411’s Wrestler of the Week 06.09.08: Week 10

Posted by Larry Csonka on 06.09.2008

Samoa Joe is the new King of the Mountain, Kaz earns a title shot, AJ Styles defeats Angle and Tomko, Jacobs and Black win the ROH tag team titles, John Cena earns a title shot and Matt Sydal debuts! 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 10, 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!
Andy Clark
1) Samoa Joe
Not only did Joe retain the TNA World Heavyweight Title at TNA's second biggest show of the year, but he became the first champion to ever retain in a King of the Mountain Match.

2) Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black: Defeated the two favorite teams in the tag team tournament to win the vacant ROH Tag Team Titles.
3) Kaz & Petey Williams (tie)- Kaz and Petey had a great match at Slammiversary which Petey won. Kaz also won the X-Division King of the Mountain Match on Impact to earn a title shot against Samoa Joe on Thursday.
4) John Cena
5) Colin Delaney


Shawn S. Lealos
1) AJ Styles
First, he delivers a fantastic promo against Kurt Angle, starting to eliminate his dumb hillbilly persona and then he goes out and pins Tomko cleanly. AJ used his highflying "face" style in the match against his former partner and looked fantastic. Then he fought a GREAT 20+ minute match and pinned Kurt Angle with the Styles Clash. A.J. is back and he's going to be huge again, mark my words. No one had a better week. It's about damn time.

2) Jimmy Jacobs and Tyler Black - They won the ROH Tag Team Titles. That is a big deal.
3) Kevin Steen - Made it to the finals of the Tag Team Tournament and made the ROH Champion tap out along the way. His tag team with Generico went 3-1 over the weekend.
4) CM Punk / Kane
5) John Cena


ARI
1) AJ Styles
I never watch Impact anymore, but on a whim decided to click on for the main event. I saw AJ Styles give an impressive performance, looking like a fiery baby face. Then a win against Kurt Angle (which still means a lot in 2008) at Slammiversary helps catapult him all the way to the number one slot this week.

2) Samoa Joe: A title retention at Slammiversary helps keep the TNA champions' momentum going and helps to somewhat rise him above all this will he or won't he turn on him business with Kevin Nash.
3) Matt Sydal: Mark out city for me when Sydal made his debut on ECW television. he gave a strong performance against Shelton Benjamin, was a part of several memorable moments in the match and got the crowd's attention. He also impressed enough that it seems he will be brought in full time to the ECW roster.
4) Batista
5) Tiger Mask IV


Chris Lansdell
1) Samoa Joe
Normally, a retention would rank below a title win. However, Joe retained where a champion had never done so before, and in the main event of a big pay per view. That puts him ahead of number 2.

2) Petey Williams/Kaz: AWESOME match at Slammiversary, despite Petey's injury, plus a tremendous showing from Kaz on Impact, mean that they too beat out a title win.
3) Jimmy Jacobs and Tyler Black: Winning the only tag title belts that get good attention these days is a big deal, and then defending them the next night helps your cause. If it had been their first win, they might have grabbed number 1.
4) Matt Sydal
5) JIMMY RAVE~!


Jarrod Westerfeld
1) AJ Styles
Normally, I'd highlight a big title change as being a reason to deserve the top spot of Wrestler of the Week (SERIOUS BUSINESS~), but considering the entire time I watched Slammiversary, I kept cringing and thinking Angle is going to die during this bout. I'm glad he didn't. I'm glad he actually looked good enough to walk out on his own power. I'm glad that these two lived up to the hype and expectations and delivered an easy ****+ match. Though their storyline has taken steps back while progressing to this point, but this match just worked out and everything made sense – well, barring Tomko begging, but you should know why I hate that. AJ taking the win, and with a finish that made sense and worked out well without making anyone look dumb (Hard Justice), it certainly solidified AJ as being back into the main event fold. Amazing match from AJ and Kurt, and because of these two, this is well worth picking up the DVD for, as they made me regret not buying the pay-per-view.

2) Petey Williams & Kaz (Tie): Petey retains his X Division title in a match that was indirectly built up, and in many minds stole the show, but Kaz won a King of the Mountain match to earn a World Title match on Impact (and yes, it was announced as a World Title match, just listen to Tenay on that broadcast after Kaz hangs up the X). It's hard to really pull them apart here, so they get to share the honor.
3) Jimmy Rave: I should put Matt Sydal here, but Rave shocked the Japan world by, up until recently losing to Koji Kanemoto, winning out round robin tournament of the Best of the Super Juniors in NJPW. Not only that, but he had a good showing in the X Division's King of the Mountain match over here in America.
4) Matt Sydal
5) Jimmy Rave & Tyler Black (Tag Team)


Jeremy Thomas
1) AJ Styles
Joe may have retained his title, and that counts for a lot. But AJ not only got a strong win in the main event of Impact against Tomko, he also looked great in a huge win against Angle on Slammiversary. Most importantly, though, he left the goof behind, and is AJ FREAKING STYLES again! Thank all the gods for that, and AJ gets WOTW from me for the transition.

2) Samoa Joe: Joe became the first person ever to retain his title in a killer King of the Mountain match, and can move on to his next feud. I just hope it won't be with Nash, 'cause yeah, that'd suck.
3) Kaz: Why does Kaz get picked ahead of Petey, when Petey beat Kaz for the X-Division title at Slammiversary? Simple...while Kaz lost his shot at the X-Division belt, he won a World Title shot on Impact. While this may be the equivalent of asking for five bucks, getting turned down, and asking for five hundred instead, it still means yet another title shot for a man that will hopefully win one, one of these days...even if it's damn well not gonna be this week.
4) Petey Williams
5) Jimmy Jacobs and Tyler Black


Matt Short
1) Samoa Joe
Done what no man has ever done before and retained the TNA World Title in the King of the Mountain match this Sunday. This was a damn strong statement on the part of TNA and how they're planning on booking Joe in the future.

2) AJ Styles: Rocked the main event on Impact this week defeating his former partner Tomko. Made his week even sweeter by pinning Kurt Angle on PPV.
3) Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black: Became two-time ROH Tag Team Champions in an eventful one night tournament after getting through teams like Austin Aries & Bryan Danielson and the favorites Kevin Steen & El Generico.
4) Jimmy Rave
5) Matt Sydal


Samuel Berman
1) Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black
Winning the ROH World Tag Team Titles for a second time pretty much automatically earned the Age of the Fall my top spot, but what's more impressive than their second reign (which moves Jacobs back into second place in total title reigns in ROH history with four) was HOW the duo got things done. They bested some of Ring of Honor's best on their way to a tournament victory on Friday and then continued their starring role on Saturday by defeating Austin Aries & Bryan Danielson at Saturday's Pay-Per-View taping. What's more, Black continued his run as ROH's breakout star by pinning former World Champion Danielson to retain the belts in Saturday's contest.

2) Kevin Steen: Though the big man fell short of ROH gold, he did force ROH World Champion Nigel McGuinness into submission on his way to a 3-1 weekend record.
3) Chuck Taylor: Retained his IWA Mid-South World Heavyweight Title over Ego Fantastico to continue his run to the 2008 Ted Petty Invitational
4) Chris Hero
5) Chris Bosh and Josh Abercrombie


Ryan Byers
1) Lance Cade
I realize that this pick is going to be a little bit off the beaten path, but the fact of the matter is that nobody came out of this week looking like he had more potential to make himself a superstar in this business than Lance Cade. Though it was hardly the focal point of Monday Night Raw, he looked like GOLD in his in-ring encounter with Trevor Murdoch. He's got the look to be a major player, he's got the charisma to be a major player, and he's got the in-ring talent to be a major player. Whether he becomes one is now dependent entirely on how WWE pushes him. He's certainly got the all of the necessary attributes, and, based on this week's segment, he's putting them to good use.

2) Katie Lea - Any time that you can make an in-ring debut and immediately look like one of the top three wrestlers in your division, you're having a good week.
3) Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black - Their first run with the ROH Tag Titles was criminally short, so here's to the AOTF finally becoming the dominant group that they should have been right out of the gate.
4) Tiger Mask IV
5) Tigers Mask


JT
1) AJ Styles
AJ finally didn't look like the clown in the background, and not only defeated Tomko on iMPACT!, but then went ahead and beat Kurt Angle clean on a major PPV for TNA.

2) Samoa Joe: First ever to retain the title, this being the TNA Championship, in a King of the Mountain Match.
3) Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black: See all the previous writers comments.
4) Petey Williams
5) John Cena / Chuck Taylor


Stuart James
1) Samoa Joe
Retained in the King of the Mountain match easily gets him the number one spot, it is a big deal and it looks like they're serious with Joe as champion.

2) AJ Styles: Put on a great performance against Kurt Angle and picked up the victory. This feud must continue ... when Angle is healthy again.
3) John Cena & Batista: Putting them together since they both did earn a WWE Title and World Title match respectively, both in very fun enjoyable matches, and they'll take on HHH and Edge at Night of Champions. I think that's well worth a spot in a very busy week.
4) Petey Williams
5) Kaz


Daniel Wilcox
1) AJ Styles
AJ gets my number one spot for completing the transition from goofy AJ to kickass AJ, as well as having a really good bout with Tomko on Impact and beating Kurt Angle in a great match at the pay-per-view.

2) Samoa Joe: Joe retained his title at Slammiversary in a very good King of the Mountain match and in doing so, becomes the first man to retain in this match.
3) John Cena/Batista: Both won fun main events on Raw and SmackDown respectively and in doing so earned themselves world title shots at WWE's Night of Champions.
4) Jeff Hardy
5) Petey Williams


Mathew Sforcina
1) Samoa Joe
What's this, a solid push for Joe? Dear God, what alternate universe have I woken up in?

2) Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black- I'd congratulate AOTF with champagne and hookers but they'd just complain about the commercialism of sex or something.
3) AJ Styles- He beat a crippled man. Well done.
4) Katie Lea Burchill
5) Petey Williams/Kaz


Michael Bauer
1) Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black
Look, when it comes down to it, The Age of the Fall did more last weekend then anyone else. They captured the RoH Tag Team Titles for a second time, defeating Steen-erico in the process. They also defeated Aries and Danielson TWICE including on the PPV taping. There is no question they did the most last weekend and deserve to be #1.

2) AJ Styles: AJ did look like a star beating Kurt Angle in the MOTN on PPV.
3) Matt Sydal: You can call it a mark out moment, but Sydal has made his mark in ECW.
4) John Cena
5) Samoa Joe


Larry Csonka
1) Samoa Joe
Joe gets first from me because he did something that never has been done before, be became the first man to enter and leave the KOTM match with the title. That's all I needed to place him in the first spot this week.

2) AJ Styles: A great week as he gets big wins over Tomko and Kurt Angle. Fire-filled AJ is back and that's cool.
3) Kaz: Kaz earned a world title shot and was part of the best match at Slammiversary, even if it was in a losing effort.
4) Jimmy Jacobs and Tyler Black
5) Batista/John Cena


THE WINNERS!

Special Mention…Matt Sydal - 11 Votes

Fifth Place…John Cena - 13 Votes

Fourth Place…Petey Williams and Kaz - 19 Votes

Third Place…Jimmy Jacobs and Tyler Black - 38 Votes

Jimmy Jacobs and Tyler Black survive a tournament and by doing so capture the ROH Tag Team Titles for a second time.

Second Place…Samoa Joe - 47 Votes

Joe has been rather inactive on TV, but he did become the first man to enter and leave the KOTM match with the title, which was enough for second place.

Wrestler of the Week…AJ Styles - 49 Votes

Big wins over Tomko on Impact and Kurt Angle on PPV were what got AJ to the top this week.


Yearend Standings~!
Lots of changes this week as we see Samoa Joe jump up and get himself in a tie for the top spot with Batista. AJ Styles, Kaz and Jacobs all have good weeks and move into those top spots. Finally, after 10-weeks John Cena FINALLY makes his debut on the list, which won't make some people happy.


Samoa Joe – 33 (TNA)
Batista – 33 (Smackdown)

Matt Hardy – 30 (Smackdown)

Suwama – 24 (All Japan)
King William Regal – 24 (RAW)

Jimmy Jacobs – 21 (ROH)

AJ Styles – 18 (TNA)
Kaz – 18 (TNA)

Homicide – 15 (TNA)
Hernandez – 15 (TNA)
Petey Williams – 15 (TNA)
Ric Flair – 15 (WWE) {RETIRED}
Edge – 15 (Smackdown)
Shawn Michaels – 15 (RAW)
Mickie James – 15 (RAW)
HHH – 15 (RAW)
John Morrison – 15 (ECW)
The Miz – 15 (ECW)
Bison Smith – 15 (NOAH)
Akitoshi Saito – 15 (NOAH)

The Undertaker – 12 (WWE) {"RETIRED"}
Jay Briscoe – 12 (ROH)
Mark Briscoe – 12 (ROH) {INJURED}
Roderick Strong – 12 (ROH)
Jack Evans – 12 (US Independent)

Nigel McGuinness – 10 (ROH)
Randy Orton – 10 (RAW) {INJURED}

Tyler Black – 9 (ROH)
Chuck Taylor – 9 (US Independent)
Mistico – 9 (Mexico)
Hector Garza – 9 (Mexico)

Kurt Angle – 7 (TNA)
Chris Jericho – 7 (RAW)

Keiji Muto – 6 (All Japan)
Mr. Kennedy – 6 (RAW)
The Big Show – 6 (Smackdown)
MsChif – 6 (US Independent)
Incognito – 6 (Mexico)

Bryan Danielson – 3 (ROH)
Ryuji Hijikata –3 (All Japan)
Jeff Hardy – 3 (RAW)
John Cena – 3 (RAW)
Beth Phoenix – 3 (RAW)

Matt Sydal – 1 (RAW)
Brent Albright – 1 (ROH)
Awesome Kong – 1 (TNA)
Mike Quackenbush – 1 (US Independent)
Scotty II Hotty – 1 (US Independent)
Joe Doering – 1 (All Japan)
Anthony W. Mori - 1 (Dragon Gate)
GAMMA - 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