411’s Wrestler of the Week 1.29.07: Week 43
Posted by Larry Csonka on 01.29.2007
Cena is the last man standing, Batista, Lashley and Homicide all retain their gold and the Undertaker makes history. Which man had the most impressive week and was rewarded with the 411 WOTW title?
Welcome to Week 43, 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!
Mike Bauer
1) The Undertaker
You know, this has to be the hardest choice ever for the Wrestler of the Week. But in the end, I have to give the edge to the dead man. He broke the curse of entering #30 in the Rumble. He single handedly eliminated Khali, was has to be something. And that last battle with Shawn Michaels was indeed something. Add in his pure dominance on Smackdown, and it adds up to the #1 spot. In a very, very close #2 is Homicide, who not only defended the RoH Title against Chris Hero, but he then went on to beat Samoa Joe, who I think he has never beaten before. And the third spot goes to the one champion who retained his title at the Rumble and impressed me, and that is John Cena. No offense to Batista and Lashley, but then victories were full of shenanigans.
2) Homicide
3) John Cena
ARI
1) The Undertaker
Undertaker is absolutely dominating (from a character perspective, of course we know he is dominating from a behind the scenes, political perspective) the competition on Smackdown. This week, he won the SD exclusive over the top challenge, and then more importantly, he won the Royal Rumble, gutting out a top notch effort from Shawn Michaels. Winning the Rumble guarantees Taker the # 1 choice for Wrestler of the Week. Michaels was a close second as he was absolutely inspired this week. He WAS the main event and the Show Stopper of Raw. Great promo and a hell of a fight in his hometown of San Antonio, coming ever so close to securing a World Title shot. Finally, Jack Evans and Matt Sydal are two young guns of the Indy wrestling scene, and they were also the trend and the pacesetters of Wrestling Society X. They both are great representation of the frantic, highflying, true total non-stop action that WSX hopes to bring to the MTV audience.
2) Shawn Michaels
3) Jack Evans / Matt Sydal
Scott Slimmer
1) The Undertaker
This one hurts. I'll be honest. This one hurts. Shawn Michaels put on a great show in his Street Fight with Edge on Raw, and I spent the next six days waiting to see him win his third Royal Rumble. I was so eager to give him my vote for WOTW that I wrote my blurb on Wednesday. But those plans went straight down the crapper courtesy of the Undertaker. Taker laid waste to the Smackdown roster on Friday night, but I still had faith in Shawn. Taker entered the Royal Rumble at the theoretically advantageous #30 spot, but we all know that no one has ever won the Rumble from that position. Eventually it came down to Taker and Michaels like we all knew it would, and even then I still thought Shawn was going to pull out one more miracle. The crowd was one fire, and it was like 1997 all over again as two of the all time greats fought tooth and nail. In the end it was Taker in the ring and Michaels on the floor looking only slightly more dejected than I did at that very same moment. There was a part of me that was still tempted to give my vote for WOTW to Michaels. This week he was in the best free television match we've seen in quite some time. It was his crazy bumping and mind boggling balance that made the closing moments of the Rumble so exciting. Sure, Taker won the match, but he also entered at #30. That's, well, kinda weak. Yeah, I said it, and you know it's true. However, the bottom line is that this week the Undertaker did in fact win the Royal Rumble and has earned himself a championship match at WrestleMania 23. I may not like it, and it hurts like hell, but in my book that makes him the WOTW.
2) Shawn Michaels
3) Edge
Jeff Small
1) The Undertaker
Man were those last 8 minutes awesome. Now I expect all those close calls from wrestlers like Angle, HBK, or even Eddie but just to see Taker escape elimination so many times was just awesome. Sure, Taker had it the easiest by coming in #30 but I'm glad to see someone win from that spot. Here's hoping for Kennedy/Taker at WrestleMania!
2) Shawn Michaels
3) Mr. Kennedy
Andy Clark
1) The Undertaker
There are so many qualified people I'd like to vote for this week, but Undertaker is the clear #1. Undertaker accomplished one of the few things he has never accomplished in his career and that is win the Royal Rumble. Not only that, but he became the first man to do it at No. 30. Those last minutes of the Rumble with Taker vs. Michaels were awesome and Taker certainly delivered. I can hear the smarks complaining already of WWE's own version of Age in a Cage, but the difference is that Taker and Michaels can not only still go, but carry the company on their backs as well.
2) Shawn Michaels
3) John Cena
Julian Williams
1) The Undertaker
Won the Rumble match after an awesome showdown with Shawn Michaels and will now go on to face Batista at WM23 in a match that has been rumored for months. Also became the first person to win the rumble from the #30 slot so the curse of the 30th entrant is now officially broken.
2) Shawn Michaels
3) Mr. Kennedy...Kennedy
Bayani Domingo
1) The Undertaker
Yeah, my dark horse pick of Rated RKO winning together didn't pan out exactly. At least they didn't go out like little b*tches to HBK...oh wait…they did. 'Taker took a real beating however and at the least helped "try" to make the young guys look good. As far as his win goes, it was pretty well predicted. Not that he needed the win or the "rub" but the man is over and deserves that last final defining WrestleMania moment to end his career on. The real question is...does 'Taker swerve us all and go after the TRUE biggest dog in the yard right now? On RAW that is
2) John Cena
3) Jack Evans
MEEHAN
1) Umaga
Screw y'all with the de-facto love for the winner of the Rumble, we ALL knew it would either be 'Taker or HBK who'd be walking out of San Antonio with a title shot in hand. The biggest surprise of the night? Umaga is a fucking MACHINE, people. As if taking a face-full of steel steps wasn't enough (well, maybe two palms-full of steel, at least), there was also that wicked running ass charge into the steps, that killer belly flop-charge over THREE tables, what appeared to be a sick shot to the head (GREAT camera work!) with a television monitor, and -- of course -- that kickass finish to the contest that saw Umaga finally succumbing to a monster choke-out the likes of which I've rarely (if ever) seen executed to that degree on WWE television. Did he win the match? No way, but "Samoa Jamal" most DEFINITELY won my respect with tonight's performance... and that goes a long way in determining my personal choice for this week's Wrestler of the Week.
2) The Undertaker
3) Shawn Michaels
Stephen Randle
1) John Cena
Why the hell are people picking Undertaker? He worked maybe eight minutes, half of which he spent sitting in the corner while Edge and Orton argued. Meanwhile, Cena and Umaga busted their collective asses off in a great Last Man Standing Match that's going to get hated on because "Cena won again". Screw you haters. Cena gets my Wrestler of the Week vote. And I am officially filing a protest against every single first place vote for Taker. Meanwhile, while Edge lasted longer, Finlay gets my third place vote for lasting as long as he did and being interesting the whole time.
2) Umaga
3) Finlay
JT~!
1) The Undertaker
I'm not even sure where to start, so I'll just start randomly and see where it goes. The Undertaker is a legend. He has been above and beyond one of the all time great for many more years than most can even hope to achieve. Considering that he's a four-time champion and the man who currently holds the longest (and one of the few when you start looking at how many he's been in) undefeated streaks in history, adding a Royal Rumble victory to the long, illustrious resume he holds doesn't bother me in the least. Shawn Michaels is also a man who will bring it no matter what the circumstances. John Cena vs. Umaga was a damn fine match (which I will give love to later), but to make a comparison, when you are discussing a great NFL playoff game (like we saw MANY of this year), you will always talk about the finish, not the first half of the ballgame. For once, as I sat watching the great finish that UT and HBK put on, I was wondering if maybe I had ripped off the WWE instead of questioning the forty dollars. That is RARE people. The fact is they went out there and to end the second biggest spectacle in the business (say what you will about Indies and other shows, the Rumble IS second only to WM), those two guys got each and every one of us - both in the crowd and at home - off our seat and even off our ass to stand. I don't give two shits about what someone did in ROH this week, because this outshined it because it was on a bigger stage. Is that bias? Maybe, but as I've said, there is a reason that these guys get put over a lot of the younger (and SUPER TALENTED) guys in main event spot (they'll have their chance) or outshine the Indy workers. The only difference between HBK and UT was that Taker won. That is why he gets the nod.
2) Shawn Michaels
3) Cena/Umaga
Samuel Berman
1) Homicide
No, I'm not crazy, just a party-line voter when all else fails. Undertaker won the Rumble, but came in at #30, so it's less impressive both in kayfabe and reality. Shawn goes out and puts on great showings in both the Rumble itself and his street fight on Monday. But I always do my WOTW voting using the following axiom: ROH trumps all. Sure Cena, Batista and Lashley defended their respective titles this weekend, but Homicide had to go through TWO challengers in two days. Barely 24 hours after dispatching dangerous challenger Chris Hero, Homicide stood victorious over long-time rival and ROH Icon Samoa Joe, pinning the big man to cement his place as ROH World Champion entering the company's Fifth Year Festival. If HBK had won the Royal Rumble, he'd be in the top spot, but he didn't, so he ain't.
2) The Undertaker
3) Shawn Michaels
Zac Calhoun
1) Shawn Michaels
The easy money would of course be on Taker for finally winning the Rumble FIFTEEN years after his first one. However, the real star of the Rumble was HBK. The final minutes of the match with Shawn, Orton, Edge and Taker was great stuff, and HBK came off looking again like a fucking superhuman. He was just what the Rumble needed to provide that exciting final minutes everyone was into. I can't in good conscience give my nod to Taker simply because he wasn't in the match that long. Let's hope we can see Shawn carry this momentum into a Cena match at WM!
2) John Cena
3) The Undertaker
Stuart Carapola
1) The Undertaker
The Undertaker finally accomplished one of the few things he had never done in his career by winning the Royal Rumble. It's probably one of the most important single matches of the entire year, and to me there's no contesting Undertaker getting the #1 spot this week. Shawn Michaels gets recognition for coming in a close second. Homicide cleanly defeated both Chris Hero and Samoa Joe this weekend, and on any other week this would easily put him in the #1 spot, but he was up against some stiff competition and only gets #3 as a result.
2) Shawn Michaels
3) Homicide
B-Rad
1) The Undertaker
No matter what happens in a week, when you when the Royal Rumble, you are indeed, wrestler of the week. John Cena and Umaga get my #2 pick for going balls out in their match and having such an awesome encounter. Edge gets my #3 pick for defeating Shawn Michaels in a Street Fight and lasting the longest or one on the longest in the Royal Rumble Match.
2) John Cena/Umaga
3) Edge
Arnold Furious
1) The Undertaker
Seeing as Undertaker looks to be a shoe-in to take this thing I figured I'd give to love to Cena (and Umaga) for having a great title match right before the Rumble. Both men upped their game and had a blow away match that's so far above anything Umaga has done before. Both guys deserve a great deal of credit for such a great performance.
2) Umaga
3) Homicide
Larry Csonka
1) The Undertaker
Short and sweet this week. Undertaker won the Rumble, a first and from the #30 spot at that, another first. That's a big deal, and he looked FN great in doing so. He and HBK tore the house down the last 8-minutes or so, and I loved every minute of it. Umaga and Cena get love as well from a TREMENDOUS LMS match, one I really enjoyed. WWE really stepped it up this week, because I can't remember the last time I gave them a clean sweep in WOTW voting. Kudos.
2) John Cena/Umaga
3) HBK
THE WINNERS!
Special Mention…Umaga - 16 Votes
The big man impressed a lot of people this week with his outstanding match with John Cena. Where he goes from here is anyone's question, but he put on a great show at the Rumble.
Third Place…John Cena - 20 Votes
Speaking of that great show, John Cena survived the beast and is still the champ. As Umaga did, Cena put on a tremendous performance as well and in the end we had a great match.
Second Place…Shawn Michaels - 29 Votes
HBK continued a great run this week with great performances. He was awesome on Raw as the show closed and then worked hard in the Rumble, including the final 8-minutes or so with the Undertaker. Good stuff and another week of recognition for the show stoppa.
Wrestler of the Week…The Undertaker - 67 Votes
After a largely quiet year, the Dead Man takes the WOTW title. He set new ground by winning the Rumble at #30 as well as winning his first Rumble. The question now remains, will he keep his WM streak in tact?
Year-End Standings!
HBK and the Undertaker make some big time leaps, but it may be too little and too late for them in terms of the year-end standings. With his 3rd place finish, John Cena makes some small headway as he climbs into 6th place. With 9-weeks and 4-PPV's to go a lot can happen, but the right people need to have some big weeks; otherwise the Samoan Submission Machine may walk away with the title.
