wrestling / Columns

411’s Wrestler of the Week 3.19.13: Year Eight, Week 50

March 19, 2013 | Posted by Larry Csonka

Welcome to WEEK 50, YEAR EIGHT 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 (the voting week runs Monday through Sunday). Let’s see who wins this week…


Larry Csonka
1) Suwama
Suwama defeated Masakatsu Fuanki to become the NEW Triple Crown Champion.

2) El Mesias: Defeated Canek and LA Park to win the AAA Rey de Reyes (King of Kings) tournament.
3) Jun Akiyama & Go Shiozaki: Defeated Takao Omori & Manabu Soya to become the NEW All Japan Tag Team Champions.
4) Jack Swagger
5) Bully Ray

Jeremy Thomas
1) Jack Swagger
I like Swagger and I like his gimmick as well as the feud with Del Rio (in theory, anwyay). However, I don’t think that it’s gotten over with audiences. That’s not because of the booking though, as Swagger continues to look strong. This week he beat Sin Cara and Chris Jericho to continue rolling toward his WrestleMania World title match.

2) Dolph Ziggler: Speaking of people with wins…look who broke one hell of a losing streak this week! Ziggler picked up wins over both members of Team Hell No to get some heat leading into what will presumably be a Tag Team Title match with Big E. at his side. Nice to see the Show-Off get a couple wins.
3) CM Punk/Bully Ray (tie): The two best heels of the week are equally dastardly in their particular promotions. CM Punk disrespected Paul Bearer on Raw in a really well-booked bit of feud advancement while Bully Ray suddenly turned Aces and 8s credible and led them to beating down most of the entire TNA roster.
4) Suwama
5) David Hart Smith

Francisco Ramirez
1) Texano Jr.
Normally winning a mask and/or hair is bigger in Mexico than defending a title, but on Sundays AAA Rey de Reyes show, current champion El Texano Jr. came out on top defending the belt against a huge name in Blue Demon Jr. While still unsure if Demon has signed full time or, god help me for bringing this back, this was a one shot deal, the fact is Demon put over a young champion, and after the match verbally put him over on the mic as well, acknowledging how talented Texano Jr. is and challenging him for Mask Vs. Hair match at Triplemania. A huge win for Texano Jr. and kudos to AAA for booking this right.

2) TIE: Rey Cometa/Stuka and Ray Mendoza Jr. (Villano V)/Villano IV: Both teams were involved in Hair/Mask matches and both teams came out on top. First of, at CMLL’s Homenaje a Dos Leyendas show, Rey Cometa and Stuka defeated Namajague and Shigeo Okumura taking Okumura’s hair and revealing Namajague as Kyōsuke Mikami, 29, 5 years a wrestler, from Japan. On Villano V’s retirement show, Ray Mendoza Jr. (Villano V) and Villano IV defeated Cassandro and Hijo del Pirata Morgan. Taking Cassandro’s hair and unmasking Hijo del Pirata Morgan as Antheus Ortiz Chaves, 21 years of age, 7 years a luchador.
3) El Mesias: The 2013 AAA Rey de Reyes (King of Kings aka King of the Ring).
4) La Sombra and Volador Jr.
5) Rob Conway

James Wright
1) C.M. Punk
Just took this whole thing to another level, although I have no idea how he could end the streak now that he has positioned himself as the dastardly heel in this struggle, but maybe the Undertaker’s streak will end on a dark note, damned unlikely though.

2) Jack Swagger: Swagger survived what could have been a massive derailment for his Wrestlemania match and continues to be booked strong heading into the event, even if the whole thing is just building up to a Ziggler cash-in.
3) Dolph Ziggler: Speaking of which the WWE has finally realized that they actually should have Ziggler win a couple of matches if they are going to make him world champion in the near future, good job too!
4) Bully Ray
5) Rob Conway

Michael Benjamin
1) The Shield
Seth Rollins. Roman Reigns. Dean Ambrose. They did it! They’ve been booked to perform at Wrestlemania! Dennis Stamp has been jumping on his trampoline for decades to get an opportunity like this. The Shield were just a spoke on the wheel of the Ryback/Punk feud six months ago. Did you think these guys were going to be such an integral part of WWE programming after their debut? I sure as hell didn’t. The sky is the limit for all three of these talented young men.

2) Suwama: I’m not going to pretend that I know a lot about what’s going on overseas lately. What I do know, is that winning the Triple Crown Championship is an extremely large accomplishment that can’t go unacknowledged. So here’s to that.
3) Brad Maddox: I may take hell for this, but his contributions to the Smackdown announce booth as a legitimate heel announcer (i.e. Not burying half of the talent like Cole did) are phenomenal. He makes a bad match more enjoyable than it has any right to be. We’ve been asking for this, right? I always rate with career advancement in mind and I think Maddox is making huge strides. It would appear as if his test run on Main Event got over in the back just like it did with the majority of the IWC.
4) Davey Boy Smith Jr.
5) Texano Jr.

Ryan Byers
1) Suwama
Suwama once again holds the AJPW Triple Crown, one of the most prestigious titles in wrestling history.

2) Texano Jr.: Scored a win over Blue Demon Jr. that will solidify him as a top guy south of the border.
3) Davey Boy Smith Jr.: Got a couple of big wins in the annual New Japan Cup, including a shocker over former IWGP Champ Shinsuke Nakamura.
4) El Mesias
5) Los Villanos

Jack McGee
1) Bully Ray
In one week Bully Ray took Aces and 8s, which were a huge joke, and has now made them a believable force. He is an unlikable asshole, and is the perfect man to turn the Aces and 8s angle around. All hail the president and TNA champion!

2) Dolph Ziggler: Defeated both Daniel Bryan and Kane this week on WWE TV, and now looks to be headed towards WM 29 and a shot at the tag team titles.
3) Jack Swagger: The #1 contender for the world title had a great week, defeating Sin Cara on Raw ad then scoring a huge victory over Chris Jericho on Smackdown. While Del Rio is booked like a goof, doing parody videos of Swagger, Swagger is kicking ass and looking like the real deal.
4) El Mesias
5) Rob Conway

Nick Sellers
1) CM Punk
Top marks again this week, playing the evil, inconsiderate bastard to perfection. From a morale standpoint I’d rather WWE didn’t go down this sort of route in terms of exploiting someone’s passing (because rightly it wrongly, it blatantly is, even if Bearer himself would approve), but in this context it worked brilliantly. He took the ball with the whole thing and ran with it, and although it’ll still take some convincing to
believe he’ll actually beat the streak, he’s certainly trying.

2) Dolph Ziggler: After a terrific match with Daniel Bryan on Raw and a solid outing against Kane on Smackdown, fans of his work will no doubt be buoyed about him finally picking up a couple of wins after his recent losing run. Personally I don’t think it matters how many losses he racks up, as that’ll all be forgotten when he cashes in anyway (especially if he did it at Wrestlemania, which I hope they go with), but he keeps plugging away, working his nuts off, and hopefully the company will reward him by giving him more screen time in the ‘Mania run-in.
3) Christopher Daniels: Superb work again this week on the stick, and flawless in the ring as per usual. I’ve always been a big fan and his character right now, combined with the superb double act with Kazarian, is a joy to watch.
4) The Shield
5) Rob Conway


THE WINNERS~!

  • Special Mention…Texano Jr – 10 Votes
  • Fifth Place…Bully Ray and El Mesias – 11 Votes
  • Fourth Place…CM Punk – 13 Votes
  • Third Place…Jack Swagger – 14 Votes

    The #1 contender for the world title scored a huge victory over Chris Jericho on Smackdown this past week..

  • Second Place…Dolph Ziggler – 15 Votes

    Victories over Daniel Bryan and Kane almost assure that Ziggler has earned himself a spot on the WM card…

  • Wrestler of the Week…Suwama – 16 Votes

    You new All Japan Pro Wrestling Triple Crown Champion!!

    Year-End Standings~!
    And here are the standings after week 50…

    1. CM Punk – 165 points (WWE)

    2. Austin Aries – 94 points (TNA)

    3. John Cena – 91 points (WWE)

    4. Dolph Ziggler – 90 points (WWE)

    5. Jeff Hardy – 88 points (TNA)

    6. Daniel Bryan – 87 points (WWE)

    7. Bobby Roode – 83 points (TNA)

    8. Sheamus – 78 points (WWE)

    9. Bully Ray- 75 points (TNA)

    10. Big Show – 72 points (WWE)

    Brock Lesnar – 70 points (WWE)

    Alberto Del Rio – 64 points (WWE)

    Hiroshi Tanahashi – 63 points (NJPW)

    Samoa Joe – 62 points (TNA)

    Antonio Cesaro – 54 points (WWE)
    James Storm – 54 points (TNA)

    Kevin Steen – 51 points (ROH)

    Seth Rollins – 49 points (WWE)

    Dean Ambrose – 46 points (WWE)
    Roman Reigns – 46 points (WWE)

    Jack Swagger – 42 points (WWE)

    The Ryback – 40 points (WWE)
    Kane – 40 points (WWE)

    Johnny Gargano – 37 points (US Independent)

    The Rock – 32 points (WWE)

    Wade Barrett – 30 points (WWE)

    Kazuchika Okada – 28 points (NJPW)

    Kenny King – 27 points (TNA)
    Christopher Daniels – 27 points (TNA)
    Kazarian – 27 points (TNA)
    Alex Shelley – 27 points (US Independent)

    El Generico – 25 point (WWE)

    KUSHIDA – 24 points (NJPW)

    Kofi Kingston – 21 points (WWE)
    Christian – 21 points (WWE)

    CIMA – 19 points (Dragon Gate)
    Player Uno – 19 points (US Independent)
    Stupified – 19 points (US Independent)
    Damien Sandow – 19 points (WWE)

    Prince Devitt – 18 points (NJPW)
    Samuray del Sol (aka Octagon Jr.) – 18 points (US Independent)
    Adam Cole – 18 points (ROH)
    Chuck Taylor- 18 points (US Independent)
    Nick Jackson- 18 points (US Independent)
    Matt Jackson- 18 points (US Independent)

    Suwama – 15 points (JPW)
    Hirooki Goto – 15 points (NJPW)
    Masato Tanaka – 15 points (ZERO1)
    Ryusuke Taguchi – 15 points (NJPW)
    Tyson Kidd – 15 points (WWE)
    Rhett Titus – 15 points (ROH)
    Portia Perez – 15 points (US Independent)
    Nicole Mathews – 15 points (US Independent)
    Ric Flair – 15 points (US Independent)

    Texano Jr. – 13 points (AAA)
    Mark Henry – 13 points (WWE)
    Karl Anderson – 13 point (NJPW)
    The Miz – 13 points (WWE)
    Devon – 13 points (TNA)

    Big E. Langston – 12 points (WWE)
    2 Cold Scorpio – 12 points (US Independent)
    Tim Donst – 12 points (US Independent)
    Sweet Saraya Knight – 12 points (US Independent)
    Masakatsu Funaki – 12 points (AJPW)
    Magnus – 12 points (TNA)
    AJ Styles – 12 points (TNA)
    Zema Ion – 12 points (TNA)
    Tensai – 12 points (WWE)
    Dr. Wagner Jr. – 12 points (AAA)
    Kenta Kobashi – 12 points (Retired)
    KENTA – 12 points (NOAH)

    RVD – 10 points (TNA)

    Matt Taven – 9 points (ROH)
    Yoshinobu Kanamura – 9 points (AJPW)
    Rey Mysterio – 9 points (WWE)
    R Truth – 9 points (WWE)
    Kurt Angle – 9 points (TNA)

    Low Ki – 7 points (US Independent)
    AR Fox – 7 point (US Independent)
    Cody Rhodes – 7 points (WWE)

    Sting – 6 points (TNA)
    Taiyo Kea – 6 points (AJPW)
    Lance Archer – 6 points (NJPW)
    Davey Boy Smith Jr. – 6 points (NJPW)
    KAI – 6 points (AJPW)
    Archibald Peck – 6 points (US Independent)
    Adam Pearce – 6 points (US Independent)
    17 – 6 points (US Independent)
    Shard – 6 points (US Independent)
    assailANT – 6 points (US Independent)
    combatANT – 6 points (US Independent)
    Colt Cabana – 6 points (US Independent)
    Ultramantis Black – 6 points (US Independent)
    Hallowicked – 6 points (US Independent)
    Frightmare – 6 points (US Independent)
    Mr. Touchdown Mark Angelosetti – 6 points (US Independent)
    The Great Khali – 6 points (WWE)
    Paul Heyman – 6 points (WWE)
    Triple H – 6 points (WWE)

    AJ Lee – 5 points (WWE)

    Undertaker – 4 points (WWE)
    PAC – 4 points (WWE)
    Genki Horiguchi – 4 point (Dragon Gate)
    Christian York – 4 points (TNA)

    Shinsuke Nakamura – 3 points (NJPW)
    Michael Elgin – 3 point (ROH)
    Jerry Lawler – 3 points (WWE)
    Stevie Richards – 3 points (US Independent)
    Tommy End – 3 points (Independent)
    Scott Parker – 3 points (US Independent)
    Shane Matthews – 3 points (US Independent)
    Gran Akuma – 3 points (US Independent)
    Sara Del Rey – 3 points (WWE)
    Chris Sabin – 3 points (TNA)
    Chavo Guerrero – 3 points (TNA)
    Hernandez – 3 points (TNA)
    Robbie E – 3 points (TNA)
    Tommy Dreamer – 3 points (US Independent)
    La Sombra – 3 points (CMLL)
    El Mesias – 3 points (CMLL)

    El Terrible – 2 points (CMLL)
    Jon Davis – 2 points (US Independent)
    Kota Ibushi – 2 points (NJPW)

    Chris Jericho- 1 point (WWE)
    Mick Foley – 1 point (WWE)
    Shuji Kondo – 1 point (Japan)
    Akebono – 1 point (Japan)
    Dick Togo – 1 point (Japan)
    Yujiro Takahashi – 1 point (NJPW)
    Tara – 1 point (TNA)
    Miss Tessmacher – 1 point (TNA)
    Katsuhiko Nakajima – 1 point (NOAH)
    Charlie Haas – 1 point (ROH)
    Shelton Benjamin – 1 point (ROH)
    Layla – 1 point (WWE)
    Dmitrious “The Greek God” Papadon – 1 point (US Independent)
    Marty Scrull – 1 point (Independent)
    Kenny Omega – 1 point (US Independent)
    Sami Callihan – 1 point (US Independent)
    Rush – 1 point (CMLL)
    Ryo Saito – 1 point (Dragon Gate)
    Mr. Kyu Kyu Toyonaka Dolphin – 1 point (Dragon Gate)
    Rey Escorpion – 1 point (CMLL)

  • Voting began 4.09.12
  • 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.

    Other International Wrestlers are represented in INDIGO.



    **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


    Year Seven Winner: CM Punk

  • article topics

    Larry Csonka