411’s Wrestler of the Week 3.19.07: Week 50
Posted by Larry Csonka on 03.19.2007
Banderas wins the WSX title, Jack Evans dances his way into our hearts while HBK and The Champ play mind games while running through three tag teams on Raw, Randy Orton qualified for the Money in the Bank Match and oh yeah, some guy named Dwayne appeared on Raw. There was a lot going on this week in wrestling, but who took the 50th 411 WOTW title for this year and how are the standings looking? Come on in and check it all out!
Welcome to Week 50, 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) The Rock
So what if he didn't wrestle, this was one of the best moments in all of wrestling in quite some time. I really miss The Rock and if there was some way for him to show up at WrestleMania, perhaps as a guest commentator, it would be absolutely phenomenal.
2) Ricky Banderas
3) Kane
Mike Bauer
1) The Rock
You know, I don't care if he's not active anymore, The Rock deserves this. This week, nobody really stood out, but The Rock put on a promo (pre taped, yes) that got a louder reaction than Stone Cold last week. I'll give Banderas some respect for his title win as the last WSX Champ. #2 goes to Tommy Dreamer for his win on ECW. Yes, I did say that.
2) Tommy Dreamer
3) Rick y Banderas
Samuel Berman
1) The Rock
To this day, no one electrifies a crowd like The Rock can. Merely by showing up in a taped segment does he take the top spot. THAT is talent. I'll round things out with the tag champs from RAW and TNA, just because they both won matches and it was a pretty uneventful week. Normally I don't like picking teams in a single spot, but it's not going to make that big of a difference this week, so I'm breaking tradition. Thank god ROH is back WrestleMania weekend.
2) John Cena & Shawn Michaels
3) LAX
B-Rad
1) The Rock
Who would of thought that the Rock would be in the voting for Wrestler of the Week in 2007? The Rock had an awesome promo and the reaction was off the charts. Randy Orton grabs my #2 spot as he pinned both Ric Flair and Carlito in earn a shot in the Money in the Bank Match and also fought Lashley on ECW. I got to give John Cena and Shawn Michaels the #3 spot as the tag team division was destroyed....again. I almost JBL a spot for owning Michael Cole on commentary and the announcement of his upcoming match against Shawn Michaels.
2) Randy Orton
3) John Cena and Shawn Michaels
SAT
1) John Cena & Shawn Michaels
John Cena and Shawn Michaels get the top slot for retaining the tag titles by holding off the World's Greatest Tag Team, Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch, and MNM. Randy Orton gets the second slot for getting the final spot in the Money in the Bank Ladder Match and for his appearance against Bobby Lashley on ECW. The final slot goes to the Rock for his taped appearance on RAW.
2) Randy Orton
3) The Rock
Ryan Byers
1) Jack Evans
You'd think that more would be happening given that we're just a couple of weeks away from WrestleMania, but this week largely seemed to be a placeholder in both WWE and TNA. That's why I'm giving my top vote this week to the Prince of Parkland, Jack Evans. Due to this week's WSX marathon, Jack got more national exposure than he has at any other point in his career, was put over as a major star, and definitely delivered the goods in the ring. Ricky Banderas may have won the championship, but Evans was the one who came off as the cornerstone of a new style of professional wrestling.
2) Tommy Dreamer
3) Jay Lethal
Scott Slimmer
1) John Cena & Shawn Michaels
As far as I'm concerned, this is the money feud in WWE at the moment. Sure, the Batista / Undertaker feud has been much better than I expected, the McMahon / Trump / Umaga / Lashley / Austin feud has miraculously avoided becoming a total train wreck, and the Edge / Orton feud is strangely compelling, but Cena / Michaels is a textbook slow burn feud that has the crowd breathlessly waiting for somebody to FINALLY pull the trigger. We've got two more episodes of Raw before WrestleMania, and I'm guessing the crowd will go bananas when either Cena or Michaels finally goes for the jugular. This is the feud that keeps me anxiously anticipating Raw each week, so once again they get my vote for WOTW. Getting to see them use Joey Mercury as a punching bag was just icing on the cake.
2) Matt Hardy
3) Tommy Dreamer
ARI
1) The Rock
I'm a bit uneasy about the placement of The Rock as number one considering I don't consider him a "wrestler" anymore as much as a celebrity making a special guest appearance...but come on its the freaking ROCK! He did a TAPED interview and had the crowd in the palm of his hands, years after his most recent WWE involvement. On a live mic, some of today's wrestlers can't even elicit any reaction besides apathy . Edge was an amazing heel, conniving to get his tag partner out of the Money in the Bank match and manipulating Mr. McMahon of all people to get what he wanted. That isn't easy. Lastly, my reach for third pick goes out to Jimmy Jacobs and Tyler Black who were incredibly memorable and entertaining although they only had one match and a backstage segment in last week's marathon run of shows. I know WSX had a fair share of criticism for some of its more hokey or over the top effects, but the shame of it is guys like Jacobs, Black, Tornado and Jack Evans were so good and deserved to have more of a chance in this national television spotlight.
2) Edge
3) D.I.F.H. (Jimmy Jacobs / Tyler Black)
Mathew Sforcina
1) John Cena & Shawn Michaels
Hey, unlike a certain someone, these two both wrestled a few good matches AND actually built up a WM match, as opposed to turning a formerly unstoppable monster into small animal gentailia.
2) Ricky Banderas
3) Tommy Dreamer
Stuart Carapola
1) John Cena & Shawn Michaels
Despite the fact that they're mere weeks away from facing one another in the main event of WrestleMania, Cena and Michaels are still the World Tag Team Champions and managed to hold it together against three teams in a row. Meanwhile, Matt Hardy picked up what I consider to be a huge upset win, and a clean one at that, over Ken Kennedy. Finally, the promotion may be a thing of the past, but Jack Evans was the star of WSX, hands down. HE deserves recognition for carrying the short-lived promotion.
2) Matt Hardy
3) Jack Evans
Larry Csonka
1) Ricky Banderas
Short and sweet this week. Banderas had a fun feud with Vampiro and won the WSX title in a pretty good match, becoming the 2nd and probably last champion for them. Jack Evans really stood out during the WSX run, including looking great during the marathon this week. Orton qualifies for MITB, and that's good enough for third.
2) Jack Evans
3) Randy Orton
THE WINNERS!
Special Mention…Jack Evans - 10 Votes
If we learned one thing from watching WSX, it is that Jack Evans is pretty impressive. This was his big exposure to the regular and non-regular wrestling fans that don't get Puro or ROH DVD's. He really shined through the marathon and scores a special mention and debut this week.
Third Place…Ricky Banderas - 12 Votes
Ricky Banderas become the 2nd, and likely last WSX champion this week. His feud with Vampiro was short, but fun and enough to get him 3rd place this week.
Second Place…Shawn Michaels and John Cena - 24 Votes
Shawn Michaels and John Cena ran through almost the entire tag division this past week as they continue their hectic relationship heading into WrestleMania. The people are entertained and want to know WHO will turn and WHEN! That's why they make the list again this week.
Wrestler of the Week…The Rock - 26 Votes
Finally…the ROCK had DEBUTED in the 411 WOTW column! The Rock returned and made many a fan and writer alike mark out, and that was enough for the win this week.
Year-End Standings!
With their tie for 2nd place, HBK and John Cena make a move in the top 15. HBK moves into a tie for 8th with Lashley, while John Cena heads up to 3rd place! Jack Evans and Ricky Banderas make their debuts late in the year for WSX, which seems to be finally finished and the Rock decided that near the end of year two that his career wasn't complete without a 411 WOTW victory to his credit. There are TWO weeks, ONE PPV, NUMEROUS LIVE and TV shows all to go! What will the final standing look like? Stay tuned!
