411’s Wrestler of the Week 08.11.08: Week 19

Welcome to Week 19, 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~!
Jarrod Westerfeld
1) AJ Styles
A big win over Kurt Angle at the TNA pay-per-view that is noted as stealing the show, and being the strongest match of the night, it also gives him yet another credible win over one of TNA’s bigger named stars. While no title was won or retained, I think that this gives AJ the biggest nod to move back up the corporate ladder to become a main event star, and right now they need someone considering the massive failings surrounding Samoa Joe, who has booked to look so weak and odd as of late. AJ, a face of the company for the future? One can only hope.

2) Hiroshi Tenzan: Again, no title victories, but the first victory he’s ever collected over legendary Toshiaki Kawada in the opener of the annual G1 Climax tournament. Sorry, I’m a sucker for Tenzan, and I’m a big mark for Kawada…
3) Beer Money (James Storm & Robert Roode): A really decent tag team trumps LAX to become the new tag champions of TNA, but the reason I didn’t give this a bigger nod is because the landscape of the tag division is growing weaker, and in the end hurts these guys run as a really good tag team. But their win is still big enough to warrant big points, which they’re getting.
4) Delirious & Hallowicked
5) JBL

Robert S. Leighty Jr
1) Beer Money, Inc.
Good week for Roode and Storm as they powerbomb Homicide through a glass table, and capitalize on his injuries to win TNA Tag Gold at the PPV. They are an easy choice for Wrestler(s) of the Week.

2) AJ Styles: AJ gets a big win over Angle in what was a very strong match. I enjoyed the fact that AJ went crazy after the match, but that was kind of undercut by the Sting beating. Still, it’s nice to see they are getting AJ away from the Price AJ character.
3) JBL: He wins the #1 contender spot in a very good RAW match. The crowd was way into the match, and got solidly behind Punk. The ending was a little contrived, but it was still a very solid 10 minutes of Pro-Wrestling.
4) Samoa Joe
5) Edge

Shawn S Lealos
1) AJ Styles/Kurt Angle
Wow. That is how you pay off this feud. A.J. and Kurt went one on one and beat the crap out of each other. In the end A.J. pretty much killed Kurt Angle and won the match cleanly. Kurt has ALWAYS put over talent and he did one hell of a job re-establishing A.J. as a dominant force in wrestling once again. Sting also puts over talent usually, so hopefully this attack on A.J. will be the next step in A.J.’s rise to the top. I don’t know about you, but I would like to see A.J. Styles and Samoa Joe feud for the championship. Brings back memories of the old X-Division wars. This was the best match on the PPV and both guys deserve kudos.

2) EDGE: Just when you thought Edge couldn’t get any better than last week, here he goes again. I hope this leads to a tweener Edge who only cares about himself and isn’t just a swerve. Knowing WWE, it’s a swerve, but damn seeing him lay out Chavo and knock Vicky out of the wheelchair was awesome. Psycho Edge rules the world.
3) Beer Money: My biggest surprise in TNA is growing to love Beer Money. These guys are just awesome as a bad guy tag team. They beat LAX and have been built into a dominant force. Beer Money and The Motor City Machine Guns should be a great feud and I only hope that is next.
4) Morrison and The Miz
5) John Cena and Dave Batista

Ryan Byers
1) Hiroshi Tenzan
Hiroshi Tenzan, despite being a main event level wrestler for several years now, has had a hell of a monkey on his back. In four attempts over the course of his career, he had never been able to defeat the legendary Toshiaki Kawada. That all changed this weekend thanks to New Japan Pro Wrestling’s annual G1 Climax tournament. In the first series of matches held for that round robin affair, Tenzan picked up a clean victory over Kawada. No matter the context, beating the legend clean in the middle would put Tenzan in WOTW contention in my mind, and it’s the history between the two that takes him from mere WOTW contention and in to first place.

2) Shane Storm – The freshly rudo-turned Shane Storm had a very good weekend in CHIKARA, aligning himself with Vin Gerard, who is perhaps the hottest act in the whole promotion. Better yet is the fact that the unionized traffic regulator got his second consecutive victory over Mike Quackenbush, the cornerstone of the company.
3) Matt Sydal – Sydal and Chavo Guerrero’s bodyguard (whatever his name is) have been on the WWE roster for roughly the same period of time. They’re about the same age and in roughly the same position on cards. One is big, and one is small. The fact that they met in the ring on Tuesday and WWE gave Sydal the win speaks volumes about how well he’s doing for himself.
4) Nick & Matt Jackson
5) Tigers Mask

Christi Csonka
1) Beer Money
These guys are a lot of fun and had a great match with LAX. I am a big LAX fan, but Beer Money has been entertaining since they got together and the tag title win takes the top spot for me.

2) AJ Styles and Kurt Angle: Many of you know that I usually cannot get into a match once it hits 15-minutes, that’s just me. This was one of the rare ones that kept me involved from bell to bell. A very effort from both guys, and a very big win for AJ Styles, who is great.
3) John Cena and Batista: They took the tag titles on Raw, but still aren’t as cool as Beer Money.
4) Edge
5) Taylor Wilde

Jeremy Thomas
1) AJ Styles
Of all the people, AJ Styles had the week that meant the most to his career. He needed this win to truly solidify him and blow off this feud before Angle died in the ring. He got it, they had a great match. Kurt doesn’t get a spot on my top five only because he’s a fucking idiot who’s going to kill himself in the ring one of these days, and hopefully they’re giving him some time off finally. It’s great to see AJ back in full form again, even if he is likely to be Sting’s bitch if they’re feuding now.

2) Samoa Joe: Well, Joe finally got the Booker T monkey off his back. The match may not have been the greatest, but Joe gets to move on and keep the title, which is a very good thing. The fact that he also won the Gauntlet Match on Impact is enough to vault him over a few people into the Number Two spot. Now, the big question is…will the person he finally drops it to be Jarrett?
3) Beer Money: Beer Money kicked ass in a pretty damn good match, and came away with the TNA Tag Team Titles. The fact that it’s due to LAX’s apparent break-up hurts things just a tad, but it’s looking like we might well be seeing Beer Money vs. Cage & Rhino (really, with MCMG’s probably breaking up, LAX doing so, and Team 3D heels, who else will be fighting for it?), and that should make for a really fun feud.
4) Edge
5) JBL

Samuel Berman
1) Nick & Matt Jackson
It’s rare that an American Independent star can go to Japan and find in-ring success, at least in terms of wins and losses. The Young Bucks, who have broken out of the pack to become one of the top up-and-coming tag teams on the Independent scene, are currently tied for the lead in Dragon Gate’s Summer Adventure Tag League, having beaten the teams of Don Fujii & Masaaki Mochizuki and BxB Hulk & Naoki Tanisaki. While there are a lot of tournament matches left to be fought, the fact that Dragon Gate has put this much faith in the Jackson’s certainly speaks volumes about their growth potential for the future.

2) Shane Storm: A breakout weekend both in the ring and in CHIKARA’s storylines for the Unionized Traffic Regulator.
3) Delirious & Hallowicked: A successful defense for CHIKARA’s Campeones de Parejas on Saturday, in two straight falls no less, as well as a main event win on Sunday in a six man tag.
4) Hiroshi Tenzan
5) James Storm & Robert Roode and John Cena & Batista (tie)

ARI
1) Batista and John Cena
The standard bearers of Raw (as much as I love Punk its true) won the WWE Tag Team Titles and did it in convincing fashion. This would be the equivalent of if Hogan & Warrior teamed up to win the tag titles back in the day. I felt that even though this has been done before (and done before with Cena even), it still felt to me like a great moment in the show and something that will stand out as a part of their history together.

2) Santino Marella & Edge: Showing off some awesome promo and character displays on Raw and Smackdown. Santino is so awesome in his coupling with Beth Phoenix, meanwhile Edge’s insanity act continues to be one of the best highlights in all of professional wrestling. He has taken the ball and run a marathon with it.
3) AJ Styles: A win against Kurt Angle doesn’t mean as much as it used to, but it does seem to blow their feud over and give the overall win to Styles while they transition him with Sting.
4) Samoa Joe
5) Chris Jericho, CM Punk & JBL

Michael O
1) AJ Styles
A huge win in a terrific match makes this a no-brainer. And not only did AJ win in a convincing manner, but he made Kurt tap to the ankle lock along the way, which is tantamount to beating Zeus with a thunderbolt in my book, and since Chris Benoit never existed I think AJ might be able to claim a first with that one. I can question the logic of TNA attempting to rewrite what a Last Man Standing Match is to an audience weaned largely on WWE, or the fact that Angle shouldn’t have taken this bump or that bump, but neither of those issues took anything away from the quality of the performances put on by both men. I’d give both AJ & Kurt the top spot, but then I’d have to come up with a sixth wrestler for this list and I’m tired.

2) Kurt Angle: What is Luke Skywalker without Darth Vader? Just a chump in robe with a faggy haircut. Thanks for risking your neck once again, Kurt.
3) Samoa Joe: Ugh. It pains me to type the name. Not because I have it in for Joe, but his retention of the title against Booker T wasn’t exactly spectacular. But nobody I haven’t mentioned already had an especially spectacular week, so there you go you big fat dynamo.
4) Edge
5) Jeff Hardy

JT
1) AJ Styles
I have to go with AJ this week. For months, AJ had played second fiddle and become almost a shell of his formal self; a comedic lackey if you will. But he apparently hooked up with Angela Bassett recently because he started to get his groove back. I was naturally skeptical at first, but it’s hard to argue with tonight’s actions. Not only did he get the win over Kurt Angle, but he returned when things got SUPER SERIAL to inflict even more damage. With TNA, I can never be sure where it’s going, but tonight I learned that at the very least, it’s going somewhere with AJ.

2) Edge: I’ve been bitching about Edge for almost a year now. Not because I didn’t like him, but because I hated how he was booked. Mick Foley opened his mouth and it was like the words in my head came out. This is what I’ve been waiting for, because Edge is fine all by himself. Drop the bitch, drop the crew, get back to what made you, you. He finally did that Friday. Will it last? Who knows, which is why I will take the opportunity to make sure I give him his kudos, at least for one week.
3) Beer Money: TNA has been trying to get their tag division back to where it was a year and a half ago. LAX has been a big part of that, and the emergence of Beer Money has also contributed; beating the champs was a big deal for them and I am always in favor of TNA stepping up their game and attempting to restore their tag and X divisions.
4) Hiroshi Tenzan
5) Samoa Joe/Batista

Michael Bauer
1) AJ Styles
Now, if there has been a better, more definitive feud-ending match in the past 2 years, I don’t know what it is. AJ Styles gets a huge win here and looks poised to deal with Sting for the next few months. Amazing match from all accounts and as much as I hate giving TNA credit, I have to on this one. This was great.

2) Beer Money: The new TNA Tag Team Champions. It was almost too obvious as they have been built very well, but still impressive.
3) Hiroshi Tenzan: There is something about beating that one rival that speaks volumes on a career.
4) Delirious & Hallowicked
5) Shane Storm

Daniel Wilcox
1) AJ Styles
Styles gets a first place vote from me this week by coming out on top of an awesome Last Man Standing Match with Kurt Angle at the pay-per-view. Hopefully, after a feud with Sting, AJ will be in line for a push towards the title.

2) Edge: Edge continues his role of awesome promo work, ending another edition of SmackDown with Psychotic Edge taking out Chavo Guerrero and generally humiliating and terrifying Vickie.
3) Beer Money/John Cena and Batista: Beer Money picked up the tag straps at Hard Justice with a win over LAX, while Cena and Batista won the World tag titles after taking care of Simply Priceless.
4) Kurt Angle
5) JBL

Andrew Critchell
1) Roode & Storm – They have been on a roll lately, not so much in terms of wins and losses but in terms of getting more and more over. While I think Storm’s charisma is carrying the team, Roode is doing his part by being solid and fun to watch in the ring. Too bad Peyton Banks isn’t still around. Damn, she was fine! Anyhoo, these two won the tag straps from LAX in an impressive match and they did it on a PPV so that gets a nod from me.

2) Batista & Cena – Another tag team that won gold this week, but this team did it on regular TV. I’m not a huge fan of the “partners that don’t like each other” gimmick but these two guys are the biggest stars on Raw and two of the biggest guys in all of pro wrestling so I’m willing to give them a chance.
3) Mike Adamle – Yeah, that’s right, I’m voting for him two weeks in a row. Mike surprised all the haters on Monday by showing himself as competent and interesting. Everyone that predicted doom and gloom and “epic fail” now look like the huge idiots they are because Mike was far from bad. In fact, he came off as quite good for his first week and he already made a significant impact. There’s still a bit of a mystery as to how his character will evolve (will he be good, will he be bad?) but Mike seems dedicated and ready for the task ahead of him.
4) Delirious & Hallowicked
5) AJ Styles

Larry Csonka
1) AJ Styles and Kurt Angle
This was a huge victory for AJ Styles, no one helped, it was decisive and he left Angle laying in the ring. Angle certainly held hid own and together they put on a great match.

2) Beer Money: BEER! MONEY! These guys rule and are now the TNA Tag Team Champions. BEER! MONEY!
3) Samoa Joe: He defended the TNA title successfully on PPV.
4) Hiroshi Tenzan
5) Edge

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