didn't see it coming and the fact that he won is awesome. I wonder who he will face for the title at Wrestlemania, Undertaker on Smackdown or whoever is the champion on Raw? Maybe an Edge vs. Christian match for the ECW belt? Nah. But Edge has made me interested in Smackdown again, for now...

2) C.M. Punk: Punk is fantastic as the cult leader on Smackdown and he was epic at the Rumble.
3) Doug Williams: He was opportunistic but he did win the X-Division Title with the Chaos Theory on Impact.
4) The Brian Kendrick
5) Shawn Michaels


Larry Csonka
1) Edge
Edge made his long awaited return to the WWE, and not only got some revenge on former tag team partner Chris Jericho, but eliminated John Cena to win the Royal Rumble. Crazy bearded Edge is back, and I for one could not be happier…

2) CM Punk: Dirty Hippy Jesus CM Punk was completely awesome at the Royal Rumble, almost stealing the show with his performance early in the Rumble match. The only bad part about it was that it ended too soon.
3) Doug Williams: Your NEW X-Division Champion. Chaos Theory bitches!
4) Shawn Michaels
5) Mickie James


Ryan Byers
1) Edge
I'm not nearly as big of an Edge fan as most other wrestling fans on the internet, but, when a guy makes a surprise return and wins the Royal Rumble out of nowhere, it's hard not to give him the top spot.

2) CM Punk - Punk had a great Royal Rumble performance, but I would have put him in this spot regardless because of what happened on Smackdown. The Straight Edger was treated for a legitimate main event star for the first time in a long time on that show, being competitive with Triple H in their match and - in the real surprise to me - not getting pinned.
3) Sara Del Rey & Daizee Haze - Haze and Del Rey were successful in the first match of their new CHIKARA gimmick, which will apparently see them compete in tag matches against the men. They defeated Amasis and Ophidian, former tag champs in the company.
4) Austin Aries
5) Beth Phoenix


Aaron Hubbard
1) Edge
I've been calling this since July, when Edge was injured, but as we inched closer and closer to the event itself, as more and more story lines came out, I didn't think it would actually happen. Edge is my favorite WWE wrestler, so I'm thrilled to see him back in and hopefully this sets up Edge-Jericho at 'Mania.

2) Brian Kendrick & Paul London - Defeated Generation Me at PWG Kurt Russellmania in a dream match that lived up to expectations and makes the show a near must-buy for me.
3) Shawn Michaels - HBK was literally all over the place this week, delivering a great promo with Triple H on Monday night, having a fantastic match with Rey on TV that would be my Free TV MOTY so far if not for the ending, and had a great performance in the Rumble.
4) Fire Ant & Soldier Ant
5) CM Punk


Matt Adamson
1) Edge
His Royal Rumble win was not only a great surprise, but was similar to the resurrection of Jesus. He's saving the WrestleMania main event, and for that I'm thankful. Winning the Rumble is basically a ticket to Wrestler of the Week, but Edge deserves it for saving all of our souls.

2) CM Punk: David Koresh would be proud as CM Punk used this opportunity to not only convert the first third of the entrants to the Royal Rumble to the Branch CM Punkian faith, but also all of us. At a personal level, he has shown me the light. Where's the razor?
3) Beth Phoenix: The Khali elimination will live on in my mind as one of the greatest Royal Rumble eliminations ever. She also showed she could at least briefly hang with the boys.
4) Mickie James
5) Doug Williams


Jeremy Thomas
1) Edge
The Rated-R Superstar is back! And while it may not have been the biggest shock of all-time, I will fully admit I did not see it coming. And even when he did come running down, I didn't see him winning; I thought he would toss Jericho, eliminate himself and beat Jericho all the way into the back. Edge is back and here's hoping for a full-on return to form for the man.

2) Shawn Michaels: Shawn's been overdue for a heel turn for quite some time. This was a great way to start it off, because it seems natural and to make sense. He also had an awesome showing in the Rumble and a great match with Rey Rey on SmackDown, plus beat Priceless on Raw. Great week for the Showstopper.
3) Mickie James: All I will have to say is this: Redemption at last. I hope that whole angle is over, though I doubt it will be.
4) CM Punk/Austin Aries
5) The Undertaker

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THE WINNERS~!

Special Mention…Doug Williams - 7 Votes

Fifth Place…Mickie James - 9 Votes

Fourth Place…The Undertaker - 12 Votes

Third Place…Shawn Michaels - 24 Votes

The Heartbreak Kid wins a tag match on Raw, battles Rey on SmackDown and has a great showing in the Royal Rumble.

Second Place…CM Punk - 34 Votes

Punk has a solid showing against Triple H on SmackDown and keeps on rolling with the Straight Edge Society; then in the Rumble has the most memorable moments of the opening entries.

Wrestler of the Week…Edge - 60 Votes

The Bearded Rated-R Superstars makes his monster return at the Royal Rumble, drawing a monster pop from the crowd and eliminating John Cena last to earn a ticket straight to WrestleMania...and to the top of the charts to become our Wrestler of the Week!


Year-End Standings~!

Edge makes his big return at the Rumble and leaps up into top six, while Shawn Michaels leaps into the top ten with his performance this week. Mickie James, Doug Williams and the Undertaker move up, while CM Punk opens up his lead in AJ Styles to thirty points. Can AJ close the lead and take the top spot? We'll see soon enough!

Let's check out the Year-End Standings!

1. CM Punk – 134 (SmackDown)

2. AJ Styles – 114 (TNA)

3. Jeff Hardy – 85 (TNA)

4. Rey Mysterio – 85 (SmackDown)

5. John Morrison – 70 (SmackDown)

6. Edge – 64 (WWE)

7. Chris Jericho – 55 (SmackDown)

8. Randy Orton – 53 (RAW)
8. John Cena – 53 (RAW)

10. Kurt Angle – 46 (TNA)

11. The Undertaker – 42 (SmackDown)
12. Naruki Doi - 42 (Dragon Gate)

13. Shawn Michaels – 38 (RAW)

14. Kofi Kingston – 37 (Raw)

15. Sheamus – 36 (Raw)
15. Davey Richards – 36 (ROH)

Christian – 35 (ECW)

Samoa Joe – 34 (TNA)

Eddie Edwards – 33 (ROH)

Ted DiBiase – 32 (RAW)
Desmond Wolfe – 32 (TNA)

Tyler Black – 31 (ROH)

Batista – 30 (SmackDown)

JTG – 27 (SmackDown)
Brian Danielson – 27 (WWE)
Keiji Mutoh - 27 (AJPW)
Masakatsu Funaki - 27 (AJPW)
BxB Hulk - 27 (Dragon's Gate)

Jerry Lynn – 24 (ROH)

MsChif - 21 (SHIMMER)
Nick Jackson - 21 (US Independent)
Matt Jackson - 21 (US Independent)
Daniels – 21 (TNA)
Hulk Hogan – 21 (TNA)
Naomichi Marufuji - 21 (NOAH)

Austin Aries – 19 (ROH)

Sting – 18 (TNA)
Go Shiozaki - 18 (NOAH)
Shinsuke Nakamura - 18 (NJPW)
Drew McIntyre – 18 (SmackDown)
Tommy Dreamer – 18 (US Independent)

Cody Rhodes – 16 (RAW)
Mark Henry – 16 (RAW)
The Miz – 16 (Raw)
Triple H – 16 (Raw)
Hernandez – 16 (TNA)

Mick Foley – 15 (TNA)
Montel Vontavious Porter – 15 (RAW)
Manabu Nakanishi - 15 (NOAH)
Togi Makabe - 15 (NOAH)
Dolph Ziggler – 15 (SmackDown)
Bison Smith - 15 (NOAH)
Takashia Sugiura - 15 (NOAH)
Bison Smith - 15 (NOAH)

Pinky Sanchez - 12 (CHIKARA)
Minoru Suzuki - 12 (All Japan)
Brother Devon – 12 (TNA)
Brother Ray – 12 (TNA)
The Amazing Red – 12 (TNA)
Masato Yoshino - 12 (Dragon Gate)
Hiroshi Tanahashi - 12 (New Japan)
Shad – 12 (SmackDown)
Zach Ryder – 12 (ECW)
Shingo Takagi - 12 (Dragon Gate)
YAMATO - 12 (Dragon's Gate)
Kenny Omega - 12 (US Independent)
CIMA - 12 (Dragon Gate)
Gamma - 12 (Dragon Gate)
Jack Swagger – 12 (RAW)
Massive Q – 12 (AWF)

Soldier Ant - 10 (CHIKARA)
Fire Ant - 10 (CHIKARA)
Delirious - 9 (ROH)

Masato Tanaka - 9 (ZERO1)
Homicide – 9 (TNA)
ODB – 9 (TNA)

Ryouji Sai - 9 (ZERO1)
Player Dos - 9 (CHIKARA)
Mistico - 9 (CMLL)
The Big Show – 9 (RAW)
Bobby Lashley – 9 (TNA)
Roderick Strong - 9 (ROH)
Bret Hart – 9 (RAW)
Mickie James – 9 (SmackDown)

Yoshinobu Kanemura - 7 (NOAH)

Matt Hardy – 6 (SmackDown)
Chris Hero - 6 (US Independent)
Satoshi Kojima - 6 (AJPW)
Giant Bernard - 6 (NJPW)
Karl Anderson - 6 (NJPW)
Yoshi Tatsu – 6 (ECW)
Serena – 6 (SmackDown)

Hamada – 5 (TNA)

Dr. Wagner Jr. - 4 (AAA)
Doug Williams – 4 (TNA)

Evan Bourne – 3 (Raw)
Ken Anderson - 3 (US Independent)
Tara – 3 (TNA)
Booker T – 3 (TNA)
Alex Shelley – 3 (TNA)
Chris Sabin – 3 (TNA)
Scott Steiner – 3 (TNA)
Tajiri - 3 (HUSTLE)
Tyson Kidd – 3 (SmackDown)
Eric Young – 3 (TNA)
Eric Escobar – 3 (SmackDown)
Brutus Magnus – 3 (TNA)
Yujiro Takahashi - 3 (CMLL)
Jun Kasai - 3 (Big Japan)

Ricky Steamboat– 2 (WWE)

Portia Perez - 1 (SHIMMER)
Nicole Mathews - 1 (SHIMMER)
Ryo Saito - 1 (Dragon Gate)
Genki Horiguchi - 1 (Dragon Gate)
Michelle McCool – 1 (SmackDown)
Atsushi Aoki - 1 (NOAH)
Kota Ibushi - 1 (NOAH)
Seth Green - 1 (US Independent)
Kotaro Suzuki - 1 (NOAH)
Vince McMahon – 1 (WWE)
Brian Kendrick - 1 (US Independent)
Tiger Mask IV- 1 (NJPW)
Shelton Benjamin – 1 (ECW)
Kevin Steen – 1 (ROH)
Awesome Kong – 1 (TNA)

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.

Australian Contracted Wrestlers are represented in INDIGO.

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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!