411’s Match of the Week 07.11.11: Year One, Week 14

Welcome to Week 14, Year ONE, of 411’s Match of the Week. A quick overview of the rules to kick things off for us …

Each writer chooses THREE matches from any promotion and each match gets a point total attached to that ranking. It looks a little like this…

1st – 5
2nd – 3
3rd – 1

Then we tally up the votes and the official 411 Match of the Week is crowned. But wait, there’s more! Each week, the TOP THREE MATCHES are eligible to make the Year-End Ranking.

The week according to this column will go from Sunday to Saturday, with the column being posted every Monday.

Upon rating matches, writers will assign them with a star rating, and the average star rating amongst writers will be what that match is listed with if it makes the Year-End Standings.

Independent shows WILL be included, but since it takes some time for the DVDs to come out, voting on them will take place retroactively, in which the writers who have seen the shows in question will have the opportunity to vote for matches from them into the Year-End Standings. For an Indy/International match to make the Year-End Standings, it must break an average rating of ****. Nothing will be added retroactively unless at least 3 staff members deem it worthy so there is a consensus.

At the end of the voting year, the match with the highest average star rating will be crowned 411 Match of the Year. In the event of a tie, 411 writers will vote in a tie-breaker.

THIS WEEK’S ELIGIBLE MATCHES
WWE Raw: Kelly Kelly & Eve vs. The Bella Twins; The New Nexus vs. Vladimir Kozlov & Santino Marella; Jack Swagger vs. Sergeant Slaughter; Alberto Del Rio vs. R-Truth vs. Rey Mysterio; Alex Riley vs. The Miz
WWE NXT: Tyson Kidd vs. Yoshi Tatsu; Derrick Bateman & Daniel Bryan vs. Titus O’Neil & Darren Young
WWE Superstars: Zack Ryder vs. Drew McIntyre; Alicia Fox vs. Natalya; Wade Barrett vs. Don Gonzales
Impact Wrestling: Crimson vs. Bobby Roode; Jack Evans vs. Jesse Sorensen vs. Anthony Nese; Velvet Sky vs. ODB & Jackie; Rob Van Dam vs. AJ Styles vs. Jerry Lynn vs. Christopher Daniels; Devon & D’Angelo Dinero vs. Matt Morgan & James Storm; Immortal vs. Kurt Angle
WWE SmackDown: Ted DiBiase & Cody Rhodes vs. Daniel Bryan & Ezekiel Jackson; Jinder Mahal vs. Trent Barreta; AJ vs. Tamina; Mark Henry vs. Kane; Sin Cara vs. Tyson Kidd; Jey Uso & Jimmy Uso vs. Heath Slater & Justin Gabriel; Randy Orton vs. Sheamus
Independent shows will be reviewed when they’re available on DVD.

Michael Ornelas
1) 07/04/2011, WWE Raw – Alberto Del Rio vs. R-Truth vs. Rey Mysterio (***1/4)
I liked this match more than my fellow staffers, it seems, but I’ve been digging the recent string of Triple Threat matches on Raw. I don’t like that Championship feuds don’t feel as personal anymore, but we’re still getting some pretty great number one contender’s matches. I’m also intrigued about where they go with Del Rio since Punk was reinstated. Does he claim the shot at SummerSlam or does he try to get involved with the match at MitB? I guess we’ll find out on Raw.

2) 07/07/2011, Impact Wrestling – Rob Van Dam vs. AJ Styles vs. Jerry Lynn vs. Christopher Daniels (***): Of course this match was going to be good, just look at the competitors! I’m a little torn on how I feel about this, as I wish it had gotten even more time, but at the same time, I’m glad they didn’t give too much away with the PPV approaching. Great stuff here, and I wouldn’t be upset if Lynn stuck around after Destination X because he can certainly still go.
3) 07/07/2011, Impact Wrestling – Jack Evans vs. Jesse Sorenson vs. Anthony Nese (**3/4): I had a lot of matches this week at **3/4, but this one was probably the most fun. I won’t say it was the best, because it was a total spotfest, but it was something different, and that’s why I chose it. Jack Evans is certainly a spectacle, and he’s exciting. Tony Nese getting his first TV exposure (to my knowledge) is pretty cool too, as he’s been involved with EVOLVE lately.

Greg DeMarco
1) 07/07/2011, Impact Wrestling – Jack Evans vs. Jesse Sorenson vs. Anthony Nese (***1/2)
The story told in this match was as good as the match itself. All three guys were out to win a spot on the Destination X pay-per-view and a shot at an Impact Wrestling contract. They pulled out all the stops in a match that has been unfairly labeled as a spotfest. Yes, it had Jack Evans in it. But Jesse Sorenson proved he can hang in the X-Division, and Anthony Neese shined here as the star of the match and the man who held it all together. I say all three would be welcome additions to the division and the roster.

2) 07/04/2011, WWE Raw – Alberto Del Rio vs. R-Truth vs. Rey Mysterio (***1/4): Second straight great showing for Rey & Del Rio in a triple threat match, which included R-Truth this time around. It was a second chance at the Money in the Bank WWE Championship Match for the first two, and a chance for R-Truth to face Cena again. While it wa s tick below the three way the week prior (and taped earlier in the same evening), it still stood out this week.
3) 07/04/2011, Impact Wrestling – Crimson vs. Bobby Roode (***): This match was better than expected, and went a long way to get Crimson further over with me, and it was booked in a manner that didn’t hurt Roode. My only problem was the finish, where Roode’s injured shoulder didn’t play a huge factor. Seemed like a good opportunity for a submission victory for Crimson here. But the focus and story of this match is a great example of why the Bound for Glory Series is working.

Larry Csonka
1) 07/07/2011, Impact Wrestling – Rob Van Dam vs. AJ Styles vs. Jerry Lynn vs. Christopher Daniels (***1/4)
My match of the week was the four way from Impact, featuring AJ Styles vs. Jerry Lynn vs. RVD vs. Christopher Daniels. Simply a very good TV match that got Jerry Lynn some time in the ring, showed that he still has it, and also was a nice preview of the Destination X PPV and the show’s top two matches.

2) 07/08/2011, WWE SmackDown – Randy Orton vs. Sheamus (***): Randy Orton continues to deliver as the main man on Smackdown, and once again he did it with Sheamus, who despite uneven booking, has been working hard and delivering himself. Some people like to ignore the blue brand, but they consistently bring the goods.
3) 07/04/2011, WWE Raw – Alberto Del Rio vs. R-Truth vs. Rey Mysterio (**3/4): I didn’t think that there was too much to Raw this week, a very forgettable show due to being pretaped and also due to the holiday. Thankfully, there was some good wrestling, and this match was it. These guys, along with CM Punk have been a lot of fun to watch and have been delivering in the ring, and that is always a good thing.

Colin Rinehart
1) 07/04/2011, WWE Raw – Alberto Del Rio vs. R-Truth vs. Rey Mysterio (***)
Another very fun if somewhat redundant triple threat number one contender’s match this week lands in the match of the week rankings. Del Rio and Mysterio work well together and Truth seems to thrive in multi-man matches, and it resulted in probably the most enjoyable wrestling match I saw on television this week.

2) 07/07/2011, Impact Wrestling – Rob Van Dam vs. AJ Styles vs. Jerry Lynn vs. Christopher Daniels (***): These are just the kind of short but rewarding teaser matches that TNA should be booking these days to get people interested in checking out their product (and buying their PPVs). This was a bit short and unorganized, but with four talents like these in the ring ast the same time the match was still a ton of fun for the time it got and everyone in the match got to show off with a nice spot or two.
3) 07/05/2011, WWE NXT – Tyson Kidd vs. Yoshi Tatsu (**3/4): This wasn’t quite as good as the match these two had the previous week on this show, but it was still miles better than anything you’d normally expect to see on the dreadful NXT web-show. Kudos to both guys for still working hard even on the C…or D…or Z show.

Wes Kirk
1) 07/07/2011, Impact Wrestling – Rob Van Dam vs. AJ Styles vs. Jerry Lynn vs. Christopher Daniels (***1/4)
My belief is that they held back in this match just enough to tease the things we’ll see Sunday night at Destination X but even though, they still put on a good four person match. It isn’t easy to put on a good match with four people but with this talent, it is almost impossible not to! Good stuff and helps sell the concept of the X-Division PPV.

2) 07/07/2011, Impact Wrestling – Jack Evans vs. Jesse Sorensen vs. Anthony Nese (***): I certainly hope Evans, Low-Ki, and Aries all get contracts and after this match Nese has definitely shown he deserves to get a chance in the mix as well. The only bad part about this match is it is the final triple threat X-Division qualifier before Destination X because this was a good match, fast paced, and showcased some moves we’d never see outside of Impact Wrestling. Great stuff and that 630 senton is SWEET!
3) 07/04/2011, WWE Raw – Alberto Del Rio vs. R-Truth vs. Rey Mysterio (**3/4): This could have been a better match if it was Alberto and Rey alone, although Truth had some good contributions overall. Alberto winning is the best possible outcome as he is a legitimate threat to John Cena’s title, good on the mic, good in the ring, and basically the best possible heel challenger you can have because you believe he can win. R-Truth and Rey carried their load in the match and then some, overall a decent match that highlighted a rather sub-par RAW.

Nick Bazar
1) 07/07/2011, Impact Wrestling – Rob Van Dam vs. AJ Styles vs. Jerry Lynn vs. Christopher Daniels (***)
I thought this was the perfect match to broadcast on the go-home show for Destination X. It whet our appetites for Styles/Daniels, and more importantly, RVD/Lynn. Lynn still has it, and I’m very excited to see what he can do in a full singles match.

2) 07/08/2011, WWE SmackDown – Randy Orton vs. Sheamus (***): These guys have wrestled each other countless times over the last year and a half, so you know to expect at least a halfway decent match from them. This was better than halfway decent; it was a good SmackDown main event.
3) 07/04/2011, WWE Raw – Alberto Del Rio vs. R-Truth vs. Rey Mysterio (**3/4): Doesn’t it seem like we’ve been getting a lot of these Triple Threat matches on Raw lately? And is it just me, or has Del Rio been in all of them? This was your typically entertaining Triple Threat, but nothing we haven’t seen hundreds of times before. Still a fun match though.

THIS WEEK’S WINNER