411’s Wrestler of the Week 02.25.08: Week 47

Posted by Larry Csonka on 02.25.2008

Steen wins a one night ROH Tournament, Human Tornado wins the PWG Title, Cena wins his way into WrestleMania and more! But who had the goods to take home the WOTW award? Come on into find out!



Welcome to Week 46, 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!

Chris Lansdell
1) Kevin Steen
Wins a hastily-arranged #1 Contender's tournament, beating Bryan Danielson in the process, the follows that up with a win over Joey (Mercury) Matthews.

2) John Cena: Beats Randy Orton to get into the main event at Wrestlemania.
3) Ric Flair: Picked up the win on ECW, and is going into some hall or another.
4) Shingo Tagaki
5) Jason Blade


JT
1) John Cena
Cena has been on an absolute roll since his early return at the Rumble and this week was no different. He got some good mic time in with his two WM opponents, and won a match guaranteeing his participation in the main event on the biggest wrestling card of the year.

2) Ric Flair: Some would say the greatest wrestler of all time, and this week it was announced he'll be inducted to the most recognizable (at least mainstream) Hall of Fame on the planet, beginning what will no doubt be a very emotional retirement weekend for him.
3) The Big Show: Much like Cena, Show also secured himself a spot at WrestleMania, however in doing so he also set himself up for the Trump-esque type coverage that the celebrity match got last year, thus meaning we will see a great deal of him on television - not just WWE - over the next six weeks.
4) Maria
5) Kevin Steen


Andy Critchell
1) John Cena
John beat the champ on Raw and thus is now in the main event of Wrestlemania. Let me say that again, THE MAIN EVENT OF WRESTLEMANIA. Nothing in the wrestling business is bigger than that. So John is the man right now.

2) Finlay/Hornswoggle - Finlay's performance on Raw was legendary. He really solidified himself as a babyface but not in a sugar sweet/constant smile kind of way that just wouldn't fit. Instead, he showed real emotion and let us know that is revenge is going to be harsh and terrible and epic. Little Hornswoggle took the most insane beating this side of Colin Delaney and sold it like absolute death. Haters can hate all they want but this little guy is the most over cruiserweight in 10 years. Prove me wrong.
3) Big Show - Appears on both Raw and Smackdown this week helping to further his red hot angle with Floyd Mayweather and so far has looked really excited and motivated and that should get us all pumped up for this Wrestlemania confrontation.
4) Kevin Steen
5) Ric Flair


Christi Csonka
1) John Cena
John Cena pinned the WWE champion and won his way back into WrestleMania. That's a damn fine week in my book.

2) Jeff Hardy/Mr. Kennedy/Shelton Benjamin: These three men won qualifying matches for the money in the bank match at WrestleMania. Jeff and Shelton flipping around off ladders and Kennedy being a general smart ass? Yes please.
3) Kurt Angle: Kurt Angle beat Booker T in a really fun match this week, so he'll round out my top three.
4) Kevin Steen
5) The Big Show


ARI
1) Nigel McGuinness
Finally defeats Bryan Danielson and retains the ROH World Championshp. he also completed a full heel turn based on the last two months of the fans in NYC abusing him...I don't blame him for doing so. Nigel is great playing the ruthless and dishonorable heel and the win against Danielson is important as its a win he has been chasing for two years now.

2) Kevin Steen: Pushed to the moon by ROH over the weekend with four wins in total, including three in one night in a number one contender's tournament and that includes wins over Delirious, Bryan Danielson (via submission with a Steenshooter) and Go Shiozaki. He had the quality matches to prove it to be the right move. ROH has a new number one contender and his name is Steen--buy the moonsault shirt!.
3) Go Shiozaki / Austin Aries: Both men had a fantastic back and forth match that made me come around on Go after being cynical about his arrival into ROH. Go also made it to the finals in the number one contender's tournament. Aries meanwhile continues to be courted like a prom queen by The Age of the Fall and now Tammy Sytch has thrown her...hat into the ring. Yeah, we'll go with that.
4) Roderick Strong / Erick Stevens / Necro Butcher
5) Big Show


Brad Borchardt
1) John Cena
Not only does John Cena knock off the WWE Champion, but he earns a spot in the WWE Championship Match at WrestleMania.

2) Ric Flair: Ric Flair continues his winning ways on ECW and is announced into the WWE Hall of Fame
3) Big Show: Right off the heels of his return, Big Show gets into the "Big Money" Match at WrestleMania against Mayweather and takes out former WWE World Heavyweight Champion Rey Mysterio.
4) Rey Mysterio
5) Maria


Samuel Berman
1) Human Tornado
Though he went winless in ROH this weekend, Tornado still made an impact on the East Coast, beginning to establish his character and mixing things up with The Age of the Fall. Oh, and then Tornado returned home to PWG and won a one-night tournament, becoming only the second two-time PWG World Champion in the process. Tornado, whose feud in PWG with Chris Hero is amongst the best in all of wrestling right now, is on a nice little roll right now, and could have a 2008 very similar to Claudio Castagnoli's 2007.

2) Kevin Steen: A huge weekend complete with a submission victory over Bryan Danielson and earning a shot at the ROH World Title had the top spot wrapped up until the PWG results were posted.
3) Shingo Takagi, BxB Hulk & Cyber Kong: Winning the Open the Triangle Gate Championship is a huge move for New Hazard, who is quickly becoming my favorite faction in Dragon Gate.
4) Yasushi Kanda
5) Nigel McGuinness


Ryan Byers
1) The Big Show
I've never been this big of a Show fan at any other point in his career, but, in the brief period of time since his return, this man has been absolute MONEY on the microphone. He cut another great promo this past Monday night on Raw, and I'm thrilled to see that the Mayweather feud is featuring performances that are up to the level of hype that it will be getting. This doesn't appear to be a feud that will be memorable simply because a celebrity is involved. This appears to be a feud that will be memorable because it's highly entertaining. Show deserves all of the credit in the world for that, and I hope that he gets a massive bonus when WM payoffs are handed out in a month or so.

2) Shingo Takagi, BxB Hulk, & Cyber Kong - They deserve some credit for ending the five and a half month long Open the Triangle Gate reign of Mochi and company.
3) Allison Danger - This is probably just the SHIMMER bias talking, but I've got to give Alli D. some love for returning to Ring of Honor and immediately getting involved in the Bobby Dempsey angle, which is a storyline that consistently gets some of the biggest crowd reactions in the promotion.
4) Human Tornado
5) Kevin Steen


Andy Clark
1) Big Show
Big Show stands to become a, ahem, big deal over the next few weeks as they gear up for the big Floyd Mayweather showdown. This week he continued his momentum from No Way Out by carrying the segment with Mayweather on Monday and by being a heartless bastard (and in theory turning the fans back against him again) by beating up Rey on Friday.

2) Ric Flair: Is official for the WWE Hall of Fame and had a really fun match with Elijah Burke and Shelton Benjamin on ECW. Whoo!
3) Human Tornado: Had a so-so showing (on paper at least) in ROH but supposedly really won the crowd over. Then he flew cross-country to win the vacant PWG Title and add even more heat to his rivalry with Chris Hero.
4) John Cena
5) Nigel McGuinness


JD Dunn
1) John Cena
Wormed his way back into the main event at WrestleMania. You can't get much bigger than that.

2) The Big Show: Big Show picked a fight with "the greatest fighter in the world" and virtually guaranteed that he will be the focal point for the show's mainstream advertising.
3) Ric Flair: Hall of Fame!
4) Kevin Steen
5) Maria


Mike Campbell
1) Nigel McGuiness
Say what you will about his tactics, but he was finally able to defeat Bryan Danielson in the ring to retain the ROH title.

2) John Cena: He earned himself a spot in the main event of the biggest show of the year. Cleanly.
3) Shingo Takagi, BxB Hulk, and Cyber Kong: Won the Open the Triangle Gate Titles, and Shingo and Hulk now have double gold!
4) The Big Show
5) Kevin Steen


Matt Short
1) John Cena
Pinned the WWE Champion cleanly to earn himself a spot in Raw's main event at WrestleMania.

2) Human Tornado: Won the vacated PWG World title this weekend in fine form.
3) Shingo Takagi, BxB Hulk, & Cyber Kong: Scored the Open the Triangle Gate titles this weekend giving New Hazard some major momentum for their up-coming showdown with The Muscle Outlaw'z.
4) Kevin Steen
5) Go Shiozaki


Bayani Domingo
1) Human Tornado
The second Two-Time PWG Champion won the title in a triple threat match against Roderick Strong and Karl Anderson in a very intense and fast paced match. Tornado's first title reign was brief and forgettable, but this time around as one of PWG's biggest heels and engaged in THE hottest feud in PWG at the moment with Chris Hero I think things will be much different.

2) Kevin Steen: Went 2-0 this weekend on his way to winning a short mini-tourney for the #1 contendership in RoH, went over some big names including making Danielson tap and taking out current Puro flavor of the month, Go Shiozaki.
3) John Cena: Yep, he's baaaaaaack. In the main event of Wrestlemania that is. Like there was ever a doubt.
4. SHINGO, BxB Hulk, Cyber Kong (New Hazard)
5. Roderick Strong


Mathew Sforcina
1) John Cena
Man won his way into the main event of WM by beating the WWE Champion. Good for him, although it further shuffles dirt onto my hopes that they revert back to a decent looking WWE Title Belt any time soon.

2) Nigel McGuiness: Finally back to what he does best, being an absolute bastard. Huzzah!
3) Kevin Steen: Hooray for Hastily Booked Bad Weather Caused Tournaments!
4) Big Show
5) Human Tornado


Michael Bauer
1) Kevin Steen
If not for Tornado going 0-2 in RoH this weekend, he would be #1. Kevin Steen had a better weekend overall, going 4-0, including wins over Joey Matthews and Go Shiozaki. Not to mention, he made Bryan Danielson tap out to the Sharpshooter. It was a great weekend for Steen as his star keeps rising.

2) Human Tornado - Chalks up his 2nd PWG Heavyweight Title, only the 2nd to do so. He went 0-2 in RoH, but he looked good none-the-less.
3) Nigel McGuiness - Defeated Bryan Danielson finally and went full-blown heel, something he needed to be.
4) Roderick Strong/Erick Stevens/Necro Butcher
5) Go Shiozaki


Theo Fraser
1) Nigel McGuinness
This past Saturday, in his ROH World Title defense, Nigel McGuinness finally got that win over Bryan Danielson that he has been seeking for almost 2 years. In doing so, he solidified his championship reign and cannot possibly be thought of as a transitional champion. But that in itself is not the sole reason why he gets my vote. Prior to the match, Nigel turned full-blown heel, and reports say that the heat was off the charts; the level of heel heat that hasn't been seen in literally years. Clearly, this heel turn is a big deal, and having a solid heel figure at the top of the promotion could create new interest in the product, which is especially important in this "PPV era" of ROH's life.

2) Kevin Steen: Had a fantastic weekend of ROH action, pinning Delirious, getting a clean submission victory over Bryan Danielson, and then going on to eek out a hard-fought win over Go Shiozaki, thus becoming the new number one contender to the ROH World Title.
3) Human Tornado: Tornado capitalizes on a series of unfortunate events for PWG to become the second-ever two-time PWG World Champion, defeating Necro Butcher, Roderick Strong and Karl Anderson all in one night.
4) John Cena
5) The Big Show


Larry Csonka
1) Kevin Steen
Kevin Steen won a one-night tournament for a shot at the ROH Title. But not only did he win the tournament, we need to see who he beat. He beat Delirious, made Danielson TAP and then beat Go Shiozaki in the finals. That is one hell of a night. He also scored a win the next night over Joey Matthews to complete the great weekend.

2) Ric Flair: Ric Flair made ECW a ton of fun this week, SHO NUFF! Add in the HOF nod and it was a good week for the Nature Boy!
3) The Big Show: Show and Mayweather is MANY BUYS!
4) John Cena/Human Tornado
5) Nigel McGuiness

THE WINNERS!

Special Mention… Ric Flair - 23 Votes

Fifth Place… Nigel McGuinness - 25 Votes

Fourth Place… Human Tornado - 29 Votes

Third Place… The Big Show - 33 Votes

The return of the Big Show and his interaction with Floyd Mayweather are keeping him center stage and for the second straight week he picks up votes. The man hasn't even officially returned to the ring yet!

Second Place… Kevin Steen - 45 Votes

Kevin Steen wins a shot at the ROH title defeating Delirious, Danielson and Shiozaki in the same night. That's damn impressive.

Wrestler of the Week… John Cena - 52 Votes

John Cena wins his way into the WrestleMania main event by beating current champion Randy Orton.

Yearend Standings~!

We have 5-weeks left as we build towards WrestleMania and the end of the voting year. John Cena wins a close battle and takes the first place spot this week, and now opens up a big 22-point lead. Kevin Steen's second place finish gets him close to the top 15 while the Big Show continues to make waves with his return. Human Tornado debuts late in the year with his PWG Title victory while Flair and Nigel make small moves. 5-weeks left…it isn't over, but Cena has a commanding lead.


-The top 15 spots are marked

1. John Cena – 117 (Raw)

2. Jeff Hardy – 95 (Raw)

3. Kurt Angle – 92 (TNA)

4. Samoa Joe – 90 (TNA)

5. CM Punk – 82 (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 – 45 (ROH)

15. Jimmy Jacobs – 41 (ROH)


CIMA – 39 (Dragon Gate)

Claudio Castagnoli – 38 (ROH)

HHH – 37 (Raw)

Black Machismo – 36 (TNA)

Bobby Lashley – 35 (US Independent)

Kevin Steen – 32 (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)
Keni'chiro Arai – 24 (Dragon Gate)
Ryusuke Taguchi – 24 (New Japan)
Takeshi Morishima – 24 (ROH/NOAH)
Chris Hero – 24 (US Independent)
The Great Khali – 24 (Smackdown)

Ric Flair – 23 (Raw)

Austin Aries – 22 (ROH)

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

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

Shinsuke Nakamura – 18 (New Japan)
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)
The Big Show – 12 (WWE)
The Undertaker – 12 (Smackdown)
Deuce – 12 (Smackdown)
Domino – 12 (Smackdown)
Chris Harris – 12 (WWE)
Gamma – 12 (Dragon Gate)
Taku Iwasa – 12 (Dragon Gate)
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)

Scott Steiner– 7 (TNA)
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)
Kensuke Sasaki – 6 (All Japan)
Milano Collection AT – 6 (New Japan)
Human Tornado – 6 (US Independent)
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)
Togi Makabe – 4 (New Japan)

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)
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)
Toru Yano– 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.