411’s Wrestler of the Week 1.01.07: Week 39
Posted by Larry Csonka on 01.01.2007
We ring in the new-year with another edition of 411’s Wrestler of the Week! Who kicks off 2007 with the big win? I promise that it will surprise you.
Welcome to Week 39, 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!
Andy Clark
1) JBL
Seeing as how my second place vote for him last week was premature, I'll vote him No. 1 this week. He was largely responsible for the Tribute to the Troops show and was pretty entertaining on the Best of SmackDown show.
2) Samoa Joe
3) Sting
Samuel Berman
1) Homicide
In the absence of actual noteworthy occurrences this week, I'm giving the top spot to Homicide for a second straight week. I figure ending a 15-month World Title reign is news for at least 2 weeks, right? As for second, Joe was named Mr. TNA or something like that (I missed Impact) and was also announced as one of Homicide's first challengers for ROH gold. In third place is Chris Hero, if only because Larry Sweeney got him signed to be Homicide's first challenger. Like I said at the top, it was a pretty uneventful week. So I'm a ROHbot, sue me...
2) Samoa Joe
3) Chris Hero
Mathew Sforcina
1) JBL
He was actually interesting in a clip show. That's vote worthy.
2) Samoa Joe
3) Homicide
JT~!
1) JBL
Now, I'm in no way saying that I don't love bringing the HH goodness to everyone. HOWEVER, when one sits through every show and every PPV, every week for an entire year, the recaps of everything I've already seen aren't the most interesting and look-forward-to shows on the lineup. With that said, JBL made it all worthwhile. There's a reason he... whoops, let me stop there. The point is that JBL was JBL, even in a week that did nothing but show clips of everything all of us were already privy to. He made the two hours bearable, so I'll give him the nod.
2) Samoa Joe
3) Sting
Daniel Wilcox
1) JBL
JBL was GOLD during the 'Best Of' edition of Smackdown this week and made the whole show worth watching. Plus, Tribute To The Troops was his concept and it was a great show. Joe gets number 2 slot for becoming Mr. TNA 2006 (even though I don't agree with that) and José Avalar gets the third spot for breaking the Masterlock
2) Samoa Joe
3) José Avalar
Mike Bauer
1) Tazz
It was recap week, and I missed Smackdown's recap, but caught ECW's. Tazz was actually on during the recap show and I have never been the biggest Styles fan, so seeing him get punked time and time again was worth it. Overall, an uneventful week.
2) Samoa Joe
3) Anybody who went overseas in the WWE's Tribute to the Troops
Stuart Carapola
1) John Cena
I know that the Tribute to the Troops show isn't supposed to be about wins and losses, but John Cena beat the guy who's been his top rival all year. Sting won a match that also included the NWA Champion, and back in Iraq, CM Punk beat a multi-time former IC Champion.
2) Sting
3) CM Punk
MEEHAN
1) JBL
Though the Tribute to the Troops show was filmed a few weeks back, you've simply got to give the WOTW nod this week to JBL for having not only been instrumental in putting the program together, but also for having been put over as "the" main-event act to close out the show. Cena? WWE Champion, but didn't headline the show. Lashley? ECW Champion, but didn't main event either. Batista -- was he even ON the tour in the first place? No matter, because the Troops went home happy, and they did so thanks to none other than the efforts of JBL. Good for him, and well done WWE.
2) CM Punk
3) Samoa Joe
Arnold Furious
1) Robbie Brookside
With no much happening Stateside I thought I'd pick out some locals for the love. Brookside won the Ken Joyce trophy in Premier. Ken Joyce used to be a legend in European wrestling. Brookside himself is approaching legendary status after years of top-level competition. Considered one of Britain's best to never get recognition in the USA he used to team with a certain William Regal and is presently the FWA champion. He won the trophy last year so his retention this year is nice. He beat Keith Myatt and Kerry Cabrero in the process.
2) Kentaro Shiga
3) Sting
Sean Garmer
1) JBL
The man was just greatness this week on a show that is supposed to be a "best of" and he was the best part of the show. I was laughing the whole way through it, and that's good enough for me.
2) Homicide
3) Samoa Joe
Scott Slimmer
1) Samoa Joe
This week, Samoa Joe was named Mr. TNA 2006 and thus ended AJ Styles' three year reign as the most popular wrestler in TNA. Many fans were outraged when Joe, still in the midst of his epic undefeated streak, lost the Mr. TNA 2005 title to Styles last year, but this time around there seemed to be no way to deny Joe his rightful place as the TNA fans' favorite wrestler. Joe has had a great year in TNA, and now the fans have recognized him for his continued hard work and consistently impressive matches. The only thing left for Joe is the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, and something tells me that 2007 may just be the year that he finally wins it.
2) Umaga
3) John Cena
Ryan Byers
1) Homicide
At first I wasn't going to vote this week because I spent so much time away from wrestling for the holidays. Then I came back, checked up on the 'net, and realized that I missed NOTHING. Seriously. The only major story of the week was 'Cide winning the ROH Title, becoming only the eighth man in company history to do so. This comes off of an angle that has been super-hot amongst the company's fans for six months and ties in to events that took place as many as five years ago. Though I obviously haven't seen the match, the build was beautifully booked and the result has propelled Homicide in to being the biggest independent wrestling star in America.
2) Carlito
3) CIMA
Larry Csonka
1) Sting
While I hated that they did the match, when they are going to headline the next PPV with another installment of this match that happened at the last PPV; the fact is that Sting won the match and is rolling right along in this angle along with the others included. Joe rolls on in his angle with Kurt Angle, did some fine promo work, gets announced as Mr. TNA 2006 and has already been promised a title shot against Homicide for the ROH Title. Finally, I will give Lady Apache some love for beating Raven Hiroka to win the CMLL Femenil Title. There aren't a ton of title changes coming out of Mexico, so this deserves some attention.
2) Samoa Joe
3) Lady Apache
THE WINNERS!
Special Mention…Sting - 11 Votes
The Stinger closed out 2006 with a big win on Impact over Christian Cage and current NWA Champion Abyss.
Third Place…Homicide - 14 Votes
Homicide is still riding the wave of his ROH Title win and the LAX Express.
Second Place…Samoa Joe - 28 Votes
Joe closes 2006 as string as he began it with another placement this week.
Wrestler of the Week…JBL - 30 Votes
And as surprising as it seems, JBL snagged the top spot this week for his Tribute to the troops appearance and work on the best of Smackdown special.
Year-End Standings!
Samoa Joe increases his overall lead and is now in strong position as we head into the home stretch. Homicide also gains some more important points as he looks to make a charge at the year-end title. Sting makes another appearance on the list, but remains out of the top 15 and looks to have little chance as of now. JBL as the big winner leaps into the middle of the pack, but probably doesn't have much chance to advance anymore due to his announcing duties. Three months to go until WrestleMania and the "end of the year" as far as this column goes. There is no doubt that anything can and probably will happen, but things will definitely be interesting.
The top 15 spots are marked.
1. Samoa Joe - 110 (TNA/ROH)
2. KING Booker - 90 (Smackdown)
3. Homicide - 80 (ROH/TNA)
4. RVD - 72 (ECW)
5. Kurt Angle - 54 (TNA)
6. Edge - 53 (Raw)
7. John Cena - 46 (Raw)
8. Abyss - 41 (TNA) 8. Hernandez – 41 (TNA)
10. AJ Styles - 40 (TNA) 10. Konnan - 40 (TNA) 10. Christopher Daniels - 40 (TNA/ROH)
13. Lashley - 39 (ECW)
14. Christian Cage - 38 (TNA)
15. Bryan Danielson – 36 (ROH)
Chris Benoit - 33 (Smackdown)
Jeff Hardy - 32 (Raw)
Rey Mysterio - 30 (Smackdown) Fit Finlay - 30 (Smackdown)
