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411’s Wrestler of the Week 11.12.13: Year Nine, Week 31
Welcome to YEAR NINE, WEEK 31 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 (although ties and tag teams are allowed) 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 Tuesday (the voting week runs Monday through Sunday). Let’s see who wins this week…
Larry Csonka
1) The Young Bucks
The Young Bucks won the NJPW junior heavyweight tag team tournament on their FIRST TOUR of New Japan. They were introduced as part of the Bullet Club to give them instant credibility, and then defeated Gedo & Jado in the semi-finals and Forever Hooligans (Rocky Romero & Alex Kozlov) in the finals to score that tournament victory. But on top of that, just days later they defeated TAKA Michinoku & Taichi to become the new IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champions. The Bucks have been impressing for years in the US, but this was easily the biggest and most successful week of their career. Just don’t expect any handshakes.
2) Jeff Hardy: On Impact, he defeated Chris Sabin in a full metal mayhem match to advance in the TNA World Title Tournament. This was a damn fine match, and Hardy moves on as he looks to get another run with the TNA World Title.
3) Kazuchika Okada: Okada does it again as he defeated Karl Anderson with the rainmaker to retain his IWPG Heavyweight Title.
4) Rob Conway
5) Masato Yoshino
JUSTIN WATRY
1) John Cena
The World Champion defeated Ryback over on Smackdown in a quality main event. He also won a six man tag match on Raw, where Goldust got the pinfall victory. Regardless, why does Cena make the list? He is making the World Title mean something. That could not be said for a better part of the past few years. Kudos to him.
2) Randy Orton: The WWE Champion continues his run at the top. He won a good match with Big E Langston and also stood tall over Big Show to close Raw.
3) CM Punk: Defeated Luke Harper on Raw. Defeated Curits Axel on Smackdown. Just a solid week for Punk.
4) Tyson Kidd
5) Alberto Del Rio
JARROD ATKINSON
1) John Cena
Cena takes the top spot this week for being a part of the winning team in the 6 man tag on Raw and for his win over Ryback on Smackdown. We all know that Cena is going to get the victory over Del Rio at Survivor Series, but his focus on building the World Heavyweight Championship back up is admirable.
2) CM Punk: Punk takes the 2nd spot on my list for his matches with Curtis Axel and Luke Harper this week. I’m betting on Punk and Daniel Bryan to steal the show at Survivor Series when they do battle with The Wyatt Family.
3) Paul London: London had a hell of match against Roderick Strong on ROH TV this week.
4) Big E Langston
5) Luke Harper
Ryan Byers
1) The Young Bucks
WWE was painfully humdrum this week, so I’m going overseas for my votes. Matt and Nick Jackson are currently on their first tour with New Japan Pro Wrestling, and they have been making a big impact. On Wednesday of this week, they won a single elimination tournament for junior heavyweight tag teams, defeating the veteran duo of Gedo & Jado before knocking off Forever Hooligans in the finals. As a result of winning the tournament, the Bucks earned a shot at the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Titles on Saturday, and they managed to take the championships home by beating the reigning champions TAKA Michinoku & Taichi. Not horrible for their first time in a major league promotion.
2) Kazhuchika Okada: Okada retained his IWGP Heavyweight Title in the main event of this week’s New Japan Pro Wrestling pay per view, defeating Karl Anderson. This guarantees that Okada will go into the January 4 Tokyo Dome show, NJPW’s biggest card of the year, as champion. This is the first time Okada will headline the Dome show as champion.
3) Tetsuya Naito: By winning the G1 Climax tournament earlier this year, Naito earned the right to challenge for the IWGP Title at the aforementioned Tokyo Dome show. Shortly after that, he won the NEVER Openweight Title by defeating Masato Tanaka. This week, he retained both the NEVER Title and the IWGP Title shot but beating Tanaka in a rematch.
4) Killer Elite Squad (Davey Boy Smith Jr. & Lance Archer)
5) Rob Conway
James Wright
1) Jeff Hardy
Winning the first match of the TNA world title tournament against Chris Sabin in Full Metal Mayhem gets Hardy the top spot this week in my opinion. Will it mean anything in the long run? Who knows. Do I want Jeff Hardy as the new TNA world champion? Hell no, but still, points for trying you know.
2) John Cena: If there was ever any chance of the world title meaning anything again it is now. Cena with the belt in an extended run really might put the title back at a place where it is actually considered at ‘world title’ level status in the eyes of many fans. The only problem now is that a title unification match at Wrestlemania would actually be a bad idea as it would dissolve the belt as soon as it actually started to matter again.
3) C.M. Punk: Punk got two solid wins this week and looks to be forming a union with Daniel Bryan which could be a great thing to keep them ticking over until the Royal Rumble comes along.
4) Bully Ray
5) Gail Kim
Steve “The Living Legend” Cook
1) Luke Harper
The protégé of Bray Wyatt did something this week that no other wrestler in WWE has done during 2013, as he wrestled in matches on Raw, SmackDown, Main Event & NXT. OK, so the NXT match was taped, but it was timely since Kassius Ohno was released right after it aired. Good showings against CM Punk & Daniel Bryan (and the fact that he was the Wyatt Family member chosen for the task) speak well for his future.
2) The Young Bucks: Nick & Matt Jackson won the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Titles on their first trip over to New Japan Pro Wrestling. The Bucks don’t seem to be heading to any major American promotions soon, so why not go to Japan’s biggest company and tear shit up?
3) Rob Conway: The first man to hold both the NWA World Title & the NWA World Tag Team Title at the same time. Sure, it’s long after the NWA meant anything, but it’s still impressive.
4) Jeff Hardy
5) Eva Marie
Paul Lapointe
1) Rob Conway
Though no longer all that significant in the big world of pro wrestling in the modern times, the NWA Title is a milestone rich in history. Currently that title belongs to former Buff Bagwell impersonator and all together French Canadian enthusiasts Rob Conway. To add to that, this week he earns the distinction of being the only man ever to hold that title and the NWA’s tag titles simultaneously as well. He and Jax Dane did that this week and heck that is mighty cool.
2) The Young Bucks: Generation ME made it all about them this week as the Jackson brothers that do not sing, get horrific plastic surgery or be accused of reprehensible acts towards children made headlines for other reasons. They are the new IWGP JHTC and it being their first go round those parts that is pretty impressive, now if we could only get them back in the studio.
3) Luke Harper: Was on ALL 4 WWE shows this week not named Superstars and only managed to full lose once and that was to CM Punk who I hear is no slouch. Appearing on RAW, Smackdown against former WWE title holders ain’t too shabby. Add to that he and Erick Rowan continue to elevate the tag division by wrecking the PTP this week on ME and as icing on the proverbial cake he kicked Kassius Ohno’s butt so hard he changed his name to Chris Hero and left the company on NXT. Impressive. Plus with the WWE looking to push THE BIG GUYS again, they seem to be grooming the lumberjack behemoth for big things.
4) Jeff Hardy
5) Tyson Kidd
Jack McGee
1) Jeff Hardy
Defeated Chris Sabin in a very good Full Metal Mayhem match on Impact to advance in the TNA Title Tournament. Hardy still has a lot in the tank and still delivers when called upon.
2) The Young Bucks: The Young Bucks won the NJPW junior heavyweight tag team tournament and NJPW junior heavyweight tag team titles all in one week. Some big things happening for these young men.
3) Rob Conway: Rob Conway and Jax Dane became the new NWA Tag Team Champions. With the victory, Conway becomes the first person to ever hold the NWA World Heavyweight and World Tag Team championships simultaneously.
4) Paul London
5) Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr.
TJ Hawke
1) The Young Bucks
If it was not enough that the Young Bucks were already the best tag team in the world, they pretty much solidified their status as the most successful tag team in the world by winning the NJPW Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Tournament and then the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championships in the same week (on their first NJPW tour, no less). The Bucks also own the PWG World Tag Titles and the Open the United Gate (DGUSA) Tag Titles. They are one of the best acts in wrestling right now.
2) Kazuchika Okada: Retained the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against Karl Anderson on PPV.
3) Masato Yoshino: Retained the Open the Dream Gate Championship.
4) Jeff Hardy
5) Luke Harper
Chris Pilkington
1) Big E Langston
Many of my colleagues have been singing the praises of Big E for a while now. Those in the know have been hinting at the idea that WWE has huge hopes for the OCD power lifter but that all seemed like a distant possibility until last Monday. His 75% vote share is doubly impressive when you consider the other two men in the field are former champions at the highest level. Langston was very competitive against Orton and received a great reaction from the live audience. Sometimes, being the most popular guy in the room does more to make you a star than a victory every could.
2) The Young Bucks: The Young Bucks, or Generation Miso as our Oriental friends hopefully know them, must have shook a LOT of hands in Japan. Or maybe their “arrogance” doesn’t translate into Japanese? As a huge fan of The Bucks I’m so pleased to see them perform so well in their NJPW debut. At the rate they are hoovering up tag team titles, they could well become one of the most decorated tandems of all time.
3) Jeff Hardy: Jeff may have more chances than a rigged Monopoly board but when he performs like he did this past Thursday, there’s few bigger assets on the TNA roster. A fantastic display in a big time feel main event earns Hardy a well deserved spot on the list.
4) Rob Conway
5) Luke Harper
THE WINNERS~!
By winning the NWA Tag Team Champions, he becomes the first man to hold the NWA World Title and Tag Titles at the same time.
Defeated Chris Sabin in Full Metal Mayhem to advance in the TNA World Title Tournament…
The Young Bucks – 31 Votes
Won the NJPW junior heavyweight tag team tournament and in the same week won the NJPW junior heavyweight tag team titles, all on their first tour with New Japan!
Year-End Standings~!
And here are the standings after week 31…
1. Daniel Bryan – 175pts.
2. Randy Orton – 96pts
3. AJ Styles – 75pts.
4. Dean Ambrose – 67pts.
5. Cody Rhodes – 64pts.
6. Seth Rollins – 63pts
6. Roman Reigns – 63pts
8. John Cena – 60pts.
9. CM Punk – 47pts.
10. Brock Lesnar – 42pts
Kazuchika Okada – 39pts.
Christian – 39pts.
Chris Sabin – 39pts.
Goldust – 37pts
Prince Devitt – 33pts
Curtis Axel – 33pts.
Bray Wyatt – 30pts.
Ryback – 30pts
Mark Henry – 27pts.
Bully Ray – 24pts.
Manik – 21pts.
Tetsuya Naito – 18pts.
Alberto Del Rio – 17pts.
Hiroshi Tanahashi- 16pts.
Austin Aries – 16pts.
AJ Lee – 16pts.
Damien Sandow – 16pts.
Luke Harper – 16pts.
Adam Cole – 15pts.
Kurt Angle – 15pts.
Big Show – 15pts.
Dolph Ziggler – 15pts.
Kofi Kingston – 15pts.
Kenta Kobashi – 15pts.
Ricochet – 15pts
KENTA – 15pts.
Matt Jackson – 15pts.
Nick Jackson – 15pts.
Bobby Roode – 13pts
Erick Rowan – 13pts.
Jeff Hardy – 12pts.
Michael Elgin – 12pts.
Kyle O’Reilly – 12pts.
James Raideen – 10pts
Johnny Gargano – 9pts.
Rob Conway – 9pts.
Jimmy Uso – 9pts.
Jey Uso – 9pts.
Rampage Jackson – 9pts.
Big E. Langston – 9pts.
Abyss – 9pts.
Wade Barrett – 9pts.
The Undertaker – 9pts
YAMATO – 9pts.
Jun Akiyama – 9pts.
Tamohiro Ishii – 9pts.
EITA- 9pts.
T-Hawk – 9pts.
Shane Haste – 7pt
Rob Van Dam – 7pts.
La Sombra – 7 pts.
Akebono – 6pts.
Shingo Takagi – 6pts.
Masato Yoshino – 6pts.
Sami Zayne – 6pts.
Fandango – 6pts.
Yoshihiro Takayama – 6pts.
Shelton Benjamin – 6pts.
Jigsaw – 6pts.
The Shard – 6pts.
Robbie E – 6pts
Jessie Godderz – 6pts
Drew Gulak – 4pts.
Jushin Liger – 4pts.
Mickie James – 4pts.
Suwama – 3pts.
John Morrison – 3pts.
Dusty Rhodes – 3pts.
Jack Swagger – 3pts.
Tito Ortiz – 3pts.
Sting – 3pts.
Hernandez – 3pts.
Chavo Guerrero – 3pts.
Seita Sanada – 3pts.
Magnus – 2pts
Paul Heyman – 2pts
Samoa Joe – 1pt
ODB – 1pt
Tiger Mask IV – 1pt
CIMA – 1pt
Kota Ibushi – 1pt
Katsuhiko Nakajima – 1pt
Alex Shelley – 1pt
Candice LaRae – 1pt
Ethan Page – 1pt
Eddie Kingston – 1pt
El Hijo del Perro Aguayo – 1 pt
WWE 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.
 Year One Winner: Ric Flair
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