411s Wrestler of the Week 8.06.07: Week 18
Posted by Larry Csonka on 08.06.2007
Masato Tanaka won the Fire Festival, again, Kennedy beat Lashley while Carlito defeated John Cena! Oh yeah, Stevie Richards won again! But who had the goods to take home the 411 WOTW title? Come on into see!
Welcome to Week 18 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) Masato Tanaka
This was a very weak week in the big two this time around, so my top spot is out in Japan. Tanaka won the 2007 Fire Festival for the second year in a row, which is no easy feat to win it once, but twice. It's like winning the Royal Rumble from the #1 spot two years in a row, which I don't think has happened...
2) CM Punk - Showed up in a major way on the main event of ECW to get a shot at a shot at Morrison.
3) Mr. Kennedy/Carlito - They both put on a decent promo and then made huge statements on Raw.
4) Matt Hardy
5) 'The Punisher' Andrew Martin
ARI
1) CM Punk
The Straight Edge Hero has rediscovered his confidence in the ring and has upped his game over the last few weeks with super solid performances. Punk remains a major focus of the ECW show and looks poised to challenge John Morrison once again for the ECW title at Summerslam.
2) Masato Tanaka: Tanaka and the number three choice prove that the veterans can still deliver. Tanaka wins the Fire Festival two years in a row and you can't help but think he can still do a ton more before his career is over.
3) Scott Hall: Hall's unlikely career resurgence continues in Puerto Rico as he successfully defended his title against Carlito's brother Eddie. Plus he is involved in one of the top and more heated angles in WWC. Another one for the bad guys.
4) Booker T
5) Stevie Richards
Julian Williams
1) Carlito
Got a win over Da Champ and even though it was tainted, a win is still a win.
2) Mr. Kennedy - Got a CLEAN victory over Bobby Lashley, which should automatically place him in the upper echelon of Raw.
3) CM Punk - Won the #1 Contender's match to meet John Morrison and maybe now Punk will finally get the duke.
4) Matt Hardy
5) Masato Tanaka
Ryan Mancuso
1) Masato Tanaka (Zero-One MAX)
When Tanaka was out for six months from a nagging shoulder injury, it was very doubtful that he would repeat as Fire Festival winner. He lost his return match to former FMW trainee and protégé in Yoshihito Sasaki. The former ECW World Heavyweight and Tag Team champion's luck would change. He managed to overcome the odds in winning his second straight Fire Festival.
2) Matt Hardy (WWE SmackDown!): Showed that he was better than MVP in arm-wrestling and seems to have his number in the ring. Could this be his time for a US Title run?
3) Mr. Kennedy (WWE RAW): A clean win over Lashley is very rare, but Kennedy did it. Could this be the beginning of his rise as a top player on RAW?
4) Carlito (WWE RAW)
5) Stevie Richards (ECW)
Ryan Byers
1) Ken Kennedy
I'm frankly surprised by the lack of love that he's gotten in the voting so far. Bobby Lashley has been THE guy that WWE has been trying to make in to a superstar all year long, but an injury cut those plans short. So, who does the company turn to when they want somebody to "put him on the shelf?" Ken Kennedy. Being selected for an angle of that magnitude proves that the promotion has big things in store for the man from Green Bay, Wisconsin, and it solidifies his status as a wrestler to watch, which was called in to question recently by losses to Super Crazy and Jeff Hardy.
2.) Masato Tanaka - ZERO-ONE seems to have all but fallen off the face of the earth recently, but Tanaka's Fire Festival win was enough to make some headlines.
3.) Scott Hall - Hall has now held the WWC Universal Title for three weeks, which, given that title's history, is bordering on a long reign.
4.) Stevie Richards
5.) Carlito
Brad Borchardt
1) Carlito
He got a win over John Cena this week and with all the injuries in WWE, maybe they are setting Carlito up for bigger and brighter things.
2.) Mr. Kennedy- Knocked of Bobby Lashley and looked great doing it.
3.) CM Punk- Won a very good Triple Threat Match to set up a 15 Minutes of Fame Match with Morrison.
4.) Matt Hardy
5.) Andrew Martin
Samuel Berman
1) CM Punk
Looked great earning another shot at ECW Champion John Morrison. Not that losing again will do Punk any good, because I'm pretty sure they won't move the title to him on free television, but still, Punk's getting pretty well established as being a mainstay of the top echelon of ECW. They could probably use one more solid player to mix in with him, Morrison, Dreamer and Burke (James Gibson, anyone?), but for now Punk seems to be one of the guys they're intending to carry the brand.
2) Ken Kennedy - Back near the top of the heap on RAW, even if it is due to countless injuries.
3) Claudio Castagnoli - Got put over HUGE in the ROH Video Wire heading into his ROH World Title shot.
4) Matt Hardy
5) Masato Tananka
Bayani Domingo
1) Masato Tanaka
It was a pretty unnoteworthy week this week in wrestling, but at least one guy managed to win something that had a bit of meaning behind it. Tanaka won the Fire Festival in Zero-1 Max, which...sure it ain't exactly the KotR or RT3 or...BoLA 2007!! But at least it was something, right?
2) Carlito - He beat the champ about as cleanly as anyone is ever going to get.
3) Marty Jannety - I hopped a van with some buddies to HESPERIA just to see the former Rocker in action. He got the pin in a 6-man tag that also involved the NWA Tag Champs as his opponents. Sure, it's biased, but did anyone else really do better this week? Not by much.
4) Andrew "Punisher" Martin
5) Mr. Kennedy.....Kennedy.
Andy Clark
1) Masato Tanaka
I'll take any chance I can get to vote for Tanaka. Tanaka has had great success in the Fire Festival and this year proved to be no different.
2) Mr. Kennedy - Bobby Lashley has only been cleaned pinned twice in seemingly forever. One was in the main event of a PPV against John Cena, the face of the company. The other loss was to Mr. Kennedy on Raw, and Kennedy sent Lashley out with an injury to boot.
3) Bryan Danielson - I wasn't able to get in my vote for him last week, but last Sunday he won the PWG Title from El Generico. This sets up a PWG Champion vs. ROH Champion Match in August as he challenges Takeshi Morishima for the title. Add in his role in the NWA Title Tournament and the American Dragon could win the Indy Triple Crown.
4) Carlito
5) CM Punk
Mathew Sforcina
1) Masato Tanaka
Hey, he actually won something tangable this week, that's enough for this week.
2) Mr. Kennedy- He took Bobby Lashley out. Simple.
3) Carlito- He pinned John Cena. I want to put him up a couple of ranks, but I just can't.
4) Stevie Richards
5) CM Punk
JT~!
1) Masato Tanaka
As many have mentioned, this was a fairly slow week wrestling wise. I would again like to touch on Ryan's comments because given the fact that Masato was out for half a year combined with his results since returning, I don't think ANYONE saw this coming. Not only that, doing it two years in a row at the Fire Festival is impressive no matter what the circumstances coming in.
2) Kennedy - Got the win over the guy who Vince has put over just about EVERYONE in the roster. They have handed Kennedy some questionable losses but they have (and he has) always made him look strong more than not. This week may have been the biggest instance of that.
3) CM Punk - He has been on a role (sans title matches) and really stepped up his game as of late. This week he elevated his status against two of ECW's toughest to earl himself another shot at the gold.
4) Dave Batista
5) Andrew Martin
Mike Minotti
1) Mr. Kennedy
Mr. Kennedy put Bobby Lashley, a man the WWE has been pushing as nothing short of unstoppable, out of commission. This relatively clean win for Mr. Kennedy is huge, and may lead further credence to his claim of being the real number one contender. I'm very glad to see Kennedy finally getting a good push.
2) Masato Tanaka - Won the 2007 Fire Festival for the second year in a row. I'll give him the top spot next year if he can keep this streak going.
3) Carlito - It was hardly a clean win, but a win against the champ is still a big deal. This is probably the most significant thing to happen for Carlito in a long time.
4) CM Punk
5) Claudio Castagnoli
SAT
1) Mr. Kennedy
Mr. Kennedy gets the top slot from me by defeating Bobby Lashley. Sure, Lashley is injured, but this is a huge win for Mr. Kennedy
2) CM Punk - CM Punk gets the second slot for becoming the number one contender for the ECW Title
3) Carlito - Carlito gets the third slot for defeating John Cena
4) Masato Tanaka
5) Matt Hardy
Daniel Wilcox
1) Mr. Kennedy/Carlito - Both guys got (just about) clean wins over Raw's two biggest stars in Bobby Lashley and WWE Champion John Cena respectively and may now both be in line of a WWE Title shot.
2) CM Punk - Looked good in the triple threat match on ECW and now he has the chance to face Morrison for the ECW Championship.
3) Matt Hardy - He is better than MVP.
4) Stevie Richards
5) Andrew Martin
Matt Adamson
1) CM Punk
A rather weak week for wrestling lands CM Punk the top spot as he looked impressive in the triple threat match. It's always nice to see a guy who actually has to work for his spot do well.
2) Masato Tanaka - While Zero-1 isn't exactly the top tier, it is still impressive to win the Fire Festival.
3) Mr. Kennedy - The stop burying the guy, which makes me a happy fan.
4) Carlito
5) Andrew Martin
Larry Csonka
1) Masato Tanaka
Making it 2-years in a row for the fire festival is a big deal, especially with Tanaka coming off of the injury. This is a huge win, and hopefully he gets rolling again as he had a good year last year, until his injury.
2) Ken Kennedy Kennedy defeated Lashley and FINALLY got a big win on Raw, hopefully recapturing some of the lost momentum he had.
3) CM Punk Punk won a great ECW main event last week and gets a shot for a shot at Morrison. PS: Screw Carlito.
4) Matt Hardy/Andrew Martin
5) Stevie Richards
THE WINNERS!
Special Mention Andrew Martin - 11 Votes
Fifth Place Matt Hardy - 19 Votes
Fourth Place Carlito - 36 Votes
Third Place CM Punk - 43 Votes
CM Punk defeated Tommy Dreamer and Elijah Burke in a great three-way match to earn the shot in 15-minutes of fame with Morrison.
Second Place Masato Tanaka - 56 Votes
Masato Tanaka made it a repeat performance at the Fire Festival and reminded many people that ZERO-ONE MAX is till a promotion.
Wrestler of the Week Ken Kennedy - 61 Votes
The big winner of the week was Ken Kennedy. He took out WWE Juggernaut Bobby Lashley. Kennedy looks to rise up to the top of the roster, and this was the first step.
Year-End Standings~!
Ken Kennedy makes his debut on the list this week along side Masato Tanaka, Andrew Martin and Carlito. CM Punk and Matt Hardy also make moves in the top 10 as that changes a bit. We're 18 weeks into the year, who will make the big move? Will there be more separation by Cena? Come back next week to see!
-The top 10 spots are marked
1. John Cena 63 (Raw)
2. Kurt Angle 45 (TNA)
2. Matt Hardy 45 (Smackdown)
4. Samoa Joe 42 (TNA)
5. Edge 38 (Smackdown)
6. CM Punk 36 (ECW)
7. Bobby Lashley 35 (Raw)
8. MVP 31 (Smackdown)
9. Mark Briscoe 22 (ROH)
9. Jay Briscoe 22 (ROH)
Brother Ray 18 (TNA) Brother Devon 18 (TNA) Sara Del Ray 18 (US Independent) Vince McMahon 18 (WWE) The Great Khali 18 (Raw)
