411’s Wrestler of the Week 09.26.11: Year Seven, Week 26
Posted by Larry Csonka on 09.26.2011
Zack Ryder beat the United States Champion, Mark Henry retained the World Title, Hiroshi Tanahashi retained the IWGP Heavyweight Title 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 26, 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…
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) Prince Devitt
Prince Devitt pinned KUSHIDA to win the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title that was vacated last week when Kota Ibushi was injured.
2) Hiroshi Tanahashi: Hiroshi Tanahashi retaining the IWPG Title over Shinsuke Nakamura in what was his seventh defense of the title.
3) Katsuhiko Nakajima: Katsuhiko Nakajima defeated reigning champion Kotaro Suzuki to win the GHC Jr. Title.
4) Robert Roode & James Storm
5) Austin Aries
TJ Hawke
1) Katsuhiko Nakajima
After a nothing GHC Jr. Title reign in 2009, NOAH may finally be ready to get behind Nakajima now after they had him end the 10 month reign of Kotaro Suzuki.
2) Prince Devitt: Even though Devitt didn't defeat the reigning champion due to injury, it is still a big deal to me for Devitt to win the IWGP Jr. Title for the second time. Can't wait to see Ibushi come back and challenge Devitt.
3) Mark Henry: First successful World Title defense
4) Austin Aries: First (televised) successful defense of X Division Title
5) Zack Ryder
Michael Bauer
1) Prince Devitt
He reclaims the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title. Yes, he didn't defeat the former champ due to injury, but Devitt as champion is great for Japan.
2) Mark Henry: Continues to look like a freaking monster is destroying Lawler and Christian.
3) Katsuhiko Nakajima: Gets another run as GHC Jr. Heavyweight Champion.
4) Austin Aries
5) Hiroshi Tanahashi
Wes Kirk
1) Hiroshi Tanahashi
Mark down victory number seven for Tanahashi, who has had a ten-month IWGP Championship reign and despite losing a tooth during the match was able to defeat his current rival Shinsuke Nakamura to keep the gold.
2) Austin Aries: The Greatest Man That Ever Lived continues his impressive title reign with a little veteran schooling a rookie twist on his latest defense against Sorensen which proves not only can Aries win without cheating but he's extremely talented as well, making him doubly dangerous to his challengers.
3) Zack Ryder: Woo woo woo! Ryder scored one of his biggest victories ever by pinning Dolph Ziggler in a non-title match and getting Hugh Jackman to be in his corner during RAW as well. If Ryder can keep up a few more good performances he might actually get the WWE machine behind him.
4) Katsuhiko Nakajima
5) James Storm
R.C. Sutton
1) Mark Henry
The Hall of Pain rolled on this week. Not only did he destroy Jerry Lawler on Monday night, he picked up a win against Christian on Smackdown. A lot of 1st time Champions are booked weak in modern day WWE, but the push behind Mark Henry has stayed strong so far. Back to Back very good weeks for the big man.
2) Randy Orton: He may have lost by DQ on Smackdown, but Orton put down one of the sickest beat downs on young Cody we have seen in awhile. This may be a turning point for Orton as he had been on a bit of a losing streak as of late.
3) World's Greatest Tag Team: You may have missed it if you aren't in the right market, but ROH returned to TV this weekend. Being booked, and winning in a good main event on your companies first TV time in awhile is a pretty big vote of confidence.
4) Hiroshi Tanahashi
5) James Storm
Steve Cook
1) Mark Henry
The World Champion had a very productive week. Not only did he defend the title against Christian in a lumberjack match, but he put Jerry Lawler through a stiff announce table & choked Jim Ross for asking him silly questions. This is clearly not a man to mess with.
2) Zack Ryder/Dolph Ziggler: Dolph had a very entertaining promo segment with Hugh Jackman that proved that if you give him the chance to talk he'll deliver, and then wound up losing to Ryder after getting decked by Jackman. Interacting with a major movie star and looking good in the process is a huge deal for Ziggler & Ryder's careers and hopefully they continue to get opportunities.
3) Sheamus: The babyface turn continues to work well for Sheamus, as he led Justin Gabriel & Air Boom to victory over a foursome of heels on Monday night, then destroyed Heath Slater & made sure Christian got his spot in the Hall of Pain. Sheamus as a friendly Irish fella that takes the fight to bad people is good times.
4) James Storm
5) Prince Devitt
Chad Nevett
1) Mark Henry
On Monday night, he got to kill Jerry Lawler much to the delight of us smarks watching at home and, on Smackdown, he defended his World Heavyweight Championship against Christian. Mostly, it's Henry being Henry and I'm loving it.
2) Wrestling's Greatest Tag Team: ROH's new TV show debuted this week and Wrestling's Greatest Tag Team kicked off this new era for the company in style by retaining the tag titles against the Kings of Wrestling.
3) Prince Devitt: He won the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title.
4) Randy Orton
5) Zack Ryder
Andy Critchell
1) Mark Henry
The terrifying leviathan known as Mark Henry once again proved his dominance on both Raw and Smackdown last week. First on Raw he made me a fan for life and completely destroyed Jerry Lawler through a table, keeping his worthless old ass off my TV for at least a week. Thanks Mark! Of course before that he has a great verbal altercation with JR in the ring which truly put him over as angry, unhinged, and dangerous. On Smackdown he was equally impressive in retaining his title against Christian. If you're not living this Mark Henry title run then you have no soul. Deal with it.
2) Zack Ryder: In what has to be the biggest event in his career thus far, Ryder got the rub from Hollywood heavyweight Hugh Jackman and was made to look like an absolute star on Raw. For his part Jackman may have cemented himself as the best guest host of all time when he clocked Ziggler in the face to help give Ryder the win but the spotlight still shined brightly on the woo-woo-woo-kid. Jackman also appeared on Z! True Long Island Stories. So yeah, big week for Ryder
3) Randall K Orton, Esq: His match with Cody on Smackdown was a reminder to all of us that despite being a babyface he is more than capable of performing murderdeathkill at any time on anyone.
4) Prince Devitt/Katsuhiko Nakajima
5) James Storm
THE WINNERS~!
Special Mention…Austin Aries & Randy Orton - 9 Votes
Fifth Place…Hiroshi Tanahashi - 12 Votes
Fourth Place…Zack Ryder - 13 Votes
Third Place…Katsuhiko Nakajima - 15 Votes
Your NEW GHC Jr. Heavyweight Champion!
Second Place…Prince Devitt - 20 Votes
Your NEW IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion!
Wrestler of the Week…Mark Henry - 27 Votes
Retained his title and welcomes Jerry Lawler to the house of pain…
Year-End Standings~!
And here are the rankings after week TWENTY SIX. Since we are at the halfway point, the top 15 will now be listed instead of the top 10. Randy Orton remains in first place, but Mark Henry has been on a roll and is now in third place for the year thus far! Here are the updated standings…
1. Randy Orton (WWE) - 80
2. CM Punk (WWE) - 75
3. Mark Henry (WWE) - 70
4. Christian (WWE) – 69
5. John Cena (WWE) - 51
6. Alberto Del Rio (WWE) – 50
7. R-Truth (WWE) – 48
8. Kurt Angle (TNA) - 40
9. Hiroshi Tanahashi (NJPW) - 34
10. Austin Aries (TNA) - 31
11. Sheamus (WWE) - 30
12. Sin Cara {Mistico} (WWE) – 27
13. Rey Mysterio (WWE) – 26 {INJURED}
14. Sting (TNA) - 25
15. Gunner (TNA) - 24
15. Giant Bernard (NJPW) - 24
15. Kota Ibushi (DDT) - 24
El Generico (ROH) - 21 MVP (NJPW) - 21 Daniel Bryan (WWE) - 21
Takashi Sugiura (NOAH) - 19 The Miz (WWE) - 19
Johnny Gargano (US Independent) - 18
HHH (WWE) – 16 Brian Kendrick (TNA) - 16
Bobby Roode (TNA) - 15 Tadasuke (OSAKA Pro) - 15 Davey Richards (ROH) - 15 Mr. Anderson (TNA) - 15 Kevin Steen (US Independent) - 15 Antonio Cesaro {Claudio Castignoli} (WWE) - 15 Yuji Nagata (NJPW) - 15 Edge (RETIRED) - 15 Kofi Kingston (WWE) - 15
Cody Rhodes (WWE) - 13
Prince Devitt (NJPW) - 34 Mickie James (TNA) - 12 Karl Anderson (NJPW) - 12 Winter (TNA) - 12 Nick Jackson (US Independent) - 12 Matt Jackson (US Independent) - 12 Undertaker (WWE) - 12 Kenny King (ROH) - 12 Rhett Titus (ROH) - 12
Kharma (WWE) – 10 {PREGNANT}
Katsuhiko Nakajima (NOAH) - 9 Zack Ryder (WWE) - 9 Sara Del Rey (US Independent) - 9 Sin Cara {Hunico} (WWE) – 9 Alex Riley (WWE) - 9 Angel De Oro (CMLL) - 9 BxB Hulk (Dragon Gate) - 9 Go Shiozaki (NOAH) - 9 Abyss (TNA) - 9 Charlie Haas (ROH) - 9 Shelton Benjamin (ROH) - 9 Evan Bourne (WWE) - 9
AJ Styles (TNA) – 7 The Sheik (US Independent) - 7 Jeff Jarrett (TNA) - 7
Eric Young (TNA) - 6 Ezekiel Jackson (WWE) - 6 Escorpion (CMLL) - 6 Low Ki (US Independent) - 6 Chuck Taylor (US Independent) - 6
Bully Ray(TNA) - 3 Fire Ant (US Independent) - 3 Green Ant (US Independent) - 3 Soldier Ant (US Independent) - 3 Tyson Kidd (WWE) - 3 Kelly Kelly (WWE) - 3 Hirooki Goto (NJPW) - 3
kurt angle is a idiot. instead of going to the major leagues WWE he wants to stay in TNA. Kurt could have a long time job in WWE after he retires but no he wants to stick with TNA where there is more talking than wrestling and a lot of the matches end in DQ. TNA sucks...
Posted By: Guest#4240 (Guest) on September 26, 2011 at 02:33 PM
Can you imagine if Mark Henry could actually pull this off? A title defense at HIAC could easily get him WotW that week and propel him into the #1 spot. If they give him even a mediocre run that goes towards the end of the year then he could actually do it.
I would have no choice but to laugh every time I open a WotW article and see Henry's picture listed along such great company
Posted By: WheatThins (Guest) on September 26, 2011 at 02:38 PM
hahahahaha.
Posted By: Guest#9714 (Guest) on September 26, 2011 at 02:42 PM
ppl might hate the thought but if mark henry continues the roll hes been on considering wwe keeps the faith in him i could see him walking away with wrestler of the year which would be the biggest shock.
Posted By: Guest#8738 (Guest) on September 26, 2011 at 02:42 PM
TNA is like the CFL
the WWE is like the NFL
Kurt Angle is like Tom Brady leaving the NFL going to play for the Calgary Stampederes of the CFL for 10 years then telling everyone he is the best football player of all time....
get a grip Kurt.
Posted By: Guest#1181 (Guest) on September 26, 2011 at 02:47 PM
kurt angle is a idiot. instead of going to the major leagues WWE he wants to stay in TNA. Kurt could have a long time job in WWE after he retires but no he wants to stick with TNA where there is more talking than wrestling and a lot of the matches end in DQ. TNA sucks...
Posted By: Guest#4240 (Guest) on September 26, 2011 at 02:33 PM
I feel sorry for your family. What must they think of you? Patheticly trolling virtually every column and article. Your poor mother...
Posted By: Guest#8817 (Guest) on September 26, 2011 at 02:47 PM
We still have 7 months left. Mark Henry's not going to win WOTY, but it would be awesome if he did pull it off.
Posted By: Jamal (Guest) on September 26, 2011 at 02:52 PM
kurt angle is a idiot. instead of going to the major leagues WWE he wants to stay in TNA. Kurt could have a long time job in WWE after he retires but no he wants to stick with TNA where there is more talking than wrestling and a lot of the matches end in DQ. TNA sucks...
Posted By: Guest#4240 (Guest) on September 26, 2011 at 02:33 PM
*Looks for a mention of Kurt Angle in this column*
*Looks for the '...' at the end of the comment*
*Wonders how often you were dropped on your head as a child*
Posted By: Guest#2771 (Guest) on September 26, 2011 at 02:54 PM
Hugh Jackman was robbed. Who else broke the US Champion's jaw, was featured on TMZ and got to party with Long Island Iced Z?
Posted By: s1rude (Guest) on September 26, 2011 at 03:51 PM
If Mark Henry wins it's not like he'd be setting a precedent for shitty wrestlers winning 411's WOTY. A way past his prime Flair, John Cena, and the Miz are all previous winners. Henry would actually be a step up.
Posted By: Guest#1106 (Guest) on September 26, 2011 at 05:30 PM
Can the trolls who say stupid stuff like what #4240 and #1181 shut up? You are almost as bad as the TNA troll fans.
Posted By: Still Guest#8287 (Guest) on September 26, 2011 at 05:55 PM
1. Randy Orton
2. CM Punk
3. Mark Henry
4. Christian
5. John Cena
One of these things is not like the other.....
Posted By: Denton56 (Guest) on September 26, 2011 at 06:39 PM
1. Randy Orton
2. CM Punk
3. Mark Henry
4. Christian
5. John Cena
One of these things is not like the other.....
Posted By: Denton56 (Guest) on September 26, 2011 at 06:39 PM
Because Henry is black.....?
Posted By: JR (Guest) on September 26, 2011 at 08:32 PM
Barely any votes for James Storm despite cutting an amazing promo on Roode and Angle, a great vignette before the match against Kurt Angle and oh yeah having a great match with Kurt Angle.
Clearly wrestler of the week material but of course a wwe guy like Zach Ryder who needed Wolverine's help to beat Ziggler gets more votes than James Storm, SMH
Posted By: This WOTW is a Joke (Guest) on September 26, 2011 at 11:42 PM
This is a scary world in which Mark Henry is #3 WOTY.
His current push has made him a beast and it's quite fun to watch.
Weird to think of a guy who couldn't have a good match to save his life and has shown no sign of being interesting since...ever.
Can you imagine if THIS Mark Henry had fueded with the Undertaker in 2007?
Posted By: Loki (Guest) on September 27, 2011 at 07:03 AM
Should've been Nakajima.
Posted By: Guest#8836 (Guest) on September 27, 2011 at 07:28 PM
Prince Devitt is ranked wrong or the points are screwed up. It says he has 34 points, but he's ranked with the guys who have 12.
Posted By: Andis (Guest) on September 27, 2011 at 10:33 PM
props on giving a nod to ryder, wes.
Posted By: Guest#9869 (Guest) on September 27, 2011 at 10:54 PM
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