411’s Wrestler of the Week 10.24.11: Year Seven, Week 30
Posted by Larry Csonka on 10.24.2011
James Storm won the TNA World Title, Alberto Del Rio retained the WWE Title, El Generico won the PWG 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 30, 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) James Storm
The booking of Bobby Roode was a disappointment when Bound for Glory was over, but at the end of Impact, James Storm stood tall with the TNA World Title. While it may not have been where they were going or what we initially wanted, it is a huge career moment for Storm and he deserves the top spot.
2) Jun Akiyama: Akiyama returned to All Japan and won the Triple Crown by defeating champion Suwama.
3) El Generico: Your NEW PWG Champion!
4) Kenny Omega
5) Dark Ozz & Dark Cuervo
Wes Kirk
1) James Storm
Sorry about your damn luck, Kurt Angle! Storm was picked to challenge Angle on Impact in a match that took place due to Angle sneaking in a clause that prevented Roode from ever getting a shot at him again. Storm, however, was put in to fight Angle at the last moment thanks to the new authority figure, Sting. Storm took advantage of a weakened Angle and nailed the Last Call to score a surprising pinfall and the place went wild as Storm was awarded the heavyweight title, his very first in his fifteen-year career. Congratulations James, and welcome to the champions club!
2) Dolph Ziggler: Dolph had the extremely difficult task of working two matches in a single night back-to-back for the tag team championship and for the US championship. Ziggler is one of the few wrestlers in this generation who has the skills to handle that challenge and proved he could wrestle for over twenty minutes against three different opponents in total and retained his US championship to boot!
3) Alberto Del Rio: He needed interference and a championship title shot to the head to do it, but he finally retained one-on-one over John Cena. Alberto has the tools to succeed if he's given a good enough chance and so far he is playing the wily heel well, although Cena will obviously be looking for the title again soon.
4) Jun Akiyama
5) Big Show
TJ Hawke
1) El Generico
Why El Generico over James Storm? Simply put, the booking of this title win made the win feel more important, whereas the James Storm title win feels less significant because of the booking.
2) James Storm: While I have several issues with how he won the title (not the least of which is that they had an opportunity to build the Bound for Glory Series around him and then he could have had his big moment at Bound for Glory), I won't deny that Storm winning a World Title (even in TNA) is still a big deal. Congratulations sir; I hope your title win sparks a creative resurgence in TNA.
3) Jun Akiyama: Ten years after leaving All Japan for NOAH, Akiyama comes back and finally wins the Triple Crown Title
4) Kenny Omega: Winning the All Japan Jr. Title
5) Super Dragon
Chad Nevett
1) Alberto Del Rio
It doesn't matter how you do it; if you retain a world title against John Cena on a PPV and your name isn't Randy Orton or Triple H, you've earned the Wrestler of the Week top spot.
2) El Generico: He got a big win over heated rival Kevin Steen to become the new PWG champion.
3) Mark Henry: He had a dominant week on TV and, then, got to execute a big move with the Big Show that allowed him to keep his title.
4) The Awesome Truth
5) Dolph Ziggler
Michael Bauer
1) El Generico
Kevin Steen has been the buzz in Indy wrestling for the past few months, with his wishing to kill Ring of Honor. But many forget that he has been on fire in PWG. Generico took out some of that fire with a huge ladder match win to close out Steen-Wolf.
2) James Storm: Give credit where it is due, but I can't put a 1-minute title win as #1. Still, hopefully this will finally signal TNA putting over its own talent.
3) Mark Henry/Big Show (tie): I said these two would put on a match that would surprise and they did. Nice ending also.
4) Kenny Omega
5) Alberto Del Rio
Ryan Byers
1) Jun Akiyama
Nineteen years ago, Jun Akiyama debuted as a member of the All Japan Pro Wrestling roster. Eleven years ago, Akiyama left AJPW for Pro Wrestling NOAH. Because of his departure, he never won the Triple Crown Title, which many assumed was his destiny. Now, almost two decades after he first set foot into a wrestling ring, Akiyama has returned to All Japan and nabbed the Triple Crown by unseating champion Suwama. Though technically he is an "outsider" holding the belt and typically outside wrestlers winning a company's championships aren't meat to be routed for, this still feels like the big feel good win of the week given Akiyama's history.
2) Alberto Del Rio: Regardless of the circumstances, PPV main event wins against John Cena are not easy to come by.
3) Dark Ozz & Dark Cuervo: A lot of titles changed hands this week, but the most surprising for me was this AAA team defeating the Great Muta & KENSO for the All Japan Tag Team Titles.
4) The Big Show / Mark Henry (tie)
5) Kenny Omega
Jeremy Thomas
1) James Storm
Do I have issues with the way this whole thing reportedly played out behind the scenes? Absolutely, but that doesn't mean I'm gonna take away from Storm's moment. Storm won the TNA World Title on Impact by defeating Kurt Angle, a moment that could potentially be huge for the company. It was a great moment to end Impact and could, conceivably, signify change in the company.
2) Alberto Del Rio: God, the ending was overbooked all to hell, but you have to give it to Alberto for having a good Last Man Standing match with Cena and retaining his title.
3) Jun Akiyama: Wins the Triple Crown Title after all this time. I'm glad to see him get the win; I've always been a fan of his.
4) Dolph Ziggler/Kenny Omega
5) Beth Phoenix
Steve Cook
1) James Storm
Add me to the choir of folks that thought the way he won the title was total BS, but that isn't his fault. This is a huge moment in the career of the Tennessee Cowboy. Will he rise to the occasion and become that mainstream star that Hulk Hogan thinks he can be? I'm rooting for it.
2) Dolph Ziggler: It's getting harder and harder to argue against Dolph being one of the best workers in WWE. He went 1-1 at Vengeance, and perhaps even more impressive than that: he had a good match with Mason Ryan on Raw. I see big things ahead for Ziggler in 2012, like a real world title run.
3) Jun Akiyama: Won the All Japan Triple Crown, a huge victory for him as he started his career in AJPW before defecting to NOAH.
4) El Generico
5) Kenny Omega
Michael Ornelas
1) El Generico
Won the PWG World Championship from Kevin Steen in a ladder match.
2) James Storm: Won the TNA World Heavyweight Championship from Kurt Angle in about a minute.
3) Alberto Del Rio: Retained the WWE Championship against John Cena of all people.
4) Dolph Ziggler
5) Mark Henry
R.C. Sutton
1) James Storm
No one had a better week than the Tennessee Cowboy, James Storm. The guy has been around since day one in TNA, was part of TWO of TNA's greatest tag teams, and I couldn't be happier for James Storm. So to anyone else that wanted the top spot this week, I'm "Sorry, bout your damn luck"
2) Alberto Del Rio: All that went into the end of that match aside…the guy went into the main event of a PPV against John Cena and walked out still champion. So, yea, apparently just getting a win over Cena is good enough for number 2 for me this week.
3) Dolph Ziggler: The master of the Zig Zag had a very good week in my mind. He was on 2 PPV matches on a roster full of people and delivered in both
4) Awesome Truth (tie) for R Truth & the Miz
5) El Generico
Andy Critchell
1) El Generico
It is not often when you capture the championship in a show that is named after your opponent. And in a ladder match no less! This was a very big deal for Generico and a huge feather in his indy cap.
2) James Storm: I am a big fan of James Storm and I really think he can do amazing things as champion, maybe even carry the company. That being said, while I am glad he won the title the circumstances by which he won it are pretty piss-poor. To be blunt, TNA totally screwed the pooch by not having Roode go over Angle at Bound for Glory and putting the title on Storm is some kind of olive branch to the young talent of TNA that were obviously disappointed with the direction of the company after BFG. What TNA fails to realize is that moments on PPV seem a lot bigger than moments on TV (even though only a fraction of TNA's audience actually buys the PPVs) and having Roode LOSE on PPV the way he did and then having Storm WIN on TV the way he did undercuts both guys and makes them look lucky rather than good. My hope is that Storm's enormous talent will overshadow TNA's booking shortcomings but I am very skeptical. Oh, and in case you wanted to accuse me of some anti-TNA bias go right ahead because I really do dislike TNA quite a bit and am very open about it.
3) Mark Henry: Once again Mark Henry plays a pivotal role on three shows and once again he delivers three times. On Raw he went up against Morrison and helped execute one of the coolest spots that I've seen in a long time by throwing Morrison up in the air, catching him, and delivering a thunderous World's Strongest Slam. On Smackdown he again proved his dominance over Morrison and picked up another convincing win. Then at the PPV he delivered a Superplex to Big Show which destroyed the ring. If you would have told me a year ago that Mark Henry would be my favorite wrestler AND a guy that can be counted on to deliver a good to great match every time he's on TV I would have called you a stinky liar. But that's what Mark is doing these days and it should be recognized.
4) Jun Akiyama
5) Del Rio
THE WINNERS~!
Special Mention…Mark Henry - 12 Votes
Fifth Place…Dolph Ziggler - 16 Votes
Fourth Place…Jun Akiyama - 22 Votes
Third Place…Alberto Del Rio - 25 Votes
Retained the WWE Title at Vengeance.
Second Place…El Generico - 30 Votes
Your NEW PWG Champion!
Wrestler of the Week…James Storm - 41 Votes
Your NEW TNA Champion!
Year-End Standings~!
And here are the rankings after week THIRTY. Mark Henry inches closer to the top spot, while El Generico breaks into the top 15! Jun Akiyama and James Storm win big and make their debuts on the big list. Here are the updated standings…
1. Randy Orton (WWE) - 81
2. Mark Henry (WWE) - 80
3. CM Punk (WWE) - 75
4. Alberto Del Rio (WWE) – 74
5. Christian (WWE) – 69
6. R-Truth (WWE) – 54
7. John Cena (WWE) - 51
8. Austin Aries (TNA) - 46
9. Kurt Angle (TNA) - 41
10. Bobby Roode (TNA) - 37
11. Hiroshi Tanahashi (NJPW) - 34
12. El Generico (ROH) - 33
12. Sheamus (WWE) - 33
14. Davey Richards (ROH) - 31
15. Sin Cara {Mistico} (WWE) – 27
Rey Mysterio (WWE) – 26 {INJURED}
Sting (TNA) - 25
Gunner (TNA) - 24 Giant Bernard (NJPW) - 24 Kota Ibushi (DDT) - 24
The Miz (WWE) - 25
MVP (NJPW) - 21 Daniel Bryan (WWE) - 21 Johnny Gargano (US Independent) - 21
Takashi Sugiura (NOAH) - 19
HHH (WWE) – 16 Brian Kendrick (TNA) - 16
James Storm (TNA) - 15 Tadasuke (OSAKA Pro) - 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 Sara Del Rey (US Independent) - 15
Cody Rhodes (WWE) - 14
Prince Devitt (NJPW) - 12 Mickie James (TNA) - 12 Velvet Sky (TNA) - 12 Karl Anderson (NJPW) - 12 Winter (TNA) - 12 Cheerleader Melissa (US Independent) - 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 The Big Show (WWE) – 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 Chuck Taylor (US Independent) - 9 Mike Quackenbush (US Independent) - 9
AJ Styles (TNA) – 7 The Sheik (US Independent) - 7 Jeff Jarrett (TNA) - 7
Jun Akiyama (NOAH) - 6 PAC (Dragon Gate) - 6 Eric Young (TNA) - 6 Ezekiel Jackson (WWE) - 6 Escorpion (CMLL) - 6 Low Ki (US Independent) - 6
Dolph Ziggler (WWE) - 5
Beth Phoenix (WWE) - 4
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 Masato Tanaka (ZERO1) - 3
Posted By: Guest#6960 (Guest) on October 24, 2011 at 01:58 PM
James storm won the title without getting properly pushed. lame.
Posted By: Guest#1645 (Guest) on October 24, 2011 at 02:03 PM
Why didn't TNA sign El Generico after his tryout? According to this list he is better than most of the current roster.
Posted By: Guest#1427 (Guest) on October 24, 2011 at 02:03 PM
Mark Henry = Wrestler of the Year, Bitches!!!
Posted By: Jay Maleezy (Registered) on October 24, 2011 at 02:04 PM
Eh, what can be said? 411 as a majority has zero knowledge of PWG and have to be reminded to promote the company by fans.
Keep the propaganda coming, 411. Generico defeats Kevin Steen, a feud your website couldn't stop stroking last year, yet Generico doesn't win.
Posted By: Guest#2881 (Guest) on October 24, 2011 at 02:05 PM
people who defend hogan and TNA and hate on WWE are really idiots.
Posted By: Guest#4592 (Guest) on October 24, 2011 at 02:16 PM
If you had told me in January that Mark freaking Henry of all people would be in a dead heat for #1 with Randy Orton, I'd have laughed in your face. But bah gawd look at the year he's had.
Posted By: Guest#1901 (Guest) on October 24, 2011 at 02:20 PM
With Orton out of the WHC title picture, it is a wide open race between Punk, Henry, and ADR and that makes me extremely happy. While I don't see Punk being the first 2x WotY, seeing who can continue their stream of success between the big man Mark Henry and the slowly improving ADR should be an exciting story
Posted By: ChexMix (Guest) on October 24, 2011 at 02:29 PM
That's not the Real Wes Kirk. There was not 1 single negative WWE comment, insult or putdown.
Alright Csonka, what did you do to Kirk?
Posted By: Spencer Mallard (Guest) on October 24, 2011 at 02:36 PM
Two more points... come on.. all we need is two more points for Mark Henry!
Posted By: Jamal (Guest) on October 24, 2011 at 02:37 PM
5. Sheamus
4. Awesome Truth
3. James Storm
2. Alberto Del Rio
1. Mark Henry/Big Show
Posted By: SHADE (Guest) on October 24, 2011 at 04:06 PM
How the fuck was Kirk the most Pro-WWE this week?
Posted By: Dr. Wiki (Guest) on October 24, 2011 at 07:50 PM
Remove Ryan Byers from the Wrestler of the Week committee if he continues to be biased against TNA. It's ok to jack off over the indy wrestlers and those in foreign promotions, but to completely ignore TNA and their "rocket strapped to James Storm's ass" moment...it's pretty criminal.
Posted By: The IWC (Guest) on October 24, 2011 at 07:57 PM
Generico got second place. Quit crying.
Posted By: Guest#7606 (Guest) on October 24, 2011 at 08:00 PM
Regardless of circumstances, James Storm won one of the most important eight or so titles in American professional wrestling, and is now a WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION.
Ryan Byers should be banned from this column....
Posted By: Blackbird 13 (Guest) on October 24, 2011 at 08:59 PM
Ryan Byers should get double votes.
Posted By: Shane (Guest) on October 24, 2011 at 10:03 PM
Byers is a troll, nothing more. Nobody is dumb enough to believe the shit he says, so ignore it.
Posted By: Troll face (Guest) on October 24, 2011 at 11:11 PM
Regardless of James Storm winning TNA's World Title he shouldn't be WOTW. He was in a minute match.
1. El Generico - Won PWG Title
2. Alberto Del Rio - retain WWE Title
3. Dolph Ziggler - Wrestled Twice
4. Mark Henry/Big Show
5. Miz/Truth - Beat HHH/Punk then cost Cena the WWE Title
Posted By: Ryan Haseldine (Guest) on October 24, 2011 at 11:38 PM
OK, where the hell did Jamal go? I know his stchick was Berman, but what the hell.....
BYERRRRRRRSSSSSSSSS!
Posted By: NOT Jamal (Guest) on October 25, 2011 at 12:17 AM
Chad Nevett
1) Alberto Del Rio
It doesn't matter how you do it; if you retain a world title against John Cena on a PPV and your name isn't Randy Orton​ or Triple H, you've earned the Wrestler of the Week top spot.
2) El Generico: He got a big win over heated rival Kevin Steen​ to become the new PWG champion.
3) Mark Henry​: He had a dominant week on TV and, then, got to execute a big move with the Big Show that allowed him to keep his title.
4) The Awesome Truth
5) Dolph Ziggler
This guy sucks ^^^ Now I know a top list is, by definition, somewhat subjective. However, I'm amazed that anyone couldn't make such a list and not put Storm in the top 5. Bear in mind, I'm not a TNA mark. I just think this top 5 sucks. And what a lazy effort. Little or no explanation. Good job, Nevett. Looks like you are not only a biased WWE mark, but also a lazy jackass who spends a total of 60 seconds in writing a top five list for this site. As a humble reader of the site for over 12 years, I find it quite a disappointment.
Posted By: Guest#7524 (Guest) on October 25, 2011 at 12:22 AM
I second the thoughts about Ryan Byers and also whoever the hell this Chad Nevett guy is. What biased crap!
Posted By: Guest#3256 (Guest) on October 25, 2011 at 12:49 AM
So James Storm is WOTW because he hit one move in a sad 4 minute title match? Is that all it takes? You guys are as pathetic as TNA.
Posted By: The Coach (Guest) on October 25, 2011 at 05:19 AM
Actually James Storm has been subliminally in the main event title picture leading up to B4G so it DOES make sense for James Storm With his great amtch with Kurt Agle a few weeks back and then followng up with another against Bobby Roode with controversy surrounding it which was caused by Kurt Angle himself, so James storm getting the title shot over Roode (because of a decent excuse, Roode was only gautanteed the one shot at b4G) so Storm wrestling Kurt and WINNING the Title no matter the amount of time it took it was the build up and story the surrounded it and I agree with him being #1 WOTW, the guy busted his ass in TNA through good tmes and the lowest of lows and stuck by TNA so he earned the title. Unfortunately though this win will bring fourth a sad end to Beer Money no doubt though...
Posted By: JIVE (Guest) on October 25, 2011 at 09:04 AM
james storm is tha champ...what a fluke...I guess tna managment will never learn how to build a wrestler...roode must be pissed
Posted By: dalpe (Guest) on October 25, 2011 at 10:32 AM
I'd like to see you whining bitches write the articles, AND take the heat these writers do. I agree that generico should've been first, but that's my opinion. That said, I'm not going to attack the writers because they didn't have him number one.
Posted By: OpTimistic (Guest) on October 25, 2011 at 10:44 AM
Everyone keep in mind that winning a world title for the first time in your career is not worthy of even a mention to two of the writers in this thing. However, more than once last year, CM Punk got votes for things like standing at ringside or cutting a brief promo.
Posted By: Guest#8946 (Guest) on October 25, 2011 at 07:01 PM
Horse shit. Should've been Generico; Storm's win meant nothing.
Posted By: Guest#2104 (Guest) on October 25, 2011 at 07:46 PM
To be fair, Guest#8946, CM Punk cutting a promo is more relevant than the TNA title, which is a meaningless prop.
Posted By: Guest#5287 (Guest) on October 25, 2011 at 07:49 PM
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