411’s Wrestler of the Week 1.08.07: Week 40
Posted by Larry Csonka on 01.08.2007
Cena and Hardy retain at NYR while the Briscoe Brothers win the GHC Jr. Heavyweight Tag Titles in NOAH, and who can forget that K Fed pinned Cena on Raw? But who had enough to win the WOTW Title? Come on in to see!
Welcome to Week 40, 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!
Scott Slimmer
1) Jeff Hardy/Johnny Nitro
It's absolutely amazing how good the feud between Jeff Hardy and Johnny Nitro has been over the course of the last few months. Before this feud, Nitro was mired in a total mess with Carlito and Shelton Benjamin while Hardy was lost in wrestling limbo. No one would have believed that you could take those two guys, put them together, and have them produce such a great feud, but for the last few months they've been the most consistently solid performers on Raw. This week they stole the show with their Steel Cage Match at New Year's Revolution, and that's enough to snag them my vote for WOTW. Now it looks like their singles feud is going to build into a tag team feud between the Hardy Boyz and MNM, so we could be in for a rather interesting Road to WrestleMania…
2) DX/Rated RKO
3) Mr. Kennedy
Daniel Wilcox
1) John Cena
He ended Umaga's awesome undefeated streak and retained the WWE Title at the same time. That's enough to get my number 1 vote.
2) Jeff Hardy
3) DX/ Mr Kennedy
Arnold Furious
1) John Cena
Ending Umaga's long undefeated streak confirms him as RAW's biggest star by some distance. He was willing to help Umaga in the process by giving him so much of the match. Unselfish behaviour from the champ. Elsewhere Mr Kennedy beat Benoit in five minutes and Jeff Hardy won the best match at the PPV.
2) Mr. Kennedy
3) Jeff Hardy
Mike Bauer
1) Jeff Hardy
The streak is over! Thank the freaking gods for that one! Yet, I cannot give him the #1 this week because he got pinned by K-fed. Jeff Hardy though was ridiculous in that cage match and by proving most of us wrong by retaining the title. I'll give Kenny the #2 for beating Ric Flair twice this week.
2) Kenny
3) John Cena
JT~!
1) Jeff Hardy/Johnny Nitro
When you put on the match of the night and you're the OPENER, that cannot be ignored. From what I understand that was a fun (a bit spot-festy, but fun nonetheless) match that got the crowd HOT for the show, something always important.
2) John Cena
3) Mark and Jay Briscoe
B-Rad
1) Jeff Hardy
I know ending Umaga's streak is impressive, but Umaga looked better than Cena in their match and Cena lost to Federline this week. Jeff Hardy continues his great comeback this week with a great cage match with Johnny Nitro. I got to give Hardy some credit, he has been on fire since coming back to WWE and that's coming from a guy who never cared for him in the first place. Mr. Kennedy...Kennedy gets my #2 spot for his victory over Chris Benoit and John Cena and Kevin Federline share the #3 spot as Cena beat Umaga but Federline beat Cena.
2) Mr. Kennedy....Kennedy
3) John Cena/Kevin Federline
ARI
1) Jeff Hardy/Johnny Nitro
I mean, one man wiped out the awesome force of Rob Conway in just 15 seconds, while the other cornered the most awesome force in wrestling history, Kevin Federline! Oh, right...there's something else about some sort of Steel Cage match at some pay per view on some night...but that's immaterial. Also, I have to give it up for Shawn Michaels and Triple H for working through and after their tag match at New Year's Revolution. From what I'm reading, Shawn Michaels put in a ton of effort to save the tag match once HHH got injured. Triple H may have suffered a second quad tear but once again he soldiered through and did his job from beginning to end. He may not be my best friend, but I do feel for him for suffering another bad injury like this. The Briscoes won the GHC Jr. Tag Team Titles this weekend. Now while the belts might not be the height of prestige before this win, but it is still another remarkable accomplishment for The Briscoes, who had comeback full force in 2006 and look to make 2007 even better. This also speaks to the growing ROH-NOAH relationship, out of which, I never would have guessed that an American team would win a title from Japan. Hopefully this isn't a two-week run and they get to bring the belts over to ROH for a defense or two.
2) DX
3) The Briscoes
Stuart Carapola
1) The Briscoes
I've been on record before that the Briscoes are the best tag team in the business today, and now they got a surprise win and became the new NOAH GHC Junior Tag Team Champions on their first night touring for them. To me, that's a lot more impressive than anything that happened on a "By the way, we have a PPV this weekend" deal.
2) Jeff Hardy/Johnny Nitro
3) John Cena
MEEHAN
1) The Briscoes
After an under whelming week of WWE and TNA programming (what was with all that brawling on iMPACT?!?), gomustgive the nod to the Indies this week for their impressive victory to become the NEW NOAH GHC Junior Tag Team Champions. Number two slot goes to K-Fed for delivering as passable a performance as one could have asked for, and third place honors for Jawwn Seeena for toppling the Samoan Bulldozer.
2) Kevin Federline
3) John Cena
Ryan Byers
1) Mark and Jay Briscoe
Not to take anything away from the match that Johnny Nitro and Jeff Hardy had at New Year's Revolution, but I like to give my votes to people that have advanced their careers during the week. Nitro and Hardy may have stolen a WWE PPV, but you're fooling yourself if you think that means they're moving out of the midcard any time soon. The Briscoes, on the other hand, walked in to Pro Wrestling NOAH and won the Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship in their first match with the company. Though its true that these are not the most prestigious belts in the company, this is still far and away the largest promotion that Mark and Jay have worked for, and it's impressive that they would get any sort of recognition so quickly after stepping in to that emerald green ring. 2006 was the year that the Briscoes were reborn, and hopefully 2007 is the year that they use to cement themselves as one of the top acts in Indy wrestling.
2) John Cena
3) Jeff Hardy
Samuel Berman
1) Mark and Jay Briscoe
Easily the most impressive accomplishment of the week is the Briscoes winning the NOAH Jr. Tag Titles. Imagine if KENTA came over and won the IC Title from Jeff Hardy. It's kind of like that. Coincidentally, I'll go with Jeff Hardy for retaining his title in the match of the night at the PPV (although that reportedly wasn't saying much). Third place goes to London & Kendrick for getting 8 minutes on free television to do the kind of stuff they used to do in ROH all the time. Hopefully that was just the beginning.
2) Jeff Hardy
3) Brian Kendrick/Paul London
Bayani Domingo
1) Mark and Jay Briscoe
Well golly, I guess someone had to give these guys a belt and if it wasn't going to be RoH then it might as well be NOAH, or...Hustle. Makes me wish we got Japanese PPV's over here instead of ECW ones.
2) KFED
3) Nitro/Hardy
Mike LaFave
1) HHH
I'm sorry, but I respect the hell out of HHH. He is the MAN in this business and has nothing lest to prove, but once AGAIN, he tears a quad and finishes his match! I read the New Year's Revolution review on here and I disagree w/ the bad ratings for the ppv and that match in particular. Triple H and company put on a heck of a tag match, but his efforts after the injury were impressive and not only does he earn even more of my respect, but also my top spot for wrestler of the week! Meanwhile Cena ends Umaga's impressive undefeated streak and Nitro and Hardy tear the roof down together yet again!
2) John Cena
3) Jeff Hardy/Johnny Nitro
JD Dunn
1) Mark and Jay Briscoe
This is a team that is much improved over the last few years, and they're starting to get international recognition. I once thought they'd be just another Indy tag team that fell by the wayside, but now I think they have a legitimate shot at making a long-term impact on the business.
2) Jeff Hardy
3) John Cena
Larry Csonka
1) Mark and Jay Briscoe "GHC Jr. Heavyweight Titles: Jay & Mark Briscoe beat Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Takashi Sugiura (c) (20:45) when Mark Briscoe pinned Kanemaru after a swan-dive Double Impact to become the 5th champions." To say that this is a shock would be a HUGE understatement. This was Mark and Jay's debut for NOAH and while many predicted a successful run for them, I don't thing anyone expected them to take the titles. They apparently have a good fan base there from their matches with KENTA in ROH; those aired on NTV and G+ in Japan. How long they keep them is a question, but they now hold the GHC Jr. and FIP Tag titles and are off to a great start in 2007, and hell, I don't even like them that much! Jeff Hardy gets 2nd for continuing his solid comeback with another good match with Johnny Nitro and Mr. Kennedy gets 3rd for defeating the US Champ. Sorry Cena, you lost to KFED, no love from me this week.
2) Jeff Hardy/Johnny Nitro
3) Mr. Kennedy
THE WINNERS!
Special Mention…Johnny Nitro - 21 Votes
Johnny Nitro continues to improve and step it up on PPV as he delivered another good performance at NYR. He didn't win the match, but he is continually impressing and if he keeps it up could be main eventing sooner than later.
Third Place…John Cena - 24 Votes
The CHAMP is still…the champ! He survived Umaga, and even getting pinned by KFED couldn't stop him from placing this week.
Second Place…Mark and Jay Briscoe - 38 Votes
Mark and Joy Briscoe began their first ever tour of NOAH by winning the GHC Jr. Heavyweight Titles, in their first ever NOAH match. Mark and Jay are proving to many that they are more than just another Indy tag team, and are looking to tear things up in 2007.
Wrestler of the Week…Jeff Hardy - 42 Votes
And his career resurgence continues. Jeff Hardy has been on a roll since returning and for the third straight WWE related PPV is in the match of the night. Jeff is on fire and motivated, and if he keeps it up, could we see a Hardy main event push in 2007?
Year-End Standings!
With his great match at NYR, Jeff Hardy leaps into the top 15 standing, knocking Bryan Danielson out. John Cena also jumps a few spots as he heads to 7th place. Johnny Nitro makes a small move and the Briscoes, who were not even on the list as of a few weeks ago have 20-points and are climbing fast. Roughly 12-weeks to go in the race, 6-PPV's and it is still too close to call. Who will step up? Will Joe run away with the title? Keep on coming back to find out!
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 – 51 (Raw)
8. Jeff Hardy - 47 (Raw)
9. Abyss - 41 (TNA) 9. Hernandez – 41 (TNA)
11. AJ Styles - 40 (TNA) 11. Konnan - 40 (TNA) 11. Christopher Daniels - 40 (TNA/ROH)
14. Lashley - 39 (ECW)
15. Christian Cage - 38 (TNA)
Bryan Danielson – 36 (ROH)
Chris Benoit - 33 (Smackdown)
Rey Mysterio - 30 (Smackdown) Fit Finlay - 30 (Smackdown)
