411s Wrestler of the Week 11.19.07: Week 33
Posted by Larry Csonka on 11.19.2007
Edge returns, Batista and Orton Retain, HHH and Hardy survive while Kaz makes his star shine bright against Angle. But who was able to get the votes and take the top spot? Come on into see!
Welcome to Week 33, 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!
Samuel Berman
1) Eddie Kingston
Some may question putting Kingston in the top spot due to him having actually lost a fall to CHIKARA up-and-comer Tim Donst on Friday night. However, Kingston went on to win his fantastic feud with Hallowicked, defeating the masked man (and one of the company's Campeones de Parejas) in a Falls Count Anywhere match. This positioning is as much about the specific accomplishment as it is about the fantastic build that lead up to the match, including a handful of the best promos anywhere in wrestling this year from Kingston. In particular, Kingston's rageful diatribe from a show in early August really got the ball rolling on this issue and would set up the epic encounter between two of CHIKARA's most outstanding in-house products. This looks to be only the beginning for Kingston, who is poised to make a quantum leap on the Independent scene in 2008.
2) Helios: A perfect three-for-three weekend and a successful defense for the current Young Lions Cup holder (who is NOT Ricochet, no matter what you may have heard...).
3) Lince Dorado: Wins a blow off Hair vs. Mask bout with Mitch Ryder, but was severely injured in the process. Get well soon, Lince.
4) Chuck Taylor
5) Bryan Alvarez
Scott Slimmer
1) Shawn Michaels
Shawn Michaels gets my first place vote for paying tribute to arguably the three greatest technical wrestlers in the history of the industry. We all wondered how the unique stipulations attached to the WWE Championship Match would come into play, but Jim Ross made it clear during the opening moments of the match that the end result would be a classic, technical wrestling match. And the theme of a classic, technical wrestling match is exactly what Shawn Michaels explored as he searched for an alternative to the banned Sweet Chin Music. It was inevitable that the Sharpshooter would make an appearance, but what was surprising was that it did not factor into the finish of the match. You had to mark out when Michaels used the Ankle Lock. Remember, Michaels tapped out to the Ankle Lock at WrestleMania, so it made perfect sense that he was quite familiar with it. But THE MOMENT that this match will be remembered for was when Michaels used the Crippler Crossface. One of the many horrible aspects of the Chris Benoit tragedy is that it all but erased Chris Benoit's spectacular legacy. We all understand why WWE can't sell Chris Benoit merchandise. We all understand why WWE can't make use of Chris Benoit's name as they did with Eddie Guerrero. And unfortunately, we all would have understood if WWE did all that they could to make sure that Chris Benoit is forgotten. But at Survivor Series, Shawn Michaels gave us a small indication that Chris Benoit will always be a part of WWE history. And by using the Crippler Crossface alongside the Sharpshooter and the Ankle Lock, Shawn Michaels let us know that everyone, including everyone in WWE, still knows that Chris Benoit deserves to be remembered alongside Bret Hart and Kurt Angle as one of the greatest technical wrestlers in the history of the industry. So thank you, Shawn, and thank you, WWE. Thank you for finally letting your fans know that Chris Benoit is gone but NOT forgotten.
2) Edge: Edge gets my second place vote for being the last man standing in a Hell in a Cell Match in which he wasn't even competing. Batista and The Undertaker were putting on a great show, but at the end of the night it was Edge who stood tall and instantly insinuated himself right back into the World Heavyweight Championship scene.
3) Triple H & Jeff Hardy: Triple H and Jeff Hardy get my third place vote for being the two survivors of the Traditional Survivor Series Match. Triple H looked like a beast as he continues to build towards a possible WrestleMania main event, and standing shoulder-to-shoulder with The Game gave Jeff Hardy a ton of credibility.
4) John Morrison & The Miz
5) CM Punk
Ryan Byers
1) Edge
I have to say that I wasn't sold on Edge when he first turned heel, but in the last year or so he's really been on a hot streak and turned in to one of the more entertaining characters in professional wrestling. Hell, WWE even showed how much they agreed with that assessment when they sent him over to carry a Smackdown program that was plagued by injuries. Unfortunately, the Edgester fell victim that same injury bug, but now he's back with a vengeance. Rumors of an Undertaker/Edge title match at WrestleMania have been swirling for a while now, and the end of the Survivor Series looks like it could've been the setup for just such a contest. Edge has already been a multiple time champion in WWE, but he's never had that epic main event match at 'Mania, so what he did tonight was (most likely) the beginning of the road towards further ensuring his place in history.
2) Lince Dorado - Given that he won his hair vs. mask match and thus his months-long feud with Mitch Ryder, I probably would've put Lince on my list no matter what. However, he deserves a good deal of extra credit for surviving what could have been a career-ending injury on Sunday's CHIKARA show.
3) Randy Orton/Shawn Michaels - Though I disagree with Slimmer (the crossface spot made me feel more uneasy than proud), I have to say that I had no clue how these two were going to work around the "no superkick" stipulation. It turns out that they took the opportunity to put on an awesome old school wrestling clinic. I'm not sure which guy laid out more of the match, so I may as well call it a tie.
4) Bryan Alvarez
5) Equinox
Andy Clark
1) Edge
I'll admit, I was a bit hesitant when rumors of an Edge-Taker match at WrestleMania started up again after Edge's Mania streak was broken this year (despite what anyone tells you). But after watching Edge come in and destroy Taker at the conclusion of Hell in a Cell has got me legitimately excited to see this two go at it. Well done.
2) Undertaker & Batista- These two had yet another great match. A good majority of the match was lifted from their Cyber Sunday encounter, but by the time they started busting out new stuff it was good as gold. This has been a great feud and one of the true highlights of 2007.
3) MVP- Had he not been the first man on his team eliminated at Survivor Series he may have been higher, but MVP's performance on SmackDown was absolutely great. The post-match beat down on Matt Hardy is right up there with the Christian Coalition's beat down on Abyss as one of the best of the year.
4) John Morrison & The Miz
5) Lince Dorado
ARI~!
1) MVP
One hell of a great character. Even with limited in ring action stemming all the way back to his health issues from the summer, this was MVP's week to shine. The character development from Raw to ECW to Smackdown and how it told the story of his changing relationship with Matt Hardy was brilliant. The "turn" of MVP on Matt after going out of the way to save Jeff Hardy and then being told by Matt that they were not friends--that is why pro wrestling can still be Shakespeare.
2) Shawn Michaels / Randy Orton: For showing that you don't have to book the Montreal Screwjob to have a main event title match that matters and is quality. This was good wrestling, good technical wrestling and a good title match.
3) Bryan Alvarez: Super Chico went on his Dethtour and took on and defeated his two hated rivals. First he took Ted "The Trailer" McNaylor to the limit in a near 57 minute match that will air for Derby City Wrestling (OVW's beginner class TV show). Then he took out the dastardly Larry Sweeney with a superkick at CHIKARA's Chapter 11 show. The head of the Figure 4 Wrestling Online is the NEW ICW / ICWA TexArkana Champion and he's bringing the belt back home to THE EMPIRE~! Alvarez is clearly a hero to all of us IWC writers out there that we can have out smarkish cake and eat it too.
4) Chris Hero
5) Lince Dorado
Bayani Domingo
1) Randy Orton
He beat HBK clean. Sure he got bitched out after, but a clean win is a clean win.
2) Batista: The man won the match. Tainted, but a win and it looks like he finally got that "Undead" Monkey off his back.
3) John Morrison: Took the Smackdown Tag Titles off MVP/Hardy and managed to not eat the pin at SS.
4) Chris Hero/Lince Dorado
5) Bryan Alvarez
Brad Garoon
1) Randy Orton & Shawn Michaels
The finish to the match, which actually exploited the contrived stipulation, is amazing enough that it makes me want to recommend both guys for the top spot.
2) Edge: Looking to do a good job as the 1997 Kane of 2007.
3) Jeff Hardy: Gets the CM Punk rub from HHH this year.
4) Lince Dorado
5) Chris Hero
Matt Short
1) Randy Orton/Shawn Michaels
I was really hoping that these two would find a way to make the stipulation in their match interesting. Damn all if they didn't do just that. These two get the top spot vote from me.
2) Edge: He single handedly saved the Hell in the Cell match from being boring overall. Before they busted out the Batista Bombs through tables and Tombstones onto stairs it had been a fairly dull match to me. Edge administers a hell of a beating on the Undertaker and returns in fine form.
3) Lince Dorado: Won a feud ending mask vs. hair match against "Marvelous" Mitch Ryder at Chikara's 2007 finale. It was a huge win for the youngster, though he suffered a serious injury during the finish. I want to give Lince some props for having a great 2007 in Chikara in general and Chikara itself for handling Lince's injury in an extremely classy fashion by stopping the show when it was clear that the fans and wrestlers did not want to go on. Kudos to all involved.
4) MVP
5) Jeff Hardy
Mathew Sforcina
1) Randy Orton/Shawn Michaels
One hell of a match, even if it didn't go the way I predicted. Orton gets a 'clean' win, HBK proves he's good, of course, and 'The Moment' that marks the point when He Who Must Not Be Named is slowly reinserted into history.
2) Edge: Welcome Back. Now win the damm title already.
3) Bryan Alvarez: Congrats. But be warned, I'm coming for you man!
4) MVP
5) Lince Dorado (Get Well Soon)
Michael Bauer
1) Randy Orton
Yes, a clean win over Shawn Michaels is a clean win over one of the greats. But the build this week was also great and Orton had the advantage all week.
2) Kurt Angle - Hey, did we all forget the Kurt Angle also retained his title CLEANLY?!? That never happens in TNA, but it did here, even if it was just Kaz.
3) Batista - He retained inside Hell in a Cell and remains 2-0 in Title matches in that structure.
4) Shawn Michaels/Edge
5) Incoherence (Delirious/Hallowicked)
TG Corke
1) Jeff Hardy
In a night where no titles changed hands and almost every result was tainted in some way or another, I'm giving the nod to one of the more impressive victors from last night. Most of us guessed that Triple H would survive, and I thought one of the Hardys would as well (I predicted Matt, who didn't compete...so technically I was right), but for Jeff and Triple H to team together as if they were equal and take down all five heels, with the final image being Jeff's clean pin on Umaga? THAT is putting someone over. Ok, five heels were 'buried', but Jeff's stock is raised considerably, and for that he gets my vote.
2) Randy Orton: Won a great match relatively cleanly, and perhaps his reign as WWE Champion will earn a new lease of life as a result.
3) Morrison and The Miz: New WWE Tag Team Champions. Argue about the situation all you want, but a World title win is what it is.
4) Batista
5) Kurt Angle
Sat
1) Randy Orton
Randy Orton gets the top slot from me for defeating Shawn Michaels in what seemed to be a very good match.
2) Batista - Batista gets the second slot for defeating the Undertaker in Hell in a Cell
3) The Miz & John Morrison - The Miz and John Morrison get the third slot for winning the WWE Tag Team Titles from Matt Hardy and MVP
4) Edge/Shawn Michaels
5) Kurt Angle
Andy Critchell
1) Randall K Orton, Esq. Randy finally got his signature win in his championship reign defeating one of the all time greats clean. Bitch about the stip all you want but HBK showed during the match that he can do pretty much anything and Orton was still able to beat him. I'm very glad to see that this title run will be much better than his last run. And say what you want about Randy but he sells Sweet Chin Music like death and it's always awesome.
2. Edge Edge came back in a big way and made an immediate statement. Even though we all knew he was going to come back and it was likely going to be during the HIAC match, it was still well done and Edge looked great doing it and reminded all of us just how great he really is.
3. Kaz Even in defeat, Kaz looked great in his match with Angle and really raised his global profile. While I am not 100% confident that TNA won't somehow screw this up, as of right now they have done a magnificent job. Kaz has got tons of talent and potential and it is really cool to see the beginning of what should be a long and illustrious career.
4. Miz & MORRISON
5. MVP
Larry Csonka
1) HBK/Orton
A great title match that played to the sips perfectly. That's good shit right there.
2) Kaz: Kaz cements his place this week with another outstanding performance. TNA has actually made this kid a star, and I for one am down with that.
3) MVP/Jeff Hardy: MVP got the great beat down on Matt Hardy this past Friday, while Jeff got revenge by pinning MVP and Surviving on Sunday.
4) Edge
5) John Morrison
THE WINNERS!
Special Mention The Miz - 12 Votes
Fifth Place Jeff Hardy - 15 Votes
Fourth Place MVP and John Morrison - 16 Votes
Third Place Batista and Lince Dorado - 17 Votes
Batista retained the world title in Hell in a Cell, with the help of Edge. Dorado has been feuding with Ryder for months and finally got the big win in their blow off match.
Second Place Shawn Michaels and Edge - 36 Votes
Shawn Michaels put in a hell of a performance again Orton at Survivor Series, and left his impact before the night way out. Edge made his anticipated return and got into things as he destroyed the Undertaker and put he and Batista on Notice that he was coming for the title..
Wrestler of the Week Randy Orton - 51 Votes
Randy Orton finally got the big win he needed to cement this title run, defeated Shawn Michaels clean and in the middle of the ring. Orton is now on top of his game, but one has to wonder what new challenges are on the horizon.
Year-End Standings~!
With John Cena out for the rest of the voting year (they don't expect him back before WrestleMania) the voting will continue to get very interesting. Survivor Series caused quite the change in the rankings. Edge, Orton, HBK, Batista and MVP all made important moves, which as you'll see have changed the look of the overall rankings.
-The top 15 spots are marked
1. John Cena 78 (Raw) {INJURED}
2. Kurt Angle 72 (TNA)
3. Matt Hardy 66 (Smackdown)
4. Samoa Joe 64 (TNA)
5. CM Punk 61 (ECW)
6. Randy Orton 55 (Raw)
6. Mark Briscoe 55 (ROH)
6. Jay Briscoe 55 (ROH)
