411’s Wrestler of the Week 07.21.08: Week 16

Posted by Larry Csonka on 07.21.2008

Michelle McCool became the first Diva’s Champion, Chris Jericho destroyed Shawn Michaels, Erick Stevens won the FIP Title and Shelton Benjamin won the WWE US Title! 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 16, 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…

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The Voting~!
Andy Clark
1) Shelton Benjamin
Shelton Benjamin ends a two year championship drought, competing in what was the Match of the Night in my opinion at the Great American Bash. He looked good, had the crowd support, and his moment was treated like a big deal. I eagerly await Benjamin as US Champion on SmackDown, especially a potential feud with the other Hardy.

2) Erick Stevens: Erick Stevens and Roderick Strong have single handedly (double handedly?) made the FIP Title a relevant championship with their Feud of the Year Contender in FIP and ROH. Stevens won the FIP Title for the second time this week, this time in a Dog Collar Match.
3) Kane: Kane continued this week to be the most entertaining part of Raw and I believe his storyline has gotten enough people's curiosity piqued. By the way, I'm calling that his mask is in the bag and that the "he" Kane is referring to is, in fact, himself.
4) Michelle McCool & JBL (tie)
5) Curt Hawkins & Zach Ryder


Jeremy Thomas
1) Triple H
Retaining the World Heavyweight Title may not mean such to some, especially in the overbooked way it was done, but the bottom line is that Triple H looked like the man this week. He tore the Edge/Vickie wedding apart--an act that should pretty much be his trademark at this point--and retained the belt in a pretty damn decent match against Edge. It wasn't his best match ever, but it was a win against the top heel in the WWE, and you have to give credit for that.

2) Shelton Benjamin/Chris Jericho: I really couldn't figure out who to put in number two; it was just too close. For starters, Benjamin got what could be a start of a push by moving the US Title back to SmackDown. You can argue WWE affirmative action all you want, but the bottom line is, he got the big win, and looks to be poised for bigger and better things. Jericho also got the win in a match that, while better, wasn't a title win. Jericho's looking really good right now, and will also be able to move on from this feud, for a while at least, and into another.
3) Rated Rmy (Curt Hawkins/Zack Ryder): My admiration for Hawkins and Ryder is more then your average bear, to be sure, but they won the WWE Tag Team Titles over Miz and Morrison, ending the second-longest WWE Tag Team Title reign to date.
4) Michelle McCool
5) Velvet Sky


Christi Csonka
1) Chris Jericho
We all now that Chris Jericho is awesome, and he just proved that again Sunday night. I have been critical of HBK at times, but this match was a great story and I couldn't look away. I was totally pulled into the match, manipulative evil Jericho rules!

2) Shelton Benjamin – Shelton is a great flyer, and a guy I have really enjoyed watching. Even though he defeated my Matt Hotty, I'll show him the love with 2nd place.
3) Michelle McCool/Velvet Sky – McCool won the first ever Divas title, which I hate the look of, but there's nothing you can do about that. Her match was a lot of fun, unfortunately way too short. Velvet Sky won a #1 contender's gauntlet, which surprised the hell out of me, but she pinned Gail Kim so she deserves some love.
4) Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder
5) Booker T


Shawn S Lealos
1) Chris Jericho
He and Shawn opened RAW with a huge brawl and then he went on to beat Shawn's former protégé Paul London pretty easily. He then continued to deliver good promos in the most engaging feud on RAW. Then at the Bash he beat Shawn so bad, the ref had to call the match. The two can now move onto Summerslam for the rubber match. Y2J has finally delivered on his promise. He has saved us from mediocrity by working the best feud in wrestling today.

2) CM Punk: He retained his title against Kane on RAW and held onto it at the Great American Bash against Dave. He did not win those matches cleanly, but he did come out as champion. It is still better than how they booked Rey's title reign. Maybe I can hold out hope that because of a lack of respect, Punk will eventually turn heal and really kick it into high gear.
3) Shelton Benjamin: I really like Benjamin. He has gotten a little sloppy as of late, but he has always been gold in my book. I really liked when Benjamin was a good guy with an attitude in his early days on RAW. I remember a match with Triple H where he mocked Hunter's patented moves. That is the Shelton Benjamin I want to see, an arrogant and exciting superstar. Maybe he can join up with Tony Atlas and Mark Henry. We'll see if he actually does anything with this push.
4) Ted DiBiase and Cody Rhodes
5) Booker T


Jarrod Westerfeld
1) Shelton Benjamin
A title win, in my book, is always more impressive than a title retention, and with this I look at Shelton's win as being the bigger title win to occur in the past 24 hours. A win over a very hot face champion in Matt Hardy, and the first big title victory for Shelton in what feels like decades. It's nice to see that the Gold Standard is actually living up to his moniker for a change of pace, and hopefully his title reign will actually mean something this time around.

2) Michelle McCool – I guess the Divas title is going to outrank the FIP strap if only for the fact that it gives reason to the women of SmackDown being involved in wrestling matches. Michelle also accomplished this goal by beating a multi-year veteran of the game via submission. Maybe now people will take her a bit more seriously?
3) Erick Stevens – Picking up his second run as FIP Champion, Stevens once again battled Roderick Strong in a bloody brawl in what has been an amazing year for these two. A dog collar match was the bout to give Stevens the edge he needed to regain his lost championship, and while this title isn't nearly as prestigious as some will claim it to be, one has to figure that this will be the final match we see of Stevens and Strong for quite some time – hopefully.
4) Masato Yoshino
5) Kota Ibushi & KAGETORA – "Beat Taiji Ishimori and Ippei Ota, which is significant because Ishimori and Ota are regulars for NOAH, a significantly larger company. It'd be the equivalent of two PWG guys beating a WWE mid-carder and Funaki. Ota's probably the jobbing-est rookie NOAH has."


JT
1) Batista
Yeah. Batista. I don't like it, but it is what it is. First he shows up on Monday and saves CM Punk, and follows that up with a Spinebuster on the World Heavyweight Champion, leaving to *his* music playing. Then he shows up at the PPV, has a decent match, but doesn't win the title thanks to Kane. Does it end there though? No, of course not. He proceeds to BATISTABOMB the World Heavyweight Champion, and again, leaves the champ in the ring as they exit to Batista's music. As I said, I hate the fucking booking on this, but Big Dave has made the Punk look like shit twice this week; when you do that to the champ on the flagship show, you get my vote, as reluctant as I may be.

2) Chris Jericho: Again I'm not the biggest fan of the booking (only in the "can't get a clean win" sense; nothing else), but Jericho helped open with a bang on RAW, defeated Shawn Michael's boy, had some awesome promos and oh yeah, beat the legend HBK to the point of ref stoppage (how often does THAT happen?). I'm not 100% happy with the way it's gone down, but that doesn't take away from the fact that it is probably the hottest feud in mainstream wrestling. Guess that's why I don't get the big bucks, eh?
3) CM Punk: Despite everything, he's made it to this point and kept the belt. Something has to be said for that. I'll also point out he actually had Dave up for the GTS. At least now we know he can do it.
4) Erick Stevens
5) Shelton Benjamin/Masato Yoshino


Michael O
1) Chris Jericho
Despite the fact that HBK evidently has it in his contract that he cannot be pinned by Jericho, Y2J delivered a beating for the ages at the Bash and firmly asserted himself as bad ass par excellence.

2) Shelton Benjamin: Went from being an under card afterthought to (theoretical) number 2 on Smackdown by winning the US title. Not too shabby if you ask me.
3) Triple H: Fucked over Edge and Vickie's wedding and kept his belt last night. In fact, besides Mickie James (and Cody, I guess) he is the only champion in "The E" to keep his gold in the draftermath. If I didn't know any better, I'd think the guy was related to Vince McMahon or something.
4) Michelle McCool
5) JBL


Michael Bauer
1) Erick Stevens
Sorry folks, but the WWE failed to deliver the goods, so I giving the WotW to Erick Stevens. Remember, for me, it not always about what the biggest fed does. It is about the biggest impact for the wrestler's career. Stevens won the FIP World Heavyweight Title for a 2nd time, defeating Roderick Strong in a brutal dog collar match. With this feud finally over, one has to imagine Stevens will be given the chance to run with the title now, rather than just cough the title back up.

2) Chris Jericho: Amazing promo work as always, solid matches, Jericho has firmly established himself as a top Raw heel.
3) Shelton Benjamin: Never saw this coming. Maybe Shelton can finally have some direction.
4) Batista
5) Masato Yoshino


Ryan Byers
1) Cody Rhodes & Ted DiBiase, Jr.
Honestly, nothing important happened in a WWE match this week. Yeah, there was a pay per view. Yeah, the main champions all retained their titles. Yeah, some under card guys won some belts that won't get them to the next level on the card. If anybody in the company had a performance, which will actually mean something over the long haul, it was your reigning Raw Tag Team Champions, DiBiase, Jr. and Rhodes. The two have had a handful of solid performances on the mic since first teaming up, but their promo this past Monday night solidified them as THE two up and comers to keep an eye on in professional wrestling, surpassing CM Punk, surpassing Shelton Benjamin, and surpassing Kofi Kingston. The future is bright indeed for these two youngsters, and they showed us why this week.

2) Kane - A month ago, he was the Champion of Velocity and was seemingly going to remain in that position for a while. This week, he moved up in to the World Title picture on the biggest wrestling show in the world. Can't sneeze at that.
3) Masato Yoshino - Came back to Dragon Gate after a winless stint in TNA and picked up a victory in a star-studded battle royal.
4) Kota Ibushi & KAGETORA
5) Erick Stevens


Andrew Critchell
1) Shelton Benjamin
At GAB, Shelton was able to decisively defeat the perpetually over Matt Hardy, winning the US Title and in the process joining a small fraternity of those who have held both the US and IC belts. Now given that it's Shelton, I am wary of being too excited about this as he has had stalled push after stalled push after stalled push. Hopefully he will get to go somewhere with this but I'm not going to hold my breath, especially with Shelton being on Smackdown.

2) Mark Henry – Let me just say this, if you haven't been impressed with Mark's run as ECW champion then you haven't been paying attention. Mark has really begun to establish himself as a dominant force in WWE and I think his run could go a long way in establishing the ECW belt as a legitimate title in a way that hasn't been done yet. This week Mark had a fun little segment with Tony Atlas and Tommy Dreamer where Mark did a lot of little things to really establish himself as the cocky heel by playing to the crowd and mocking dreamer. Then at the PPV, he did a lot of the same things but he also put on a show of impressive strength against Dreamer who is by no means a small man. Mark punctuated his win by holding the belt aloft and then stepping on Dreamer's chest as he walked over him in a great old-school heel move. If stuff like that can't convince you that Mark is the man then you have my deepest pity as you are truly missing out.
3) Batista – JT convinced me of Big Dave's inclusion in this week's voting. Batista, for all intents and purposes, is the uncrowned champion. He has basically one upped Punk at every step and even the super smarky crowd on Long Island cheered for him over Punk. If the challenger is getting more of a reaction than the ROH alum, babyface champ in ROH's backyard, then you know the belt is on the wrong guy. Sorry kids.
4) Michelle McCool
5) Chris Jericho


Daniel Wilcox
1) Chris Jericho
On a night that showcased how average a lot of the big names can be, Jericho was the only guy who really stood out at The Great American Bash as a star. His match with Shawn was great and his vicious antics were superb, but what really put him over the edge for me was his promo later in the evening, and that gets him the top spot from me this week.

2)JBL - I was certain Cena would win at The Bash, but JBL pulled it off. It was a damn fine match as well, which is always a bonus.
3) John Cena - As I said, the Parking Lot Brawl was a great match and Cena played a big part in that.
4) Michelle McCool
5) Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase


Ryan Merholz
1) Chris Jericho
Jericho was a heat magnet at the Bash last night. Not only did he savagely beat Shawn Michaels face to a bloody pulp, but he may have ended the guys career. His performance in his match with HBK made him look like a seriously vicious badass, and the sick half-grin he sported while announcing the Michaels was done forever was amazing.

2) JBL - Holy crap JBL won a match. And what's that? Against John Cena? No way! Seriously though, I love JBL in matches like this. I was really worried he was going to drop yet another PPV match, but thank god Cena's showboating got the better of him. Way to keep your eyes on the prize, JBL.
3) Shelton Benjamin - The draught is over and Benjamin is finally a champion again. He put on an entertaining match with Hardy and DIDN'T BLOW ANY SPOTS WHATSOEVER! I'm happy to finally see the guy getting another real shot at a push.
4) Kane
5) Michelle McCool


Matt Short
1) Chris Jericho
Beat and bloodied Shawn Michaels. Not a bullshit finish like some are saying, he beat the hell out of Michaels until he couldn't keep going. I liked that finish more than some others.

2) Shelton Benjamin: Had a surprisingly good match with Matt Hardy and won the US Championship.
3) Takeshi Morishima: Retained his GHC Heavyweight Championship against his former partner Takeshi Rikio in his first title defense at the Budokan.
4) Hawkins & Ryder
5) Michelle McCool


SAT
1) Chris Jericho
Chris Jericho gets the top slot for his impressive win against Shawn Michaels.

2) Shelton Benjamin: Shelton Benjamin gets the second slot for winning the United States title from Matt Hardy
3) John "Bradshaw" Layfield: John "Bradshaw" Layfield gets the third slot for getting the surprising win against John Cena in the New York City Parking Lot Brawl
4) Erick Stevens
5) Michelle McCool


Larry Csonka
1) Chris Jericho
Chris Jericho in his new Jim Jones like persona, playing off of what he perceives as right and wrong while killing the beloved Shawn Michaels is a tremendous visual. Oh yes, I LOVED this match. Why? Because in the WWE universe this was COMPLETELY different from anything else they normally do. I know that ROH fans will charge in here and say that they have been doing stoppages for years and that TNA fans will say they have done it as well and that is all fine and god, but in the world of the WWE they just do NOT do this anymore. THIS ROCKED MY FACE!

2) Shelton Benjamin – Finally gets some singles gold back in a great little match with Matt Hardy. Let's hope this push works out for young Shelton.
3) THOSE EDGE GUYS! - Zach Ryder and Curt Hawkins won a match. They also won titles. I'm shocked too.
4) Erik Stevens
5) Michelle McCool/Velvet Sky

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THE WINNERS~!

Special Mention…Zach Ryder and Curt Hawkins - 11 Votes

Fifth Place…JBL - 14 Votes

Fourth Place…Erick Stevens - 19 Votes

Third Place…Michelle McCool - 21 Votes

Michelle McCool becomes the first ever WWE Diva's Champion, defeating Natalya Neidhart at the Great American Bash!

Second Place…Shelton Benjamin - 49 Votes

Shelton Benjamin breaks his slump and brings home the US Title, defeating Matt Hardy at the Great American Bash. I bet his mamma is proud!

Wrestler of the Week…Chris Jericho - 53 Votes

Chris Jericho walked out of the Great American Bash victorious, covered in the blood of Shawn Michaels; a man that he had beaten to the point that the referee had to stop the bout.


Yearend Standings~!
Chris Jericho makes a big jump this week with his victory, and is now tied for 3rd place overall. Everyone else was a debut, so there isn't much change this week. Let's check out the yearend standings!


1. Batista – 45 (Raw)

2. Samoa Joe – 33 (TNA)

3. Matt Hardy – 31 (ECW)
3. Chris Jericho – 31 (RAW)

5. Edge – 28 (Smackdown)


HHH – 27 (Smackdown)

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

AJ Styles – 21 (TNA)
Alex Shelley – 21 (TNA)

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

CM Punk – 17 (Raw)

Taylor Wilde – 15 (TNA)
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"}
Shelton Benjamin – 12 (Smackdown)
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)
Volador Jr. – 9 (Mexico)
Mistico – 9 (Mexico)
Hector Garza – 9 (Mexico)
KENTA – 9 (NOAH)
Taiji Ishimori – 9 (NOAH)
Mark Henry – 9 (ECW)
Michelle McCool – 9 (RAW)

Kurt Angle – 7 (TNA)

Tiger Mask IV - 6 (NOAH)
Keiji Muto – 6 (All Japan)
Wataru Inoue – 6 (New Japan)
Mr. Kennedy – 6 (Smackdown)
The Big Show – 6 (Smackdown)
Incognito – 6 (Mexico)
Erick Stevens – 6 (ROH)

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)
JBL – 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)
Yoshinobu Kanemaru - 1 (NOAH)
Kotaro Suzuki - 1 (NOAH)
Zack Ryder – 1 (Smackdown)
Curt Hawkins – 1 (Smackdown)

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