411’s Wrestler of the Week 4.23.07: Week 3
Posted by Larry Csonka on 04.23.2007
Week three provides the 3rd different WOTW winner in the new year of voting!
Welcome to Week 3, Year-Three, of 411's Wrestler of the Week. A quick overview to kick things off as we have some new rules for year three…
Each writer chooses FIVE wrestlers from any promotion and each wrestler gets a point total attached to that ranking. It looks a little like this…
1st - 5
2nd - 4
3rd - 3
4th - 2
5th - 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 SIX vote getters get a points value for their ranking which looks something like this…
1st - 15
2nd - 12
3rd - 9
4th - 6
5th - 3
6th - 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) Deuce and Domino
You know, I really hate to put these guys in the top spot, but they did something that a certain rookie couldn't do and that is end the title reign of a good championship team cleanly. And nobody was more shocked than me, because I expected the title streak to be the longest ever for the Tag Team Titles. But these guys got the job done and are the champs, like it or not.
2) Abyss - The monster finally came into his own and looked good even when beat down.
3) John Cena - Was the last man standing to close out Raw.
4) Chuck Taylor
5) Roderick Strong
Rob Halden
1) John Cena
Beat both Randy Orton AND Edge despite interference from Shawn Michaels.
2) Santino Marella - Bitched out Umaga. Okay, no he didn't. But he still won the IC title despite not being a WWE employee, possessing any legal documents or insurance! I bet the legal department are having a bitch of a week.
3) Deuce & Domino - Ended the streak of London & Kendrick and picked up some shiny new title belts in the process.
4) Christopher Daniels
5) CM Punk
Dan Wilcox
1) London and Kendrick
Our new tag team champions Deuce and Domino are going to get enough love from the rest of the staff this week, but London and Kendrick deserve some love too. They've held on to those tag belts for nearly a year (three hundred and forty-something days to be precise) and have had good to great matches with every team that have been thrown in front of them and became the fourth longest reigning tag champs in the process. Yes they lost the straps this week, but chasing the titles will only help their popularity and winning them back will help their credibility in the long run.
2) John Cena - As Rob just mentioned, despite interference from Shawn Michaels, Cena beat not one, but two former world champions and two of his three opponents at Backlash in Edge and Randy Orton on Raw last week. Cena's looking good heading in to Backlash.
3) Santino Marella - As much as I disliked the angle last week, winning the Intercontinental Championship on your debut deserves some credit no matter what the circumstances were.
4) RVD
5) Chris Masters
Matt Adamson
1) London and Kendrick
I think there is something to be said about a team that is as good in the ring and as popular as these two guys holding a title for almost a year. The reason Deuce and Domino aren't in this spot is because London and Kendrick earned it, Deuce and Domino haven't, though give it a couple weeks. When a team comes out looking awesome as usual after a title loss while the other team looks bland as usual, I'm going with the awesome.
2) Christopher Daniels - While the match wasn't as awesome as it should have been, winning it is a feather in Daniels cap.
3) John Cena - If you book him strong, he will be strong and Cena has been booked strong.
4) Santino Marella
5) Jushin "Thunder" Lyger
Scott Slimmer
1) Santino Marella
You know it's been a slow week in the world of wrestling when I'm giving my first place vote to a guy that none of us had ever heard of one week ago. Marella shocked the world when he defeated Umaga for the Intercontinental Championship on Raw. And yes, admittedly, Marella's major contribution to that endeavor was simply not dying before Bobby Lashley could run in for the save, but that's still something. The crowd absolutely loved this guy, and for once it was nice to see Vince book an angle that the crowd was sure to enjoy. So congratulation, Santino. If I were you, I might think about retiring undefeated…
2) Deuce & Domino – Ralph and Potsie get my second place vote for finally defeating London and Kendrick to win the WWE Tag Team Championships. Oh, and Cherry makes me happy.
3) Abyss – Abyss gets my third place vote for taking an absolutely hellacious beating at the end of Impact and adding a whole new dimension to his character in the process. I can't wait to see him in action when he returns.
4) John Cena
5) Lance Cade
B-RAD
1) Santino Marella
He debuted, knocked off Umaga, and won the WWE Intercontinental Championship so I have to give it to him.
2) Deuce & Domino- I hate to see the run of Kendrick and London end but D&D deserves the spot for taking them down for the gold.
3) John Cena- Defeated both Randy Orton and Edge in a Handicap Match.
4) Christopher Daniels
5) CM Punk
Andy Critchell
1) Santino Marella
Like Caesar himself he came, he saw, he conquered (with the help of one Bobby Lashley.) Good luck little buddy.
2) Deuce & Domino - They ended the most dominant tag team run in years and they did it as clean as two heels could do it.
3) John Cena - Took out Rated RKO with a minimum of shenanigans.
4) Christopher Daniels
5) Chris Benoit
ARI
1) Santino Marella
One of the more unorthodox methods of introducing a new wrestler. It remains to be seen if this either going to be a gigantic flop or a success story. However, when one quarter of THE "A" show in professional wrestling is dedicated to you, a previously unknown quantity, it's a major achievement.
2) CM Punk: Punk's loyalty in the ECW Originals vs. New Breed feud dominated last week's show and is one of the more intriguing angles in the history of the ECW on Sci Fi show
3) Abyss: Not in a million years would I ever willingly take the kind of beating he took. He'll have scars upon scars on his arms for the rest of his life. 60 stitches ain't nothing to sneeze at either.
4) Deuce & Domino
5) Christopher Daniels
Ryan Byers
1) Santito Marella
To seemingly be turned in to a star within the span of thirty minutes, the WWE must have a good deal of faith in your ability . . . that or you're in the right place and right time during one of Vince McMahon's many mood swings. Regardless of what lead to the mega-push, Santito definitely received it this week. The follow-up may doom him to a life on Sunday Night Heat, but, for at least this week, the man was the single most talked about act in professional wrestling, which is particularly impressive given that he was languishing in relative obscurity only eight days ago.
2) The Greasers - I don't care about them breaking Londrick's streak since it's clear WWE didn't care about the length of the title reign. However, they got the belts, so that's enough to put them on the map in my rankings.
3) Chuck Taylor - Taylor won CHIKARA's Rey de Voladores ("King of Flyers") tournament this weekend, which gives him a prominent slot in that company. Lately being big in CHIKARA puts you a step away from being in ROH and FIP, so this means a lot for his career.
4) Christopher Daniels
5) Abyss
Mathew Sforcina
1) Santito Marella
I suddenly feel my Italian Heritage pop back up. After all, the Italian, sorry, my fellow man of Italian decent...My Fellow Italian beat Umaga and won the IC title! All hail Italia! And on the plus side, the belt really did suit him.
2) Abyss- Now that's how you fricking turn Abyss face. I do like the character, and I respect the man's guts, if not his business sense. But still, it'll be interesting to see how well Abyss as a face works.
3) Kendrick & London- It is not a good sign when the longest tag champs in almost forever lose the belts because of an injury...to their valet.
4) Chuck Taylor
5) John Cena
Arnold Furious
1) Santito Marella
What the hell. I dug the angle and even though he barely did a thing in the match it's a hell of a debut that many fans will remember for years to come.
2) Deuce & Domino - While I don't like the team they deserve some credit for being considered good enough to end the run of Londrick. Not been a good week for wrestling really.
3) Chuck Taylor. Big win for the up and comer. Could well be one to watch out for.
4) Jushin Liger
5) John Cena
SAT
1) Deuce and Domino
I went with Deuce and Domino in the top spot because they won the WWE Tag Team Titles and they managed to end the almost yearlong streak of Paul London and Brian Kendrick.
2) Santino Marella - He defeated Umaga to win the Intercontinental Title in his debut match. He would have gotten the first slot from me had he won the title without the help of Bobby Lashley.
3) John Cena - He manages to defeat two of his opponents at Backlash in a handicap match.
4) Abyss
5) Chuck Taylor
Samuel Berman
1) CM Punk
This is already looking like the best heel turn in WWE in a good long while (I'm thinking since the HBK turn on Hogan almost two years ago). Punk's naturally awesome heel tendencies are going to lead to big things, the first of which will hopefully be a Pay Per View showdown with a face-turned Elijah Burke in a month or so. Fun fact: Burke was one of Punk's first televised opponents upon arriving in OVW in 2005.
2) Roderick Strong - Made two successful (and reportedly show-stealing) defenses of the FIP World Heavyweight Title.
3) Paul London & Brian Kendrick - Deserve mention for their nearly yearlong tag title reign.
4) Chuck Taylor
5) Erik Stevens
Andy Clark
1) Santino Marella
Whether or not his career stays hot once he returns to the States and regular WWE booking commences is up in the air, but this week he was involved in a borderline classic moment. The pop he got in Milan was unreal and if booked properly he could be a good addition to the roster. Hopefully they don't end up Eugene-ing him.
2) Deuce & Domino- While I'm not happy they won the belts from London & Kendrick before they made it to the year mark for their title reign, they did end it so they deserve some credit.
3) CM Punk- WWE has proven that they're not as stupid as I thought, meaning that Punk is not a full heel. Right now he's kind of a mix of RVD in the Alliance and 2005 Batista in as much as he's a heel that will probably be cheered and has that "Don't worry, audience, we know who's side I'm REALLY on" look down pat.
4) Christopher Daniels
5) Team 3D
Larry Csonka
1) Christopher Daniels
While the match was criminally short, Christopher Daniels walked away with a HUGE win over Rhino, AJ Styles and Samoa Joe. That's a big win, and my easy pick for WOTW.
2) Abyss – I really wanted to vote for Christian Cage, as he is the best heel going right now, but Abyss is a crazy bastard and took one of the best beat down I have seen in YEARS, as he took tremendous amounts of punishment in a Horesemen-esque beat down.
3) Chuck Taylor - Taylor won CHIKARA's Rey de Voladores ("King of Flyers") tournament this past weekend, and with that win I would expect him to get even more big bookings, with ROH or FIP and he could be a big name on the Indy scene this year.
4) Jushin "Thunder" Lyger
5) Deuce and Domino
THE WINNERS!
Special Mention…Chuck Taylor, Paul London and Brian Kendrick - 16 Votes
Fifth Place…Christopher Daniels - 20 Votes
Fourth Place…Abyss - 21 Votes
Third Place…John Cena - 28 Votes
The champ is still the champ, not only that he survived and defeated Randy Orton and Edge on Raw this past week.
Second Place…Deuce and Domino - 40 Votes
Deuce and Domino shock London and Kendrick as they end their near yearlong title reign as tag team champions.
Wrestler of the Week…Santino Marella - 53 Votes
Santino Marella steps out of the crowd in Italy, gets a little help from Bobby Lashley and is now the new Intercontinental Champion. What a way to debut.
Year-End Standings~!
We are three weeks into the new year and we have our third wrestler of the week. It is hard to make predictions this early in the year, but it is interesting that Samoa Joe, Christian Cage, Homicide, RVD, Kurt Angle, Shawn Michaels and Edge haven't cracked the list, as they finished in the top 10 last year.
