411’s Wrestler of the Week 10.31.11: Year Seven, Week 31

Posted by Larry Csonka on 10.31.2011

Bobby Roode became the #1 contender for the TNA Title, the Awesome Truth ran wild in WWE, Gail Kim returned to TNA 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 31, 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) Gail Kim: Made her in ring return with the company, cutting a good promo and pretty much destroying Tara. That's a solid week of work, and add into that she has a title match and is Karen's #1 hench-woman, she gets first place this week from me.

2) Bobby Roode: Back on track with a win and now officially the #1 contender again for the TNA World Title. Hopefully that kid makes it some day…
3) Masato Tanaka & Yujiro Takahashi: Masato Tanaka & Yujiro Takahashi defeated current IWPG & GHC Tag Team Champions Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson (in a non-title match) in the NJPW G1 Tag League.
4) The Miz & R Truth
5) Starbuck


Jeremy Thomas
1) Robert Roode
The credibility he gains is hurt by the fact that he was facing a man who has had five wins all freaking year, but the fact remains that Roode won a shot at the TNA World Title and had one of the better matches with Samoa Joe involved that we've probably seen in that full year.

2) CM Punk: I'm putting him here for two reasons. One, because he had the best big TV match of the week when he beat Christian on Smackdown. Two, because he basically ripped Johnny Ace a new one in terms of criticizing his mic skills. That made me smile.
3) Masato Tanaka & Yujiro Takahashi: Got the big upset win over Giant Bernard and Karl Anderson in the G1 Tag League '11.
4) Randy Orton
5) Gail Kim/Starbuck (tie)


Chad Nevett
1) The Awesome Truth
Beat down Zack Ryder, did the same to John Cena, and, then, got a win over Air Boom. Productive week for the duo -- plus, they're always entertaining on the mic.

2) CM Punk: He was fantastic on the mic this week, positioning himself as the number one contender for the WWE Championship and, then, beat Christian on Smackdown.
3) Randy Orton: Was part of a winning tag team on Raw and, then, defeated US Champion Dolph Ziggler on Smackdown.
4) Sheamus
5) Starbuck


R.C. Sutton
1) Bobby Roode
Roode once again held court on the best wrestling match of IMPACT this last week. He's done so consistently for the better part of the last 2 months (I know past weeks don't count) but Roode and Joe put on a good match, and he has his rematch for the title this week against Storm.

2) CM Punk: He beat Christian in a very good match on Smackdown, but I'm not giving him a lot of credit for that, as Sheamus has been doing that for months. This weekend it was announced he's got the main event tonight against Mark Henry for his number one contenders spot. After taking shots at Johnny Ace, he still gets his chance, at that's enough for the 2 spot this week.
3) Awesome Truth (Tie): These 2 had another good week, as they got to beat up Cena who even bothered to sell his beat down, till he was handed a microphone. They followed it up with a win over the tag champs on Smackdown.
4) Randy Orton
5) Gail Kim


Steve Cook
1) The Awesome Truth
R-Truth & Miz had a pretty productive week, taking out Zack Ryder and defeating John Cena in what became a handicap match on Raw, then defeating the WWE Tag Team Champions Air Boom on SmackDown. They'll be facing Cena & The Rock at Survivor Series, and being the first people in over seven years to get the smack laid down to them in an official match is quite the honor.
2) Randy Orton: He's been having his way with the secondary champions lately, with recent victories over Intercontinental Champion Cody Rhodes & United States Champion Dolph Ziggler.
3) Gail Kim: Made an impressive return to Impact Wrestling by squashing Tara in a manner that Tara hadn't been handled in since her WWE stint.
4) CM Punk
5) Starbuck


Michael Bauer
1) CM Punk
Best match of the week against Christian and for finally being the person to one up Johnny Ace in any way, shape, or form. Now, all he has to do is beat Mark Henry.

2) Starbuck: Defeated Tajiri to become the first ever SMASH Champion. A 1st ever usually scores points with me.
3) The Awesome Truth: On a run now, but it's not long before they hit Rock Bottom.
4) Robert Roode
5) Gail Kim


Andy Critchell
1) Kevin Nash
This was kind of a slow week and thus Nash easily gets the top spot for his BRUTAL assault of Triple H on Raw. It was definitely the most newsworthy event of the week and added some spice to the inevitable Triple H/Nash feud. I can't say I am looking forward to the match itself but the execution of the angle on Vengeance and the following Raw has been pretty good.

2) Wade Barrett: He had a sneaky good week with wins on both Raw and Smackdown. His win on Smackdown was a squash over Trent Barreta but his win on Raw was in a really fun match with a very game John Morrison. It seems like WWE might be getting ready to give Barrett another push and giving him some high profile exposure on both shows is a very good start. Barrett is a super talented guy who cooled off quite a bit since his Nexus days so at this point in his career getting a win on both shows in the same week is a pretty big deal.
3) The Awesome Truth: Once again these guys showed why they are one of the best acts in all of pro wrestling. John Cena usually destroys tag teams in 2-1 handicap matches but Miz & Truth got the better of him thanks to the WATER BOTTLE OF DOOM and are now in line to face Cena and the Rock at Survivor Series. Any match with Rock is going to generate huge interest so the involvement of Awesome Truth will be huge for their careers. They followed up their impressive run on Raw with a win over the tag champs on Smackdown. Not too shabby.
4) Bobby Roode
5) Randall K. Orton, Esq.

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THE WINNERS~!

Special Mention…Starbuck - 8 Votes

Fifth Place…Gail Kim - 11 Votes

Fourth Place…Randy Orton - 12 Votes

Third Place…Bobby Roode - 18 Votes

The #1 contender for the TNA Title.

Second Place…CM Punk - 19 Votes

A pain in Johnny Ace's ass.

Wrestler of the Week…The Miz & R Truth - 21 Votes

They continue to deliver, and also defeated the tag team champions in a non-title match on their way to main eventing Survivor Series against Rock and John Cena.


Year-End Standings~!
And here are the rankings after week THIRTY-ONE! We have a new leader as CM Punk is now in the top spot for the year-end standings. Randy Orton is close behind, but R Truth is now in the top 5, while the Miz has entered top 10 territory. Debuting on the list this week were Gail Kim and Starbuck.

Here are the updated standings…

1. CM Punk (WWE) - 89

2. Randy Orton (WWE) - 87

3. Mark Henry (WWE) - 80

4. Alberto Del Rio (WWE) – 74

5. Christian (WWE) – 69
5. R-Truth (WWE) – 69

7. John Cena (WWE) - 51

8. Bobby Roode (TNA) - 46
8. Austin Aries (TNA) - 46

10. Kurt Angle (TNA) - 41

11. The Miz (WWE) - 40

12. Hiroshi Tanahashi (NJPW) - 34

13. El Generico (ROH) - 33
13. Sheamus (WWE) - 33

15. Davey Richards (ROH) - 31


Sin Cara {Mistico} (WWE) – 27

Rey Mysterio (WWE) – 26 {INJURED}

Sting (TNA) - 25

Gunner (TNA) - 24
Giant Bernard (NJPW) - 24
Kota Ibushi (DDT) - 24

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
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

Gail Kim (TNA) - 3
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

Rocky Romero (US Independent) - 3
Eddie Edwards (ROH) - 1
David Otunga (WWE) - 1
Michael McGuillicutty (WWE) - 1
Crimson (TNA) - 1
Kazarian (TNA) - 1
Christopher Daniels (TNA) - 1
Hernandez (TNA) - 1
Anarquia (TNA) - 1
Ultimo Guerrero (CMLL) - 1
Shinsuke Nakamura (NJPW) - 1
Mohammed Yone (NOAH) - 1
Dick Togo (RETIRED) - 1
Daisuke Sekimoto (All Japan) - 1
Volador (CMLL) - 1
Starbuck (International Talent) - 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!