wrestling / Columns
411’s Wrestler of the Week – Is King Barrett #1?
Welcome to YEAR ELEVEN, WEEK 5 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) 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) Hirooki Goto:
At Sunday’s Wrestling Dontaku event, Hirooki Goto defeated Champion Shinsuke Nakamura to become the new IWGP IC Champion. This is a huge win for Goto, as not only has Nakamura been the gold standard and built the IC Title, but Goto has also had the label of choking (ala Les Luger so to speak) with man fans.
2) Togi Makabe: Togi Makabe defeated Tomohiro Ishii to become the NEW NEVER Openweight Champion. They had a hell of a main event match, and Makabe won back the title that he never (no pun intended) lost.
3) The Young Bucks: The Young Bucks defeated Champions Roppongi Vice and reDRagon to become the IWGP Jr. Tag Team Champions for the third time.
4) Bad News Barrett
5) Kenny King
Eric Palmer
1) Hirooki Goto:
Goto gets my top spot this week by dethroning long time IWGP Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura. I have not seen the match yet, but I’ve heard it was a great match, and I’m hoping this is the beginning of a long reign for Goto. Nakamura increased the prestige of the belt so much, it might be hard to live up to the work that Nakamura did, but I have faith in Goto’s ability to be a great champion.
2) Togi Makabe: Sticking with NJPW, Togi Makabe never actually lost the NEVER Openweight Championship, but rather was forced to vacate it due to injury. His battles with Tomohiro Ishii have been awesome to watch and I have no doubt this encounter was epic as well. The NEVER Openweight belt has provided me some of the best matches I’ve seen in recent times, and Makabe definitely has the tools to keep that trend going. Well deserved title victory for Makabe, and I hope to see Ishii enter the IWGP Intercontinental picture next.
3) Prince Puma: Prince Puma successfully defended his Lucha Underground Championship this week, and he continues to be one of the big draws to the rising promotion. While I don’t get to watch as much Lucha Underground as I’d like, his matches are always the ones I look forward to the most, which is exactly what you want from your top guy.
4) The Young Bucks
5) Eric Young
Kevin Pantoja
1) Hirooki Goto:
I’ve noted before that I’ve only recently gotten into NJPW. My favorite performer is Shinsuke Nakamura and I love the prestige that the IWGP Intercontinental Title has. This weekend, Nakamura lost the belt to Hirooki Goto. I have yet to see the match but I’ve only heard good things. Hopefully, we can see a great reign for Goto. The fact that the title is so important really hammers home the big deal that this win is meaning there was nothing bigger all week.
2) Prince Puma: Prince Puma has been fantastic as the Lucha Underground Champion and has continued to reign over all challengers. I recently lost my access to see the show weekly, which makes me sad but when I was able to see, Prince Puma was always fun to watch. He is the right choice to be the champion and I love that he’s done so well with the belt. He defeated Drago, who has also been great for Lucha Underground.
3) Kenny King: So Kenny King won the X-Division Title this week, defeating Rockstar Spud, Tigre Uno and Mandrews in a Ladder Match. I don’t think that, after his star making performance against Ethan Carter III a few weeks ago, Spud should have dropped the title so soon. However, that doesn’t take away from the win. King is one of the guys that I’ve felt has had a high ceiling for a long time so I am glad that he’s getting some shine in TNA. Here’s to hoping he has a good run.
4) The Young Bucks
5) Eric Young
Mike Chin
1) Hirooki Goto:
Goto relieved Shinsuke Nakamura of the IWGP IC Championship at NJPW Wrestling Dontaku.
2) Seth Rollins: The WWE Champion has continued to settle in nicely as the central focus of WWE programming and picked up a pinfall victory over Dean Ambrose on Smackdown.
3) Prince Puma: Puma continued his reign over Lucha Underground with a win over Drago.
4) Roman Reigns
5) Eric Young
Mike Hammerlock
1) Hirooki Goto:
Shinsuke Nakamura has lifted the IWGP Intercontinental Title to its all-time high. Taking the belt off of him is a huge honking deal. The silver lining for Nakamura is possibly this leads to AJ-Nakamura down the road. In the meantime, Goto has stepped into the limelight. Note to the WWE, this is how you make a secondary belt matter – main event matches, major storylines, strong champions.
2) Togi Makabe: Makabe and Tomohiro Ishii could stage a hot match anywhere. It’s the inevitable awesomeness that comes when you pit two guys who hate to take a backwards step against each other. Nice to see Makabe has recovered from his injury so that he can deliver some maximum violence as the NEVER Openweight Champion.
3) Prince Puma: I’ve watched every episode of Lucha Underground and Puma never fails to deliver. His resting heartbeat is a *** match. This week it was a highflying contest against Drago. I’ve decided the way to improve any single thing is to add more Puma. Slow match? Needs more Puma. Difficult negotiations at a G8 summit? Needs more Puma. No one dancing at your Quinceneara? Needs more Puma!
4) The Young Bucks
5) Eric Young
Jeremy Thomas
1) Bad News Barrett:
Bad News Barrett is the 2015 King of the Ring. I know that the achievement seems quaint these days and lacks the pizzazz of Money in the Bank or the like, but the win was a big one for Barrett and cements him as someone WWE would like to see in the upper midcard. Follow-up will of course be key but it’s a step in the right direction for Wade.
2) Hirooki Goto: Won the IWGP Intercontinental Title from Shinsuke Nakamura, who has done a lot to promote the title. That means beating him is a big thing.
3) Kenny King: Your new TNA X-Division champion, ladies and gentlemen.
4) Seth Rollins & Neville (tie)
5) Kenny Omega
Jack McGee
1) Hirooki Goto:
After seemingly choking time and time again, Hirooki Goto finally delivered; defeating Champion Shinsuke Nakamura to become the new IWGP IC Champion in the main event of the Wrestling Dantaku event. It was a good main event match with Goto working in more of an aggressing streak, now all he has to do is follow the man that made the title. No pressure bro.
2) Togi Makabe: Defeated Tomohiro Ishii to become the NEW NEVER Openweight Champion (a title he actually never lost)
3) Bad News Barrett: The King of the Ring returned and Barrett walked away with the crown.
4) The Young Bucks
5) Kenny King
Wyatt Beougher
1) Prince Puma:
This probably wasn’t Puma’s best title defense, in terms of storyline or in-ring work (though I’d say it was probably close on the latter), but it did allow the Lucha Underground champion to showcase a side of his repertoire that we don’t usually see against guys like (They Call Him) Cage, as Drago played the underdog role in this match and Puma was allowed to cut loose a little more on his offense for the duration of the match, rather than working almost exclusively hope spots until the big move sprint at the end. And an honorable mention to Drago, who fought his heart out. While he ultimately was banned from the Temple, HE TURNED INTO A LITERAL DRAGON (albeit off screen) – that deserves a mention.
2) Hirooki Goto: It was time for Nakamura to drop the IWGP Intercontinental Championship and move permanently into New Japan’s main event scene, and I’ll take it as a vote of confidence from NJPW brass that Goto was the man chosen to take the title off of Nakamura, a man who has basically become synonymous with the title in its four years of existence. Nakamura has held the title for over half of its existence and his most recent run, which clocked in at just under eight months, brought both Nakamura and the title to new heights. It’s going to be a tough act to follow, to be sure.
3) King Barrett: I was tempted to put Neville at three instead of Barrett, simply for putting on arguably the strongest showing in the tournament in spite of only having a month of main roster experience under his belt, but ultimately, I went with the man who beat him to become the first King of the Ring in nearly five years. Barrett had a similar head of momentum built up last year around this time, prior to injuring his shoulder; let’s hope he can maintain it this year and actually live up to all of the potential we’ve seen flashes of in the past.
4) Kenny King
5) Neville
THE WINNERS~!
* Special Mention…Kenny King – 10 Votes
* Fifth Place…The Young Bucks (Nick and Matt Jackson) – 11 Votes
* Fourth Place…Bad News Barrett – 13 Votes
* Third Place…Togi Makabe – 16 Votes
Your NEW NJPW NEVER Openweight Champion.
* Second Place…Prince Puma -18 Votes
Still your reigning and defending Lucha Underground Champion.
* And 411’s Wrestler of the Week is…
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Hirooki Goto – 38 Votes
Your NEW IWGP Intercontinental Champion!
The Standings
Here are the standings after week FIVE…
AJ Styles – 15 pts.
Hideo Itami – 15 pts.
Randy Orton – 15 pts.
Kofi Kingston – 15 pts.
Big E – 15 pts.
Matt Hardy – 15 pts.
Jeff Hardy – 15 pts.
Hirooki Goto – 15 pts.
Prince Puma – 13 pts.
Mike Bennett – 12 pts.
Matt Taven – 12 pts.
“Speedball” Mike Bailey – 12 pts.
Rich Swann – 12 pts.
Ivelisse – 12 pts.
Angelico – 12 pts.
Son of Havoc – 12 pts.
Togi Makabe – 9 pts.
Roman Reigns – 9 pts.
Rocky Romero – 9 pts.
Trent Baretta – 9 pts.
Kimber Lee – 9 pts.
Cherry Bomb – 9 pts.
Drago – 9 pts.
King Bad News Barrett – 6 pts.
Seth Rollins – 6 pts.
Brock Lesnar – 6 pts.
Kurt Angle – 6 pts.
Nicole Matthews – 6 pts.
Neville – 4 pts.
Nick Jackson – 3 pts.
Matt Jackson – 3 pts.
Taryn Terrell – 3 pts.
Kenny King – 1 pt.
Becky Lynch – 1 pt.
Kalisto – 1 pt.
John Cena – 1 pt.
* 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.
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)
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