411’s Wrestler of the Week 1.23.12: Year Seven, Week 43
Posted by Larry Csonka on 01.23.2012
Bobby Roode continued to rule IMPACT, Daniel Bryan retained the World Title, Morishima won the GHC 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 43, 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) Takeshi Morishima
After what seemed like a term in purgatory, Morishima defeated Go Shoizaki to become the NEW GHC Heavyweight Champion. It seems like forever since Morishima held the title back in 2008, and I am very interested to see where this goes for him.
2) Jun Akiyama & Akitoshi Saito: Defeated the NJPW tag team of Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson to win the GHC Tag Team Titles, bringing the titles back to NOAH.
3) Jigsaw & Hallowicked: Defeated ROH Tag Champions, the Briscoes, and helped kick off what could be a fun feud with CHIKARA & ROH.
4) Daniel Bryan
5) Bobby Roode
Ryan Byers
1) Takeshi Morishima
After a somewhat lame title run in 2008 and a couple of years of being treated as a JTTS, Pro Wrestling NOAH seems to have finally turned around on Takeshi Morishima within the past six to eight months and rebuilt him as a monster. Morishima's reboot came to its climax this weekend, when he pinned Go Shiozaki to become your new GHC Heavyweight Champion. Hopefully this means Morishima can become the major star that everybody thought he was going to be five years ago.
2) Jun Akiyama: Also on this weekend's NOAH show, Akiyama and partner Akitoshi Saito defeated Bad Intentions to become the GHC Tag Team Champions. The reason that I rank Akiyama and not Saito is because this win made Akiyama a double champion, as he also currently holds AJPW's Triple Crown.
3) Daniel Bryan: D-Bry is the best heel in wrestling today. He got a surprisingly good match out of an injured Mark Henry on Smackdown, had a great performance on the mic on Raw, and wasn't horrible in his time in the ring for the Raw main event, either. Plus SD's elevated ratings have bounced back, so he's doing pretty well on the business side of things too.
4) CM Punk
5) Jigsaw & Hallowicked
Greg DeMarco
1) Daniel Bryan
Daniel Bryan's heel status is in full effect after Friday's Smackdown. He is 1000% more comfortable on the mic, his in-ring work was never in doubt, and he's really starting to get a reaction from the audience.
2) Bobby Roode: Roode had his best week yet as TNA World Champion. He doesn't look like he belongs in the company, he looks like he belongs at the top of the company.
3) Brodus Clay: He got a huge reaction during Sin City Smackdown, and his comedy elements were great. He's got a real connection with the fans, and that will carry over to his matches when he steps up in competition.
4) Takeshi Morishima
5) Tommaso Ciampa
Wes Kirk
1) Robert Roode
The man who proclaimed himself as the leader of the selfish generation continued his heel antics this past week by purposely interfering in the #1 contenders match and taking out both James Storm and Jeff Hardy with the assistance of Bully Ray. Although Roode didn't have a match on the card, he certainly figured prominently into the main event and the decision by Sting to have a triple threat at Against All Odds, which is exactly what Roode doesn't want. I think Roode is doing very well as a heel and frankly he's the main reason to watch the main event scene right now!
2) Daniel Bryan: Bryan is becoming a heel surprisingly fast with his more subtle mannerisms and then occasionally acting heelish and then trying to be a good guy but showing a lot of frustration and anger, which is out of place with his old positive underdog persona. Bryan is actually outsmarting the top two guys for his championship right now, which shouldn't come as any surprise to fans of the man as he plays a damn good heel when he wants to. Now all he needs is to get his name back and for WWE to get "Final Countdown" and we'll be all set to go!
3) Takeshi Morishima: One of the most valuable titles in the world is the NOAH Global Honored Crown, and Morishima took the belt recently from former champion Go Shoizaki to hold the gold for the first time in nearly four years. It is also the only title in wrestling that has its own theme music, and no I am not joking.
4) James Storm
5) CM Punk
TJ Hawke
1) Takeshi Morishima
Morishima won the GHC Heavyweight Title for the 2nd time. I hope the big man finally realizes his potential this time.
2) Jun Akiyama/Akitoshi Saito: Brought the GHC Heavyweight Tag Titles back to NOAH when they defeated the reigning champs, Karl Anderson & Giant Bernard
3) Davey Richards: Successfully defended the ROH World Title and earned a ROH Tag Title shot with Kyle O'Reilly
4) Jigsaw/Hallowicked
5) Daniel Bryan
James Wright
1) Daniel Bryan
The weasely World Champion managed to hang onto his title again this week, this time against the World's Strongest Man in a lumberjack match. Bryan pulled the brilliant tactic of working up the lumberjacks into such a frenzy that they stormed the ring and he was able to escape unnoticed. This provocative behavior is becoming a trademark of Bryan's title reign as that was how he got Mark Henry to get Big Show disqualified in his first defense and then in a way how he managed to get Show to run over AJ in their next match. Basically Bryan is on to a winner.
2) Robert Roode: Another sneaky champion is the leader of the Selfish Generation, who apparently won the main event this week despite not being involved whatsoever. Having an ally in Bully Ray has been good for Roode as two weeks in a row he has interrupted a match, causing Roode to benefit, and keeping the title firmly around his waist.
3) Bully Ray: More for what will happen than for what he did this week. Last week doing a deal with Roode to get a title shot, and then this week harassing Sting (without an appointment!), Bully has most likely forced his way into the TNA title picture with the help of a chain!
4) Epico & Primo
5) Jack Swagger
Jeremy Thomas
1) Daniel Bryan
I'm loving his heel turn and he's really making believers out of guys who said he would never make it because of his lack of mic skills. He's delivering in his promos, not to mention carrying guys I never thought capable of the matches they're having with him. This week it was Mark Henry, and D-Bry escapes with the belt again. Some people might say he looks weak by not getting definitive pinfalls but when the character plays into that, it's okay. And it's very okay here.
2) Robert Roode: I admit that I've been leaving Roode off my list for the last couple weeks because I thought he had been overshadowed by bad booking. That, however, takes little away from the job he's doing as a heel I still constantly feel like we're just waiting to see the rug pulled out from under him in favor of Jeff Hardy or someone else, but while he's running with the belt he's been doing great stuff and I hope against TNA logic that he's going to continue his run for a while.
3) Takeshi Morishima: Morishima beat Go Shoizaki to become the GHC Heavyweight Champion, which is certainly enough to place him top three.
4) CM Punk
5) Jack Swagger
THE WINNERS~!
Special Mention…Jigsaw & Hallowicked - 6 Votes
Fifth Place…Akitoshi Saito - 8 Votes
Fourth Place…Jun Akiyama - 12 Votes
Third Place…Bobby Roode - 18 Votes
The champion continues to make life difficult for all challengers…
Second Place…Takeshi Morishima - 23 Votes
Morishima defeated Go Shoizaki to become the NEW GHC Heavyweight Champion!
Wrestler of the Week…Daniel Bryan - 25 Votes
Once again was able to escape with his World Title…
Year-End Standings~!
And here are the rankings after week FOURTY-THREE! Daniel Bryan is now solidly in second place, while TNA Champion Bobby Roode has climbed into third. Here are the updated standings…
1. CM Punk (WWE) - 117
2. Daniel Bryan (WWE) - 105
3. Bobby Roode (TNA) - 95
4. Mark Henry (WWE) - 89
5. Randy Orton (WWE) - 87
6. Alberto Del Rio (WWE) – 74
7. Christian (WWE) – 69
7. R-Truth (WWE) – 69
9. Hiroshi Tanahashi (NJPW) - 55
11. John Cena (WWE) - 51
11. Austin Aries (TNA) - 48
12. Sheamus (WWE) - 42
13. Gail Kim (TNA) - 41
13. Kurt Angle (TNA) - 41
15. The Miz (WWE) - 40
Kevin Steen (US Independent) - 39
Dolph Ziggler (WWE) - 38
Cody Rhodes (WWE) - 36
Zack Ryder (WWE) - 33 El Generico (ROH) - 33
Davey Richards (ROH) - 32
Wade Barrett (WWE) - 31
Johnny Gargano (US Independent) - 30 James Storm (TNA) - 30
Sara Del Rey (US Independent) - 28
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
Takashi Sugiura (NOAH) - 19
Mickie James (TNA) - 18 Go Shiozaki (NOAH) - 18
HHH (WWE) – 16 Brian Kendrick (TNA) - 16 Chris Jericho (WWE) - 16
Jay Briscoe (ROH) - 15 Mark Briscoe (ROH) - 15 Eddie Kingston (US Independent) - 15 Super Dragon (US Independent) - 15 Tadasuke (OSAKA Pro) - 15 Mr. Anderson (TNA) - 15 Antonio Cesaro {Claudio Castignoli} (WWE) - 15 Yuji Nagata (NJPW) - 15 Edge (RETIRED) - 15 Kofi Kingston (WWE) - 15 The Rock (WWE) - 15 Brodus Clay (WWE) - 15
Takeshi Morishima (NOAH) - 12 Jun Akiyama (NOAH) - 12 Prince Devitt (NJPW) - 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 Epico (WWE) - 12 Primo (WWE) - 12 Kenny King (ROH) - 12 Rhett Titus (ROH) - 12 BxB Hulk (Dragon Gate) - 12
AJ Styles (TNA) – 10 Kharma (WWE) – 10 {PREGNANT} The Big Show (WWE) – 10
Masato Tanaka (ZERO1) - 9 Minoru Suzuki (NJPW) - 9 Lance Archer (NJPW) - 9 Katsuhiko Nakajima (NOAH) - 9 Hunico (WWE) – 9 Alex Riley (WWE) - 9 Angel De Oro (CMLL) - 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
The Sheik (US Independent) - 7 Jeff Jarrett (TNA) - 7
Kane (WWE) - 6 Madison Rayne (TNA) - 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 Zema Ion (TNA) - 3 Fire Ant (US Independent) - 3 Green Ant (US Independent) - 3 Soldier Ant (US Independent) - 3 Booker T (WWE) - 3 Tyson Kidd (WWE) - 3 Kelly Kelly (WWE) - 3 Hirooki Goto (NJPW) - 3 Akitoshi Saito (NOAH) - 3 Rocky Romero (US Independent) - 3 Fit Finlay (Independent) - 3 Akira Tozawa (Dragon Gate) - 3
If months ago Daniel Bryan won the US Title, he would have swept the week. Jack Swagger wins that title and gets 2 5th place votes.
But Swagger beat an injured Ryder? Well, Bryan won his WHC by lying on an unconscious Big Show.
But Cena made Swagger look like a Punk at the end of the show? And Bryan hasn't looked like a Punk in all his defenses?
Congrats on winning the WOTY Bryan. Come hell or high water, the title will be yours.
Posted By: SpankyHamm (Guest) on January 23, 2012 at 04:29 PM
Once again, the favorite of the wrestling promotions gets the vote while Noah Wrestling gets second place.
Posted By: Guest#0742 (Guest) on January 23, 2012 at 04:32 PM
And heeere comes the bitching...
Posted By: Guest#5717 (Guest) on January 23, 2012 at 05:12 PM
Gotta tell ya, I'm shocked Jericho didn't get wrestler of the week the way things have been going lately.
Posted By: Comment Board Poster (Guest) on January 23, 2012 at 05:14 PM
We all bitch and moan about this column week after week but they have the top three right, right now. They may not be in the right order but not everything is perfect.
Posted By: gpjunk (Guest) on January 23, 2012 at 05:22 PM
No love for Ziggler verbally destroying Mick Foley? Showing that he can deliver main event promos.
Posted By: C.Drama (Guest) on January 23, 2012 at 05:42 PM
Agreed that Jericho should be #1. He continues to be the single bright light on Monday night. In addition to His brilliant genius, this is 3 weeks in a row where he has been shown to be the best in ring performer in the WWE.
Cynics may point out that he hasn't wrestled in the last 3 weeks but that doesn't make it any less true. Since his return, no-one has had a better TV match than Jericho.
Posted By: Guest#5121 (Guest) on January 23, 2012 at 05:50 PM
Odds are it'll be either punk or bryan who wins it all in the end knowing how this place votes. But I wouldn't be surprised if it turns into a tie and they become CoWinners :P
Though Roode deserves it more with how far he's come.
Posted By: Kevin (Guest) on January 23, 2012 at 05:58 PM
Impeach Byers.
... as always.. I like Byers.. but he still needs to be banned from this column as long as he out and out refuses to vote for happenings in the second biggest wrestling company in North America.
Posted By: Blackbird 13 (Guest) on January 23, 2012 at 06:17 PM
Bryan's reign has so far been worse than Angle's first. There's a difference between 'heel cheats to win, gets heat for it.' and 'heel gets beat up for the whole match then runs like a bitch'.
Posted By: Guest#4650 (Guest) on January 23, 2012 at 06:46 PM
What about Swagger, he won the US title. Doesn't matter if he won it from an injured Ryder. Money in the bank winners always wins a title from a helpless champion and always gets recognition from this column. Who cares if Cena beat him up afterwards, he still won a title. Give credit where it is deserved.
Posted By: Guest#3992 (Guest) on January 23, 2012 at 08:06 PM
Find it amazing Roode is third when some refuse to vote for TNA under any circumstances.
Posted By: Guest#5174 (Guest) on January 23, 2012 at 08:27 PM
If TNA World Champion, Bobby Roode(c), goes into Against All Odds, competes in the threeway against "Cowboy" James Storm and Jeff Hardy, and wins by pinning Jeff Hardy, even if it's with an assist from Bully Ray or someone just against Hardy, does 411 give Roode his rightful 1st place vote?
In all likelihood, probably not. Sad.
Posted By: scipio2009 (Guest) on January 23, 2012 at 08:30 PM
Mickie James gets no love for that cage match? Damn, what's a girl got to do?
Posted By: the ghost of Buddy Rogers (Guest) on January 23, 2012 at 10:04 PM
Mark Henry has had such a better year than Daniel Bryan its absolutely ridiculous.
The fact that DB is close to taking the top spot away from Punk is a joke considering DB was riding like a 3 month losing streak before winning the World Title.
Come on guys, this year belongs to Punk or Mark Henry. Bryan shouldn't even be close.
Posted By: Guest#4850 (Guest) on January 23, 2012 at 10:57 PM
Mark Henry has had such a better year than Daniel Bryan its absolutely ridiculous.
The fact that DB is close to taking the top spot away from Punk is a joke considering DB was riding like a 3 month losing streak before winning the World Title.
Come on guys, this year belongs to Punk or Mark Henry. Bryan shouldn't even be close.
Posted By: Guest#4850 (Guest) on January 23, 2012 at 10:57 PM
You could put Orton on the list too. He had a great year, for the whole 12 months.
Posted By: Guest#3590 (Guest) on January 24, 2012 at 01:43 AM
Im really glad TNA has decided to give Roode an extended run. Hes certainly not the guy that can turn them into a WWE contender. But hes a fucking great character.
Posted By: Mark of Excellence (Guest) on January 24, 2012 at 11:58 AM
where the hell is kane
Posted By: the great one (Guest) on January 24, 2012 at 01:35 PM
w00t, 'Shima!
Posted By: Guest#2979 (Guest) on January 24, 2012 at 01:57 PM
Ziggler needs more love.
Posted By: Guest#9772 (Guest) on January 24, 2012 at 03:25 PM
CM Punk SHOULD win this year
Daniel Bryan WILL win this year
Because like the ROH title and the village bike, everybody gets a turn
Posted By: Cactus (Guest) on January 24, 2012 at 05:38 PM
so one guy is anti tna the other one is a fake who acts like tna is the best to get this crappy site hits. sad.
Posted By: Guest#0958 (Guest) on January 24, 2012 at 07:18 PM
Its very obvious that 411 staff is going to make sure that Bryan wins wrestler of the year award. We still have a few weeks and you can be sure that no matter what Bryan does, he will get that award.
Posted By: Guest#3891 (Guest) on January 24, 2012 at 07:26 PM
To be honest, this thing lost its credibility ages ago...
Posted By: Kill it already. (Guest) on January 24, 2012 at 11:13 PM
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