411’s Wrestler of the Week 02.04.08: Week 44

Posted by Larry Csonka on 02.04.2008

Punk has a great rebound week; Tomko pins Angle, Averno and Mephisto win the CMLL Tag Team Titles and more! But who had the goods to take home the WOTW award? Come on into find out!



Welcome to Week 44, 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!

Daniel Wilcox
1) CM Punk
In a week where all the big shows seemed to be on autopilot, Punk stands out above everyone else as wrestler of the week. He got a win over Elijah Burke on ECW before laying out the new champ Chavo Guerrero, then on SmackDown he got the pin on Guerrero during a tag team match and looked great doing it.

2) Tomko: Tomko continues to roll on his own and this week he got a win over TNA World Champion Kurt Angle, albeit with some assistance from the Instant Classic.
3) John Cena: The former WWE Champion cemented his return on Raw by laying out Randy Orton with an FU on Raw.
4) Triple H/Shawn Michaels
5) Undertaker


Michael Bauer
1) Averno and Mephisto
In a week in which not much else happened, I'll give the nod to the CMLL and their new Tag Champions.

2) CM Punk - Two for two this week.
3) Degeneration X - God, I still love the antics.
4) Tomko
5) Larry Sweeney (RoH antics rock.)


Ryan Byers
1) Brock Lesnar
No, I'm not just doing this to draw Berman-esque heel heat in the WOTW world. However, I can see people objecting to this vote on a couple of different grounds, so I may as well address them. The first is that Brock Lesnar is now firmly planted in the realm of mixed martial arts and is no longer, in the strictest sense of the term, a "pro wrestler." However, if you're getting ready to blast me for that, I want you to go back and take a look at all of the hype for the Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir match that took place this past Saturday. Specifically, take a look at what Lesnar was doing. Throughout the build, the man did nothing but pro wrestling style promos on Mir, clearly attempting to play a heel outsider who couldn't have cared less about Mir's prior accomplishments. This man did everything that a professional wrestler could do and should do to build the fight, and the only difference was that, at the end of the hype, he actually connected with his punches. The second ground for objection that I can foresee is the fact that, despite the excellent build, Lesnar lost. We're not talking about a man walking in to the octagon and getting owned Bart Gunn style, though. Brock clearly held his own in the brief match, and the crowd reaction for him both before and after the fight indicated that he had been accepted by the UFC faithful. Throughout the hype for the match and in the contest tonight, Lesnar established himself as a legitimate superstar in his new field, and he did it almost entirely with pro wrestling tactics. That's why I'm calling him my WOTW.

2) Averno & Mephisto - These two have been on a real hot streak lately, and it all culminated in a CMLL Tag Title victory in a very lengthy match with Ultimo Guerrero & Atlantis. I'm hoping that this is the setup for a reunited Guerrero/Rey Bucanero team gunning for the belts.
3) John Cena - Jesus, were TNA and WWE dead this week or what? Cena gets the highest spot from those two companies by virtue of the crowd reaction that he got on Monday.
4) Samoa Joe
5) Ric Flair


Christi Csonka
1) Tomko
I can't believe I am voting for Tomko, I used to hate this guy. But he pinned the TNA World champion, actually with the time of that count by AJ he pinned the champion 12.5 times, and that has to mean something.

2) CM Punk: I usually don't like the ECW show that much, it bores me, but I caught it and Punk was on a roll. After looking like a loser when he dropped the title and then lost to edge, he came back big this week. GO PUNK!
3) John Cena
4) Samoa Joe
5) Angelina Love


Mathew Sforcina
1) Averno and Mephisto
They won some important titles, and are actually PROFESSIONAL WRESTLERS.

2) CIMA: He finally got the important win over Gamma, the other PROFESSIONAL WRESTLER he's been feuding with.
3) John Cena- He got a hell of a reaction as he stood in a PRO WRESTLING ring, in his job as a PRO WRESTLER.
4) CM Punk
5) Tomko



Andy Clark
1) Tomko
Tomko continued his push in TNA by getting a big win over TNA World Heavyweight Champion Kurt Angle.

2) John Cena: Returned to Monday Night Raw, responded to the fans, and got him some of Randy Orton as the show went off the air.
3) Averno & Mephisto: I normally don't give much attention to the lucha feds but it was a slow week everywhere else so I'll recognize their CMLL Tag Team Title victory.
4) CM Punk
5) D-Generation X


Mike Campbell
1) Tomko
Continues to be one of the few guys in TNA booked effectively, and getting a win over the champ doesn't hurt either.

2) Randy Orton: The night after getting one monkey off his back by beating Jeff Hardy, he got a second monkey off his back by RKOing Chris Jericho, leading to him and JBL winning their match.
3) CIMA: He got a monkey off his back as well, by beating Gamma, the guy who beat him to win King of Gate, and kept his title.
4) CM Punk
5) Colin Delaney


Matt Short
1) Averno & Mephisto
Won the CMLL Tag Team titles this weekend in a 30 minutes plus match. I'm no expert on lucha but a title win like that is impressive to me.

2) Tomko: His big push continues with a pinfall victory of the TNA Heavyweight Champion Kurt Angle. Tomko continues to look like a star.
3) CIMA: Defeated longtime rival Gamma and defended his Open the Dream Gate title in the process. Fitting revenge for Gamma's cheap win in the King of Gate tournament.
4) John Cena
5) m.c. KZ


SAT
1) Averno and Mephisto
Averno and Mephisto get the top slot for winning the CMLL Tag Team Titles.

2) Tomko: Tomko gets the second slot for his impressive win over Kurt Angle.
3) CM Punk: CM Punk gets the third slot for winning his two matches and ruining Chavo's celebration.
4) Randy Orton
5) John Cena


ARI
1) CM Punk
Go2Sleep out of Burke's leapfrog. Mariachi bandleader. The mustache. The look in his eyes as he bashed the guitar over Chavo Guerrero. The win on Smackdown. One of Punk's best weeks since winning the ECW title.

2) Tomko: The one man in TNA being booked 100 percent right on. Too bad that he isn't going to be challenging for the TNA title in either of the next two Pay Per Views. Way to be on timing TNA. Though Tomko, I certainly applaud you for getting your shit together and surprisingly becoming one of the more interesting big man wrestlers in quite sometime due to your attitude and demeanor. Call it the "Batista Effect".
3) Kurt Angle: Not for anything he said or did on Impact as far as his role in being a champion, but for his role in being an great hype man for Brock Lesnar's skills and abilities as Lesnar went on to fight his second MMA match and first in the UFC. Angle looked and sounded like a total professional and a major badass wrestler. He sounded nothing at all like the dork he has been booked to be while in TNA (and wasn't he doing interviews where he said he hated being booked as such while in WWE?). THIS is the Kurt Angle who if he was like this in TNA would be a MONSTER hit and maybe THE MAN to lead TNA to higher ground.
4) Averno & Mephisto
5) John Cena


Samuel Berman
1) CIMA
Hopefully Byers' vote for Lesnar will take some of the heat off of me for a week. I mean probably not, because I'm voting for a Japanese wrestler in the top spot, but hey, a guy can dream. Anyway, retaining his Open the Dream Gate Title is impressive enough, but when the victory comes against an adversary like Gamma, it ha to make the victory a little more special. CIMA seems intent on proving that he remains one of the top talents worldwide, a claim that was more than fair in 2007. Seriously, if you haven't seen CIMA wrestle yet, get BOLA 2007 from PWG or any of his ROH appearances and check the guy out.

2) CM Punk: Great week in the ring and in storyline terms for the Second City Saint.
3) Averno & Mephisto: CMLL Tag Team Title win is good enough for third during a quiet week.
4) Masato Yoshino
5) John Cena


JT~!
1) CM Punk
When you appear dominant in a major storyline in two out of the three TV shows for the WWE, that will tend to get you my vote for WOTW.

2) Averno & Mephisto: When you pick up a win resulting in the only notable title change of the week, that will tend to get you my (second place) vote for WOTW.
3) Tomko: When you continue your brilliantly booked push by beating Mr. TNAngle - the current TNA Champion - that will tend to get you my (third place) vote for WOTW.
4) John Cena
5) Randy Orton


Larry Csonka
1) Averno & Mephisto
Averno & Mephisto won a #1 contender's tag tournament that lasted 3-weeks to earn their title shot. With that title shot, Averno and Mephisto won the CMLL Tag Titles from Atlantis & Ultimo Guerrero at the Arena Mexico show. Live reports say the third fall went 35 minutes and by all reports it was one of the best matches in years. A great match and big title change earn these men the #1 spot from me this week.

2) Tomko: He pinned the TNA World champion, that's enough to snag second this week with no problem.
3) Samoa Joe: For once Joe came off like the bad ass they want him to be, and not the whiney bitch that he has been. Hopefully they can follow up on what was a good week for Joe.
4) CM Punk/CIMA
5) John Cena

THE WINNERS!

Special Mention…HHH/HBK - 6 Votes

Fifth Place…Randy Orton/Samoa Joe - 7 Votes

Fourth Place…CIMA - 17 Votes

Third Place…John Cena - 24 Votes

John Cena's return continues to spark interest, and with this third place finish he extends his yearend lead.

Second Place…CM Punk - 38 Votes

CM Punk was looking bad last week, but with a win on ECW, his mariachi attack on Chavo and a big tag match win on Smackdown, he is back on track in a major way.

Wrestler of the Week…(Tie) Averno & Mephisto/Tomko - 41 Votes

We have a big tie at the top of the list this week. First of all we had Averno & Mephisto winning the CMLL Tag Titles from Atlantis & Ultimo Guerrero. This was reportedly a great match and a big time title change.

Meanwhile Tomko's climb to the top in TNA continues as he gets a big win over TNA World Champion Kurt Angle. Tomko has been on a roll and is finally getting noticed.

Yearend Standings~!

We have 8-weeks left as we build towards WrestleMania and the end of the voting year. Averno & Mephisto make their debuts on the list this week with their big first place finish. Punk gets a string 2nd place finish and now finds himself in the top five in the yearend standings. Cena takes third and extends his lead overall. Tomko's tie for first leaps him into the middle of the pack, while CIMA's fourth place finish puts him just outside the top 15. We have 8-weeks left, and it is far from over.


-The top 15 spots are marked

1. John Cena – 102 (Raw)

2. Samoa Joe – 90 (TNA)

3. Kurt Angle – 89 (TNA)

4. Jeff Hardy – 80 (Raw)

5. CM Punk – 73 (ECW)

6. Matt Hardy – 66 (Smackdown) {INJURED}

7. Edge – 65 (Smackdown)

8. Randy Orton – 61 (Raw)

9. Mark Briscoe – 55 (ROH)
9. Jay Briscoe – 55 (ROH)

11. Batista – 51 (Smackdown)

12. MVP – 47 (Smackdown)

13. Shawn Michaels – 46 (Raw)

14. Nigel McGuinness – 42 (ROH)

15. Jimmy Jacobs – 41 (ROH)


CIMA – 39 (Dragon Gate)

Claudio Castagnoli – 38 (ROH)

Bobby Lashley – 35 (US Independent)

Chuck Taylor – 32 (US Independent)

Tomko – 29 (TNA/New Japan)

Kaz – 28 (TNA)
John Morrison – 28 (ECW)
El Generico – 28 (US Independent)

Awesome Kong – 27 (TNA)
Christian Cage– 27 (TNA)

Erick Stevens – 26 (ROH)

Umaga – 25 (Raw)
Bryan Danielson – 25 (ROH)

Giant Bernard – 24 (New Japan)
The Great Khali – 24 (Smackdown)
Takeshi Morishima – 24 (ROH/NOAH)
Chris Hero – 24 (US Independent)

Austin Aries – 22 (ROH)
Ric Flair – 22 (Raw)
HHH – 22 (Raw)

Sting– 21 (TNA)
Black Machismo – 21 (TNA)
Hiroshi Tanahashi – 21 (New Japan)

Mike Quackenbush – 19 (US Independent)
Kevin Steen – 19 (US Independent)
Chris Sabin – 19 (TNA)

Brother Ray – 18 (TNA)
Brother Devon – 18 (TNA)
Sara Del Ray – 18 (US Independent)
Vince McMahon – 18 (WWE)

Gail Kim– 16 (TNA)
Ken Kennedy – 16 (Raw)

Averno - 15 (CMLL)
Mephisto - 15 (CMLL)
Kenta Kobashi – 15 (NOAH)
Masato Tanaka – 15 (ZERO-ONE MAX)
Christopher Daniels – 15 (TNA)
Alex Shelley – 15 (TNA)
James Storm – 15 (TNA)
Chris Jericho– 15 (Raw)
Lance Cade – 15 (Raw)
Trevor Murdoch – 15 (Raw)
Santino Marella – 15 (Raw)
Eddie Kingston – 15 (US Independent)
PAC – 15 (Independent)
Davey Richards – 15 (ROH)
Rocky Romero – 15 (ROH)

Tyler Black – 14 (ROH)
Naruki Doi – 14 (Dragon Gate)
Masato Yoshino – 14 (Dragon Gate)

Ricky Banderas a.k.a. Judas Mesias – 13 (AAA/TNA)

Chavo Guerrero – 12 (ECW)
Elijah Burke – 12 (ECW)
Deuce – 12 (Smackdown)
Domino – 12 (Smackdown)
Chris Harris – 12 (WWE)
Shinsuke Nakamura – 12 (New Japan)
Gamma – 12 (Dragon Gate)
Taku Iwasa – 12 (Dragon Gate)
Keni'chiro Arai – 12 (Dragon Gate)
Ryusuke Taguchi – 12 (New Japan)
Dick Togo – 12 (New Japan)
Adam Pearce – 12 (US Independent)
Roderick Strong– 12 (ROH/FIP)

Abyss – 10 (TNA)

Low Ki – 9 (US Independent)
Vito Thomaselli – 9 (US Independent)
Sal Thomaselli – 9 (US Independent)
Icarus – 9 (US Independent)
Gran Akuma – 9 (US Independent)
Kenny King – 9 (US Independent)
Jason Blade – 9 (US Independent)
Lince Dorado – 9 (US Independent)
BxB Hulk – 9 (Dragon Gate)
SHINGO – 9 (Dragon Gate)
TAKA Michinoku – 9 (New Japan)
Yugi Nagata – 9 (New Japan)
D LO Brown- 9 (NOAH)
Bull Buchanan - 9 (NOAH)
Naomichi Marufuji - 9 (NOAH)
Mitsuharu Misawa – 9 (NOAH)
Keiji Muto – 9 (All Japan)
Joe Doering– 9 (All Japan)
Blue Panther – 9 (CMLL)

The Miz – 8 (ECW)

Necro Butcher – 7 (US Independent)
Finlay – 7 (Smackdown)
Paul London – 7 (Raw)
Brian Kendrick – 7 (Raw)

Hornswoggle – 6 (Smackdown)
Rey Mysterio – 6 (Smackdown)
Carlito – 6 (Raw)
Johnny Devine– 6 (TNA)
Booker T– 6 (TNA)
Scott Steiner– 6 (TNA)
Kensuke Sasaki – 6 (All Japan)
Milano Collection AT – 6 (New Japan)
Scott Hall – 6 (Independent)
Super Dragon – 6 (Independent)
Ultimo Guerrero – 6 (CMLL)
Averno – 6 (CMLL)

Shelton Benjamin– 4 (ECW)
AJ Styles– 4 (TNA)
Delirious – 4 (ROH)
Rob Van Dam – 4 (US Independent)
Hallowicked – 4 (US Independent)

Eric Young – 3 (TNA)
Big Daddy V – 3 (ECW)
Jimmy Yang Wang – 3 (Smackdown)
Shannon Moore – 3 (Smackdown)
Beth Phoenix – 3 (Raw)
Charlie Haas – 3 (Raw)
William Regal – 3 (Raw)
Mistico – 3 (CMLL)
Atlantis – 3 (CMLL)
Togi Makabe – 3 (New Japan)
Tiger Mask IV – 3 (New Japan)

KENTA – 2 (NOAH)

Jeff Jarrett – 1 (TNA)
Super Crazy – 1 (Raw)
JBL – 1 (Raw)
Hardcore Holly– 1 (Raw)
Cody Rhodes – 1 (Raw)
Colt Cabana – 1 (WWE)
Dragon Kid – 1 (Dragon Gate)
Taiji Ishimori – 1 (NOAH)
Minoru – 1 (New Japan)
Prince Devitt – 1 (New Japan)
Andrew Martin – 1 (US Independent)
Sherri Martel – 1 {Deceased}

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

Japanese wrestlers are represented in BLACK.

Mexican Wrestlers are represented in MAGENTA.