411’s Wrestler of The Week: Gargano Battles Ishii

Welcome to YEAR TWELVE, WEEK 18 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…

Voting period: AUGUST 1 – AUGUST 7

Larry Csonka
1) Tomohiro Ishii:
Ishii may have only gone 1-1 in the G1 last week, but he did so by putting on two of the very best matches of the entire tournament so far. He’s been awesome, and as I have said, one of the most consistent, top level guys for the last 3-4 years and is making his case for the G1 MVP. If you’re not watching Tomohiro Ishii matches, you’re doing wrestling wrong.

2) Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa: A they finish pp their independent bookings, these boys are killing it on the WWE Network. First sending Dash and Dawson packing on NXT, and then delivering the best CWC series we’ve had so far. Last year this time all I heard was that they would never get a chance in WWE, and well, here we are.
3) Tetsuya Naito: Went 3-0 is last week’s G1 matches, with strong performances against EVIL and Nakajima.
4) James Storm
5) EC3

Len Archibald
1) Sasha Banks:
SHE DIDN’T WRESTLE MUCH! SJW! Yeah, I know. But, still…I have not come down from the high of seeing WWE actually continue meaningful momentum with their female talent. Last week, Sasha Banks won the WWE Women’s Title in one of the best matches on RAW, male or female. This week, The Boss was anointed with the all-powerful opening segment, as her arrival welcomed the WWE Universe. Everyone has their opinions on the opening segment with her, Charlotte, Enzo Amore and Chris Jericho; I believe she held her own, but the simple fact that the WWE Women’s Champion cold opened RAW, no authority figures in sight felt like we were experiencing something new. I am having a hard time remembering if sometime during the Trish/Lita feud was the last time a major female program opened, but it has been a LONG time since and a longer time coming. Anyone else notice whose image closes the new RAW theme as well? Legit.

2) Tomohiro Ishii: Tomohiro Ishii is literally insane. That is all I have to say. He loses in exceptional style to Hiroshi Tanahashi on night 11 of the G1 Climax Tournament, but then comes back on night 12 and takes down IWGP Heavyweight Champ, Kazuchika Okada in probably the match of the week, tournament and maybe the month. NO SELL THAT DRAGON SUPLEX, MAN~!
3) Johnny Gargano: Johnny Wrestling and NXT tag partner, Tommaso Ciampa went to war to close out the opening brackets of the Cruiserweight Classic with Gargano coming up on top in a tremendous performance. Gargano and Ciampa were challenged to close out the first round of the 32-man tournament in style and make a statement for the future of the cruiserweight division when it arrives on RAW. The CWC now has its first truly great match and some hefty momentum as we head to the quarterfinals, where I expect to see the bar to be raised again. Gargano’s stock has raised and is now listed among Kota Ibushi, Zack Sabre Jr. and Rich Swann as the favorites to win.
4) James Storm
5) Dolph Ziggler/Apollo Crews

Mike Hammerlock
1) Tomohiro Ishii:
He’s built like a human fire hydrant and he puts on five-star matches with alarming frequency. I know Okada and Tanahashi are the name stars in New Japan, but Ishii is every bit their equal.

2) Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa: Gargano won, but Ciampa delivered a master class in stiffness. He threw elbows like they were the vengeance of God. And that powerbomb-lung blower should have killed a man. Brilliant match.
3) Hiroshi Tanahashi: Yep, he’s still great
4) Dolph Ziggler
5) Seth Rollins

Rob Stewart
1) Dolph Ziggler:
Dolph was challenged by Bray Wyatt for his number one contender’s spot for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, and despite being told that he was under no obligation to put his spot up, Dolph did anyway. He won the subsequent match to show that it’s not a fluke that he’s in this position. He also had an interesting and intense promo with Dean Ambrose to set up some rough edges between them going into SummerSlam. It’s altogether a good week for Dolph with WWE showing they are taking him seriously as a post-Brand Split contender.

2) Tetsuya Naito: Naito had a good run in the G1 tournament matches from this past week, going 3-0 by picking up wins on nights 10, 12, and 14.
3) Rusev: The Bulgarian Brute kept right on rolling this week with a victory over Mark Henry. His recent successes have really helped elevate him as a deserving US champion, and as one that other contenders should really want to beat. It’s nice to not see WWE just give someone a belt, have them lose a half-dozen non-title matches on TV, and then just drop it to the next hot thing.
4) Apollo Crews
5) James Storm

Jack McGee
1) Tomohiro Ishii:
The Stone Pitbull defeated Kazuchika Okada in the best match of the G1 tournament so far; he’s likely the tournament MVP as well

2) Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa: They had a good showing on NXT as we build to Takeover, and then tore it up on the Cruiserweight Classic show. These guys rule.
3) James Storm: Defeated Eli Drake to win the TNA King of the Mountain Title.
4) Tetsuya Naito
5) Apollo Crews

Kevin Pantoja
1) Tetsuya Naito:
Only one man went 3-0 this week and that was Tetsuya Naito. Naito continued his hot streak in the G1 Climax. Not only did he win all three of his matches, but he did it in three straight B Block main events. He closed out night ten by defeating Tomoaki Honma, ended night twelve with a win over Katsuhiko Nakajima in an awesome match and then bested his teammate EVIL to close out night fourteen. At the end of the week, Naito stood atop the B Block with a 5-2 record, tying Kazuchika Okada for best overall record. He is a heavy favorite to win the entire thing and get the Wrestle Kingdom IWGP Heavyweight Title shot.

2) Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa: For one night Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa were the focal point on the WWE Network. First, on NXT, Gargano and Ciampa staked their claim for the NXT Tag Team Titles and took out the Revival following the main event. After closing out NXT, they headlined the Cruiserweight Classic, facing off against each other in the final first round match. Ciampa dominated for the most part, beating the hell out of his buddy. Gargano never quit and showed incredible resiliency. He survived a ton and Ciampa couldn’t pull the trigger against his partner, allowing Gargano to win via backslide. They had the best match of the CWC so far and their post-match embrace was a nice emotional moment for the tournament while they also look poised to make their TakeOver debut against the Revival.
3) Tomohiro Ishii: Man, Tomohiro Ishii is one of the best wrestlers on the planet and he showed exactly why this past week. The A Block only had two shows but Ishii stole the show on both. First, he faced off with Hiroshi Tanahashi in a match that I gave ****1/4. It was all kinds of awesome, though Ishii lost. He then went out and bested himself by beating the IWGP Heavyweight Champion, Kazuchika Okada, in a match that I gave ****3/4. It was the best of the tournament so far and Ishii continued to impress. Unfortunately, his standing isn’t very good and as of this week, he was officially eliminated from contention.
4) Apollo Crews
5) Dolph Ziggler

Mitch Nickelson
1) Johnny Gargano:
The first round of the Cruiserweight Classic saved their best bout for last. Johnny Gargano withstood an incredibly tough test as he took on the main he typically tags with, Tommaso Ciampa. Gargano took a beating but came out on top. It was the best match of last week and the performance of the tourny so far.

2) Tommaso Ciampa: The man that lost to Gargano, Tommaso Ciampa, made his friend earn the victory. Tommaso is a stiff competitor and possibly second to his bout against Samoa Joe a few months back, this was the most hard hitting he’s been under a WWE banner. The air raid crash on the apron as well as the Powerbomb into a lung blower were two painful spots he inflicted on poor Johnny.
3) James Storm: He defeated Eli Drake in the opening match of Impact to claim the King of the Mountain Championship. Sure, it’s the least valuable singles title of TNA, but it’ll look great alongside their World Championship and the X-Division belt on Bobby Lashley. Storm’s win sets up all the gold going to Lashley, which is fine by me.
4) Tetsuya Naito
5) Dolph Ziggler

THE WINNERS~!
* Special Mention…Dolph Ziggler – 10 Votes

* Fifth Place…James Storm – 11 Votes

* Fourth Place…Tetsuya Naito – 16 Votes

* Third Place…Tommaso Ciampa – 20 Votes

Had a hell of a week on NXT and the Cruiserweight Classic.

* Second Place…Tomohiro Ishii – 22 Votes

Making his case for MFP of the G1 Climax Tournament.

* And 411’s Wrestler of the Week is…

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Johnny Garagno – 24 Votes

Scores the big win this week after his performance on NXT as well his big win in the Cruiserweight Classic.

The Standings
Here are the standings after week 18…

* Prince Puma/Ricochet – 54pts

* AJ Styles – 46pts

* Dean Ambrose – 42pts

* Rey Mysterio Jr. – 36pts
* Dragon Azteca Jr. – 36pts

* Lashley – 33pts
* The Monster Matanza Cueto – 33pts
* Will Ospreay – 33pts
* Sexy Star – 33pts

* Tetsuya Naito – 30pts

* Johnny Mundo – 27pts

* Cage – 24 pts
* Roman Reigns – 24pts
* Jack Evans – 24pts
* PJ Black – 24 pts

* Samoa Joe – 21pts

* The Miz – 16pts

* Jay Lethal – 15pts
* Finn Balor – 15pts
* Seth Rollins – 15pts
* Broken Matt Hardy – 15pts
* Drew Galloway – 15pts
* Dash – 15pts
* Dawson – 15pts
* Johnny Gargano – 15pts

* Sami Zayn – 13pts

* Sasha Banks – 12pts
* Son of Havoc – 12pts
* Michael Elgin -12pts
* Kevin Owens – 12pts
* Bobby Fish – 12pts
* Daniels – 12pts
* Kazarian – 12pts
* Mike Bennett – 12pts
* Eddie Edwards – 12pts
* Tomohiro Ishii – 12pts

* Dolph Ziggler – 10pts

* Tommaso Ciampa – 9pts
* Mil Muertes – 9pts
* Kyle O’Reilly – 9pts
* SANADA – 9pts
* KUSHIDA – 9pts
* Kazuchika Okada – 9pts
* Katsuyori Shibata – 9pts

* Rusev – 7pts

* Ethan Carter III – 6pts
* Fenix – 6pts
* Pentagon Jr – 6pts
* Mariposa – 6pts
* Yuji Nagata – 6pts
* Takashi Sugiura – 6pts
* Matt Riddle – 6pts

* Aerostar – 3pts
* The Mack – 3pts
* Cesaro – 3pts
* Dana Brooke – 3pts
* Xavier Woods – 3pts
* Kofi Kingston – 3pts
* Big E – 3pts
* Evie – 3pts
* Heidi Lovelace – 3pts
* Dustin (Chuck Taylor) – 3pts
* YAMATO – 3pts
* Zack Sabre Jr – 3pts
* James Storm – 3pts

* Matt Sydal – 2pts

* Chavo Guerrero – 1pt
* Jeff Hardy – 1pt
* Abyss – 1pt
* Crazy Steve – 1pt
* Bayley – 1pt
* Zack Ryder – 1pt
* Big Cass – 1pt
* Enzo Amore – 1pt
* Karl Anderson – 1pt
* Doc Gallows – 1pt
* Rocky Romero – 1pt
* Trent Barreta – 1pt
* Timothy Thatcher – 1pt
* Jay Briscoe – 1pt
* Mark Briscoe – 1pt
* ACH – 1pt
* Satoshi Kojima – 1pt
* Hiroyoshi Tenzan – 1pt
* Taiji Ishimori – 1pt
* Kota Ibushi – 1pt

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* Voting began the week of April 4th, 2016

* 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)

Year Eleven Winners: The New Day (2015-2016)