411’s Wrestler of the Week 11.20.06: Week 33
Posted by Larry Csonka on 11.20.2006
New champions, tons of hype and huge matches; but there can only be one WOTW and he is…
Welcome to Week 33, Year-Two, of 411's Wrestler of the Week. A quick overview for those who don't know the deal…
Each writer chooses three wrestlers from any promotion and each wrestler gets a vote attached to that ranking. It looks a little like this…
1st – 5
2nd – 3
3rd – 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 five vote getters get a points value for their ranking which looks something like this…
1st – 15
2nd – 10
3rd – 5
4th – 3
5th – 1
...and they go towards the 411 Wrestler of the Year award to be announced each year at WrestleMania. This will be posted every Monday. Let's see who wins this week…
The Voting!
Steve Cook
1) Kurt Angle
I'm all about giving new world champions love at the top of the list, but Angle did something even more impressive than winning the NWA title...he ended the winning streak of Samoa Joe. They said it couldn't be done, but Angle has done it. Fuck the haters. Abyss might be the new NWA champ, but that's only good for third this week...simply because Team F.I.S.T. (Icarus & Gran Akuma) also defied the odds makers and defeated the Kings of Wrestling for the Chikara tag team titles.
2) TEAM F.I.S.T
3) Abyss
Scott Slimmer
1) Kurt Angle
This may be the easiest call in the history of 411 WOTW. This week Kurt Angle was victorious in his first two matches in TNA. He defeated Abyss, the man who now holds the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, and then defeated Samoa Joe by submission to end Joe's epic undefeated streak. Kurt Angle is now without a doubt the biggest star in American professional wrestling. Yeah, I said it, and it's true. It's DAMN true.
2) Samoa Joe
3) Abyss/Christopher Daniels
SAT
1) Kurt Angle
Props to Abyss for winning the title, but there is no doubt that Kurt Angle deserves WOTW because he ended Samoa Joe's amazing undefeated streak.
2) Abyss
3) Samoa Joe
Andy Clark
1) Kurt Angle/Abyss
Props to Abyss for winning the title, but there is no doubt that Kurt Angle deserves WOTW because he ended Samoa Joe's amazing undefeated streak.
2) Lashley
3) Christian Cage
ARI
1) Kurt Angle
Yeah, duh. Well it's clear Angle has made this time in wrestling history his mission statement. As mentioned before, he picked up huge wins against Abyss and Samoa Joe (think he's in line for a title shot right about now?) but it was the way he did it that is really amazing--balls to the wall, give everything and leave nothing behind. Hasn't whether or not it is for the better or for the worse that been the debate about Angle for the longest time? I'm not condoning the man being in that ring, but damn it if I'm not loving it. Bobby Lashley and CM Punk were the key figures on ECW television this week--Lashley dominated everyone and Punk pulled a very good match out of his hat against "Not Above Average" Mike Knox. Abyss won the world title on a fluke of booking, so I wouldn't even consider him anything more than third this week.
2) Lashley/Punk
3) Abyss
Jeff Small
1) Kurt Angle
Seriously, does Abyss even deserve a vote? He won via DQ, which is the lamest way a title can change hands. Major props are needed for Kurt Angle as he overcame the Samoan Submission Machine in a fast-paced 13 minute encounter to do something that no one else has done in TNA: defeat Joe. Hell, he made Joe tap which is a much better finish than say a rollup, which they could have done. This has as much impact as when John Cena made Triple H tap at WrestleMania. So kudos to Kurt.
2) Samoa Joe
3) Lashley
Mathew Sforcina
1) Abyss
HE FINALLY WON THE DAMM TITLE. Screw how or why, ABYSS IS OUR CHAMPION! Yeah, I'm marking out, and maybe it part because I'm now Stable wars/Title Wars NWA Champ. So what? Oh yeah, Samoa "Now for the real fun" Joe and Kurt "Vince Was Behind JFK" Angle put on a great match, and Team F.I.S.T did the unthinkable thing on the Indy circuit, beating the Kings Of Wrestling for some gold. But still... Abyss is Champ! Huzzah!
2) Kurt Angle/Samoa Joe
3) Team F.I.S.T
Arnold Furious
1) Kurt Angle
Beating Joe has become a big deal thanks to TNA's booking of him during this past year. Bringing Angle in was big in of itself but now putting the spotlight firmly on him means that TNA have a great belief in his ability to carry the company forward. Joe hung with Angle though and that's good enough for a mention while Abyss won himself a championship albeit in somewhat screwy circumstances.
2) Samoa Joe
3) Abyss
MEEHAN
1) Kurt Angle
A stellar affair that's likely to win just about every voter's appreciation for the 2006 Match of The Year honors, Angle gets the nod for this week's top wrestler award not only for delivering one hell of a contest that completely lived up to all of the hype surrounding it, but also for ending Samoa Joe's 17-month long unbeaten streak in the process. Which is all the more reason for old-school ECW fan boys to rejoice, for after all: Tazz beat Angle in his WWF PPV debut, Angle beat Joe in his TNA PPV debut, so Tazz > Kurt Angle > Samoa Joe. Not a bad way to close out the week for Tazz fans - even if the guy missed Tuesday night's ECW broadcast on account of a knee surgery.
2) Samoa Joe
3) Abyss
JD Dunn
1) Abyss
Won the NWA Title when no one thought he could. Sure, it was on one of those Russo/LCD booking decisions, but he won and that's what's important.
2) Kurt Angle
3) Mr. Kennedy
Larry Csonka
1) Kurt Angle/Samoa Joe
Crazy week kids. I will go with Angle and Joe for the tie, as these men had a MOTY caliber match at Genesis. Abyss snags #2 as he took the NWA title and Christian Cage needs some love as he defeated Rhino in a brutal cage match as well as defeating AJ Styles on the Genesis show. A pretty good week in my opinion.
2) Abyss
3) Christian Cage
THE WINNERS!
Special Mention…Lashley - 7 Votes
Lashley made the jump to ECW this week in impressive fashion as he took out Holly and the Big Show, and is now officially the 6th man in the Extreme Elimination Chamber. Could Lashley find the big single title in ECW?
Third Place…Samoa Joe - 19 Votes
Samoa Joe comes in at 3rd this week, all he did was have a MOTY caliber match with Kurt Angle this week. Sure the undefeated streak is gone, but Joe looked tremendous in there with Angle. The question now is, what is next?.
Second Place…Abyss - 26 Votes
While it was in a wacky fashion, Abyss did indeed defeat Sting for the NWA Title this week. Abyss has been saddles with the "Jobber to the Stars" label over the years, but he finally won the big one.
Wrestler of the Week…Kurt Angle - 51 Votes
Kurt Angle takes the top honors this week. He not only was part of a MOTY caliber match, but he ended the streak of Joe by making him tap out. With a victory over Abyss this last week, I would expect Angle to challenge for the NWA Title very soon.
Year-End Standings!
Lots of movement on the year-end standings this week. With his win, Kurt Angle leaps into the top 5 for the year, and in primed to make even more of an impact. Samoa Joe stays in second, as he gains a few points on King Booker. Abyss wins the NWA Title and now leaps up into the top 15. Lashley also gained a few precious points as he creeps closer to the top 15. With 4-more PPV's before the end of the "calendar year" we will see a lot more changes in these next 6-weeks.
The top 15 spots are marked.
1. KING Booker - 90 (Smackdown)
2. Samoa Joe - 85 (TNA/ROH)
3. RVD - 72 (ECW)
4. Homicide - 60 (ROH/TNA)
5. Kurt Angle - 51 (TNA)
6. Edge - 43 (Raw)
7. Hernandez – 41 (TNA)
8. AJ Styles - 40 (TNA) 8. Konnan - 40 (TNA)
10. Christian Cage - 38 (TNA)
11. Abyss - 35 (TNA)
12. Christopher Daniels - 35 (TNA/ROH) 12. John Cena - 35 (Raw)
William Regal - 5 (Smackdown) BJ Whitmer - 5 (ROH) Jay Lethal - 5 (TNA) Hiroyoshi Tenzan - 5 (New Japan) Minoru - 5 (New Japan) JBL - 5 (Smackdown) Mark Henry - 5 (Smackdown)
Johnny Nitro - 4 (Raw)
Roddy Piper - 3 (Raw) The Undertaker - 3 (Smackdown) Brian Kendrick - 3 (Smackdown) Paul London - 3 (Smackdown) Rey Bucanero - 3 (CMLL) Shelton Benjamin - 3 (Raw)
