411’s Wrestler of the Week 2.05.07: Week 44
Posted by Larry Csonka on 02.05.2007
The Undertaker is everywhere, WSX crowns their first ever champion and HBK and Cena win tag gold! As we all know those are nice things, but who caught the eyes of the 411 staff? Come on in to see!
Welcome to Week 44, 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) Vampiro
OK, so it's not exactly the WCW World Title he should have had in 2000, but it's not bad. Vampiro is the first WSX Champion and that at least has some historical value to it
2) The Undertaker
3) John Cena and Shawn Michaels
Mike Bauer
1) John Cena/Shawn Michaels
When I heard there was a tag team title match, I seriously thought it would be a title retain while building towards the split. I was only half right, and not the half I wanted. But I gotta say, Cena and Michaels did win the titles, looked impressive doing so, and are doing a great job building up the whole "who will the Undertaker choose" deal. A great week overall for these two.
2) Vampiro
3) Sandman, Balls, Sabu, Dreamer
Stuart Carapola
1) John Cena/Shawn Michaels
I normally don't like voting in more than one person for Wrestler Of The Week, but in this case, Michaels and Cena defeated the two top heels on Raw and Cena is now a double champion. In the meantime, Vampiro wins the WSX Title and Chris Benoit beat his rival Finlay.
2) Vampiro
3) Chris Benoit
Scott Slimmer
1) HBK/John Cena
This right here is one of the real joys of being a fan of professional wrestling. We like to think we're smart to the business. We like to think we're a step ahead of the bookers. We like to think we can see the master plan. And then, every once in a great long while, there's the shit we just never saw coming. Such was the case this week when John Cena & Shawn Michaels joined a long and storied list of wacky, mismatched, and usually feuding tag team champions such as Kurt Angle & Chris Benoit, Steve Austin & Shawn Michaels, and of course the legendary Rock and Sock Connection. The fact that Cena and Michaels are now partners, at least on paper, adds yet another element to the developing Batista / Cena / Undertaker / Michaels title picture and in the process makes the road to WrestleMania all the more interesting. Cena is now a double champion on Raw and Michaels has finally broken away from the pack (i.e., Edge, Orton, and Umaga) to firmly establish himself as the number two guy on Raw, so for that they share my pick for WOTW. Now let's all just pray that we get two singles championship matches at WrestleMania instead of a four-way clusterfuck reminiscent of WrestleMania 2000.
2) The Undertaker
3) Benoit and Finlay
Samuel Berman
1) John Cena
Yes, Cena & HBK won the tag titles together, but this makes Cena a double champion, and in my totally subjective way of deciding these things, that gives him slightly higher marks. Also, was I the only one who thought the post-match stuff between Cena and Shawn was absolutely outstanding? Everything from HBK's aborted Sweet Chin Music attempt to Cena's 'Is THIS what this is about? You want THIS? We just won the TAG TEAM TITLES together and you're worried about THIS?' was just awesome. Seriously, I was more impressed with Cena in that moment than I have been since his 'I remember when RAW really WAS Jericho' speech from like June 2005. I guess I'll give Vampiro third place because winning a company's championship has to mean something.
2) Shawn Michaels
3) Vampiro
JT~!
1) John Cena
So this week, Cena managed to get himself involved in feuds with not only Randy Orton and Edge, but potentially Shawn Michaels and the Undertaker: Four of the biggest names on the roster all on his plate. And what does he do with all of these Superstars breathing down his neck? He goes out there, wins the tag straps to become a double champion, and then heads to Smackdown to shine on the mic in the same ring with Taker, Dave, HBK, and Vinnie Mac. For that, he gets my nod.
2) Shawn Michaels
3) The Undertaker
Mathew Sfrocina
1) HBK and John Cena
Hey, they win tag belts, get onto the other brand, beat 2 of the main heels on their show, show up the two main faces on the other brand, and STILL look to have one heck of a WM match, should they have it. Vampiro gets the second place for winning the title...3 months ago, and Finlay gets my 3rd vote...mainly out of pity.
2) Vampiro
3) Finlay
Arnold Furious
1) HBK and John Cena
The new tag champs stood out in an otherwise bland week in wrestling defeating Rated RKO on Monday night. Shawn has upped his game in recent weeks and since the injury to Triple H he's been working even harder to ensure Raw's top end doesn't fall apart. Shawn's rivalry with Cena combined with this win creates some interesting future matches as the build for WrestleMania continues.
2) Chris Benoit
3) Finlay
SAT
1) HBK/John Cena
These two get the top slot from me for winning the tag teams title from Rated RKO and also for their appearance on SmackDown. Vampiro gets the second slot by becoming the first WSX champion and the Undertaker gets the third slot for his appearance on all three brands.
2) Vampiro
3) The Undertaker
ARI
1) John Cena/HBK
Cena, Michaels and Undertaker are the center of attention for another week. WWE is handling the "who will face who?" storyline very well. There is a ton of intrigue as to 'Taker's choice. Not to mention that Cena, HBK, Batista and even Lashley are hitting the right emotions for their characters / position in the storylines. Cena and Michaels begin some great interplay and win the Raw tag titles. Meanwhile, Undertaker appeared as a surprise on Raw and ECW and immediately focused attention on his role leading up to WrestleMania 23. Roderick Strong had two successful title defenses in FIP this weekend against Davey Richards, with one match being a 2/3 falls match. Strong continues to lead FIP as it builds a strong fan base in Florida.
2) The Undertaker
3) Roderick Strong
JD Dunn
1) Vampiro
He had a large part in bringing WSX to fruition, and early ratings are a big success (nearly 4x what MTV was doing on Friday nights, and even bigger numbers for the Tuesday slot). Plus, he's the champ.
2) John Cena
3) The Undertaker
Jeff Small
1) The Undertaker
Taker's entrance on Raw made me mark out like a little schoolgirl. Even if he still fights Batista at WrestleMania, the possibility of a Cena/Taker match totally made my week. Not only that but he proceeded to bury the ECW champion on Tuesday before getting involved in the Smackdown main event on Friday. If that's not enough, he's getting all the hype going into Monday's Raw. In a really uneventful week, this gets my vote.
2) HBK/Cena
3) Vampiro
Larry Csonka
1) Vampiro
Forgive my short wording this week, as I am ill. Vampiro wins the first title of a beginning promotion this week, which is rather historical when you think of it. He has had a huge part in the birth of WSX, so he gets the nod. HBK will get #2 this week because he has been awesome since the HHH injury, and is proving week after week why he is the man in this business. Cena gets third because he's just not as awesome as HBK. That's not a knock, I mean, who really is on a roll like HBK?
2) HBK
3) John Cena
THE WINNERS!
Special Mention…The Undertaker - 13 Votes
The Dead man makes an appearance on all the WWE programming as he begins the mind games as to who he will face. He is causing quite the stir as to who he will face and that was enough for the special mention.
Third Place…Vampiro - 29 Votes
Vampiro was a huge part in the WSX concept and this week, with the help of an exploding casket he won the WSX Title against 6-Pac. Where he goes from here will be interesting to watch as the promotion lays out its identity but the title win was enough to take 3rd this week.
Second Place…Shawn Michaels - 50 Votes
HBK continues to be revived this week as e and John Cena win the tag titles. HBK looked to takeout Cena and then the Undertaker appeared adding more drama to the mix. HBK also showed up on Smackdown this week, a very important event.
Wrestler of the Week…John Cena - 52 Votes
The CHAMP (x2) is HERE! John Cena became a double champion this week as he and HBK won the tag titles. He is also in this drama of who will be in the main event(s) of WrestleMania. He also showed up on Smackdown, only adding fuel to the fire.
Year-End Standings!
Some feel it was an uneventful week in wrestling, but there was a good bit happening. WSX crows their first champion, allowing Vampiro to debut on the list, the Undertaker was everywhere and HBK and Cena won the tag titles this week and all got noticed. The only big move in the top 15 is the Cena jump, which gets him that much closer to the top. Shawn Michaels is just outside of the top 15 as is Chris Benoit still. We have 8-weeks and 4-PPV's left in the "year" that makes up the voting. Lots can happen still as we are on the Road to WrestleMania. Stay tuned!
