411’s Wrestler of the Week 07.07.08: Week 14

Posted by Larry Csonka on 07.07.2008

CM Punk wins the World Title, Chris Hero wins the PWG Title, MsChif retains her SHIMMER title, Edge is awesome, the Age of the Fall collect more tag team gold and much 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 14, 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

If you are wondering how some of the writers decide who to vote for, please check out our Wrestler of the Week Supplemental Column!

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) CM Punk
Well duh. Even if I wasn't the biggest Punk mark ever, by my criteria that non-kayfabe accomplishments and title wins mean the most then he should win this week. Easiest decision ever.

2) Matt Hardy: A very good fatal four way title defense on Smackdown where the champion looked strong in defending. In a slow week that's good enough for number 2.
3) MsChif: 2 SHIMMER title defenses against 2 top challengers. Takes the third slot because the US Title is higher-profile.
4) Jeff Hardy
5) Cody Rhodes


Andy Clark
1) CM Punk
ROHbots and WWE homers rejoice, CM Punk is your new World Heavyweight Champion and presumably 411 Wrestler of the Week.

2) Edge: Edge was absolutely awesome all week, from his interruption of JR, to his treatment of those Edge guys, to beaning Festus with a chair, to breaking it off with Vickie.
3) Chris Hero: At long last one of the most entertaining acts in the Indies is champion of a relevant organization.
4) Mark Henry
5) MsChif


Matt Short
1) CM Punk
I honestly didn't think they had the balls to pull the trigger on this. My first reaction to when he came out last Monday was "no fucking way." Well, they did it and CM Punk is the new World Heavyweight Champion on Raw.

2) Chris Hero: New PWG World Champion? Awesome, if anyone on the US Indies deserves that kind of recognition it's Chris Hero.
3) Edge: Even in defeat, he was the best heel he could be all week. An awesome promo on Raw followed by scoring massive heat for wailing on a post-match Festus.
4) Matt Hardy
5) Milano Collection AT


Jarrod Westerfeld
1) CM Punk
ROHBots rejoice, our beloved Chicago child has arisen to the mountain tops of glory and fame in the world of "relevant" wrestling by becoming the surprise champion of the Raw brand by defeating Edge for the World Heavyweight Champion. He then continued the effect by defending his newly won prize against JBL on that same show, and walked away the biggest buzz of the wrestling world this week – a week so slow that almost nothing else happened of note. So he's the clear cut winner for this week's pick, the rest of the card not so easy.

2) Matt Hardy & MsChif (Tie): I can't split the two apart for some reason. MsChif successfully defended her title twice this weekend over two tough competitors in the Shimmer fields, while Hardy successfully fended off three other opponents on SmackDown to retain his US Championship.
3) Chris Hero: A title win always is more impressive and appealing than a retention but Hero's victory came over an already injured Human Tornado, so the victory isn't nearly as impressive over some title retentions made this week.
4) Jimmy Jacobs and Tyler Black (Tag Team)
5) Edge


ARI
1) CM Punk
I am said ROHbot and WWE fan, and I have been / am currently / will continue to rejoice. PUNK WINS! PUNK WINS! PUNK WINS! You better believe that this was one of the best moments of the year in professional wrestling, a moment that surprised many and yet made perfect sense. Then Punk bests JBL when it surely seemed like this was the avenue to get the title off of him quickly. Punk owns this week and he and WWE deserve every bit of kudos for it.

2) Edge: Just as nearly as awesome as watching CM Punk win the title was seeing Edge truly being the perfect heel this past Monday. He was awesome in taking out JR in a verbal confrontation, awesome in getting his butt kicked by Batista and awesome in his spoil sport act after losing to CM Punk via his actions on Smackdown.
3) Age of the Fall (Tyler Black & Jimmy Jacobs): Unexpectedly (to me anyway) pick up the win on PWG's Sixth Anniversary Show and become dual tag champions there and in ROH. This sort of thing really hasn't been done with the major independent titles since The Briscoes wore ROH and FIP tag gold or really The Kings of Wrestling held the ROH, CHIKARA and CZW tag straps. It goes to show you how far Black and Jacobs have become as a marketable tag team, from their D.I.F.H. roots in WSX to being one of if not the top tag team currently on the independent scene.
4) Chris Hero
5) MsChif


Christi Csonka
1) CM Punk
I wouldn't have believed it if I didn't see it with my own eyes, but WWE did something really cool Monday night and I loved it. I think most know I like a lot of the guys like Punk, Morrison, Hardy of course and the younger, fun guys. I think this is a great step for WWE and they have me happy, and interested.

2) MsChif: She defended the SHIMMER title two times this past weekend and is off to a great start as the champion.
3) Matt Hardy: Matt Hotty defended his US Title against three others on Smackdown this week. That's enough to grab a 3rd place nod from me.
4) Milano Collection AT
5) Jeff Hardy


Jeremy Thomas
1) CM Punk
It's the clearest-cut case of a WOTW winner since Flair's retirement. I mean, really. What was nice about it was, even though Punk won in a manner that meant Edge had an excuse for losing the title, they still put him over a mega-heel in JBL at the end of the match. It's about time the 'E recognized what they had and Punk got his legitimacy. Plus, I have to give Punk "best expressions of the week" for how he was practically bouncing all over the ring waiting for the match to be called. Absolutely tremendous.

2) MsChif: Let's do the SHIMMER math here. Jetta wins a battle royal featuring most of the SHIMMER talent, including Awesome Kong, Sara Del Ray, Serema Deeb, and more. MsChif beat Jetta. On the same show, Cheerleader Mercedes Martinez beats Cheerleader Melissa in a great match. Later in the night for the second taping, MsChif beats Mercedes. MsChif is being booked really strong, and she successfully defended the title twice in good matches. That's number two in my book.
3) Matt Hardy: Defended the US title on SmackDown in a pretty damn decent four-way match, and looked strong doing so. And that was after he was on the winning side of a six-man tag on ECW. Way to go, Matt.
4) Edge
5) Chris Hero


Samuel Berman
1) CM Punk
This week, THE story is Punk's shocking World Heavyweight Title win. Rather than throw out the notion that this title change is a huge one for Ring of Honor because now two of the three major televised singles titles in the United States are held by ROH alumni, I'll go another route and say how much I'd love to see WWE turn Punk heel after a short babyface run. Having Punk turn on the RAW after Summerslam and reprise his "I'm better than you" persona from early in his career would be an absolutely fabulous way to inject some casual fan interest in him (by allowing him more promo time), and would solidify RAW's heel contingent to boot. Anyway, it's nice to see World Wrestling Entertainment taking a chance like this. I think that if Punk's ROH career is any indication, they won't be disappointed.

2) Chris Hero: The former IWA Mid-South ace returns to form, defeating longtime nemesis Human Tornado for the PWG World Title.
3) Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black: The Age of the Fall reigns out West as well, with the duo now holding both the ROH and PWG World Tag Team Titles.
4) MsChif
5) Ricochet


JT
1) CM Punk
How could I not? I'm going to share a little story. A good friend of mine is also the one I happen to work with the most. He doesn't really "watch" wrestling, but he "follows" it because his roommate is a huge fan; so he saw Night of Champions by default. I walk into work on Monday and he says to me, "dude, they're gonna put the title on Punk, I can feel it". I proceed to go into a five minute discussion about how it will never happen anytime soon and it's completely the wrong time. Eight hours later, I was eating my words and low and behold Punk had just won the World Heavyweight Championship. I then proceeded to think "wow, they're going to ruin this by having JBL win" (not that I'd have minded). Again, I was eating crow. I didn't like the build to him winning, but I have no problem giving it a shot. Bottom line though is that CM Punk is clearly the WOTW, as he was catapulted to holding the main title on the flagship show within a week of being "randomly drafted". Throw in the fact that ECW and SmackDown! reminded me 23 times of what happened, and it would be impossible to vote for anyone else.

2) Edge: Oh yes, Edge. It's no secret that while I'm a huge fan of Edge, I have absolutely loathed the whole "I need two jobbers, a third big man, a GM fiancé, 19 extras, 32 executives, and family members to even win a match" angle, but that is why I was so happy this week. First Edge was an uber-dick perfect heel on RAW …. BY HIMSELF (sans the two minute cameo from the Edge Guys), then he went to SmackDown! and yelled at everyone.

I DON'T NEED YOU JOBBERS!

I DON'T NEED YOU VICKIE!

I DON'T NEED YOU OTHER PEOPLE!

I AM DONE WITH THIS SHIT!

And finally, Edge and I were on the same page. I've been saying that from the start man! Now, will this separation from everyone last? I doubt it, but I will fucking take it when I can get it, so he gets my vote for his SOLO awesomeness this week.
3) Matt Hardy: This is where I'll get shit for focusing too much on the mainstream feds, but to me it was impressive. At Night of Champions, they sent belts to shows they were not accustomed to. On RAW, we had no world title but that lasted about 10 minutes. On ECW we had a SmackDown! title (U.S.) that I did NOT think would stick around. I thought for sure it was headed right back to SD either in the form of Kennedy or Shelton. It did not. Hardy picked up the win, and that win came on the heels of winning a tag match against the tag champs and one of the most recent ECW champions on ECW three days earlier.
4) Age of the Fall
5) Chris Hero/MsChif


Bayani Domingo
1) CM Punk
The man is at the pinnacle of professional wrestling right now. The champion of the most important show in the most important company in wrestling. While I'm skeptical about how he'll be used and how he'll be booked, at least there is hope. This may be a big turning point for the company if Punk can manage to draw even a little money as champion. Hail the "New Blood".

2) Chris Hero: In the big blow off to the biggest feud in PWG in quite some time, Hero manages to win the PWG title in a steel cage in an absolutely insanely violent match. Although it will be interesting to see how Hero is booked since his victory speech sounded almost "heelish" in his delivery.
3) Age Of The Fall (Jacobs/Black): No one expected AoTF to be the next PWG champs and now they own arguably the two biggest tag titles on the Indy scene today. Does this mean that the PWG tag titles will finally find stability or are they just another stop along the way for the belts?
4) MsChif
5) Human Tornado


Shawn S Lealos
1) CM Punk
Who would have believed a few years ago that CM Punk and Samoa Joe would be World Champions in the WWE and TNA? People can cry all they want about how Ring of Honor is not important in the grand scheme of things, but this fact alone proves they are wrong. Hey, did I mention I was at the RAW this title change occurred on? GREATEST WRESTLING MOMENT I HAVE EVER SEEN (IN PERSON). Yeah, this was an easy one this week.

2) AJ Styles: Styles continues to be awesome on TNA and I'll keep voting for him until everyone else takes notice.
3) Edge: I flipped when Edge's music started up on Monday night. I never expected to see the Rated R Superstar in person at a RAW taping, but he came out, ruled on the microphone, took a GREAT beat down and then left in a huff. Then he dumped Vickie Guerrero. I don't think it will last, and it is all probably just a set up, but for now he is awesome.
4) Chris Hero
5) Samoa Joe


Daniel Wilcox
1) CM Punk
As everyone else has said, this is a very easy decision to make. Punk winning the World Championship out of nowhere garners him the number one slot without much competition.

2) Edge: Edge had a very interesting week, first of all dropping the World Championship and then apparently ending his relationship with Vickie Guerrero. I award him the second place spot for his magnificent work on SmackDown this week, which made for some great TV.
3) Tommy Dreamer: Dreamer might actually be in line for an ECW Championship shot in the future, so major kudos are coming his way.
4) Jeff Hardy
5) Chris Hero/Age of the Fall


Michael Bauer
1) CM Punk
Is there any shock about is #1 this week? It is a lot less shocking than the moment where he came and cashes in that briefcase. This guy is STILL marking out and could not be happier. The fun thing is this. The Indy marks are happy. The WWE Marks are happy. I guess we are in trouble. How can anyone bitch this week?

2) The Age of the Fall (Jacobs/Black): This is the same as Kurt Angle holding the IC and European Titles. Holding the top two American Indy Tag Titles is a HUGE deal.
3) Chris Hero: While predictable with Tornado's injury, Hero deserves a run at the top.
4) Edge
5) MsChif


Theo Fraser
1) CM Punk
Watching this series of events on Raw this past week, time seemed to momentarily stand still. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. This guy is the reason I first got into ROH, and to see him climb the ladder to reach the pinnacle of the industry was a truly breathtaking experience and I was overwhelmingly overjoyed. Along with Kofi's IC title run and "Simply Priceless" as tag champs, this marks the dawning of a new era in the WWE, as the young guys have been given the ball. Let's see how far they run with it.

2) Edge - Much like the sentiments of my 411 co-workers, it was just terrific to see Edge in full-on awesome heel mode. Ripping into JR in front of his hometown crowd, his cocky "you'll never see me on Raw again" promo, watching him squirm during his Batista Beatdown, leading into Punk's win...he played the role perfectly. Bonus points for some great work on Smackdown, seemingly breaking off from La Familia.
3) Matt Hardy - Retains the US title after an enjoyable Fatal Four Way match in the main event of Smackdown this past week.
4) Chris Hero
5) Age of the Fall


Ryan Byers
1) CM Punk
Let me make one thing absolutely clear: I cannot stand CM Punk in WWE. His character (or rather lack thereof) is incredibly boring, and he has yet to cut one promo or wrestle one match that has lived up to the reputation that he developed on the independent circuit. However, my primary criterion in this voting is who advanced their career the most, and, in that regard, I can't in good conscience vote for anybody but Punk. Even if he does wind up being a transitional champion with a two or three week reign (the most likely scenario), he can now forever and a day call himself a former champion of the largest wrestling promotion in the world. He's got a place in history, even though he may be the twenty-first century's answer to "Rugged" Ronnie Garvin.

2) MsChif - 'Chif came in to the weekend needing two strong defenses of her SHIMMER Title in order to legitimize her reign, and two strong defenses are exactly what she got on this weekend's SHIMMER tapings. Her first opponent, Jetta, may not have been the strongest contender in the world, but the two had a quality match that put the champ over strong. Follow that up with an outright war against Mercedes Martinez, and you've got all of the makings of a great weekend for our soul's tormentor.
3) Edge - If it didn't land just a few months after the excellent interaction between Ric Flair and Shawn Michaels, Edge's promo from this past Monday night would be a strong contender or the best of the year.
4) Chris Hero
5) Portia Perez


Andrew Critchell
1) CM Punk
What else can I say that hasn't already been said? Punk winning the title was the biggest thing to happen in his career and one of the biggest things to happen all year. While I don't necessarily think Punk is the guy to lead the next generation of WWE Superstars (cough, MORRISON, cough) I like the direction WWE is taking on Raw with all the titles being held by younger guys. As for Punk, I hope that the title serves as motivation to wrestle at a high level and that the increased spotlight will allow him to stop being such a snooze-fest in the ring. Otherwise this will be a very Mysterio-like reign.

2) Chris Hero: You win a title that I respect, you get in the top 5, it is as simple as that. Hero deserves all the accolades he has received and this PWG title win is just another feather in his cap.
3) Tyler Black & Jimmy Jacobs: Personally, I have never thought Jacobs was that good but for him to be one half of the team that is holding both the ROH and PWG tag belts you know he must be doing something right. Also, this is just another step in the ascension of Tyler Black.
4) Edge
5) Mark Henry


Larry Csonka
1) CM Punk
What can you say, no one expected it and it was a huge moment on Raw and easily the biggest accomplishment of the week. Although I will agree with Byers that Punk hasn't nearly lived up to his hype, and he basically has no character; but I do hope that this will change soon enough. I mean, he's the champ, they have to let him talk right?

2) MsChif: Two successful title defenses to start off her SHIMMER title reign is a great week in my book.
3) Edge: I normally like to vote for "wrestling" accomplishments, but Edge was a kick ass heel this week. He deserves some recognition.
4) The Age of the Fall (Jacobs and Black)
5) Chris Hero


THE WINNERS~!

Special Mention…Matt Hardy - 22 Votes

Fifth Place…The Age of the Fall (Jimmy Jacobs and Tyler Black) - 25 Votes

Fourth Place…McChif - 31 Votes

Third Place…Chris Hero - 37 Votes

Chris Hero finally captures the PWG World Title over long time rival Human Tornado.

Second Place…Edge - 39 Votes

Edge may have lost the World Title, but he was a complete bad-ass in the process.

Wrestler of the Week…CM Punk - 85 Votes

Was there really any question? Cashing in the Money in the Bank briefcase in front of millions of people and winning the World Title gets CM Punk a clean sweep of first place votes this week.


Yearend Standings~!
Edge and CM Punk make the big moves this week. While CM Punk won the week, Edge catapults over HHH and into the top five. MsChif as the Age of the Fall continue to impress and gain some ground, while Chris Hero makes his debut this week. Matt Hardy only gains one point this week, but he climbs that much closer to the top spot.


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

Matt Hardy – 31 (ECW)

Edge – 28 (Smackdown)

HHH – 27 (Smackdown)

Suwama – 24 (All Japan)
King William Regal – 24 (RAW) {SUSPENDED}
Jimmy Jacobs – 24 (ROH)

AJ Styles – 21 (TNA)

Kaz – 18 (TNA)
Alex Shelley – 18 (TNA)
Chris Sabin – 18 (TNA)
John Cena – 18 (RAW)

CM Punk – 17 (Raw)

Chris Jericho – 16 (RAW)

Homicide – 15 (TNA)
Hernandez – 15 (TNA)
Petey Williams – 15 (TNA)
Ric Flair – 15 (WWE) {RETIRED}
Kofi Kingston – 15 (RAW)
Lance Cade – 15 (RAW)
Shawn Michaels – 15 (RAW)
Mickie James – 15 (RAW)
John Morrison – 15 (ECW)
The Miz – 15 (ECW)
Bison Smith – 15 (NOAH)
Akitoshi Saito – 15 (NOAH)
Masato Yoshino – 15 (Dragon Gate)
Naruki Doi – 15 (Dragon Gate)

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

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

Chuck Taylor – 9 (US Independent)
Chris Hero – 9 (US Independent)
Mistico – 9 (Mexico)
Hector Garza – 9 (Mexico)
KENTA – 9 (NOAH)
Taiji Ishimori – 9 (NOAH)
Mark Henry – 9 (ECW)

Kurt Angle – 7 (TNA)

Keiji Muto – 6 (All Japan)
Wataru Inoue – 6 (New Japan)
Mr. Kennedy – 6 (Smackdown)
The Big Show – 6 (Smackdown)
Incognito – 6 (Mexico)

Bryan Danielson – 3 (ROH)
Claudio Castagnoli – 3 (ROH)
Ryuji Hijikata –3 (All Japan)
Fire Ant – 3 (US Independent)
Jeff Hardy – 3 (Smackdown)
Beth Phoenix – 3 (RAW)

Evan Bourne – 2 (ECW)

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)
Taiyo Kea - 1 (All Japan)
Minoru Suzuki - 1 (All Japan)

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