411’s Wrestler of the Week 08.17.09: Week 20

Welcome to Week 20, Year FIVE, of 411’s Wrestler of the Week. A quick overview of the rules to kick things off for us as a reminder…

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~!
Robert S. Leighty Jr
1) Samoa Joe
Gets the nod for winning X Division Gold at Hard Justice. I like the new direction of Joe since the addition of Taz, and this was just another step into rebuilding him.

2) Kevin Nash: Again, you win gold (especially on PPV), and I will vote for you. Simple as that.
3) Tyson Kidd: Got a clean pin over the current World Heavyweight Champion, and did it in Canada.
4) CM Punk
5) The Miz

Andy Critchell
1) MORRISON
Every week it seems like it’s the same story with this guy, he just goes out and has great matches with everyone. This week he had two great matches, one with DH Smith and one with CM Punk. Now MORRISON and Punk have faced off tons of times so it was no surprise that they had a great match but he got DH Smith to have the best match he’s ever had in WWE, bar none. So yeah, it’s another week for the Shaman of Sexy.

2) Hernandez: Big win on Impact and big win on the PPV and I guess he is now the de facto #1 contender for Angle’s belt.
3) Player Dos: Winner of Chikara’s Young Lions Cup. If it is a big deal in Chikara then it is a big deal to me and all you clowns in the comments section will just have to live with it.
4) Samoa Joe
5) The Miz

ARI
1) CM Punk / John Morrison (tie)
It seems like we’ve been here before…Punk and Morrison once again combine to form great results on WWE Smackdown! Punk gets over on Morrison after two losses to him in previous weeks, not to mention Punk remains top heel and a menace to Jeff Hardy with his antics after the main event.

2) Samoa Joe: Defeated Homicide to once again become X-Division champion. Its a step in the right direction to get Joe back to the badass he once was before he got lost amid the morass in TNA booking.
3) Hernandez: TNA is clearly positioning Hernandez as a top babyface for their company and they are actually giving him a push commensurate with that goal.
4) Player Dos
5) Togi Makabe

THE Larry Csonka
1) Hernandez:
The TEXMEX FN T-REX is on the rise, and it has been fun thus far. Going to the last tapings, Hernandez was picked as one of the guys to push and push hard, and so far, so good. Hopefully they continue to follow through with the push, and you know, actually make a new star.

2) Samoa Joe: Took home the TNA X-Division title and for now looks to be back on track.
3) TOGI MAKABE: Won the 2009 G1 Climax tournament, Sugiura in the semi-finals, and Shinsuke Nakamura to take the tournament.
4) Player Dos/Christopher Daniels
5) Kevin Nash

Andy Clark
1) Samoa Joe
Samoa Joe is once again X-Division Champion, back in the division where he thrives. To make things better he’s got a date with Daniels at next month’s show, which can only mean the addition of AJ Styles just in time for Bound for Glory. Sounds good to me.

2) Hart Dynasty: When the team with the advantage actually wins a Handicap Match in WWE that’s an upset. This time they beat the World Heavyweight Champion and even picked up some cheers doing it.
3) Daniels: Daniels won the Steel Asylum Match and won an X-Division Title shot in the process.
4) Togi Makabe
5) Player Dos

Ryan Byers
1) Togi Makabe
This weekend, Togi Makabe won New Japan Pro Wrestling’s annual G1 Climax tournament. In doing so, he went over a field that included all of the promotion’s top stars as well as several big names from outside promotions. Particularly impressive was the fact that he went over Shinsuke Nakamura in the finals, and Nakamura had gone undefeated over the course of two weeks in order to earn that spot. This victory undoubtedly positions Makabe as the top contender for the IWGP Heavyweight Title and as a man who might just give champion Hiroshi Tanahashi a run for his money.

2) Player Dos: Though they don’t always produce the greatest matches, CHIKARA’s Young Lions’ Cup weekends are always entertaining opportunities to see young talent come in to their own. This year’s installment of the tournament was a coming out party for Player Dos of the Super Smash Brothers, who seemed that he was going to be a career tag team wrestler just a few months ago. This victory, however, will most likely put Dos on the path to being a key player in the promotion.
3) The Hart Dynasty: I dug their involvement in the main event angle of Smackdown, and hopefully it is actually a sign that the group is actually being elevated instead of being used as a one-off foil for Jeff Hardy. They deserve it.
4) Tajiri
5) Mistico

Samuel Berman
1) Player Dos
Won CHIKARA’s Young Lions Cup Tournament.

2) Togi Makabe: Won NJPW’s G1 Climax Tournament.
3) Hernandez: Becomes #1 Contender to the TNA World Title.
4) Mistico
5) Shinsuke Nakamura and Tajiri (tie)

Michael Bauer

1) Togi Makabe
I’m with Byers on making this number one. New Japan Pro Wrestling’s annual G1 Climax tournament is one of the premier tournaments in Japan, with top names fro other promotions coming in. To win this, and defeat the one guy who never lost in the finals, is a big deal.

2) Mistico: He became just the 6th non-Japanese person to win the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title. That is major for anything in Japan.
3) Hernandez: His push in TNA continues and it puts a fresh face there… FINALLY!
4) Samoa Joe
5) Player Dos

Jasper Gerretsen
1) Togi Makabe
When you win a tournament that has in the past been won by legends like Kensuke Sasaki, Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Masahiro Chono, you know you’re on your way to the top. To do so he beat Shinsuke Nakamura, who had gone undefeated throughout the tournament and even beat IWGP Heavyweight Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi in the semifinals.

2) The Hart Dynasty: Sure, it was a handicap match against an injured opponent, but they still beat the World Heavyweight Champion. Considering the fact that the RAW version of this match would probably consist of Cena squashing Rhodes and DiBiase, this win is yet more proof of how much better SmackDown is for a wrestler’s career right now.
3) Hernandez: Got a dominating win over what was essentially the entire British Invasion. Time will tell if he actually makes it as a fresh face in TNA’s main event scene, or if his push will fizzle like so many others.
4) Player Dos
5) Shinsuke Nakamura

Aaron Hubbard
1) Togi Makabe
Won the G1 Climax tournament, which has many legendary past winners. In doing so, he defeated such names as Masato Tanaka, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Takashi Sugiura. Huge win for Makabe.

2) Mistico: Only slightly overshadowed by Makabe’s win, Mistico made history by becoming only the sixth non-Japanese wrestler to win the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title. Who are the other five? Owen Hart, Chris Benoit, Sabu, Rocky Romero and Low Ki. That’s some GREAT company and it’s a huge feather in the cap of the Mexican sensation.
3) Player Dos: Won the Chikara Young Lions Cup, one of the biggest accomplishments one can do in CHIKARA’s singles divisions.
4) Samoa Joe
5) CM Punk

Jeremy Thomas
1) The British Invasion (Brutus Magnus & Doug Williams)
How these guys got completely ignored is beyond me. First, they get their title reign legitimized by NJPW, which gives them a major boost of credibility both here and overseas in Japan. Then they go onto Hard Justice and defeat TNA’s golden boys of the tag team division in Beer Money to retain those titles. Sorry guys, but the Invasion clearly had the best week this week.

2) Samoa Joe: Joe got himself another title reign by knocking of Homicide for the X-Division title, which is something most people didn’t seem to expect. After the colossal yawn that was Taz’s debut last month, they’ve done a good job rebuilding Joe and this is the latest in that step.
3) Daniels: Daniels won the Steel Asylum, which means we now set up for Daniels/Samoa Joe at No Surrender. This is awesomeness.
4) CM Punk & John Morrison
5) Kevin Nash

THE WINNERS~!

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 Year Four Winner: Chris Jericho

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