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411’s Wrestler of the Week 06.27.11: Year Seven, Week 13

June 27, 2011 | Posted by Larry Csonka

Welcome to Week 13, Year SEVEN, 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 around WrestleMania. This will be posted every Monday. Let’s see who wins this week…

Larry Csonka
1) Davey Richards
Defeated tag team partner Eddie Edwards to win the ROH World Title in the highlight match of the ROH Best in the World I-PPV.

2) El Generico: Defeated Christopher Daniels to become the NEW ROH TV Champion. This is also Generico’s first singles gold in ROH.
3) Hirooki Goto, Prince Devitt, & Rysuke Taguchi: Defeated Giant Bernard, Karl Anderson, & Jushin Liger to win the NJPW single-elimination six man tag team tournament.
4) CM Punk
5) Kelly Kelly

Michael Ornelas
1) Davey Richards
Finally had his moment and his big win of the Ring of Honor World Championship. You can read about it right here! I gave the match *****, and that is not an easy feat. It had great action, great selling, an excellent result, and it didn’t kill any believability to me in terms of kick-outs (which is what I feared going in). Very feel-good moment for Davey Richards and I’m proud to give him number one this week.

2) Eddie Edwards: It takes two to tango and this man was also involved in that ***** match…so I think his inclusion at number 2 should be obvious.
3) El Generico: Won the TV title from Christopher Daniels as Ring of Honor heads towards its TV debut in a few months.
4) Wrestling’s Greatest Tag Team (Shelton Benjamin & Charlie Haas)
5) Kevin Steen/CM Punk (tie)

Ryan Byers
1) CM Punk
This past Monday night’s episode of Raw was essentially the CM Punk show. He kicked things off with a dammed entertaining promo (even though a lot of it was cribbed from prior work in ROH) and followed it up by participating in and winning a three-way match against Rey Misterio and Alberto Del Rio that is high on my list of candidates for television match of the year. It’s great to see that he is number one contender to the WWE Title if he’s performing at this level, as that means he’ll be the focal point of the company’s television for the next several weeks at least.

2) Hirooki Goto & Apollo 55: In 2010, New Japan Pro Wrestling hosted its first single elimination six man tag team tournament. That tournament was won by the trio of Hirooki Goto, Prince Devitt, and Rysuke Taguchi. Now, in 2011, NJPW decided to run the same tournament again . . . and the Goto/Devitt/Taguchi threesome took home the championship again, outlasting a field that included the teams of IWGP Champ Hiroshi Tanahashi, IWGP/GHC Tag Champs Bad Intentions, and American stars like Brian Kendrick and Lance Hoyt.
3) Eddie Kingston: CHIKARA ran three big shows in the Midwest this weekend, and perhaps nobody came out of them looking better than the King of Diamonds. King got three big singles wins, first defeating Colt Cabana and later triumphing over Hieracon of the Osirian Portal. However, the most important victory was probably the one he scored over Ultramantis Black, as that puts him of the board in the company’s 12 Large Tournament to crown its first singles champion.
4) Davey Richards
5) Kotaro Suzuki

Mike Bauer
1) Davey Richards
Finally wins the RoH World Championship. It was a great moment and while I still think Eddie had the legs cut out from under him, you can not deny that Richards deserves that belt.

2) CM Punk: New #1 contender to Cena and I actually can’t wait for another summer of Punk.
3) El Generico: Finally wins his first singles title in RoH.
4) Eddie Kingston
5) Eddie Edwards

Wes Kirk
1) CM Punk
CM Punk has had an excellent week. First, he wins the #1 contendership against Alberto Del Rio and Rey Mysterio in a triple threat match on RAW. Then, he gets the entire IWC in a frenzy over his statement that he’s leaving WWE on July 17th which just so happens to be the Money in the Bank PPV where he has his WWE title shot against John Cena. Win or lose, you know Punk is going to shine brightly on the 17th regardless of his contract status.

2) Christian: Christian takes home a chance to beat Randy Orton for the World Title, and a chance to prove he can take Orton one-on-one and walk out champion. As the number one contender to the second top title in WWE Christian could finally make that long, memorable title reign happen very soon.
3) Sting: The #1 contender to TNA’s heavyweight title has been changing up his routine lately with more Joker tendencies as he attempts to bring back the Hulk Hogan we all loved as children rather than the selfish, egotistical Immortal he turned into. Obviously, something big is on the horizon and I have a feeling it’ll end in October!
4) Davey Richards
5) Cody Rhodes

Andy Critchell
1) Davey Richards
Well, gotta give the man credit for winning the ROH title in a very good match. In a week like this he definitely deserves the top spot but if there were a WWE PPV yesterday I likely would not have him at the top. The simple fact is that this guy’s name totally effing sucks. It is the worst name in wrestling today this side of Gunner. Davey? Really? I can’t take this guy seriously. He’s got a pretty boring look as well, it screams “indy vanilla midget.” He’s like if Austin Aires and Roderick Strong had a kid. Anyway, enough on the negative. Richards had one hell of a match and he more than earned the title and the top spot on my list.

2) Mark Henry: It has been a real eventful few days for the World’s Strongest Man; he is all over WWE TV and every time we see him he is clobbering everyone. I, for one, LOVE it. I fondly remember his antics as ECW champion a few years ago and have long thought he has been completely under-utilized since then. No more. Now we get to see Mark Henry do exactly what he should always be doing; kicking asses and splitting wigs. I hope that WWE is finally seeing the value of having Mark Henry as a legitimately scary guy that can do some real damage rather than a job guy. I would love to see him get a run with the big gold belt, it could be a real career renaissance for him.
3) CM Punk: They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and as Punk has never been a humble guy it only makes sense that he would rip himself off. In a move that caused indy fanboy marks everywhere to have a simultaneous orgasm CM Punk planted the seeds for a retread of his “Summer of Punk” storyline from ROH, only this time under the bright lights of the WWE. And hey, I’m all for it. Punk has been one of the most compelling figures in WWE this past year and he seems to be really hitting his stride both on the mic and in the ring. WWE could do a lot worse than have CM Punk as the focus of Raw (or at least in the top storyline) for a few months. He’s got what it takes to deliver the goods, let’s see him do it.
4) Kelly Kelly
5) Evan Bourne/Mason Ryan

Chad Nevett
1) Davey Richards
He finally became ROH World Champion and at one of the most important times in the company’s history. Not only that, but he did it in a fantastic match.

2) CM Punk: He became the #1 contender for the WWE Championship, but his promo after doing so got everyone talking and pretty much guaranteed that I’ll be seeing Money in the Bank.
3) World’s Greatest Tag Team: Survived and won an elimination match on Sunday to retain the ROH Tag Titles.
4) El Generico
5) Eddie Edwards

Steve Cook
1) Davey Richards
Richards finally won the big one, defeating his longtime friend & tag team partner Eddie Edwards to win the ROH title. He should be the champion heading into their return to weekly television, and will have a lot of pressure on him to deliver every single show. I think he will.

2) El Generico: Won his first ROH singles title by defeating Christopher Daniels for the TV title. This title will obviously have great importance when ROH hits the TV screen, and Generico is as good a choice as anybody to have championship matches on a regular basis.
3) CM Punk: Made some snow angels, became number one contender & got people really interested in what may be his last match for a little while.
4) Kevin Steen
5) Kelly Kelly

Greg DeMarco
1) Davey Richards
While I may not have agreed with the booking, you can’t take away the fact that he’s a deserving champion who has earned an opportunity to carry ROH’s biggest title. And it’s easily the biggest accomplishment of Davey’s career. If you research what he’s been through in his personal life, you’ll realize how much this chance means to him.

2) El Generico: The ROH television title has had its ups and downs, including a lack of defenses once the original champion was crowned, and then a stint with no actual TV show. With TV returning and Christopher Daniels in a strange position working for both ROH and TNA, Generico might seem like a champion of convenience. But if you’ve watched the product for the past few years, you’ll see how he’s been brilliantly been guilt from a sympathetic baby face to strong face who is a legitimate draw and a merchandise sales dream.
3) CM Punk: Boy, CM Punk sure did get people talking, didn’t he? He also renewed interest in the WWE Championship, even if it ends up as only for a short time. Punk is an amazing talent, and his work on one week of a feud with John Cena has already surpassed what most Cena opponents have pulled off over the past few years. And he hasn’t even really addressed Cena yet. But he’s made MitB important, and he’s made the WWE Championship important.
4) Kelly Kelly (wins Diva’s Championship)
5) Kevin Steen

Jeremy Thomas
1) CM Punk
So either Punk is legitimately leaving and is getting a big going-out angle to do so, or he’s working us all. Either way he’s working us and he’s doing so brilliantly, by referencing the Summer of Punk all the way down to the snow angels reference. Punk is utter brilliance on the microphone; we’ve seen that before. But this is some of his best work yet, and he also became #1 contender to boot. Sounds pretty epic to me.

2) Christian: Christian was the other guy to win a #1 contender spot in WWE this week, and he did it by teaming with Mark Henry to beat Orton and Kane. I’m not of the mindset that he’ll actually win at this point, but staying on top of the Smackdown heel ladder gets Christian some pretty big credit.
3) Davey Richards: Davey takes home the big belt in Ring of Honor this week, taking down Eddie Edwards. Big kudos to the man, who is now the face of the company during a crucial time.
4) Zema Ion
5) Kelly Kelly

THE WINNERS~!

Special Mention…Eddie Edwards – 6 Votes

Fifth Place…Kelly Kelly & Hirooki Goto – 7 Votes

Fourth Place…Christian – 8 Votes

Third Place…El Generico – 20 Votes

Is your NEW ROH TV Champion.

Second Place…CM Punk – 35 Votes

Defeated Rey Mysterio and Alberto Del Rio to earn a title shot at John Cena. Summer of Punk Part II…?

Wrestler of the Week…Davey Richards – Votes

Is finally your NEW ROH World Champion.

Year-End Standings~!
And here are the rankings after week THIRTEEN…

1. Christian (WWE) – 51

2. Randy Orton (WWE) – 46

3. R-Truth (WWE) – 42

4. Sin Cara (WWE) – 27

5. Kota Ibushi (DDT) – 24

6. Hiroshi Tanahashi (NJPW) – 21
6. Sting (TNA) – 21
6. Sheamus (WWE) – 21

9. Takashi Sugiura (NOAH) – 19
9. John Cena(WWE) – 19

Davey Richards (ROH) – 15
CM Punk (WWE) – 15
Mr. Anderson (TNA) – 15
Kurt Angle (TNA) – 15
Giant Bernard (NJPW) – 15
Claudio Castignoli (US Independent) – 15
HHH (WWE) – 15
Alberto Del Rio (WWE) – 15
Yuji Nagata (NJPW) – 15

Edge (WWE) {RETIRED} – 13

Johnny Gargano (US Independent) – 12
Max Buck (TNA) – 12
Jeremy Buck (TNA) – 12
MVP (NJPW) – 12
Undertaker (WWE) – 12

Kharma (WWE) – 10 {PREGNANT}

Karl Anderson (NJPW) – 9
Alex Riley (WWE) – 9
Angel De Oro (CMLL) – 9
BxB Hulk (Dragon Gate) – 9
Abyss (TNA) – 9
El Generico (ROH) – 9
Charlie Haas (ROH) – 9
Shelton Benjamin (ROH) – 9

Jeff Jarrett (TNA) – 7
The Miz (WWE) – 7

Eric Young (TNA) – 6
Daniel Bryan (WWE) – 6
Ezekiel Jackson (WWE) – 6
Kofi Kingston (WWE) – 6
Escorpion (CMLL) – 6
The Sheik (US Independent) – 6

Bully Ray(TNA) – 3
Fire Ant (US Independent) – 3
Green Ant (US Independent) – 3
Soldier Ant (US Independent) – 3
Cody Rhodes (WWE) – 3
Tyson Kidd (WWE) – 3
Kelly Kelly (WWE) – 3
Hirooki Goto (NJPW) – 3

Eddie Edwards (ROH) – 1
David Otunga (WWE) – 1
Dolph Ziggler (WWE) – 1
Michael McGuillicutty (WWE) – 1
AJ Styles (TNA) – 1
Kazarian (TNA) – 1
Ultimo Guerrero (CMLL) – 1
Mohammed Yone (NOAH) – 1