411’s Wrestler of the Week 5.07.07: Week 5
Posted by Larry Csonka on 05.07.2007
KAIENTAI DX reunites to win some tag gold, Edge and Orton delivers, Sting and Angle win their way into the Sacrifice main event, but who had the goods to take the WOTW honors? Come on in to see!
Welcome to Week 5, 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!
Rob Halden
1) The Great Khali
Bitched out Edge, HBK, Orton and Cena without breaking a sweat. Well, not strictly true, the guy breaks a sweat walking to the ring. Still though, big week.
2) Kurt Angle & Sting - Bad week for AJ Styles, but these guys both got themselves a shot at the NWA/TNA World Title.
3) MVP - His star continues to rise on Smackdown, with another win over Kane to become the #1 Contender for Benoit's US Title
4) RVD
5) Edge
Mike Bauer
1) Edge
Yes, beating all the major contenders may look impressive, but sometimes what goes on in the ring between the bells matters more. Edge defeated Orton cleanly in what was by far the match of the week and looked really good in doing so. Him and Orton busted their asses out there and Edge coming out on top may have been obvious, but it sure as hell didn't look like it.
2) MVP - I tell you, he better win the belt on this shot or he will look like than Chavo last year.
3) Rob Van Damn - Gets himself a title match next week in a very fun match.
4) Kurt Angle/Sting
5) The Great Khali
Andy Clark
1) Edge
I would have given him the tie with Orton but Angle-Sting need the tie more. While there was a lot of action off camera in the world of wrestling this week, not too much happened between the ropes. Edge and Orton had the best match of the week, and Edge won. Simple enough.
2) Randy Orton- See Edge.
3) The Great Khali- Laid out Raw's top four contenders and seems to have himself lined up for a title shot at Judgment Day.
4) Kurt Angle and Sting
5) Claudio Castagnoli
Matt Adamson
1) Dick Togo & TAKA Michinoku
These two did what nobody else did this week in any major company, they won a title. By dethroning Jado & Gedo of what seems like their personal IWGP Jr Tag Team titles, Togo and TAKA have earned the number one spot in this weeks Wrestler of the Week.
2) CIMA - Was the survivor of a big elimination match at Dragon Gate's AGGRESSIVE GATE this week.
3) Minoru Suzuki - Defended and retained the Triple Crown against TAJIRI at the Pro Wrestling Love in Nagoya show on Monday.
4) Edge
5) Kurt Angle
B-RAD
1) Edge
My boy Edge knocked off Randy Orton in the best match of the week in a bit of a slow week for wrestling so he gets my #1 spot this week.
2) Kurt Angle & Sting- Both Angle and Sting became #1 Contenders for the NWA Championship so they deserve the #2. Would of been #1 if it was booked better.
3) Great Khali- Khali took out Edge, Orton, HBK, and Cena this week and looks to possibly be in the WWE Championship Match at Judgment Day. Let's hope not.
4) MVP
5) Matt Hardy
SAT
1) The Great Khali
Edge and Matt Hardy won the two best wrestling matches of the week, but the Great Khali had the biggest impact of the week. The Great Khali manages to take out the entire main event of Backlash in convincing fashion. That definitely warrants the top spot this week
2) Matt Hardy - Matt Hardy defeats Mr. Money in the Bank and a future world champion in a great wrestling match. Matt Hardy gets this spot over Edge just because he managed to beat a future world champion, while Edge beat Randy Orton, who may never be the world champion again.
3) Dick Togo & TAKA Michinoku - They manage to win the IWGP Jr. Tag Titles.
4) Edge
5) RVD
Ryan Byers
1) Dick Togo & TAKA Michinoku
Okay, I'm going to admit some personal bias here, mainly caused by the fact that I'm marking out like mad for the KAIENTAI DX REUNION~! However, that shouldn't downplay their actual accomplishment, which was taking a set of titles off of Gedo and Jado that may as well have been welded to those guys' waists. Plus TAKA and his fake Mexican friends got a big six man victory on the major All Japan show of the week, so there's yet another reason to vote for him.
2) Randy Orton - Remember his matches with Kurt Angle and Rey Mysterio last year before his suspension? This guy always kicks it in to high gear when he's in trouble, and the Edge match was no exception.
3) Eric Young - Eric continues to come off as the biggest star in TNA no matter how hard the actual main eventers try.
4) Matt Hardy
5) Minoru Suzuki
ARI
1) Edge
Randy Orton only steps it up when he's in trouble. I'm in the habit of not rewarding behavior like that. Meanwhile, Edge always seems to come through nowadays, no matter what he is doing.
2) Kurt Angle / Sting: They both earned title shots with a simultaneous submission on AJ Styles during iMPACT. Maybe they can stop crying like a girl a skinned knee about who gets the shot.
3) Matt Hardy: Well it only took TWO years but it seems like Hardy is FINALLY winning most of his matches again. Hard to believe, huh? The curse may be over.
4) Minoru Suzuki
5) TAKA Michinoku
Arnold Furious
1) Dick Togo & TAKA Michinoku
I go with the logic of handing WOTW to the guys that won the belts. Plus I love both of them anyway. Even better is they went over Gedo and Jado who I can't stand. Although given their actively heel personas perhaps that's the point. Anyway gold = first place this week.
2) Edge. He had a great match with Randy Orton on Raw. Probably the best TV match this week. And Edge got the big win. Perhaps that's just because Orton is on an "I fucked up" de-push as Edge promptly joined everyone else in being laid out by Great Khali but what the hell. At least he got to win his match first.
3) Matt Hardy. He beat Mr. Money in the Bank. While that's not the same as taking down one of the upper echelon stars it's a step in the right direction. Maybe a Hardy push is forthcoming.
4) Chris Hero
5) Minoru Suzuki
Samuel Berman
1) Matt Hardy
I can only hope that putting Hardy over a guy like Kennedy (who's getting a really solid push of his own) indicates that WWE management is finally willing to try giving him something resembling a decent push. Matt's been ready to take it to the next level for a while now (beginning with the awesome "Sensei of Mattitude"/Matt Hardy, version 2.0 period and furthered by what should have been his career-defining feud against Edge) and I remain optimistic that they'll finally pull the trigger because he can absolutely hang with the top guys. Heel Matt vs. Cena? I'm TOTALLY there. Oh, and because Matt actually won a match he was in this week, let's keep the 'Samuel's ruining WOTW' nonsense to a minimum. Thanks. Oh, and a couple of other notes: I would vote for Cary Silkin & Gabe Sapolsky if I could (but I can't) and I flat out refuse to vote for The Great Khali this week. Period. And for those who might consider that 'ruining' WOTW, I remind you that he didn't even actually wrestle a match. And also for the record: I'm with JD that having Punk be the one who had taken out HBK, Orton & Edge would have been WAAAAAAY more awesome.
2) Edge - A solid match with (and the win over) Orton seems good enough for second this week.
3) CM Punk - Looked strong in squashing Thorn and is on a collision course for his match with Burke.
4) Dick Togo & TAKA Michinoku
5) Jay & Mark Briscoe
Mathew Sforcina
1) Dick Togo/TAKA Michinoku
Since no one else won titles, and it was a slow week regardless (any week that Khali gets a look in is a slow week by default), we'll go with the KAIENTAI DX REUNION~! (TM). And besides, beating up Gedo and Jado is a thumbs up from me.
2) The Great Khali- *shudder*
3) Edge- Getting a good match out of Orton's a minor miracle in itself. There's single-minded ring psychology (DDP and his Cutter) and then there's just one-dimensional wrestling (Orton and his 'cutter').
4) Matt Hardy
5) Eric Young
Matt Short
1) Dick Togo/TAKA Michinoku
The new IWGP Jr. Tag champions take the top prize for me this week. They dethroned an almost unbeatable champion team in Gedo and Jado and with no major shake-ups in North America them being number one seems only fair this week.
2) Mr. Kennedy- He lost to Matt Hardy on Smackdown, but there's no denying that he got people buzzing with his announcement about cashing in his Money in the Bank at WrestleMania 24. It's interesting to see what such long-term booking is going to do for the guy.
3) RVD- Won a four-way match against the other ECW Originals to get a shot at the ECW Championship. Plus, by citing this I avoid putting Khali in my top three.
4) CM Punk
5) Khali
Andy Critchell
1) Edge
The man looked great yet again in a match with Randy Orton which just shows how valuable he's been over the past year and he also helped continue Raw's streak of great matches every week.
2) Matt Hardy - I am not a Matt Hardy fan but he and Kennedy put on one hell of a match! Right now it looks like JBL is dead on when he says that Hardy is a main event waiting to happen. This match was almost on par with Edge/Orton
3) Angle/Sting - As hokey and contrived I thought the end of their tag match was, a number one contendership is still a number one contendership.
4) MVP
5) The Great Khali
JT~!
1) Great Khali
Yeah, I hate to say it myself, but as I said in Hidden Highlights, destroying four top tier guys of the "Big Brother" or wrestling without even trying will get you the top spot for me.
2) Sting / Angle - That was a really entertaining spot and in providing that to us they also managed to secure themselves BOTH a title shot at Christian Cage.
3) Edge
4) MVP
5) RVD
Bayani Domingo
1) Chris Hero
Won the wXw 16 Carat tournament over some pretty impressive talent from the US, Japan, and Tijuana (kinda). Though Nigel took the bigger tournament win last week, this is still a pretty impressive feat for a long 3-day weekend. I wonder if this will eventually come into play in RoH.
2) Dick Togo/TAKA Michinoku - Who else remembers that Dick and MENS were part of the original Kaientai with TAKA and Funaki? Now...Funaki is the last man standing in the "e". WHodathunkit?
3) Sting/Angle - Yeah, kind of a convoluted way to book a 3-way, but oh well, at least a real wrestler owns the title they're going after.
4) RVD
5) Khali
Scott Slimmer
1) Matt Hardy
Look, honestly, we all know where this is going. Matt Hardy has a genuine and passionate love for the business and is crazy over with the fans. He's paid his dues in every way possible and truly deserves his shot at the big time. He's one half of the reigning World Tag Team Champions and has picked up impressive victories over King Booker and Mr. Kennedy in the past few weeks. But like I said, we all know where this is going. Somehow, sometime, somewhere, Matt's push is going to once again be yanked away and flushed down the proverbial crapper for mysterious and most likely unjustified reasons. The dude just seems to have that kind of karma. So let's enjoy the ride while we can and pray nobody looses a limb when the train finally falls off the track.
2) Edge – Edge gets my second place vote this week for defeating Randy Orton in the best match of the week. Sure, he ended the show in a puddle of his own blood, but he looked like gold before that.
3) Rob Van Dam – Rob Van Dam gets my third place vote for defeating Tommy Dreamer, The Sandman, and Sabu in an Extreme Rules Fatal Four-Way Match on ECW and earning himself a shot at ECW World Heavyweight Champion Vince McMahon next week. A victory in that match could make RVD worth more money here… and more money elsewhere.
4) Dick Togo & TAKA Michinoku
5) Khali
Mike Minoti
1) Edge
Won against Orton on Raw in what was the best match from the majors shows this week.
2) Matt Hardy - Surprisingly beat Mr. Kennedy, leading many to believe that Matt may finally be on his way to a main event push. With Taker out, Smackdown could use a new main eventer.
3) Chris Hero- Won the wXw 16 Carat tournament. You always have to give it up to a guy for winning one of those tournaments.
4) Dick Togo/TAKA Michinoku
5) RVD
Larry Csonka
1) Dick Togo & TAKA Michinoku
They win the IWGP Jr. Tag titles off of Jado and Gedo, a team that have been glued to those titles. The KAIENTAI DX REUNION TOUR has begun, and I am more excited for this than the "DX" reunion from earlier this year, these guys rock.
2) Sting – Won the #1 contender's match along with Angle.
3) Kurt Angle – He whines too much, so takes 3rd.
4) Chris Hero
5) Minoru Suzuki
THE WINNERS!
Special Mention…RVD - 16 Votes
Fifth Place…Khali, Kurt Angle, Sting - 30 Votes
Fourth Place…Matt Hardy - 32 Votes
Third Place…TAKA Michinoku - 41 Votes
See Next.
Second Place…Dick Togo - 42 Votes
Dick Togo and TAKA win the IWGP Jr. Tag titles this week off of Jado and Gedo, and show that KAIENTAI DX still got it.
Wrestler of the Week…Edge - 53 Votes
Edge has another great match this week and beat Randy Orton clean as a whistle in the middle of the ring. The Rated R Superstar is on a roll with no doubt.
Year-End Standings~!
Edge crashes onto the list with the win this week, and is in the thick of things early on. With his strong finish this week, Matt Hardy moves into a 1st place tie with John Cena. Togo, TAKA, Khali, Angle and RVD all make their debuts and add some variety to things. With lots of regular shows, ROH and two PPV's still to come, before May is out the list could get very interesting.
Elijah Burke – 12 (ECW) Deuce – 12 (Smackdown) Domino – 12 (Smackdown) Brother Ray – 12 (TNA) Brother Devon – 12 (TNA) Dick Togo – 12 (New Japan)
Nigel McGuiness – 9 (ROH) Jeff Hardy – 9 (Raw) TAKA Michinoku – 9 (New Japan) Yugi Nagata – 9 (New Japan)
Paul London – 7 (Smackdown) Brian Kendrick – 7 (Smackdown)
Vince McMahon – 9 (WWE) CM Punk – 6 (ECW) Abyss– 6 (TNA) Sting– 6 (TNA)
Kurt Angle – 3 (TNA) Christopher Daniels – 3 (TNA) Mark Briscoe – 3 (ROH) Jay Briscoe – 3 (ROH) Bobby Lashley – 3 (ECW) The Great Khali – 3 (WWE) Togi Makabe – 3 (New Japan) Sara Del Ray – 3 (US Independent)
Jeff Jarrett– 1 (TNA) Rob Van Dam – 1 (ECW) Colt Cabana – 1 (WWE) El Generico – 1 (US Independent) Chuck Taylor – 1 (US Independent)
Voting began 4.09.07
Year-End Rankings Key:
Raw and Smackdown Wrestlers are represented in BLUE.
ECW Wrestlers are represented in GREEN.
TNA wrestlers are represented in RED.
ROH/FIP Wrestlers are represented in MAROON.
US Independent Wrestlers are represented in ORANGE
