411’s Wrestler of the Week 11.28.11: Year Seven, Week 35

Posted by Larry Csonka on 11.28.2011

Dolph Ziggler had two great matches, Daniel Bryan earned a shot at the gold, Fit Finlay won the SMASH 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 35, 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) Daniel Bryan
Daniel Bryan LOOKED to have shocked the world by cashing in his MITB for a world title victory, but it was all for not, due to Henry not being able to compete. But later in the night, Bryan won a number one contender's match to earn a title shot on Tuesday's LIVE Smackdown. It was a good week for Daniel Bryan.

2) CM Punk and Dolph Ziggler: They had the best match of the week on TV, and Dolph Ziggler's stock continues to rise, while CM Punk continues to try and prove he is the best in the world.
3) Fit Finlay: Won the SMASH Heavyweight Title and loves to fight.
4) Go Shiozaki
5) Ayumi Kurihara


TJ Hawke
1) Daniel Bryan
Got his Chris Jericho circa 2000 phantom title win over a hated heel. While that was cool, he gets the nod this week mostly because he earned a title shot (a revolutionary concept these days in WWE) by submitting Cody Rhodes in a #1 Contenders Match that also involved Wade Barrett and Randy Orton. D-Bryan will enter the Hall of Pain next week live on Smackdown in a CAGE MATCH!

2) Go Shiozaki: Successfully defended the GHC Heavyweight Title against KENTA on Sunday. I greatly disagree with the booking, but apparently live fans are calling this match the greatest wrestling match ever. Fans were crying at the end. That is good enough for me.
3) Fit Finlay: Won the SMASH Heavyweight Title. The man is 50+ years old and still awesome.
4) Jun Akiyama/Kenny Omega: Both men successfully defended All-Japan Titles on non-All-Japan shows. Akiyama defended the Triple Crown title on the last big NOAH show of the year, and Omega defended the Jr. Title on a DDT show.
5) Dolph Ziggler/CM Punk


Greg DeMarco
1) Daniel Bryan
Daniel Bryan grabbed a ton of visibility this week. He cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase & won the world heavyweight championship to a tremendous reaction. However, the match was nullified by Teddy Long as Mark Henry wasn't "cleared to complete." Daniel Bryan went on to win a #1 contender 4-way and will face Mark Henry in a steel cage next week.

2) Dolph Ziggler: In a losing effort, Dolph Ziggler proved he belonged in the WWE main event picture by delivering an instant classic with CM Punk. He gets the nod at #2 over Punk simply because Punk is already at that level, whereas Ziggler was elevated this week. He then returned the favor to Zack Ryder on Smackdown, and still looked like a million bucks in doing it.
3) Cody Rhodes: He lost the mask, gained some kneepads and is primed to be a star. His matches this week were what they needed to be (squashing Santino on RAW, putting Daniel Bryan over to end Smackdown), but his tossing of water onto Booker T has the internet talking...
4) CM Punk
5) Bobby Roode


Ryan Byers
1) Daniel Bryan
If Dolph Ziggler's lame as hell reign counts (which apparently it does according the announce team), then I think we're justified in calling Daniel Byran a former World Heavyweight Champion after this weekend. Even if you don't agree with that, the man got closer to a major WWE championship than I ever thought he would when he first signed with the promotion, and that's worth a top spot in and of itself.

2) Go Shiozaki: The GHC Heavyweight Champion successfully retains his title once more. NOAH's slow death means that I haven't been giving much weight to its championship, but the rave reviews that Go's defense against KENTA this weekend are getting makes the match more meaningful than it would otherwise be.
3) Ayumi Kurihara: Ayumi won a championship in a major league promotion for the first time this weekend, as she became the CMLL Women's Champion on a special card held in Japan.
4) Fit Finlay
5) Cody Rhodes


Andy Critchell
1) DAT SUPAHERO DEE BRYAN
It should be required that all wrestling fans refer to this guy in whatever manner Booker T establishes…because he is the greatest. Anyway, last week was pretty huge for the former ROH standout as he not only pinned the previously unstoppable Mark Henry to win the WHC, which was almost immediately reversed, but he won a fatal 4-way to become the new #1 contender for that title and will face Mark Henry in a steel cage on Tuesday's special live Smackdown. That is a pretty prominent position for Dee Bryan and one could even argue that it is the most significant achievement in his entire wrestling career. Since winning the Money in the Bank briefcase things have not been going well for Dee Bryan but it seems like now the tide has turned and things are really moving in the right direction.

2) Ted DiBiase: To paraphrase the great Harry Doyle; in case you haven't noticed, and judging by the attendance you haven't, Ted Jr. has managed to win a few matches, and is threatening to climb out of the undercard. This week was fantastic for Ted as he picked up a big win in a really good match on Superstars and then won again on Smackdown. In fact, Ted has been on a bit of a roll lately on Superstars and looks poised to actually become a relevant WWE superstar once again. Keep in mind, this is a guy who almost NOBODY cared about earlier this year and he's now quickly becoming very interesting and once again showing all the potential that led many to believe he would be the breakout star of The Legacy. I am "this" close to joining the DiBiase posse!
3) Zack Ryder: Another week, another push for Zack Ryder. A lot of times a guy can win by losing and that is what happened when Ryder lost to Alberto Del Rio on Raw because Ryder was still able to hang with the former WWE Champ, even if just for a few minutes. For a guy who has spent most of the past year as kind of a joke, that is a big deal. Then on Smackdown he was one half of a winning tag team with Sheamus and Ryder actually pinned Dolph Ziggler for the win. The course towards a Ziggler/Ryder US title match seems pretty clear and I have a feeling we'll see it sooner rather than later. #WWWYKI
4) Sheamus
5) Mark Henry


Jeremy Thomas
1) Daniel Bryan
Booker's man D-Bry got a near-title win a la Chris Jericho, likely for the same reason--to see how the crowd would react. I think it went off pretty damn well and it sets Bryan up for a World Title reign down the road. He also won another shot at the belt by beating Cody Rhodes, Wade Barrett and Randy Orton in a four-way match. That's what I call a pretty huge week for the guy.

2) Jun Akiyama: I've always been a big Akiyama fan so this is a bit sentimental, but I love seeing him on top. Akiyama beat Taiyo Kea to retain the Triple Crown title, and good for him.
3) Dolph Ziggler & CM Punk: Dolph and Punk put on the TV match of the week without any question, and it was a match that made both men look damn good to boot. Can't argue with that.
4) Go Shiozaki
5) Cody Rhodes


Chad Nevett
1) Daniel Bryan
Okay, he didn't really win the World Title, but that was still a big moment and it was followed up with him earning a regular title shot in a fourway with Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes, and Wade Barrett. Pretty good week for Bryan.

2) Go Shiozaki: Successfully defended his GHC Heavyweight Championship against KENTA in a match that's getting such positive word of mouth that it's impossible to ignore.
3) Dolph Ziggler: Was in two very good matches this week, both losing efforts, but ones that demonstrated just how good he is, both on the mic and in the ring.
4) CM Punk
5) Alberto Del Rio


Steve Cook
1) Daniel Bryan
As Booker T would say: DAT MY BOY DEE BRYAN! Bryan had himself a pretty epic episode of SmackDown, getting a temporary reign as World Champion, a peck on the cheek from AJ, and a victory in the main event over Cody Rhodes, Wade Barrett & Randy Orton. WWE's on & off pushes can be maddening, but we can definitely say that the Bryan push is on. He'll be main eventing this week's SmackDown main event against Mark Henry, and could very well take this award home next week as well.

2) Cody Rhodes: Our man's found a home somewhere between being Dashing and being Doctor Doom, and it's pretty fantastic. More important than his in-ring endeavors was his water attack on Booker T on Raw, proving that he's not going to tolerate nonsense from anybody.
3) Dolph Ziggler: His match with CM Punk on Monday may have won over the few people still doubting that the #HEEL is a big part of WWE's future.
4) Fit Finlay
5) Go Go Shiozaki

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THE WINNERS~!

Special Mention…Cody Rhodes - 9 Votes

Fifth Place…Fit Finlay - 10 Votes

Fourth Place…CM Punk - Votes

Third Place…Go Shiozaki - 17 Votes

Successfully defended the GHC Heavyweight Title against KENTA…

Second Place… Dolph Ziggler - 18 Votes

Continues to show that he can hang with the main event guys…

Wrestler of the Week…Daniel Bryan - 40 Votes

Held the world title for moments and had it taken away, but did earn a shot at the title at the LIVE Smackdown…


Year-End Standings~!
And here are the rankings after week THIRTY-FIVE! The big story of the week is Daniel Bryan, who wins first place and leaps into the top 15, sitting in 12th place. Also, CM Punk added to his lead in the overall rankings, while Finlay made his debut on the list. Here are the updated standings…

1. CM Punk (WWE) - 107

2. Randy Orton (WWE) - 87

3. Mark Henry (WWE) - 83

4. Alberto Del Rio (WWE) – 74

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

7. Bobby Roode (TNA) - 64

8. John Cena (WWE) - 51

9. Austin Aries (TNA) - 46

10. Kurt Angle (TNA) - 41

11. The Miz (WWE) - 40

12. Daniel Bryan (WWE) - 36

13. Hiroshi Tanahashi (NJPW) - 34

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


Davey Richards (ROH) - 31

Johnny Gargano (US Independent) - 30

Gail Kim (TNA) - 27
Sin Cara (WWE) – 27 {INJURED}

Rey Mysterio (WWE) – 26 {INJURED}

Sting (TNA) - 25

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

MVP (NJPW) - 21
Cody Rhodes (WWE) - 21

Takashi Sugiura (NOAH) - 19

Go Shiozaki (NOAH) - 18

Dolph Ziggler (WWE) - 17

Sara Del Rey (US Independent) - 16
HHH (WWE) – 16
Brian Kendrick (TNA) - 16
Wade Barrett (WWE) - 16

Eddie Kingston (US Independent) - 9
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
The Rock (WWE) - 15

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}

Minoru Suzuki (NJPW) - 9
Lance Archer (NJPW) - 9
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
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

Madison Rayne (TNA) - 6
Jun Akiyama (NOAH) - 6
PAC (Dragon Gate) - 6
Eric Young (TNA) - 6
Ezekiel Jackson (WWE) - 6
Escorpion (CMLL) - 6
Low Ki (US Independent) - 6

Beth Phoenix (WWE) - 4

Michael Elgin (ROH) - 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
Fit Finlay (Independent) - 3

Crimson (TNA) - 2

Eddie Edwards (ROH) - 1
David Otunga (WWE) - 1
Michael McGuillicutty (WWE) - 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!