wrestling / Columns

411’s Wrestler of the Week – Bayley Battles Sasha

October 13, 2015 | Posted by Larry Csonka

Welcome to YEAR ELEVEN, WEEK 28 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 (although ties and tag teams are allowed, and more on a special occasion) 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

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 around WrestleMania. This will be posted every Tuesday (the voting week runs Monday through Sunday). Let’s see who wins this week…

Larry Csonka
1) Bayley:
While there has been so much praise for Sasha Banks, and she more than deserves it, we need to remember that Bayley was the one that won the rematch at Takeover: Respect. Bayley may be the one that “didn’t get called up,” but she’s the one getting to anchor the next set of women in NXT, and she more than deserves it. While I personally liked the Brooklyn match more, the overall package (degree of difficulty due to the stipulation, the post match celebration) was really great and capped off another strong event from NXT.

2) Sasha Banks: Sasha Banks just delivered her fourth high level, match on a big time show this year. She has been the common threat on the great women’s matches in NXT this year, and is the best heel in the company. And the scary thing is that she is ONLY 23-YEARS OLD and will only continue to get better. She is putting together a simply amazing year.
3) Finn Balor and Samoa Joe: The first winners of the Dusty Rhodes tag Team Classic.
4) New Day (Kofi, Big E and Woods)
5) Madison Eagles

Kevin Pantoja
1) Bayley:
There honestly could be no other choice. The best match this week, easily, saw Bayley and Sasha Banks make history by main eventing NXT TakeOver: Respect in the first ever female Ironman match. The match wasn’t equal to the excellent one they had in Brooklyn, it was still pretty fantastic. They went for 30 minutes, it was never boring and was actually pretty brutal. Bayley is officially solidified as THE woman in NXT now that the other three “Horsewomen” are on the main roster. I think that in both matches, Sasha outperformed her slightly, but Bayley was the winner both times and the matches did their job in being great and putting Bayley over big time. The fact that two women went out and had my second favorite Ironman match in history (only behind Angle/Lesnar) is a phenomenal feat and both girls absolutely should be commended for their efforts.

2) Madison Eagles: While I haven’t been able to catch much SHIMMER lately, there was a big change on their tenth anniversary show. Nicole Matthews has reigned at SHIMMER Champion since October of 2014, when she threw a fireball into the face of Madison Eagles to win the gold in a four way match. Their rivalry was hot at the time and a year later, they met in a No Disqualifications match to headline SHIMMER Volume 77. Eagles was able to dethrone Matthews, becoming the second ever two time Champion in the history of the company. Eagles’ first reign with the belt was very good and this should be more of the same. For those unaware of her, she trained current NXT star Billie Kay before teaming with her. Eagles is damn good and added to the week by successfully retaining the title on Volume 78 shortly after winning.
3) Finn Balor and Samoa Joe: Outside of the Ironman match between Bayley and Sasha Banks, the biggest thing at TakeOver: Respect was the culmination of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. Baron Corbin and Rhyno defeated Jason Jordan and Chad Gable in the best match of the tournament (and a potential star making performance for Gable and Jordan). Finn Balor and Samoa Joe beat Dash Wilder and Scott Dawson in the Semi-Finals before overcoming Corbin and Rhyno to win the entire tournament. I didn’t agree with the booking of the tournament as a whole, but this was an accomplishment that deserved a spot on this list. I’d like to point out how good this week was and I wish I had more than five spots to give some love to Sasha Banks, Asuka and the team of Gable and Jordan.
4) New Day
5) Apollo Crews

Mike Chin
1) Bayley:
It’s awesome that NXT put on the most talked about show of the week, it’s awesomer that two very talented women headlined the show, and it’s awesomest that these two women put on fantastic half hour match that culminated in Bayley mounting a coming and finding her meanest side to make Sasha Banks submit in the closing seconds of their Iron Man Match. There’s a fair argument that there have been better women’s matches in NXT this year (including Bayley-Banks at NXT Takeover Brooklyn), but this one stands up among the elite, and did so from the main event spot, which squarely places Bayley among NXT’s hottest properties, regardless of gender. Perhaps best of all, the promising debuts of Asuka (who just missed my top five) and Nia Jax are reestablishing the depth of the women’s division, so there should be plenty of opportunities for Bayley to keep having meaningful matches, despite the rest of her talented cohort moving to the main roster.

2) Sasha Banks: I’m typically reticent to rank the losers of big matches so highly in the Wrestler of the Week standings, but there’s little question Bayley-Banks was the match of the week, and while Banks is getting dangerously close to getting lost in the shuffle on the main roster, it was great to see her shine as a despicable heel one last time on NXT, taking full advantage of the biggest spotlight of her career to date.
3) New Day: New Day had the unlikely accomplishment of standing tall over not just The Dudleys and Dolph Ziggler, but John friggin’ Cena at the end of this week’s Raw–a nice testament that WWE is taking notice of how good this act is, and may be making strides toward elevating the unit and, by extension, the tag division.
4) Finn Balor and Samoa Joe
5) Madison Eagles

JUSTIN WATRY
1) Bayley:
I have written two columns about NXT: Takeover Respect since Wednesday night (on another website) and still haven’t found the words to describe the main event. As someone who said before the show that Bayley vs. Sasha Banks should have closed out NXT: Brooklyn in August, it was absolutely amazing to see them get their well deserved spot to end the evening here, and then the match! Oh, the match! Everything about it could be a column of itself. Bayley won, so she gets the top vote, but even that is not enough. Just an awesome treat for wrestling fans with the first ever Women’s Iron Man Match.

2) Sasha Banks: Matches against Becky Lynch, Bayley, and Bayley again have been highlights of three NXT live specials this year. The one common denominator in all of those situations was Sasha Banks. Charlotte is (rightfully) the focus on Raw and Smackdown currently as champ, but Sasha is looming. Her time will come, rest easy folks. Until then, we can praise her once more for one last classic bout in NXT.
3) John Cena: Still the man. Still finding new ways to be impressive. Win, lose, or draw – it doesn’t matter. I have refrained comment on rumors of him taking time off in a few weeks, so I will save that discussion for another day. Good showing on WWE RAW.
4) Finn Balor
5) Samoa Joe

Greg DeMarco
1) The New Day :
Seriously, who had a better week? They went into the most watched wrestling show of the week and made a big impact. They took away Dolph Ziggler’s US Championship Open Challenge opportunity, then stood tall to end Raw after beating down both Ziggler and John Cena himself. Time will tell if it’s truly a new day, but we’re off to a good start.

2) Bayley: Bayley defeated Sasha Banks in the biggest match of the week, ending their feud and moving forward as the true top woman in NXT.
3) Samoa Joe & Finn Balor: Booking questions be damned, Joe & Balor won the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, winning two matches in the process.
4) Sasha Banks
5) Madison Eagles

Jack McGee
1) Bayley:
Defeated Sasha Banks in another awesome match at the NXT Takeover: Respect event to retain the NXT Women’s Title. Bayley is now the centerpiece of that division, and is a great babyface performer.

2) Sasha Banks: For as good a babyface as Bayley is, Sasha is the perfect heel foil for her. She continues to have an amazing year of great matches, something we’ve never seen by a woman under contract to WWE.
3) Madison Eagles: Defeated Nicole Matthews to become the NEW SHIMMER champion.
4) Samoa Joe
5) Finn Balor

THE WINNERS~!
* Special Mention…John Cena – 3 Votes

* Fifth Place…Madison Eagles – 10 Votes

* Fourth Place…New Day (Woods, Kofi and Big E) – 12 Votes

* Third Place…Finn Balor and Samoa Joe – 14 Votes

The winners of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.

* Second Place…Sasha Banks – 18 Votes

Put on another great performance at NXT Takeover: Respect.

* And 411’s Wrestler of the Week is…
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It’s Bayley! – 29 Votes

Still your NXT Women’s Champion, following a great outing against Sasha Banks at NXT Takeover: Respect.

The Standings
Here are the standings after week twenty-eight…

1. John Cena – 80 pts.

2. Seth Rollins – 61 pts.

3. Kevin Owens – 58 pts.

4. Kofi Kingston – 53 pts.
4. Big E – 53 pts.

6. Shinsuke Nakamura – 45 pts.

7. Jay Lethal – 42 pts.
7. Sasha Banks – 42 pts.

9. Xavier Woods – 40 pts.

10. Finn Balor – 31 pts.
10. Mil Muertes – 31 pts.

Matt Hardy – 30 pts.

Hiroshi Tanahashi – 27 pts.
KUSHIDA – 27 pts.
Kyle O’Reilly – 27 pts.
Bayley – 27 pts.

Prince Puma – 25 pts.
Ethan Carter III – 25 pts.

Drago – 24 pts.
Fenix – 24 pts.
Kazuchika Okada – 24 pts.
Dean Ambrose – 24 pts.
Kota Ibushi – 24 pts.
AJ Styles – 24 pts.

Samoa Joe – 21 pts.
Nick Jackson – 21 pts.
Matt Jackson – 21 pts.
Cesaro – 21 pts.
Hirooki Goto – 21 pts.

Eddie Edwards – 19 pts.
Davey Richards – 19 pts.

Brock Lesnar – 18 pts.
Aerostar – 18 pts.
Alberto El Patron – 18 pts.
Roman Reigns – 18 pts.
Bubba Ray Dudley – 18 pts.
D-Von Dudley – 18 pts.

Zack Sabre Jr – 16 pts.

Hideo Itami – 15 pts.
Randy Orton – 15 pts.
Jeff Hardy – 15 pts.
Angelico – 15 pts.
Son of Havoc – 15 pts.
Kurt Angle – 15 pts.
Undertaker – 15 pts.
Bobby Fish – 15 pts.
Togi Makabe – 15 pts.

Kazarian – 13 pts.
Christopher Daniels – 13 pts.
Sting – 13 pts.

Rey Mysterio Jr. – 12 pts.
Atsushi Kotoge – 12 pts.
Daisuke Harada – 12 pts.
Katsuyori Shibata – 12 pts.
Mike Bennett – 12 pts.
Matt Taven – 12 pts.
“Speedball” Mike Bailey – 12 pts.
Rich Swann – 12 pts.
Ivelisse – 12 pts.
Bobby Roode – 12 pts.
Drew Galloway – 12 pts.

Becky Lynch – 10 pts.
Roderick Strong – 10 pts.

Ryback – 9 pts.
Jeff Jarrett – 9 pts.
Karl Anderson – 9 pts.
Sheamus – 9 pts.
Sami Zayn – 9 pts.
Rocky Romero – 9 pts.
Trent Baretta – 9 pts.
Kimber Lee – 9 pts.
Cherry Bomb – 9 pts.
Timothy Thatcher – 9 pts.

Michael Elgin – 6 pts.
Minoru Suzuki – 6 pts
Tigre Uno – 6 pts.
KAI – 6 pts.
Masato Tanaka – 6 pts.
Takashi Sugiura – 6 pts.
Charlotte – 6 pts.
King Bad News Barrett – 6 pts.
Nicole Matthews – 6 pts.

Neville – 5 pts.

Johnny Mundo – 3 pts.
Jack Evans – 3 pts.
Cage – 3 pts.
Madison Eagles – 3 pts.

Chris Hero – 1 pt.
PJ Black – 1 pt.
Pentagon Jr – 1 pt.
El Siniestro de la Muerte – 1 pt.
Barrio Negro – 1 pt.
Terce – 1 pt.
King Cuerno – 1 pt.
Mark Andrews – 1 pt.
Kenny King – 1 pt.
Nikki Bella – 1 pt.
Kalisto – 1 pt.
Titus O’Neil – 1 pt.
Aiden English – 1 pt.
Simon Gotch – 1 pt.
Darren Young – 1 pt.
Kenny Omega – 1 pt.
Minoru Tanaka – 1 pt.
Masato Yoshino – 1 pt.
Jun Kasai – 1 pt.
Manabu Soya – 1 pt.
Tetsuya Naito – 1 pt.