411’s Wrestler of the Week 04.14.08: Week 2

Posted by Larry Csonka on 04.14.2008

Samoa Joe finally wins the TNA World Title, Suwama wins the All Japan Champion's Carnival, the Briscoe’s win the ROH tag team titles and more! But who had the goods to take home the WOTW award? Check out the latest edition of 411's Wrestler of the Week for all the details!



Welcome to Week 2, Year-FOUR, of 411's Wrestler of the Week. A quick overview to kick things off as we have some new rules for year four…

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!

JT
1) Samoa Joe
Well it's about time! Samoa Joe went into the highest profile match of the week, and finally after two years of build won the TNA Championship; more importantly, he did so clean. No shenanigans, no interference, no Russo-riffic booking. It also happened to be in my eyes the best and most interesting match these two have had.

2) Christian Cage: First, he did the captainly thing by putting himself in the match first. He was then a major part of the Lethal Lockdown match the entire 30 minutes (being the focal point of the match several times), to include the possible spot of the night (cross body off the TOP of the cage, and/or off the top of a ladder sitting on the roof of the cage – INTO A TABLE). He got in some great offense, and at the same time sold for his opponents the entire time. Overall, a great individual performance by Cage in what was a group spotlight type match.
3) Kurt Angle: See everything I said about Joe, only he didn't win it. Great match and Kurt looked just as strong as Joe. To use a football analogy, it had a real "whoever has the ball last will win the game" feel to it.
4) The Briscoes
5) HBK/Big Dave


Andy Clark
1) Samoa Joe
You know how many times I was prepared to type this up before and how many times I've been screwed over? The build was great, the in ring story was great, and even though the moment was probably two years too late it was still great to see Samoa Joe win his first real World Title.

2) Suwama- Won the Champion's Carnivale against a very strong field, beating the hot Hiroshi Tanahashi to do so.
3) The Briscoes- Mark and Jay are once again your ROH World Tag Team Champions.
4) Kurt Angle
5) Shawn Michaels & Batista


Ryan Byers
1) Suwama
After spending a considerable amount of time as one of the most vicious, brutal heels in All Japan Pro Wrestling, Suwama has made a very smooth transition in to being one of the fastest rising young baby faces in the entire puro scene. That position was cemented this week, when he knocked off Hiroshi Tanahashi to win the 2008 Champion Carnival, a tournament which dates back to 1973 and has been won by the likes of Baba, Abdullah, Tsuruta, Hansen, Kawada, Misawa, Kobashi, and Muto. With Tanahashi and Nakamura on the rise in NJPW, Morishima solidifying himself in NOAH, and now Suwama and Doering becoming singles forces in AJPW, this has been an exciting time of change on the Japanese wrestling scene.

2.) Samoa Joe - What kept the new TNA Champion from being number one? The fact that the company has tried and failed with him so many times that I have sincere doubts about whether his run with the belt will actually do anything for his career.
3.) Claudio Castagnoli - Yes, the Briscoes won their titles back, but I am so stoked by the prospect of Claudio Castagnoli, ROH Heavyweight Champion, that I can't help but vote for him instead.
4.) Edge & Vickie Guerrero
5.) Anthony W. Mori


Matt Shrort
1) Samoa Joe
It was a long time coming, but Joe finally captured the TNA World Championship from Kurt Angle. Not only that, but the match in which he won it came off extremely well. He and Angle worked the pseudo-MMA style very well and built up quite a bit of suspense leading into the finish. Best of all the finish was clean.

2) Suwama: Won the All Japan Champion's Carnival this past week, defeating New Japan's Hiroshi Tanahashi in the finals. This year's tournament had a tough field with plenty of past winners, but Suwama came out on top to win this prestigious tournament and looks to capitalize on his momentum to earn a shot at Kensuke Sasaki's Triple Crown Championship.
3) The Briscoes: Defeated the NRC to become 5 time ROH Tag Team Champions. They might not have needed it, but it's still impressive.
4) Anthony W. Mori
5) Kota Ibushi/Michael Nakazawa


ARI
1) Samoa Joe
The build up during the show made Joe vs. Angle seem like the most epic confrontation in TNA history. I will give TNA credit where it is due: the build was right on, the hype during the PPV added an extra layer of importance to the match (as did Frank Trigg's commentary) and then Joe and Angle delivered. A really good match that had the right ending and finally Joe is THE champion in TNA. It looked to be but wasn't anti-climatic, and that's what seals the deal on Joe's placement as number one for me this week.

2) Shawn Michaels & Batista: HBK knows how to build drama and emotion into a budding feud. He's been doing it his entire career. Batista has certainly helped sell the enmity between the two and their fast growing feud is definitely intriguing. I want to see these two go at it and THAT'S a key for a great PPV match.
3) The Briscoes: Jay & Mark won the ROH World Tag Team Titles for a record fifth time, although this one sort of came out of the blue as it looked like the NRC would get a bit more run with the titles. I don't know what else The Briscoes can do as tag champions, but that's a question for another time. They earn placement here due to the hard effort they put into the match in Edison, NJ and an exciting one two punch of finishers in the Jay Driller and Springboard Doomsday Device to win the titles.
4) Nigel McGuinness
5) Christian Cage


Robert S. Leighty Jr
1) Samoa Joe:
Sure, it may have came later than most had wanted, and to me it even felt a little anti-climactic, but Samoa Joe is finally the TNA World Champion. The match will certainly have its detractors, but the end result was all that mattered to me. It was clean as a whistle, and that makes me happy.

2) Kurt Angle: Angle has dominated TNA since joining, and recently has been treated as a comedy character. For the last month we have gotten the kick ass machine known as Kurt Angle. It was this Kurt Angle that put Samoa Joe over clean to set him up as the man.
3) The Briscoes: The ROH Tag Titles are once again the around the waists of the Best Tag Team in the World. Enough said!
4) The Undertaker
5) Raven


Bayani Domingo
1) Samoa Joe
He finally won the big one and the "Age of Joe" is upon us. The build was great and the match was reportedly worth all the hype. If TNA manages to work this right they just might be turning the corner.

2) Suwama: Took the All Japan's Champions Carnival over a talented field. For those who have no idea what this means, go wiki it. Now.
3) Briscoe Bros: The RoH titles have come home.
4) Anthony W. Mori
5) Rhino


Seth Roy
1) Samoa Joe
The Samoan Submission Machine finally got the big title win, on one of TNA's signature PPVs, and at the end of one of the better builds in the company's recent history. It also doesn't hurt that the match was very good.

2) The Briscoes: Big tag-title win.
3) Raven: I'm a bit of a Raven mark, but even putting that aside, winning the AWF Australian title from a champion that held it for more than a year is a pretty big deal.
4) Kurt Angle
5) John Cena/HHH


MEEHAN
1) Samoa Joe
One word about sums in all up: "FINALLY."

2) Suwama - A strong week for performers in the Indies and on the international scene this week, as the hottest up-and-coming baby face in the Land of the Rising Sun managed to win the All Japan Champion's Carnival.
3) The Briscoe Brothers - The second major title change of the "just outside the big two promotions" came this week in the form of a huge victory for the Briscoes.
4) Raven
5) Kurt Angle


Jeremy Thomas
1) Samoa Joe
Much like the last couple weeks with Flair, this one is really a no-brainer. Joe's been trying to hit the top of the mountain in TNA forever now, kept down only by bad booking and Russo-esque storylines. Finally, in a killer match with a good build, he went the distance with Angle, and finally won...and not only won, but also he won cleanly. About damn time.

2) Shawn Michaels & Batista: I love where this angle is going, and Batista and HBK's promo work has been gold. I haven't been excited for a Batista match in a long time, but they've finally found a reason to make me care.
3) Kurt Angle: As good as Joe was, Angle has to be given the credit for carrying his part in a hell of a match. Angle did the right thing on the big stage, and I can only see good things from here--assuming the booking doesn't screw it up.
4) Raven
5) The Briscoes


Samuel Berman
1) Jay & Mark Briscoe
Perhaps Joe's title win was higher profile, but the truth is that few had the Briscoes pegged to regain the ROH World Tag Team Titles over the No Remorse Corps. In winning Ring of Honor's tag belts for a fifth time, the Briscoes have entered unprecedented territory. The real question now becomes who will be able to supplant Jay & Mark as ROH's top team. My money's on Kevin Steen & El Generico, but the line of contenders has never been longer.

2) Samoa Joe: About fucking time.
3) Anthony W. Mori: Becomes the first Typhoon member to be able to wrest the Open the Brave Gate Championship from around Masato Yoshino's waist.
4) Suwama
5) Shawn Michaels and Batista


Ryan Merholz
1) Samoa Joe
After two years of bullshit finishes and missed opportunities, Joe finally pulls out the clean win over Kurt Angle to pick up his first TNA Heavyweight Title...and the matched kicked ass. Unfortunately, Joe's first act as champion is sadly carrying Scott Steiner through a championship match next month. Congrats, champ!

2) Kurt Angle: Taped feet and weird MMA fixation aside, Kurt put on a great show at Lockdown with Joe.
3) Shawn Michaels and Batista: These guys have built up a fantastic out-of-nowhere feud for Backlash. Good news for Batista especially, because this match is virtually guaranteed to be roughly 1000 times better than his Wrestlemania outing.
4) CM Punk
5) The Miz


Stuart James
1) Samoa Joe
Who else really? Samoa Joe and Kurt Angle went out there, knowing that they've wrestled four times before and that their style would be repetitive. They wrestled a completely different style of match and, as a credit to both of these wrestlers, they pulled it off absolutely perfectly. Some people don't like the MMA style, and that's fair deuce, but credit has to be given where credit's due, as they wanted to give the fans something different to their usual encounters. To me, though, the match was absolutely wonderful to watch, as I love the whole MMA deal, and the finish was brilliant. Great match with a brilliant build and wonderful execution. TNA did a very good job here.

2) Kurt Angle: Anybody who ever claims this man is past it, or isn't as great a wrestler as people say, should take a look at the match at Lockdown. In my opinion, he wrestled like it was 2002, looking like an absolute beast in losing the title, and doing everything in his power to put Joe over. You may not think much of him being pushed down our throats, but this was magnificent execution, and the clean finish is brilliant. Sure, he lost, but it was the biggest match of the entire week (sorry, ROH fans, the Briscoes victory doesn't really compare), and they pulled it off.
3) The Briscoes: Shocked me and many other people by regaining the ROH tag team championship, to become five time tag team champions – more than anybody else in ROH history.
4) HBK & Batista
5) Rhino


TG Corke
1) Samoa Joe AND Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
Two words: Sanity prevails. Wherever Joe goes from here, we can no longer worry that he'll never have that big moment and that big win. It's been a long, sometimes head-scratching time coming, but eventually TNA pulled the trigger and, in hindsight, this was the best time to do so. Congratulations Joe, and congratulations TNA on giving us something to remember for all the RIGHT reasons.

2) Kurt Angle: A losing effort, but he brought the awesome to the ring and proved that he's still one of the best in the world.
3) Black Machismo: I'm a bit sad that Consequences Creed didn't fare better (though at least he got an elimination), but I'm pleased to see Jay Lethal keep a hold of the title.
4) Matt Hardy
5) Festus


Theo Fraser
1) Samoa Joe
I think the most common sentiment over the past 24 hours has been "about damn time!" I will agree on that point, but that's not to take anything away from Joe's win, especially seeing as how we got a great PPV main event out of it with no bullshit; just Joe and Angle going at it, one on one, which is all anyone wanted in the first place. Joe defeats Angle and rises to the top of the TNA mountain.

2) Jay & Mark Briscoe: Captured their fifth ROH World Tag Team championships, defeating the No Remorse Corps to win back the titles they lost at Final Battle 2007. I get the feeling the titles will be hot-shotted around for a little longer before we see another lengthy title reign, but it's nice to see the ROH tag team standard bearers wear the gold once again.
3) Shawn Michaels/Batista: The build to this match is awesome, and Big Dave is on top form, giving me high hopes for the match itself. I particularly loved the "psyche-out" as each man went for their finishers on Smackdown this past Friday. Very interested to see where this goes in London this coming week.
4) Christian Cage
5) CM Punk


Michael Bauer
1) The Briscoe Brothers
When everyone thought it would never happen... it did. The Briscoes once again are the Ring of Honor Tag Team Champions and it goes down in a wild main event. The Briscoes are Tag team Wrestling right now, end of story.

2) Samoa Joe - Samoa Joe would be #1 for me also, but TNA... it is too late for me to care.
3) Suwama - Finishing what he started and winning the Carnival.
4) HBK/Batista
5) Nigel McGuiness


Larry Csonka
1) Samoa Joe
The era of Joe begins and it is about fucking time.

2) Suwama – A win at the All Japan Champion's Carnival is good enough for second place this week.
3) Mark and Jay Briscoe – The Brothers take home another set of ROH tag team title.
4) Anthony W. Mori
5) Kurt Angle

THE WINNERS!

Special Mention… Anthony W. Mori - 10 Votes

Fifth Place…HBK and Batista - 20 Votes

Fourth Place…Kurt Angle - 28 Votes

Third Place…Suwama - 29 Votes

Suwama won the All Japan Champion's Carnival this past week, defeating New Japan's Hiroshi Tanahashi in the finals. The field was stacked, and this is a big win.

Second Place…Mark and Jay Briscoe - 45 Votes

The Briscoe Brothers regain the ROH Tag Team Titles, and further cement themselves as the most dominant tag team in ROH history.

Wrestler of the Week…Samoa Joe - 82 Votes

Samoa Joe finally wins the big one, taking home the TNA World title in a great match at Lockdown.

Yearend Standings~!

Just two weeks in to the new voting year and some of the major players are already off to a hot start.

Samoa Joe – 15 (TNA)
Ric Flair – 15 (WWE) {Retired}

Matt Hardy – 12 (Smackdown)
Jay Briscoe – 12 (ROH)
Mark Briscoe – 12 (ROH)

Batista – 9 (Smackdown)
Randy Orton – 9 (RAW)
Suwama – 9 (All Japan)

Kurt Angle – 6 (TNA)
Shawn Michaels – 6 (RAW)

Joe Doering – 1 (All Japan)
Anthony W. Mori - 1 (Dragon Gate)

Voting began 4.07.08

Year-End Rankings Key:

WWE, Raw, ECW and Smackdown Contracted Wrestlers are represented in BLUE.

TNA Contracted Wrestlers are represented in GREEN.

ROH Contracted Wrestlers are represented in RED.

US Independent Wrestlers are represented in MAROON.

Japanese Contracted Wrestlers are represented in BLACK.

Mexican Contracted Wrestlers are represented in MAGENTA.

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PREVIOUS WINNERS

Year One Winner: Ric Flair
Year Two Winner: Samoa Joe
Year Three Winner: John Cena