411’s Wrestler of the Week – Did Undertaker & Lesnar Brawl to The Top?

Welcome to YEAR ELEVEN, WEEK 17 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) Kota Ibushi:
My lists may be really heavy G1 for the next few weeks, and with good reason. Kota Ibushi kicks off the list, pulling a fun match out of Doc Gallows (he sucks in singles) and then delivered two MOTY contenders with AJ Styles and Hiroshi Tanahashi. Ibushi has come to show that he is worthy of a top spot, and maybe even more important than the great quality matches is the fact that he defeated AJ Styles. It was an excellent week for Mr. Ibushi.

2) Hiroshi Tanahashi: Tanahashi has turned back the clock about three years, because after a downgrade in position to recover, he has entered the G1 fresh and motivated performer. A MOTY contender with Kota Ibushi, as well as a four star encounter with both Tetsuya Naito and ZOMBIE TENZAN have shown that he is still the go to guy, and can still deliver the big time matches he’s known for.
3) Katsuyori Shibata: Right now the most consistent performer in the G1, having four star matches with AJ Styles, Tetsuya Naito and Togi Makabe thus far in the tournament. Watching Shibata kick the hell out of people never gets old.
4) AJ Styles
5) Tetsuya Naito & Karl Anderson

Kevin Pantoja
1) Kota Ibushi:
Obviously the bulk of the week has been taken up by the G1 Climax. Usually, the WWE guys get more opportunities to make the list thanks to so much TV time, but there were five G1 shows this week and they dominate. We start with a guy who has greatly impressed all year, Kota Ibushi. I remember first seeing him in Ring of Honor back in 2008. I liked him then but man he is on another level now. This week, he started by losing in a great match to Hiroshi Tanahashi. Then, he defeated Doc Gallows in a decent match that was one of the best in Gallows’ singles career in my eyes. He topped it all though on day five by besting AJ Styles, who was undefeated going into that match. The only night of the G1 I’ve yet to see is day five (which is where Styles/Ibushi happened), but I hear it’s been the best match of the tournament. His match with Tanahashi is currently my favorite. Basically, Ibushi is the MVP of the G1 so far in my eyes.

2) Karl Anderson: On night two of the G1 Climax, we got our first upset. In the main event, most people’s favorite to win the whole thing, Shinsuke Nakamura lost to “Machine Gun” Karl Anderson. The most shocking thing about it is that it came cleanly. There wasn’t any Bullet Club shenanigans or anything like that. Anderson just straight up beat him. Then, on night four, he went out and beat the IWGP Intercontinental Champion, Hirooki Goto. While the quality of his matches haven’t been on par with some of the others on this list, they were both still enjoyable. The major reason he ranks so high is that both could be considered major upsets. He is surprising many as one half of the IWGP Tag Team Champions is doing fine for himself in this tournament.
3) Tetsuya Naito: Honestly, I was very tempted to put Hiroshi Tanahashi in this spot. The guy has had some very good matches and has two wins, but man, Tetsuya Naito is so damn entertaining. His new heel persona has been splendid television. On night one, he won against Bad Luck Fale in a match that was kind of just there. Then, on night three he had one of my favorite matches of the tournament in a losing effort to Katsuyori Shibata. However, his crowning moment so far came on night five when he defeated Tanahashi. That is a pretty damn big deal. His matches have been good, he’s tied for the lead with four points and he’s incredibly entertaining.
4) Hiroshi Tanahashi
5) Michael Elgin

JUSTIN WATRY
1) Cesaro:
The best part of the week was the Brock Lesnar/The Undertaker brawl. However, the backbone of RAW and Smackdown were the great performances of Cesaro. Even though it took Tyson Kidd to be out for a year, good on WWE to give Cesaro the ball. He is certainly running with it. My only issue if he faces Kevin Owens at Summerslam – somebody has to lose. Good luck getting out of that outcome…

2) Finn Balor: NXT is in such a weird spot within the wrestling industry. It is a good product, with awesome live specials every quarter. It has all the talent in the world. It features fun cameos along the way and seems to be able to “draw” on its own merits on the road. Yet, here is its champion Finn Balor. Great guy to put the spotlight and is a huge fan favorite…all the while, you know WWE is staring at a goldmine on a grander stage. Very interesting dynamic with NXT and what exactly is its place right now.
3) Charlotte: Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks also deserve a shout out, but my vote goes to Charlotte. She has an upcoming match with Bayley on NXT, as well as continue to impress on the main roster.
4) The Undertaker
5) Brock Lesnar

Ryan Byers
1) Brock Lesnar & The Undertaker (tie):
These two had a damn near perfect knock down, drag out brawl on Monday Night Raw to set up their main event match at Summerslam. This angle reminded me of everything that is missing in modern professional wrestling, as you had two intense competitors who appeared to legitimately hate each other exchanging blows in a wild, uncontrolled environment. There was no lame comedy, there was no corporate double speak, there was just good ole’ wrasslin’ the way that it used to be, and I loved it.

2) Kota Ibushi: Panjota pretty much nailed it. Ibushi has been the star performer of the G1 thus far. If Shinsuke Nakamura’s recent elbow injury knocks him out of the tournament, Ibushi might just replace him as the consensus favorite to win it all.
3) Yuji Okabayashi: I admit there’s a bit of personal bias here, as I’ve always had a soft spot for BJW’s Okabayashi. This week he defeated his mentor, Daisuke Sekimoto, to earn his first reign with the BJW Strong Heavyweight Title, a championship that was essentially made for Sekimoto. The student has surpassed the teacher, and I’m interested to see where it goes.
4) Karl Anderson
5) Masato Yoshino

Jeremy Thomas
1) Undertaker & Brock Lesnar:
Had a big knockdown, drag-out brawl that required most of the roster to keep them apart. This was entertaining as hell and did some really nice work to promote WWE’s main event for their biggest show of the summer.

2) Kota Ibushi: Has been tearing it up in the G1 Climax tournament and may just be the guy to win it all.
3) Cesaro: Cesaro may be a bit of a dark horse pick this week, but for my money he’s been really delivering as they slow burn a push up the card. He was working the main event alongside Orton and Cena on Raw, factoring into the finish, while on Smackdown he put on a great effort against Rollins and then was shifted into an Owens feud. If the booking is handled right (big assumption, I know) WWE could really make him into a permanent guy around Sheamus’ level.
4) Hiroshi Tanahashi
5) Matt Hardy

Jack McGee
1) Kota Ibushi:
Ibushi put out two match of the year caliber matches this week in the G1, including a huge win over AJ Styles. That’s enough for the top spot this week.

2) Karl Anderson: Karl Anderson went 2-0 early in the tournament, with wins over Hirooki Goto and more importantly, a win over Shinsuke Nakamura. The machine Gun is making an early run and it’s cool to see.
3) AJ Styles and Hiroshi Tanahashi: Delivering the great matches you’d expect them to this time of year.
4) Tetsuya Naito
5) Brock Lesnar

Wyatt Beougher
1) Karl Anderson:
They may not have been the best matches on the respective cards, but Anderson still picked up a pair of solid wins in his first two G1 Climax matches, including one over the prohibitive favorite to win the tournament, Shinsuke Nakamura, and one over the man who beat Nakamura for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship, Hirooki Goto. Not bad for a guy who has been a tag team wrestler for the majority of his stint in NJPW (and is currently one-half of the IWGP Tag Team champions).

2) Kota Ibushi: Anderson has had perhaps the best quality of wins with his pair of upsets; however, Ibushi has had the best quality of matches, tearing it up with Hiroshi Tanahashi and AJ Styles, which is unsurprising, but also with Doc Gallows, which is more surprising. As my colleagues have mentioned, if Swagsuke’s injury proves to be severe enough that he cannot finish the tournament, Ibushi may become the favorite to win the whole thing.
3) Prince Puma: With Lucha Underground’s two-week, three-hour season finale Ultima Lucha just a few short days away, Puma heads into the show with the most momentum of any performer on the LU roster, having valiantly fended off an attack from Mil Muertes’ Disciples of the Dead (who have handily dispatched the Trios champions on more than one occasions), and also gaining the upper hand over Muertes himself, something no other wrestler has been able to do since his return.
4) Hiroshi Tanahashi
5) Tetsuya Naito

Mike Hammerlock
1) Hirochi Tanahashi:
The big story from the early stages of the G1 Climax tournament is Tanahashi is on fire. He rested and seemingly ready to remind everybody why he’s one of the gold standards in the pro wrestling business.

2) Kota Ibushi: Putting his absurd talents on display. Could be his year. Probably should be his year. Ibushi vs. Okada at Wrestle Kingdom? Works for me.
3) Karl Anderson: Not a favorite of mine, but he’s getting a big push at G1.
4) Tetsuya Naito
5) Shynron

Sean Garmer
1) Hiroshi Tanahashi:
He has been lights out in the G1 and delivered in the three main events he has wrestled so far. As someone that has been awake at 5am watching these things live and covering them with reviews and podcasts, I’ve had to watch some of these matches twice or three times. I know a lot of people are going to give this to Ibushi and he has had one hell of a tournament so far as well. However, Tanahashi is the reason that match on Night One was so great. He showed he still can deliver when called upon in his sleep. He and Ibushi told a great story, but the way it was worked was the sign of a ring general. His match with Hiroyoshi Tenzan was very good and he was able to work it to Tenzan’s strengths. There was also a master class of psychology in his match with Tetsuya Naito as well. Maybe they weren’t flashy, but his matches have been great so far.

2) AJ Styles: I’m putting AJ in this spot because he has been amazing so far in the G1 tournament. He had a great match with Shibata on Night One where everything was crisp, no wasted motion, just wonderful. AJ managed to get an entertaining match out Toru Yano and has great chemistry with him. That is one to watch for Yano haters. Then possibly the best match of the tournament so far with Ibushi. If you haven’t watched that match, do it now! AJ is showing he is just on another level wrestling wise and it has been a joy to watch him so far.
3) Kota Ibushi: He’s had one hell of a tournament so far with awesome matches with Hiroshi Tanahashi and AJ, looks NJPW have things set for him to do big things, whether or not he leaves DDT is a different matter, but it’s going to be interesting where Ibushi is at as the tournament continues.
4) Tetsuya Naito
5) Undertaker and Brock

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THE WINNERS~!
* Special Mention… AJ Styles – 10 Votes

* Fifth Place… Tetsuya Naito – 11 Votes

* Fourth Place…Undertaker and Brock Lesnar – 13 Votes

* Third Place…Karl Anderson – 19 Votes

The Machine Gun is making an impressive run early.

* Second Place…Hiroshi Tanahashi – 23 Votes

Hiroshi Tanahashi is doing Hiroshi Tanahashi things like it’s 2012.

* And 411’s Wrestler of the Week is…
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Kota Ibushi – 31 Votes

So far he’s the early star of the 2015 G1 tournament.

The Standings
Here are the standings after week seventeen…

Kevin Owens – 48 pts.

John Cena – 46 pts.

Kofi Kingston – 35 pts.
Big E – 35 pts.

Seth Rollins – 31 pts.

Prince Puma – 25 pts.

Dean Ambrose – 24 pts.
KUSHIDA – 24 pts.
Sasha Banks – 24 pts.

Xavier Woods – 22 pts.

Cesaro – 21 pts.

AJ Styles – 19 pts.

Roman Reigns – 18 pts.
Nick Jackson – 18 pts.
Matt Jackson – 18 pts.

Mil Muertes – 16 pts.

Kazuchika Okada – 15 pts.
Kota Ibushi – 15 pts.
Jay Lethal – 15 pts.
Hideo Itami – 15 pts.
Randy Orton – 15 pts.
Matt Hardy – 15 pts.
Jeff Hardy – 15 pts.
Hirooki Goto – 15 pts.
Angelico – 15 pts.
Son of Havoc – 15 pts.
Alberto El Patron – 15 pts.
Kurt Angle – 15 pts.
Brock Lesnar – 15 pts.
Undertaker – 15 pts.

Finn Balor – 13 pts.

Shinsuke Nakamura – 12 pts.
Hiroshi Tanahashi – 12 pts.
Kyle O’Reilly – 12 pts.
Mike Bennett – 12 pts.
Matt Taven – 12 pts.
“Speedball” Mike Bailey – 12 pts.
Rich Swann – 12 pts.
Ivelisse – 12 pts.

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

Jeff Jarrett – 9 pts.
Karl Anderson – 9 pts.
Togi Makabe – 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.
Drago – 9 pts.

Minoru Suzuki – 6 pts
Ethan Carter III – 6 pts.
Tigre Uno – 6 pts.
Samoa Joe – 6 pts.
KAI – 6 pts.
Masato Tanaka – 6 pts.
Takashi Sugiura – 6 pts.
Ryback – 6 pts.
King Bad News Barrett – 6 pts.
Nicole Matthews – 6 pts.

Neville – 4 pts.

Drew Galloway – 3 pts.
Fenix – 3 pts.
Johnny Mundo – 3 pts.
Jack Evans – 3 pts.
Aerostar – 3 pts.
Tetsuya Naito – 3 pts.

King Cuerno – 1 pts
Eddie Edwards – 1 pt.
Davey Richards – 1 pt.
Kenny King – 1 pt.
Kalisto – 1 pt.
Titus O’Neil – 1 pt.
Darren Young – 1 pt.
Minoru Tanaka – 1 pt.
Masato Yoshino – 1 pt.
Kazarian – 1 pt
Christopher Daniels – 1 pt
Zack Sabre Jr – 1 pt.
Jun Kasai – 1 pt.
Manabu Soya – 1 pt.

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* Voting began 4.06.15

* Year-End Rankings Key:

WWE 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/Lucha Underground Contracted Wrestlers are represented in MAGENTA.

Other International Wrestlers are represented in INDIGO.

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**PREVIOUS WINNERS**

Year One Winner: Ric Flair (2005-2006) (Shortened year, starting September 2005)

Year Two Winner: Samoa Joe (2006-2007)

Year Three Winner: John Cena (2007-2008)

Year Four Winner: Chris Jericho (2008-2009)

Year Five Winner: CM Punk (2009-2010)

Year Six Winner: The Miz (2010-2011)

Year Seven Winner: CM Punk (2011-2012)

Year Eight Winner: CM Punk (2012-2013)

Year Nine Winner: Daniel Bryan (2013-2014)

Year Ten Winner: Seth Rollins (2014-2015)