wrestling / Columns

411’s Wrestler of the Week 03.15.10: Week 50

March 15, 2010 | Posted by Jeremy Thomas

Welcome to Week 50, 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…

The Voting~!
Jasper Gerretsen
1) CM Punk
In a single segment, CM Punk managed to generate all the interest that’s needed in his WrestleMania match with Rey Mysterio. He played the heel role to absolute perfection here, and he didn’t even have to use his Straight Edge Society to get the heat.

2) Abyss: As stupid as pretty much everything about the storyline surrounding him might be, he still managed to pin the TNA world heavyweight champion.
3) Adam Pearce: The Scrap Daddy regained his NWA world heavyweight championship.
4) Ikuto Hidaka
5) Velvet Sky & Madison Rayne

THE Larry Csonka
1) Abyss
I think the week’s big winner was Abyss. He is heavily featured alongside Hulk Hogan, he was in the big main event of Impact involving Hogan and Flair, and at the end of that match, he pinned the TNA World Champion. Hogan reportedly loves Abyss and has big plans for him, and this win would seem to support that. Is it Abyss’ time finally in the company? Who knows with the way they book, but this week was a big one for him.

2) CM Punk: I have been a huge fan of the dirty hippy Jesus version of CM Punk, while he isn’t being pushed to the moon, he has been given the chance to shine on the mic and create real heat. This week’s segment with Rey Mysterio was not only another great display, but he also did so much to build up the Rey vs. Punk match we all knew was coming, but got started late. This was an excellent segment, and Punk continues to shine on the mic week in and out.
3) Adam Pearce: I know that the NWA Title doesn’t mean much these days, but with the week not exactly being that eventful, a title change does get some attention from me. VIVA SCRAP DADDY~!
4) Velvet Sky and Madison Rayne
5) Ikuto Hidaka

Aaron Hubbard
1) Abyss: Pinned the TNA World Champion in TNA’s return to Monday Nights, something of an unexpected result with Hogan and Flair involved, but a welcome one.

2) CM Punk: Punk’s Birthday Present to Allyah Mysterio was off the page intense, and made this a money feud; Mysterio is an eternal babyface in the vein of Ricky Steamboat, and CM Punk looks like the biggest jerk in the world.
3) Chris Jericho: The World Heavyweight Champion came out on top of a confrontation with Edge, and did in a more impressive fashion than any of Edges spears (SPEARS SPEARS SPEARS!).
4) Velvet Skye & Madison Rayne
5) Heath Slater

Chad Nevett
1) CM Punk
Goddamn, what a promo. While Mysterio did his part well, Punk almost single-handedly made a small feud into something bigger and better, and, somehow, became an even more hated heel, which didn’t exactly seem possible.

2) Chris Jericho: Fantastic mic work with Edge and, finally, got the upper hand and turned the spear chant around on Edge.
3) Doug Williams: Retained the X-Division championship against Daniels and Kazarian in a triple threat match.
4) Adam Pearce
5) The Beautiful People (Velvet Sky & Madison Rayne)

Michael Bauer
1) Abyss
As much as I hate to say the following, it is true. At the end of the day, when you pin the World Champ, who was teaming with the best wrestler EVER, while you are teaming with the biggest name in wrestling EVER, you deserve this spot.

2) Adam Pearce: He did regain the NWA World Title, which despite not being on our television sets, is the most historic title in the business.
3) CM Punk: Just when I think Punk can’t top himself, he does it again. Simply sick promo work.
4) Heath Slater
5) Justin Gabriel

Ryan Byers
1) CM Punk
An absolute, blow-away segment on Smackdown this past Friday has single-handedly turned CM Punk’s match against Rey Misterio into one of the most heated matchups on this year’s Wrestlemania. Given that it’s sharing the stage with a Bret Hart/Vince McMahon match which has thirteen years of legitimate heat behind it and a John Cena/Batista match which has already seen one of the best promos in the history of Wrestlemania buildup delivered, that’s a hell of an accomplishment. Virtually all of that was due to Punk’s performance, and that’s why he deserves top billing here.

2) Dave Batista – Big Dave absolutely dominated on Raw this past Monday night, picking up some serious momentum headed in to his WWE Championship match at Wrestlemania.
3) Daisuke Sekimoto: Sekimoto is THE guy to watch on the Japanese independent scene these days, and he proved it again by defeating DDT owner Sanshiro Tagaki to retain the KO-D Openweight Title, the top championship in Takagi’s own promotion.
4) Heath Slater
5) Ikuto Hidaka

Robert S. Leighty Jr
1) Abyss
The big man had a great night on Monday as he teamed with Hulk Hogan in the Main Event of TNA’s biggest Impact ever against Ric Flair and the TNA Champion AJ Styles. What puts Abyss at the top of the list is that he pinned the TNA Champion Styles.

2) CM Punk: Absolutely one of the greatest dick heel promos you will ever see. The last promo I can think of off the top of my head that was this awesome was the Michael’s promo in Montreal in 2005. Rey vs Punk just got a lot of build for Mania after only this promo from Punk.
3) The Beautiful People: Winning the TNA Knockouts Tag Titles get them on the list as any title change in always big for me.
4) Sting
5) Chris Jericho

Shawn S. Lealos
1) Sting
I have read many criticisms about his heal turn but I think it was brilliant. They have been trying to turn Sting heal for the last year and people cheered him anyway. After his dickhead move of KILLING a returning Rob Van Dam and then beating on a “crippled” Hulk Hogan with a bat, fans were ready to lynch him. This is the heal turn that they wanted with the Mafia and it worked perfectly here. Now, lets see where the story goes from here.

2) Abyss: The guy pinned A.J. Styles and is heading into his biggest match in a long time at the PPV.
3) C.M. Punk: It looks like the WWE wants him to win the 411 Wrestler of the Year following that promo.
4) Adam Pearce
5) Justin Gabriel

Samuel Berman
1) CM Punk
Shined in the week’s best segment by far.

2) Adam Pearce: Won the NWA Heavyweight Title
3) Abyss: Pinned TNA World Champion AJ Styles in a tag bout.
4) Ikuto Hidaka
5) Amasis & Ophidian

ARI
1) CM Punk / Rey Mysterio (tie)
The most evil, vile, disgusting thing you can do is to make a child cry on purpose. CM Punk did that in the creepiest, most uncomfortable way possible when he interrupted Aaliyah Mysterio’s birthday party celebration on Smackdown. Meanwhile, Mysterio was also in top form portraying the protective father, who wanted nothing more than to destroy the man who made his child cry. This was a perfect professional wrestling angle and that it was able to stick out amid the amazing heel work of Batista, Mr. McMahon and Chris Jericho this week is just further proof that CM Punk is worthy of being 411’s Wrestler of the Year.

2) Sting: A top heel turn, made to look super-strong against Hulk Hogan, Abyss, freaking Rob Van Dam and even pushing TNA owner Dixie Carter. Sting became TNA Public Enemy # 1 and with good reason.
3) Abyss: Pinned the TNA Heavyweight Champion in the main event tag match of the first regular Monday Night iMPACT. Although considering everyone seems to be able to pin the TNA champion these days, I might refrain in the future from voting for those who do so.
4) R-Truth
5) Kurt Angle (with the UNITED STATES ARMY)

Jeremy Thomas
1) Abyss
I’ve always liked Abyss, but even his fans would never consider him anything near a main eventer in TNA, previous World Title reign or not. He made a huge leap toward credibility this week when he pinned World Champion AJ Styles. Hogan has likened Abyss to John Cena, and if that’s true we may see a World Title change sometime soon.

2) CM Punk: If you haven’t seen the promo, you must. It’s on Hulu, check it out. It’s brilliant.
3) The Beautiful People: It’s been a long road, but the ladies finally win the Knockout Tag Team Titles.
4) Sting & Adam Pearce (tie)
5) Chris Jericho

THE WINNERS~!

Special Mention…Chris Jericho – 9 Votes

Fifth Place…Velvet Sky & Madison Rayne – 12 Votes

Fourth Place…Sting – 13 Votes

Third Place…Adam Pierce – 20 Votes

Adam Pierce wins his third NWA World Title in a three-way match, ending the 505 day reign of Blue Demon, Jr.

Second Place…Abyss – 39 Votes

The Monster pins the TNA World Champion on Monday night’s Impact and is going to Destination X with a shot at the title.

Wrestler of the Week…CM Punk – 47 Votes

CM Punk gets his WrestleMania match against Rey Mysterio by virtue of an unbelievable heel promo to kick of SmackDown, which makes him our Wrestler of the Week!

Year-End Standings~!

We have some last minute debuts on the list such as Abyss, Adam Pierce and the Beautiful People. Sting jumps up toward the top 15, and Chris Jericho moves out of his tie with John Morrison to take sole possession of sixth place. But the news this week is that Punk wins WOTW and leaps way ahead in the standings. This year’s Year-End winner is pretty much a lock at this point!

Let’s check out the Year-End Standings!

1. CM Punk – 152 (SmackDown)

2. AJ Styles – 129 (TNA)

3. Rey Mysterio – 86 (SmackDown)

4. Jeff Hardy – 85 (TNA)

5. Edge – 74 (SmackDown)

6. Chris Jericho – 71 (SmackDown)

7. John Morrison – 70 (SmackDown)

8. John Cena – 65 (RAW)

9. Randy Orton – 59 (RAW)

10. Batista – 54 (SmackDown)

11. Eddie Edwards – 48 (ROH)

12. Kurt Angle – 46 (TNA)
12. Tyler Black – 46 (ROH)

14. The Undertaker – 42 (SmackDown)
14. Naruki Doi – 42 (Dragon Gate)

Shawn Michaels – 38 (RAW)

Kofi Kingston – 37 (Raw)

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

Christian – 35 (WWE)

Samoa Joe – 34 (TNA)

Ted DiBiase – 33 (RAW)

Desmond Wolfe – 32 (TNA)

The Miz – 31 (Raw)

JTG – 27 (SmackDown)
Daniel Bryan – 27 (NXT)
Keiji Mutoh – 27 (AJPW)
Masakatsu Funaki – 27 (AJPW)
BxB Hulk – 27 (Dragon’s Gate)
D’Angelo Dinero – 27 (TNA)

Jerry Lynn – 24 (ROH)
Sting – 24 (TNA)

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

Austin Aries – 19 (ROH)
Shinsuke Nakamura – 19 (NJPW)

Go Shiozaki – 18 (NOAH)
Drew McIntyre – 18 (SmackDown)
Tommy Dreamer – 18 (US Independent)
Bret Hart – 18 (RAW)
The Big Show – 18 (RAW)

Cody Rhodes – 16 (RAW)
Mark Henry – 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 (WWE)
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)
Ryoto Hama – 12 (AJPW)
Abyss – 12 (TNA)

Soldier Ant – 10 (CHIKARA)
Fire Ant – 10 (CHIKARA)
Vince McMahon – 10 (WWE)

Delirious – 9 (ROH)
Masato Tanaka – 9 (ZERO1)
Homicide – 9 (TNA)
ODB – 9 (TNA)

Ryouji Sai – 9 (ZERO1)
Player Dos – 9 (CHIKARA)
Mistico – 9 (CMLL)
Bobby Lashley – 9 (TNA)
Roderick Strong – 9 (ROH)
Mickie James – 9 (SmackDown)
Adam Pearce – 9 (US Independent)

Yoshinobu Kanemura – 7 (NOAH)
Karl Anderson – 7 (NJPW)

Matt Hardy – 6 (SmackDown)
Chris Hero – 6 (US Independent)
Satoshi Kojima – 6 (AJPW)
Giant Bernard – 6 (NJPW)
Yoshi Tatsu – 6 (WWE)
Serena – 6 (SmackDown)
Ezekiel Jackson – 6 (SmackDown)

Hamada – 5 (TNA)

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

Evan Bourne – 3 (Raw)
Tara – 3 (TNA)
Booker T – 3 (TNA)
Alex Shelley – 3 (TNA)
Chris Sabin – 3 (TNA)
Scott Steiner – 3 (US Independent)
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)
Taiji Ishimori – 3 (NOAH)
Ricky Marvin – 3 (NOAH)
Velvet Sky – 3 (TNA)
Madison Rayne – 3 (TNA)

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)
Brian Kendrick – 1 (TNA)
Tiger Mask IV- 1 (NJPW)
Shelton Benjamin – 1 (WWE)
Kevin Steen – 1 (ROH)
Awesome Kong – 1 (TNA)