wrestling / Columns
411’s Wrestler of the Week 06.14.10: Week 11
Welcome to Week ELEVEN, Year SIX, 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~!
Jeremy Thomas
1) Wade Barrett
He’s officially the head of the most talked-about angle in professional wrestling at the moment, and if what we’ve heard this weekend is true he’s now the most visible guy in it to boot. What more do I need to say?
2) Rob Van Dan: The match may not have been the best, but RVD still pinned the Icon in the main event of TNA’s flagship Pay-Per-View. That sure as hell counts for something.
3) Bryan Danielson: That’s right, I said it. Hey, look at it this way. Either the guy is going back to the indies with the last thing he did being delivering the beating of a lifetime to Cena, or he’s part of the most elaborate work we’ve seen in a long time. Either way, the guy’s had a hell of a week.
4) Kurt Angle
5) Jay Lethal
Chad Nevett
1) Wade Barrett
You see the ending of Raw? Then this needs no explanation.
2) Bryan Danielson: Either an elaborate work or a firing that will only make Danielson a bigger name in wrestling. Plus, his participation at the end of Raw was particularly entertaining.
3) Rob Van Dam: He beat Sting for the TNA world belt.
4) Jay Lethal
5) Douglas Williams
THE Larry Csonka
1) Wade Barrett
This week I will go with the “assumed” leader of the NXT stable. He promised action, something that was never done before and Raw certainly ended with a bang. Follow up is key, but for this week, Barrett looked like a dominant leader.
2) Kurt Angle: Kurt Angle had a very fun match with Red on Impact, and then followed it up by being Kurt Angle on PPV with Kaz. Angle continues to deliver, and his climb through the top 10 looks like it will be a good angle if it results in weeks like this.
3) Prince Devitt: Won the NJPW Best of the Super Juniors tournament this past weekend.
4) Douglas Williams/RVD
5) Jay Lethal
Robert S. Leighty Jr
1) Daniel Bran (Bryan Danielson)
He was involved of the greatest angle the WWE has done in years, and he gets fired from the company (I think) we his last image being spitting in the face of John Cena. There is not a singe wrestler that has created more of a buzz this week.
2) RVD: Successfully defended the title at TNA’s anniversary show against Sting.
3) Kurt Angle: Won what was easily the match of the week against Kaz.
4) Wade Barrett
5) Jay Lethal
Ryan Byers
1) Wade Barrett
Earlier this week, I didn’t think that I would be voting for Wade Barrett. My thought was that, even though WWE apparently has him pegged as the storyline ringleader of the new NXT-based stable (which I like to call “Gang Green”), it was Bryan Danielson’s work more than anybody else’s who made this past Monday’s angle entertaining and it would most likely be Danielson who became a star as a result of the storyline if anybody did. Then Danielson wound up getting canned . . . so Barrett reigns supreme this week as the guy who will most likely gain the most from this wacky new invasion angle.
2) Prince Devitt: New Japan Pro Wrestling wrapped up its big Best of the Super Juniors tournament this past weekend, and Ireland’s Fergal Devitt stood tall as the winner, beating Taiji Ishimori and Kota Ibushi in this same night this past Sunday to capture the crown. NJPW has been high on Devitt as a junior heavyweight star for some time now, though his various pushes have stalled out due to injuries. He’s healthy now, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see his tournament victory catapult him back into IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title contention. This is the man who will take that belt off of Naomichi Marufuji, mark my words.
3) CIMA, Gamma, & Genki Horiguchi: Retained the Triangle Gate belts were retained when they went over YAMATO, Shingo Takagi, & KAGETORA.
4) Shinjiro Ohtani & Akebono
5) Turtle
Aaron Hubbard
1) Jay Lethal
Maybe not a popular vote, but a clean win over AJ Styles? I did not see this coming, and it was a good match to boot. It might not mean anything in the long run, but this is a career win for Lethal.
2) Bryan Danielson: Gave a kick that I will always remember on RAW, and then blew up the Internet with his release. Pretty easily the most talked about wrestler this week.
3) Rob Van Dam: Retained his TNA World Championship by defeating Sting
4) Kurt Angle
5) Wade Barrett & Justin Gabriel (TIE)
Michael Bauer
1) Prince Devitt
Devitt won the Best of Super Juniors Tournament in Japan, showcasing some of the greatest junior heavyweights in the world. The history of this tournament is legendary and Devitt adds his name to the list of champions, which includes Jushin Liger, Chris Benoit, and Eddie Guerrero.
2) Kurt Angle: That was the definition of a stellar match. Feel bad for everyone else, because that was on first and topping it was not happening.
3) Jay Lethal: As Aaron said… a clean win over AJ?
4) Douglas Williams
5) Wade Barrett / Bryan “Daniel Bryan” Danielson (tie)
Steve Cook
1) Wade Barrett
Let’s face it, Barrett by himself wouldn’t be much of a title threat at this point in his career. Barrett with some ex-NXT rookies looking to tear the WWE to pieces…well that might be a different story. Hopefully the Danielson business won’t kill these guys off before they get a real chance. He gets the top spot because he seems to be the mastermind behind the group that turned WWE upside down on Monday.
2) Bryan Danielson: Whether he’s fired or not, Danielson has never been more popular with the Internet fanbase…and that’s saying something because he’s been beloved by us for a few years now. His awesomeness on Monday only increases his value wherever he ends up.
3) Jay Lethal: Though I feel that his beating AJ Styles was more of an indication that Styles’ push is deader than a doorknob than of some higher plans for Lethal, it was still an impressive showing for a kid that has a load of potential.
4) Prince Devitt
5) The Enigmatic Assholes
THE WINNERS~!
A title defense from RVD and a big win from Jay Lethal score them the tie for third.
Shoot or work, he got the wrestling world talking!
Led the NXT attack on Raw and “made an impact.”
Year-End Standings~!
Jay Lethal and Prince Devitt make their debuts on the list, Kurt Angle cracks the top 10, and RVD manages to get into a tie at the top, while Wade Barrett and Bryan Danielson are into the top 5!
Let’s check out the Year-End Standings!
1. Jack Swagger – 40 (SmackDown)
1. Rob Van Dam – 40 (TNA)
3. Wade Barrett – 35 (NXT)
4. Bryan Danielson – 32 (US Independent)
5. Kofi Kingston – 25 (Smackdown)
6. Claudio Castagnoli – 24 (ROH)
6. Tyson Kidd – 24 (Raw)
6. DH Smith – 24 (Raw)
9. Kurt Angle – 18 (TNA)
10. Randy Orton – 16 (Raw)
11. Madison Eagles – 15 (SHIMMER)
11. Togi Makabe – 15 (IWGP)
11. Evan Bourne – 15 (Raw)
11. Edge – 15 (Raw)
11. R-Truth – 15 (Raw)
Douglas Williams – 13 (TNA)
Rey Mysterio – 12 (Smackdown)
Chris Hero – 12 (ROH)
Ares – 12 (US Independent)
Tursas – 12 (US Independent)
Minoru Suzuki – 12 (AJPW)
Paul London – 12 (US Independent)
El Generico – 12 (US Independent)
John Cena – 12 (Raw)
Desmond Wolfe – 12 (TNA)
Mr. Anderson – 10 (TNA)
Kazarian – 10 (TNA)
YAMATO – 9 (Dragon Gate)
Jay Lethal – 9 (TNA)
Tyler Black – 7 (ROH)
Heath Slater – 6 (NXT)
Nick Jackson – 6 (TNA)
Matt Jackson – 6 (TNA)
Bison Smith – 6 (NOAH)
Keith Walker – 6 (NOAH)
AJ Styles – 6 (TNA)
Bret Hart – 6 (Raw)
Christopher Daniels – 4 (ROH)
Prince Devitt – 6 (NJPW)
Sheamus – 3 (Raw)
Davey Richards – 3 (ROH)
Jon Moxley – 3 (US Independent)
Chris Jericho – 3 (Raw)
CM Punk – 3 (Smackdown)
Dr. Wagner Jr. – 3(AAA)
John Morrison – 1 (Raw)
Kane – 1 (SmackDown)
Beth Phoenix – 1 (SmackDown)
Ted DiBiase – 1 (Raw)
Christian – 1 (Smackdown)
Shingo Takagi – 1 (Dragon Gate)
Chuck Taylor – 1 (US Independent)
Masaaki Mochizuki – 1 (Dragon Gate)
Batista – 1 (Raw)
The Undertaker – 1 (Smackdown)
WWE, Raw, SmackDown and NXT-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.
 Year One Winner: Ric Flair
|
If you are wondering how some of the writers decide who to vote for, please check out our Wrestler of the Week Supplemental Column!
