411’s Wrestler of the Week 07.25.11: Year Seven, Week 17

Posted by Larry Csonka on 07.25.2011

The Miz earned a WWE title shot along with Rey Mysterio, Kevin Steen dominated PWG, CM Punk continued to make news and more! Check out 411's Wrestler of the Week for all the details and for an updated look at the Year-End standings!



Welcome to Week 17, 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…

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Larry Csonka
1) Kevin Steen
Kevin Steen had a HUGE weekend in the word of PWG, as he won three matches at PWG EIGHT, defeating PAC, teaming with CIMA to defeat the PWG Tag team Champions the Young Bucks in a non-title match, and then defeating Claudio Castignoli to win the PWG Title in the main event. That's one hell of a week.

2) Rey Mysterio/Miz: They are the finalists of the WWE Championship tournament on Raw.
3) CM Punk: While "not under WWE contract," this cat is surely making a lot of news all by his lonesome.
4) Mark Henry
5) Hiroshi Tanahashi


Wes Kirk
1) Rey Mysterio
Despite his high-flying skill and the fact he's been in the company nearly ten years, Mysterio has never held the actual WWE Championship itself. His two title reigns were relegated to the World Championship, but now on Monday he has the chance to become the 42nd WWE Champion in history, facing the 40th. This is Mysterio's best chance yet to become the WWE Champion and may never come again.

2) Kurt Angle: The #1 contender to TNA's Championship scored a huge victory on Impact with the defeat of Anderson and Bully Ray when Angle was able to pin Anderson for a three. Angle looks headed for a program with Anderson after his match with Sting, and one wonders if Angle will be holding the gold yet again after that encounter at Hardcore Justice.
3) Mark Henry: At no point in his career was Henry able to take both Kane and Big Show out and on the shelf as part of his push. Although one may question if he deserves it, Henry is being given the push of his career right now and may even end up fighting for the title soon enough.
4) Kevin Steen
5) Giant Bernard


Michael Ornelas
1) Kevin Steen
Won THREE matches, culminating in a PWG Championship win!

2) Randy Orton/Kane: Best match on free TV this week.
3) Rey Mysterio/Miz: The finalists of the WWE Championship tournament on Raw.
4) Mark Henry
5) Giant Bernard


Ryan Byers
1) CM Punk
In week one without a WWE contract (supposedly) CM Punk has maintained his position as the most talked about professional wrestler in the industry. Whether it's invading a comic book convention in a unique promotional move or popping up at an independent show to put over "Handicapped Hero" Gregory Iron, Punk's name has remained on everybody's lips without WWE actively promoting him, which is a hell of an accomplishment.

2) Hiroshi Tanahashi: Tanahashi defeated a red-hot Giant Bernard in order to retain the IWPG Heavyweight Title this week in a show presented on pay per view by New Japan Pro Wrestling. Tanahashi has also made it his stated goal to win the upcoming G1 Climax tournament, which is a very interesting goal indeed for a reigning IWPG Champ, since the tournament is usually used to build up a contender for the belt.
3) Kenta Kobashi: Rising like a phoenix from the ashes, Kenta Kobashi once again returns to the ring this week from a seemingly career ending injury . . . though one wonders how many of these miracle comebacks he's got left in the tank.
4) Mark Henry
5) KUDO


Michael Bauer
1) The Miz
I have to give The Miz more credit than Mysterio on the basis that he fought in and won two matches this week on basically one leg. He finally beat Riley and then topped Kofi after suffering an injury the night before. The Miz is growing on me and something like this is the reason why.

2) Kevin Steen: Beat PAC, The Young Bucks, and Claudio in the same night and walked out the PWG World Champ. Mr. Wrestling is back!
3) Rey Mysterio: Gets to a title match by beating Dolph and R-Truth.
4) CM Punk
5) Mark Henry/Hiroshi Tanahashi (tie)


Colin Rinehart
1) CM Punk
I know, what?! Again?! But think about it...the guy didn't even wrestle this week and he was still one of the top news stories. Whether they were talking about him on RAW, he was breaking into the WWE's Comic Con panel and causing chaos, or showing up at an indy event alongside Colt Cabana, Punk was still everywhere this week. And why shouldn't he be? He's still the champ after all. Maybe I'm just a Punk mark (well no, I know I am), but I'll give it to him again this week.

2) Kevin Steen: Steen won the PWG world title this week from Claudio Castagnoli, which was probably the right move considering how red hot he's become again over the last few months. I know alot of people won't think of much of a guy winning an Indy's world title, but PWG has really solidified it's place as being "ahead of the curve" when it comes to indy wrestlers, so I wouldn't be surprised if this is another launching pad for Steen. Expect him to be fighting for the ROH world title by year's end, and he could perhaps be the next in line for it.
3) Rey Mysterio: He won a shot against The Miz on RAW this week to crown a new interim WWE champion, and from the looks of things I wouldn't be surprised if he winds up in a WWE title match at Summerslam.
4) The Miz
5) Kenta Kobashi


Chad Nevett
1) Kevin Steen
Won three matches in one night, including one to become the new PWG World Champion.

2) The Miz: Earned a chance to win the WWE Championship despite an injured leg. As well, he finally got the better of Alex Riley, paying off their feud.
3) CM Punk: Despite not being on TV this week, he made more news and got more people talking than just about anyone.
4) Rey Mysterio
5) Brian Kendrick


Andy Critchell
1) Triple H
WWE has a new storyline authority figure and it is Triple H. The man who told the Undertaker that he had no more mountains to climb has found himself poised to take on a very big challenge. Once again, WWE is looking to blur the lines of reality and storyline and I think they are doing that very effectively. At the very least, WWE now has the potential to make some really interesting changes and embark on some new storylines. There is already tons of speculation but really we don't know where this is going to go. If recent history is any indication then this should be a very cool development.

2) Kevin Steen: PWG is one of the three indy organizations that I think are actually worthwhile (ROH and Chikara being the other two) so for Steen to wrestle three times at one PWG show, winning all three times AND winning the championship I think is pretty darn impressive. Steen has long been one of the top all around performers on the indy scene and his performance over the weekend helped to validate his position.
3) The Miz: Last Monday we got a glimpse of what Miz could do as a babyface and I have to say that what I saw was really good. The knee injury that Miz sustained at Money in the Bank was carried over to Raw but despite that injury Miz was able to overcome Alex Riley and Kofi Kingston WITHOUT having to resort to underhanded tactics. The result was a crowd that was actively cheering for a guy who has been established as a top heel for the last 2 years. This could be the biggest career move for Miz since he won the WWE title, I am very keen to see where this goes.
4) Mark Henry
5) Punk/Rey Mysterio


Steve Cook
1) Kevin Steen
Mr. Wrestling dominated PWG's eighth anniversary show in the likes of which haven't been seen in a long time. He opened the show by defeating PAC, then he teamed with CIMA to beat the Young Bucks, and he topped it all off by beating Claudio Castagnoli to become the new PWG Champion. The deranged Steen will be heading to EVOLVE tomorrow night to unleash hell, and who knows what he has in store for Ring of Honor in the weeks & months ahead. Kevin Steen is refreshed & re-motivated, and that's a bad sign for a lot of people.

2) The Miz: You gotta give Miz credit, as he managed to defeat Alex Riley & Kofi Kingston on a bum knee and is likely the favorite to win the Fake WWE Championship tonight against Rey Mysterio. Is he turning face? We'll find out very soon.
3) Daniel Bryan: Announced that he intends on challenging for the World Title at WrestleMania 28. It should be a very interesting ride full of matches like he had with Heath Slater on SmackDown that'll help him establish himself with the more unsure members of the WWE Universe.
4) Christian
5) Randy Orton


Jeremy Thomas
1) CM Punk
Not employed? Not a problem. He'll still be the most talked-about man in wrestling and be the focus for just about every wrestling fan and observer.

2) Triple H: The Game is now The Boss. And he loves his Pop.
3) Gregory Irons: Hey, when the last official WWE Champion goes out of his way to give you props and it gets spread across the internet, that's a pretty big damned moment for your career.
4) Kevin Steen
5) The Miz/Rey Mysterio


Aaron Frame
1) Kevin Steen
Became the NEW PWG heavyweight champion after winning three matches. Steen has always been one of my favorites and a really underrated talent. He deserves this.

2) Miz/Mysterio: In the finals for the title.
3) Hiroshi Tanahashi: Retained the IWGP title.
4) MVP
5) RockNES Monsters

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THE WINNERS~!

Special Mention…Triple H and Hiroshi Tanahashi - 9 Votes

Fifth Place…Mark Henry - 11 Votes

Fourth Place…CM Punk - 24 Votes

Third Place…Rey Mysterio - 26 Votes

Made it to the finals of the WWE Title Finals Tournament.

Second Place…The Miz - 30 Votes

Made it to the finals of the WWE Title Finals Tournament on one leg…

Wrestler of the Week…Kevin Steen - 41 Votes

Won three matches in one night, and is now the PWG Heavyweight Champion.


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

1. Christian (WWE) – 66

2. CM Punk (WWE) - 51

3. Randy Orton (WWE) - 46

4. R-Truth (WWE) – 42

5. Sin Cara (WWE) - 27

6. Sting (TNA) - 24
6. Giant Bernard (NJPW) - 24
6. Kota Ibushi (DDT) - 24

9. Hiroshi Tanahashi (NJPW) - 22

10. Daniel Bryan (WWE) - 21
10. Alberto Del Rio (WWE) – 21
10. Sheamus (WWE) - 21


Takashi Sugiura (NOAH) - 19
The Miz (WWE) - 19
John Cena(WWE) - 19

Mark Henry (WWE) - 16
HHH (WWE) – 16

Davey Richards (ROH) - 15
Austin Aries (TNA) - 15
Mr. Anderson (TNA) - 15
Kurt Angle (TNA) - 15
Kevin Steen (US Independent) - 15
Claudio Castignoli (US Independent) - 15
Yuji Nagata (NJPW) - 15

Edge (RETIRED) - 13

Karl Anderson (NJPW) - 12
Johnny Gargano (US Independent) - 12
Brian Kendrick (TNA) - 12
Gunner (TNA) - 12
Max Buck (US Independent) - 12
Jeremy Buck (US Independent) - 12
MVP (NJPW) - 12
Undertaker (WWE) - 12

Kharma (WWE) – 10 {PREGNANT}

Rey Mysterio (WWE) - 9
Alex Riley (WWE) - 9
Angel De Oro (CMLL) - 9
BxB Hulk (Dragon Gate) - 9
Go Shiozaki (NOAH) - 9
Abyss (TNA) - 9
El Generico (ROH) - 9
Charlie Haas (ROH) - 9
Shelton Benjamin (ROH) - 9

AJ Styles (TNA) – 7

The Sheik (US Independent) - 7
Jeff Jarrett (TNA) - 7

Eric Young (TNA) - 6
Ezekiel Jackson (WWE) - 6
Kofi Kingston (WWE) - 6
Escorpion (CMLL) - 6
Low Ki (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
Kazarian (TNA) - 1
Christopher Daniels (TNA) - 1
Ultimo Guerrero (CMLL) - 1
Mohammed Yone (NOAH) - 1
Dick Togo (RETIRED) - 1

Voting began 4.04.11

Year-End Rankings Key:

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.

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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


Year Five Winner: CM Punk


Year Six Winner: The Miz

If you are wondering how some of the writers decide who to vote for, please check out our Wrestler of the Week Supplemental Column!