411’s Wrestler of the Week 2.07.12: Year Seven, Week 45
Posted by Larry Csonka on 02.07.2012
The Undertaker returned on Raw, James Storm pulled double duty on IMPACT, Daniel Bryan battled CM Punk in a great match on Raw 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 45, 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
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) The Undertaker
Was the talk of the wrestling world as he made his return to Raw, challenging Triple H for a rematch at WrestleMania.
2). James Storm: Was the standout on IMPACT, wrestling Bobby Roode and Bully Ray in very good matches.
3) Randy Orton: Won matches against Dolph Ziggler and Wade Barrett this week, and the matches were good to boot
4) Daniel Bryan and CM Punk
5) Tara
Wes Kirk
1) Robert Roode
The chickenshit heel of the new millennium was able to once again escape with his title intact, this time thanks to unseen interference by his running buddy Bully Ray in a match with James Storm and hit a nasty spear to take the victory. Of course, he brilliantly refused to get involved when Ray needed his help because he's the leader of the selfish generation and let him lose his later match with Storm. Totally digging the gimmick and Roode is doing a great job in the ring and also with his gimmick.
2) James Storm: It takes a lot for a wrestler to work two matches totaling nearly half an hour on a weekly show and make both of them at least three stars but Storm did just that this week with his work against Robert Roode and Bully Ray on Impact. The greatest thing was seeing just how far Storm has progressed as a face and a singles competitor once again now that he's been thrust in the spotlight and obviously is able to handle the main event role well.
3) Tara: In what may well be her last years in the business, Tara was able to defeat Gail Kim in a quality match and get a chance to become Knockouts champion. Obviously titles are nothing new to her, but the fact every Knockout seems to be able to step it up for a good match is a good thing for the Knockouts division!
4) Austin Aries
5) CM Punk
TJ Hawke
1) CIMA
Successfully defended the Dream Gate title against Susumu Yokosuka
2) Undertaker: He has returned...again.
3) Randy Orton: Looks like Orton is being built back up. Wouldn't be surprised to see him win the World Title at the Chamber.
4) Austin Aries
5) Daniel Bryan/CM Punk
Greg DeMarco
1) James Storm
Storm was the showcase talent on an insanely great edition of TNA Impact Wrestling. He was featured in two big matches, got put over huge and had the crowd eating from the palm of his hand. He needed some promo time, but outside of that this was a great week for Storm.
2) Daniel Bryan: Disqualification or not, he was in a Champion vs. Champion match against CM Punk, and he won.
3) Bobby Roode: Bobby is at the top of his game. We are watching a champion in his prime, and he's hitting a home run. Hell, even The Rock is taking notice.
4) Austin Aries
5) The Undertaker
Jeremy Thomas
1) The Undertaker
The Undertaker's return was unexpected and played out exceptionally well. Obviously this will be one of the big storylines leading into WrestleMania and I liked how it played out on Raw, and am looking forward to how it continues.
2) Daniel Bryan/CM Punk: Punk and Bryan put on a Free TV MOTY Candidate on Raw, and one I think will be hard to top.
3) James Storm: Storm continues to be extraordinarily impressive in his solo run, and that continued with two good matches on a surprisingly good Impact.
4) Randy Orton
5) Jun Akiyama
Robert S. Leighty Jr
1) Robert Roode: Two great things for Roode this week: A good match in which he knocked off Storm and then having the Rock give him credit via Twitter. I wonder if that got Vince's attention?
2) James Storm: Two solid matches on Impact as he continues to turn himself into a big star for TNA.
3) Daniel Bryan: Won a fantastic Champion vs. Champion match against Punk in a manner fitting Bryan, and he celebrated accordingly.
4) Randy Orton
5) CM Punk
Chad Nevett
1) CIMA
Successfully defended the Open the Dream Gate Championship this week.
2) Randy Orton: Had two really good matches this week against Dolph Ziggler and Wade Barrett, and won both.
3) Daniel Bryan: Defeated CM Punk in a Champion vs. Champion match.
4) Sheamus
5) The Undertaker/Triple H
James Wright
1) Beth Phoenix
This might be a little bit confusing seeing as how Beth Phoenix had barely five minutes of ring time this week. However in terms of the week no one had as dominant a time considering that she defended her title on Monday Night Raw with ridiculous dominance and then owned the ring on Smackdown, leaving Natalya in the dust of her own flatulence. Sure the Divas division is a joke at the moment and this perceived dominance is just a way for Beth to be built up before being decimated by Kharma in the near future, but hell she went from being a near non-existent presence in the WWE two weeks ago back to her former self, and in my book that is enough to rate her at the top in what admittedly was a bit of a slow week.
2) Randy Orton: People seem to be taking this for granted because it is Randy Orton we are talking about but seriously the Viper did well this week. Not only did he get revenge over Wade Barrett, the guy who (kayfabe) nearly made him miss the Rumble, in a No DQ main event no less, but he also beat the man who just wrestled for the WWE title. For anyone else that would be a huge deal and it just speaks of Orton's current status that it's just another day in his career.
3) James Storm: I'll give the Cowboy credit for pulling double duty on this week's UK Impact, even if he only managed to win one of the matches. What I don't get is why TNA are starting a new promotion in India when they are constantly going on about how popular they are here in England, why not try to get something permanent set up here, absence of local talent?
4) Daniel Bryan
5) Robert Roode
Andy Critchell
1) Randall K. Orton, Esq
Basically I am giving Orton the top spot because he was in two big matches last week, and they just happened to be the two best matches on TV last week. Right now I think Orton is basically untouchable as far as match quality is concerned and he is consistently great no matter what he does. Obviously the fact that he worked with guys like Ziggler and Barrett was a huge help but it is Orton who is tasked with making guys below him look like stars and for my money he does it better than anyone in the business.
2) Jericho: Once again Jericho made a lot of noise without saying any words and it seem like we are heading straight for a Jericho/Punk feud that so many have been clamoring for. It really says a lot about the faith WWE has in Jericho that they are ready to put him in a high profile program so quickly despite the as yet unresolved character that Jericho has been displaying.
3) Undertaker: So the Deadman made his long awaited return to WWE TV, complete with hilarious wig. I'm just glad that he's back so that Taker and Triple H can exist in their own little world away from the more interesting aspects of the WWE landscape.
4) James Storm
5) Brie Bella
THE WINNERS~!
Special Mention…CM Punk - 9 Votes
Fifth Place…CIMA - 10 Votes
Fourth Place…Bobby Roode - 14 Votes
Third Place…The Undertaker & Daniel Bryan -19 Votes
The Undertaker returned to WWE and Daniel Bryan "defeated" CM Punk in a great match on Raw.
Second Place…Randy Orton - 23 Votes
Orton has great outings against Ziggler and Barrett, pulling out big wins!
Wrestler of the Week…James Storm - 25 Votes
Pulling double duty on IMPACT was enough to get Storm the victory this week!
Year-End Standings~!
And here are the updated standings for week FOURTY-FIVE! Randy Orton jumps into third place, while Daniel Bryan edges closer to CM Punk and James Storm is now in the top 15! CIMA also made his debut on the big list this week. Here are the updated standings…
1. CM Punk (WWE) - 128
2. Daniel Bryan (WWE) - 126
3. Bobby Roode (TNA) - 101
4. Randy Orton (WWE) - 99
5. Mark Henry (WWE) - 89
6. Alberto Del Rio (WWE) – 74
7. Christian (WWE) – 69
7. R-Truth (WWE) – 69
9. Sheamus (WWE) - 57
10. Hiroshi Tanahashi (NJPW) - 55
11. John Cena (WWE) - 51
12. James Storm (TNA) - 45
13. Austin Aries (TNA) - 48
14. Dolph Ziggler (WWE) - 42
15. Gail Kim (TNA) - 41
15. Kurt Angle (TNA) - 41
15. The Miz (WWE) - 41
Kevin Steen (US Independent) - 39
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
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
Undertaker (WWE) - 21 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 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
CIMA (Dragon Gate) - 3 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 Danshoku Dino (DDT) - 3 Hirooki Goto (NJPW) - 3 Akitoshi Saito (NOAH) - 3 Rocky Romero (US Independent) - 3 Fit Finlay (Independent) - 3 Akira Tozawa (Dragon Gate) - 3
Posted By: Booker T (Guest) on February 06, 2012 at 11:13 PM
Funny, none of the 411 staff who pretend to be so up on what happens outside of the US even mentioned that John Morrison made an appearance and won a "World Title" this week.
Posted By: Guest#8220 (Guest) on February 06, 2012 at 11:20 PM
Wow a TNA wrestler won wrestler of the week even though a number of people voting tried their darndest not have him win.
The Undertaker gets number 1 votes because he showed up in a bad wig.
Chris Jericho gets votes because he did something on Raw.
Did some schmuck actually give Beth Pheonix the nod over James Storm as number 1?
James Storm wrestles two fantastic matches on one episode of Impact and he BARELY wins this thing and if Byers was voting he wouldnt have even won the thing this week.
Even when teh right guy wins WOTW, it still quite evident how anti-TNA this site is.
Posted By: Wow a TNA Guy Won WOTW (Guest) on February 06, 2012 at 11:30 PM
How many people did CIMA wrestle in front of? Opinions are one thing; if the object is to have a decently representative look at who was the "Wrestler of the Week", there needs to be some semblance of a standard.
Orton, as far as I'm concerned, is one of a few reasons to watch WWE, with Ziggler starting to force himself into that mix, and Undertaker is Undertaker, so you won't seem any gripes from me.
Still, James Storm put on a hell of a performance this week, as did Roode but that's another story, and he should've got credit for it.
If winning a championship, even if it's in front of an audience smaller than the Impact Zone, earns you a mention, fine.
It's just sad that "writers", deliberately ignoring #1 wrestling promotion in the United States, since the WWE is "sports entertainment", seem to relish trashing effort.
Heck, if you can't be bothered to consider the entire wrestling spectrum, you probably shouldn't even have a vote.
Posted By: scipio2009 (Guest) on February 06, 2012 at 11:42 PM
Wondered how a TNA guy could have possibly won this week, then saw Byers wasnt voting. Still have Hawke and Nevett though!
Posted By: Guest#3623 (Guest) on February 06, 2012 at 11:47 PM
I'm sure Vince is quaking in his boots now Dragon's Gate have finally pulled the trigger on CIMA's Dreamgate title win!
Posted By: Guest#8527 (Guest) on February 06, 2012 at 11:48 PM
45 > 48?
Posted By: Guest#7280 (Guest) on February 06, 2012 at 11:48 PM
Funny, none of the 411 staff who pretend to be so up on what happens outside of the US even mentioned that John Morrison made an appearance and won a "World Title" this week.
Posted By: Guest#8220 (Guest) on February 06, 2012 at 11:20 PM
that wasn't a real world title tho.
Posted By: Guest#3736 (Guest) on February 07, 2012 at 12:52 AM
Wondered how a TNA guy could have possibly won this week, then saw Byers wasnt voting. Still have Hawke and Nevett though!
Posted By: Guest#3623 (Guest) on February 06, 2012 at 11:47 PM
I put Aries in my top 5.
Posted By: TJ Hawke (Registered) on February 07, 2012 at 02:21 AM
totally agree with WOW a TNA guy won.
Granted as a TNA fan i can be as anti-WWE bias as a WWE fan can be Anti-TNA, but man alive at least at odd times give some credit where its due.
when Undertaker walking out and doing nothing is classed as 'wrestler of the week' you may as well scrap the article.
Posted By: BigDaveJ (Guest) on February 07, 2012 at 03:51 AM
Wait, how is Daniel Bryan so high up? Yes, he won the World title but before that he was barely promoted, never on PPV; in fact, he surfaced just to win MITB and then disappeared again
Posted By: mr_wishart (Guest) on February 07, 2012 at 06:24 AM
I remembered that the comments section almost exploded when Daniel Bryan almost won the whole thing last year.
It's funny that it looks like the mood is totally different this year even he's at the runner-up spot again this year.
I know the situations are different, but it's interesting.
Posted By: Guest#2178 (Guest) on February 07, 2012 at 11:52 AM
"Wondered how a TNA guy could have possibly won this week, then saw Byers wasnt voting. Still have Hawke and Nevett though!
Posted By: Guest#3623 (Guest) on February 06, 2012 at 11:47 PM
I put Aries in my top 5.
Posted By: TJ Hawke (Registered) on February 07, 2012 at 02:21 AM"
Yeah, but you're one of those guys who put someone from TNA who has no chance of winning the damn thing in the Top 5, just so you can say "see, I'm not biased!"... Kind of like you did here.
At least Byers is flagrant with his bias (and I'll give him credit -- I read him when he was doing the TNA recaps, and he started out supportive of TNA. After some of the questionable booking he recapped over and over, he got very sour on the product. He at least HAS a reason -- he's not a simple "See, I'm cool. I hate TNA, too." jackass like most of the people here. I don't agree with his methods, but at least he's understandable.)
Posted By: Jimbob Jones (Guest) on February 07, 2012 at 01:52 PM
"How many people did CIMA wrestle in front of?"
Jesus, what an asshole. Go back to WWE.com and buy a Cena T-shirt, mark.
Posted By: Guest#3837 (Guest) on February 07, 2012 at 05:56 PM
"Wondered how a TNA guy could have possibly won this week, then saw Byers wasnt voting. Still have Hawke and Nevett though!
Posted By: Guest#3623 (Guest) on February 06, 2012 at 11:47 PM
I put Aries in my top 5.
Posted By: TJ Hawke (Registered) on February 07, 2012 at 02:21 AM"
Yeah, but you're one of those guys who put someone from TNA who has no chance of winning the damn thing in the Top 5, just so you can say "see, I'm not biased!"... Kind of like you did here.
At least Byers is flagrant with his bias (and I'll give him credit -- I read him when he was doing the TNA recaps, and he started out supportive of TNA. After some of the questionable booking he recapped over and over, he got very sour on the product. He at least HAS a reason -- he's not a simple "See, I'm cool. I hate TNA, too." jackass like most of the people here. I don't agree with his methods, but at least he's understandable.)
Posted By: Jimbob Jones (Guest) on February 07, 2012 at 01:52 PM
Why in the hell do I feel myself agreeing with this guy?
Posted By: Guest#5706 (Guest) on February 07, 2012 at 06:27 PM
I have a suggestion for all the "wrestling writers" who voted Taker ahead of Storm this week. Next week, vote kayfabe. That's right, vote as if you were covering pro wrestling, not "sports entertainment." Cover wrestling the way sports writers and broadcasters used to cover it, as if it were real.
Look at it that way, then try to defend rating an over the hill wrestler just showing up over a guy who's establishing himself as a star wrestling two good matches in one show, winning one, and losing to the World Champ only because of outside interference. For that matter, even in terms of your beloved WWE's beloved "sports entertainment," try to justify that. If you think a guy who should have retired years ago showing up is more important than a guy in his prime doing what Storm did, then why didn't you vote for Hogan? He showed up, and he's been around longer and meant more to the business than Taker. Yeah, he's a washed up old cripple who should have retired years ago, but he's an old time star who showed up. If that's all Taker has to do, why does Hogan have to do more?
Obviously, I don't want anyone voting for Hogan for WotW. I just think someone needed to point how ridiculous some of you "wrestling writers" are.
Posted By: the ghost of Buddy Rogers (Guest) on February 07, 2012 at 08:22 PM
Funny, none of the 411 staff who pretend to be so up on what happens outside of the US even mentioned that John Morrison made an appearance and won a "World Title" this week.
Posted By: Guest#8220 (Guest) on February 06, 2012 at 11:20 PM
that wasn't a real world title tho.
Posted By: Guest#3736 (Guest) on February 07, 2012 at 12:52 AM
Yeah, I know. I was being a little sarcastic there. The promoter is a sleaze ball, and the entire promotion is a scam at best. It's their MO to put on shows in remote places and "crown" a champion at virtually every show. JoMo is the obvious choice to be the champion as the most 'relevant' guy, having only recently left the mainstream. In foreign lands, where copyright and trademark laws are a joke, they even use WWE music, trademarked names, etc. The majority of the roster is made up of defects, rejects and has been guys who are lucky to get booked at the local National Guard Armory. But hey, work is work I guess. Nice for some of them to feel like they still matter, and it beats working at the Wal-Mart.
Posted By: Guest#4082 (Guest) on February 07, 2012 at 09:07 PM
How many people did CIMA wrestle in front of?
It's just sad that "writers", deliberately ignoring #1 wrestling promotion in the United States, since the WWE is "sports entertainment", seem to relish trashing effort.
Posted By: scipio2009 (Guest) on February 06, 2012 at 11:42 PM
The reported attendance for the Dragon Gate show CIMA wrestled on is 2,000, bigger than the capacity of the Impact Zone.
Posted By: Guest#9741 (Guest) on February 07, 2012 at 10:10 PM
The reported attendance for the Dragon Gate show CIMA wrestled on is 2,000, bigger than the capacity of the Impact Zone.
Posted By: Guest#9741 (Guest) on February 07, 2012 at 10:10 PM
And how many people watched it on tv? Like it or not, Impact is watched by over a million people a week.
Posted By: Guest#8899 (Guest) on February 08, 2012 at 12:49 AM
The reported attendance for the Dragon Gate show CIMA wrestled on is 2,000, bigger than the capacity of the Impact Zone.
Posted By: Guest#9741 (Guest) on February 07, 2012 at 10:10 PM
And how many people watched it on tv? Like it or not, Impact is watched by over a million people a week.
Posted By: Guest#8899 (Guest) on February 08, 2012 at 12:49 AM
And WWE is watched by over 4 million. So, by your logic, TNA should largely be ignored in favor of WWE.
Posted By: Guest#0354 (Guest) on February 08, 2012 at 07:21 AM
And WWE is watched by over 4 million. So, by your logic, TNA should largely be ignored in favor of WWE.
Posted By: Guest#0354 (Guest) on February 08, 2012 at 07:21 AM
Uh...no. Cima's win was watched by a grand total of 2000 people. Impact was watched by 1000 times more than that worldwide. 3 times as many more people watched Raw over Impact. Totally different margin here.
Posted By: Guest#3497 (Guest) on February 08, 2012 at 01:16 PM
And WWE is watched by over 4 million. So, by your logic, TNA should largely be ignored in favor of WWE.
Posted By: Guest#0354 (Guest) on February 08, 2012 at 07:21 AM
Uh...no. Cima's win was watched by a grand total of 2000 people. Impact was watched by 1000 times more than that worldwide. 3 times as many more people watched Raw over Impact. Totally different margin here.
Posted By: Guest#3497 (Guest) on February 08, 2012 at 01:16 PM
You're discounting the people who will see CIMA's win on Dragon Gate television. I don't have the ratings info, but it exists and is distributed internationally in the non-English speaking world.
Posted By: Guest#1051 (Guest) on February 08, 2012 at 08:31 PM
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