411s Wrestler of the Week 4.02.07: Week 52
Posted by Larry Csonka on 04.02.2007
The 52nd WOTW and the final year-end standings!
Welcome to Week 52, 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!
Ryan Byers
1) The Undertaker
With WrestleMania looming large, everybody thinks of this as the biggest week of the year for WWE. But it's a major week for almost every wrestling promotion, not just Vince and company. ROH had a couple of major shows, which featured Jay Briscoe winning the company's Tag Team Titles on his own after his brother Mark was seriously injured while attempting a shooting star press to the floor. That's enough to make him number three. Meanwhile, on the other side of the Pacific Ocean, All Japan Pro Wrestling hosted its annual Champion Carnival tournament, which was won by veteran Keiji Mutoh, making him number two. However, it was the Undertaker who pulled out the biggest win on the grandest stage of them all, not only moving his winning streak up to 15-0 but also kicking off what could be his last reign with a major championship. Not only that, but he won it in an incredibly good match with Batista, and carrying Big Dave to something watchable would be enough to earn my top vote, even if it didn't take place during WrestleMania weekend.
2) Keiji Mutoh
3) Jay Briscoe
Matt Adamson
1) The Undertaker
You cannot dispute that one of the biggest weeks in the history of wrestling happened this week for The Undertaker. The guy not only won the World Title but he also won his 15th match at WrestleMania continuing his undefeated streak. Any wrestler alive at any time could only dream of having a week like The Undertaker had this week. My number two spot goes to 3-time Champion Carnival winner Keiji Mutoh. If it were almost any other week of the year this feat would be an easy #1 vote, but not this week. My number three pick goes to Mr. Kennedy. The Money in the Bank is a pretty big deal these days. I'm sure something special will be in the works for Kennedy's future.
2) Keiji Mutoh
3) Mr. Kennedy
Meehan
1) John Cena
There's a reason why this week is the biggest in professional wrestling across the world, and that reason is simple: World Wrestling Entertainment and WrestleMania. I don't care who wins tournaments elsewhere on the globe, who sells out a gymnasium in your favorite local Indy promotion, and who earns title shots in a territory most wrestling fans have never even heard of... you main event WrestleMania, you WIN a main event at WrestleMania, and you do it in the dramatic fashion that Cena and Michaels did at WrestleMania 23? YOU get Wrestler of the Week honors, period.
2) Shawn Michaels
3) The Undertaker
B-Rad
1) The Undertaker
I got to give props to the Dead Man. Not only did he extend his WrestleMania streak to 15-0, not only did he have a pretty good match with Batista, he also won the World Heavyweight Championship on the biggest show of the year. John Cena gets my #2 pick for defeating Shawn Michaels to retain the WWE Championship in a classic match that will go down in WrestleMania history and Edge and Jeff Hardy get my #3 spot for one of the biggest "Holy Shit!" moments in WrestleMania history.
2) John Cena
3) Edge and Jeff Hardy
Scott Slimmer
1) John Cena / Shawn Michaels
John Cena just headlined his second consecutive WrestleMania. John Cena just successfully defended his WWE Championship at his second consecutive WrestleMania. And John Cena just made a living legend and member of Degeneration X tap out at his second consecutive WrestleMania. All of that told me that Cena should be the easy pick for WOTW. There's just one little problem. Unlike last year, this year Cena's match actually did steal the show. And the reason is that he was standing across the ring from the single greatest performer in WrestleMania history. Sure, Michaels may have lost the match, but he gave us one more amazing performance and made Cena look like a true star in the process. Oh, and that flying cross body / roll through / FU / Sweet Chin Music / STFU / cradle pin sequence was a freaking piece of artwork. Last year a legend stole the show by doing everything in his power to give credibility to one of today's brightest stars. This year Shawn Michaels did the same thing, sans flaming table of course. So John Cena gets the top spot for once again establishing himself as the man in WWE, but I absolutely have to give an equal amount of credit to Shawn Michaels for being the man that made it happen.
2) The Undertaker
3) Mr. Kennedy
ARI
1) Undertaker / Batista
Well, they said they were going to steal the show ala Steamboat-Savage at WrestleMania III and EVERYONE scoffed. They said they would steal the show ala Steamboat-Savage at WrestleMania III and I scoffed. Undertaker and Batista proved all of us wrong, DEAD-MAN wrong. I thoroughly enjoyed that match and thought Undertaker and even Batista busted ass all the way through. If Batista has to be pissed off to have a great match, then WWE needs to piss him off a whole lot more. So while it wasn't Steamboat-Savage as far as work rate, it damn near matched it for drama, even when the expected Taker win occurred. 15-0 ain't too shabby. John Cena and Shawn Michaels were heroes in my book, having one hell of a dramatic fight with plenty of twists and turns. The story unfolded in the ring was a great back and forth contest and HBK proved once again that in the clutch, he is the one you want to go to stop the show. Finally CM Punk made a trifecta of appearances on WWE television, taking the tour of Raw, ECW and then Smackdown. He received a hometown hero reaction in Chicago when he defeated Kenny Dykstra, he was the Ricky Morton figure in the 8-man tag at ECW and then got a great win against Booker T (after taking the fall to him at ECW). That and his WrestleMania 23 debut all adds up to one hell of a week for the straight edged hero. Buried, my ass buried, at least this week. Ken Kennedy scored the Money in the Bank win and launched into a great tirade of a victory speech. Kennedy has now launched himself to the next level. What a great WrestleMania, and what a great week overall. With awesome events in ROH, IWA-MS and the Champions Carnival in Japan, professional wrestling has reached another peak.
2) John Cena / Shawn Michaels
3) Mr. Kennedy / CM Punk
Matt Short
1) The Undertaker
Won the Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 23. His record now stands at 15-0 and he has solidified his spot as one of the best WrestleMania performers ever by getting a somewhat decent match out of Batista. Number 2 goes to Kenji Mutoh, who became the 3-Time Carnival Champion. 3 goes to Mr. Kennedy, as he earns himself the right to challenge for the World Title whenever he wants. And given the track record of past MITB winners, he's positioned himself well for a title run sometime this year.
2) Kenji Mutoh
3) Mr. Kennedy
Samuel Berman
1) Jimmy Jacobs
Ok, so while everyone else focuses on WrestleMania (and understandably so), I'll toss in the weekly dose of ROH love. Here's my thinking: Cena-Michaels has been going on for two months, as has UT-Batista. The Jacobs-Whitmer issue has been going on for A WHOLE YEAR. Jacobs defying the odds and being one of the few heels to decisively win the blow off to a feud deserves a lot of mention, as Jacobs vs. Whitmer has been the most interesting ROH mid-card feud since Punk vs. Raven almost four years ago. As for the next couple of slots, the Briscoes regained the ROH World Tag Team Titles (which in most other weeks would be good enough for the top spot) and Roderick Strong defeated former stablemates Austin Aries and Jack Evans in separate singles matches, in so doing successfully defending his FIP World Heavyweight Title. For the record, in a lot of other weeks Cena, Michaels, Undertaker and Kennedy would get serious respect from me (and all of it well-deserved), but I'm going with my heart on this one to represent the Indy scene's best.
2) Jay & Mark Briscoe
3) Roderick Strong
Andy Clark
1) The Undertaker
This is any easy voting week. I don't care what happened in ROH or Japan, when you have WrestleMania going on nothing us really matters. Hell, Elijah Burke's THQ Superstar Challenge win is more important than Keiji Mutoh's Champion Carnivale win, sorry. Anyhow, Undertaker had a damn fine match (that arguably should have ended the show) with Batista, won the World Heavyweight Title, and improved his WrestleMania record to 15-0. Nuff said.
2) John Cena
3) Mr. Kennedy
Mike Bauer
1) John Cena/Shawn Michaels
This is a lot harder than it sounds this week, because this year's WrestleMania was outstanding. Cena and Michaels put on one hell of a main event after an incredible build and one well timed sweet chin music on RAW. There is no doubt that the Taker/Batista deserve a ton of credit and possible the #1 slot as well, but my money goes to the main event over a midcard match (which was bullshit). For the #3, Kennedy deserves it, but Edge and Jeff Hardy fucking earned it for that spot. Holy shit!
2) Undertaker/Batista
3) Kennedy/Edge/Jeff Hardy
Furious
1) John Cena
While Undertaker won the title it was Cena who went out last and defended his title at the second consecutive WrestleMania. A lot of fans hate the guy and I know of several hardcore smark types who were rooting for Shawn to do it for the first time in over a decade. Cena wins regardless. He's now established himself as part of WrestleMania folklore. Four WrestleMania; four wins in four title matches. Three for the WWE title. It doesn't get any bigger than winning the main event at WrestleMania. Like it or not Cena is the man in the WWE right now. He's on top of the world.
2) Undertaker
3) Mr. Kennedy
Stuart Carapola
1) The Undertaker
It came down to Cena or Undertaker for me, but Undertaker won his fifth World Title and went to 15-0 at WrestleMania. Cena gets second place because, as much as I was personally rooting for Michaels to go over, Cena won a really good match. Jay Briscoe gets third for basically single-handedly winning the ROH World Tag Team Title when his brother went down to injury.
2) John Cena
3) Jay Briscoe
Derek Walker
1) The Undertaker
What can you say the Deadman still has it. He can still hold the crowd in the palm of his hand and pull off great matches like the one at WrestleMania 23. The dive over the top rope turned my girlfriend into a wrestling fan. The Champions Carnival is always a big thing and puts the winner on my list. The hard part is number 3, Cena or Kennedy. Both with solid efforts and both had lots of TV time last week.
2) Keiji Mutoh
3) John Cena
JD Dunn
1) The Undertaker
Won another title, kept his streak alive, showed that he still could go at the biggest show in years. Easy pick. The same goes for Shawn but he gets bumped for not pulling out the win. Briscoe gets an honorary nod for holding his team together after Mark went down with injury.
2) Shawn Michaels
3) Jay Briscoe
Bayani Domingo
1) The Undertaker
I'm going to get some flack for this, but THIS was probably my favorite match on the whole card. These guys went full tilt from bell to bell and it was loads better than I thought it would be, can you say that for anything else other than MVP/Benoit? Nope. Besides that no one else really impressed me on WM in terms of kicking it up another level sans maybe Kennedy finally solidifying his push, but all in all it was a match that involved too much for him to shine as much as he should have. Jay Briscoe gets the nod for taking the titles off Doi/SHINGO in a match I'm told was still very good as was the 6-man DG match main event. My friends are still talkin' about that being amazing, but it's hard to give all 6 of those guys a vote over a legend who hits the trifecta. The Great Muta.
2) Jay Briscoe
3) Keiji Mutoh
Ron Gamble
1) The Doctor of Style, Slick
I watched WM23 on Sunday, and no matter what happens anywhere else, the top three spots on WrestleMania Weekend have to go to people who appeared there. The number one spot has to be to the most impressive person on the show, the one who got the biggest crowd reaction and made the fans glad they paid their money to watch the ppv or be there live. Therefore, my choice for the Wrestler of the Week would have to be The Doctor of Style, Slick.
2) Undertaker
3) MISTAAAAH... that guy
SAT
1) The Undertaker
The Undertaker gets the top slot for winning the title and extending his streak against Batista in a decent match. Mr. Kennedy gets the second slot for winning the third ever money in the bank ladder match and John Cena gets the final slot for his win against Shawn Michaels in the main event.
2) Mr. Kennedy
3) John Cena
Larry Csonka
1) The Undertaker and Batista
Short and sweet kids, I have been sick. Taker won the title, kept his streak in tact and he and Big Dave had a surprisingly good match and that makes me happy. Mutoh wins his 3rd All Japan Carnival and Kennedy wins the MITB, as I thought, so he takes third.
2) Keiji Mutoh
3) Mr. Kennedy
THE WINNERS!
Special Mention Keiji Mutoh - 19 Votes
Mutoh wins the 2007 Champion Carnival, his third ever Carnival win. In a week where priorities are on WrestleMania, Mutoh proves that there other major wrestling events happening this week in wrestling!
Third Place Shawn Michaels - 19 Votes
"Mr. WrestleMania" once again showed why he is called that as well as "The Main Event" and he and John Cena delivered a damn good main event.
Second Place John Cena - 34 Votes
HBK held up his end of the bargain, but John Cena survived the match and remains the WWE Champion as he made HBK tap out to the STFU. The champ is HERE, but where does go now?
Wrestler of the Week The Undertaker - 73 Votes
Big Man vs. Big Man, Former Champion vs. Champion and Title vs. Streak, call it what you will but it was the World Title Match. The stage was set, either Big Dave would be THE MAN and break what was thought to be unbreakable, or the Undertaker would win another WrestleMania match and win the title once again. On top of all of that, it was a damn fine match as well! The Undertaker takes the week #52 title with ease.
FINAL STANDINGS~!
The Undertaker wins the week but it wasn't enough to make the top 15. Cena and HBK both took leaps up, but in the end it wasn't enough as Samoa Joe took the 411 Wrestler of the Year Title! Check out the final standings below as well as some extra goodies!
Katsuhiko Nakajima 1 (All Japan) Kotaro Suzuki 1 (NOAH) Ricky Marvin 1 (NOAH) Giant Bernard - 1 (New Japan) Matt Sydal - 1 (WSX) Pelle Primeau 1 (ROH) Nigel McGuiness 1 (ROH) Johnny Devine - 1 (TNA) Vince McMahon - 1 (WWE) Balls Mahoney - 1 (ECW) Paul Heyman - 1 (ECW) Tommy Dreamer - 1 (ECW) El Generico - 1 (US Independent) Davey Richards - 1 (US Independent) Bobby Heenan - 1 (US Independent) "Sweet and Sour" Larry Sweeney - 1 (US Independent) Gran Akuma 1 (US Independent) Necro Butcher - 1 (US Independent)
Voting began 4.10.06
Year-End Rankings Key:
Raw and Smackdown Wrestlers are represented in BLUE.
ECW Wrestlers are represented in GREEN.
TNA and ROH wrestlers are represented in RED.
WSX Wrestlers are represented in MAROON.
Japanese wrestlers are represented in BLACK.
Mexican Wrestlers are represented in MAGENTA.
US Independent Wrestlers are represented in ORANGE
EXTRAS~!
Next week begins year THREE of the 411 WOTW Voting. Before go, I thought I would share some things with you. First of all, let's look at this year's top 15 as opposed to last year's top 15. Remember, last year's voting year was shorter; hence the different vote totals. This year's will be in BOLD and last year's will be underneath in ITALICS. This is just for comparison and to see how people did from year to year.
1. Samoa Joe 122 (TNA) 1. Ric Flair 62 (WWE)
2. John Cena 107 (Raw) 2. HHH 57 (WWE)
3. KING Booker 90 (Smackdown) 3. Kurt Angle 50 (WWE)
4. Christian Cage - 83 (TNA) 4. John Cena 48 (WWE)
8. Shawn Michaels 64 (Raw) 8. Kurt Angle 64 (TNA) 8. Fit Finlay - 38 (WWE)
9. Rey Mysterio - 35 (WWE)
10. Edge 59 (Raw) 10. Chris Benoit - 33 (WWE)
11. Jeff Hardy - 47 11. Christopher Daniels - 30 (TNA)
12. Abyss - 44 (TNA) 12. Edge - 29 (WWE)
13. AJ Styles - 43 (TNA) 13. AJ Styles - 23 (TNA)
14. Mr. Kennedy - 42 (Smackdown) 14. Eddie Guerrero - 21 (WWE) 14. The Big Show 21 (WWE)
15. Hernandez 41 (TNA)
Also, I thought it would be fun to breakdown the wrestlers and where they came from. Overall this was a pretty diverse year in terms of voting, especially as compared to last year. This year we had 111 wrestlers/personalities represented.
Raw and Smackdown Wrestlers: 37
TNA/ROH Wrestlers: 29
Japanese Wrestlers: 18
US Independent Wrestlers: 13
ECW Wrestlers: 8
WSX Wrestlers: 4
Mexican Wrestlers: 2
Stay tuned for the start of year three next week, and you never know, I may have some changes in mind!
