wrestling / Columns

411’s Wrestler of the Week – Is Lashley #1?

March 3, 2015 | Posted by Larry Csonka

Welcome to YEAR TEN, WEEK 47 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) Akira Tozawa :
On Night One of the Dragon Gate Champion Gate in Osaka event, Akira Tozawa pinned Kzy to become the new Open the Brave Gate Champion. This is Towawa’s first singles title in Dragon Gate in his ten years with the promotion.

2) reDRagon: Defeated the Young Bucks in a tremendous match at the ROH 13th anniversary PPV and retained their ROH Tag Team Titles.
3) Jay Lethal: Defeated Alberto El Patron on PPV to retain the ROH TV Title.
4) Cage
5) BxB Hulk

Andrew Shillinglaw
1) Akira Tozawa:
Tozawa won the Open the Brave Gate Championship this week. That’s his first singles title in Dragon Gate after a decade working there. That’s a big deal for him! I also love Tozawa because of his United States independents tour a few years ago. The dude’s got unmatched intensity and I feel like he’s bound to have a great career. Awesome to see him having some success in his home federation of Dragon Gate.

2) ReDragon: O’Reilly and Fish are on a tear. I’m not a huge ReDragon fan in general, but the quality of the work they’ve been putting out lately is unparalleled. And from everything I’ve read and seen, they killed it yet again at the ROH Anniversary show.
3) Kimber Lee: I don’t know if you all have seen the video that went viral on facebook after Beyond Wrestling’s King of Art event last night, but it features Chris Dickinson destroying Kimber Lee with a chairshot and then powerbombing her across the ring. Say what you want about safety and recklessness and whatever, but people are talking and it’s because Kimber Lee was willing to take that beating. In a slower week, that gets her a nod.
4) Jay Briscoe
5) Daniel Bryan

Mike Chin
1) Lashley:
Lashley put away MVP in the Impact main event to retain the TNA Championship. A showdown with Kurt Angle looks imminent.

2) Jay Briscoe: Briscoe retained the ROH Championship in a four-way at the ROH 13th Anniversary: Winner Takes All PPV, and now looks like he may be on a collision course with arguably the hottest free agent in the business, Samoa Joe.
3) Akira Tozawa: Tozawa picked up his first Dragon Gate singles title, winning the Open the Brave Gate Championship.
4) Jay Lethal
5) Daniel Bryan

Kevin P
1) reDRagon:
I was able to catch the 13th Anniversary Show a bit late but still relatively enjoyed it. The best match on the show was reDRagon retaining their ROH World Tag Team Titles against the Young Bucks. I’ve always felt that the Buck are a bit overrated but this was a lot of fun. reDRagon seems to be on an absolute tear and show no signs of slowing up. I remember seeing Bobby Fish back in 2007 and I didn’t like him at all but he’s improved greatly. reDRagon has gone out and are possibly going to go down as the second most successful team in ROH history, behind only the Briscoes.

2) Jay Lethal: Remember when this guy kept hitting the glass ceiling in TNA? After returning to Ring of Honor, Jay Lethal has been on a massive role. He is on the only two time Television Champion in the company’s history and is in the midst of a heel run that I didn’t think he had in him. While the Book of Truth stuff is tired by this point, Lethal continues to shine. It wasn’t the cleanest of wins but a victory over Alberto El Patron still means something. It was a pretty obvious outcome since he only has limited dates remaining, but it was still a good win for him.
3) Akira Tozawa: Now, I don’t follow Dragon Gate as much as I’d like to. I read results and check out occasional matches and shows here and there. That being said, I’m familiar with Akira Tozawa’s work as he’s been hovering around in Dragon Gate for a long time now. This week he captured the Open the Brave Gate Championship. I first saw that title when Matt Sydal held it in 2007 and some talented guys have worn it including Adrian Neville, Ricochet and CIMA among others. This was Akira’s first singles title with Dragon Gate and it’s pretty cool to see him having some success.
4) Jay Briscoe
5) AJ Styles

Mike Hammerlock
1) Cage:
Pummeled Prince Puma (aka Ricochet) at the end of a sweet match, gaining a shot at Puma’s Lucha Underground title. Konnan threw in the towel, evoking shades of Arnold Skaaland in Sheik vs. Backlund. Main thing is Cage has been made to look like a beast. Puma hit him with almost every club in the bag and Cage just kept coming. He does a real nice job of using his power to counter high flyers. LU has done a phenomenal job of building him up as a legit powerhouse.

2) reDRagon: O’Reilly and Fish vs. the Young Bucks is guaranteed entertainment and, not surprisingly, they stole the show at ROH’s 13th Anniversary Show. When a tag team match works, it’s a thing of beauty. No one’s better at it these days than reDRagon.
3) Shinsuke Nakamura: Got the pin in the main event of the New Japan Road show. Wasn’t a major event, wasn’t a major victory, but Nakamura’s having an awesome year and I’ll fault myself for not having voted him enough, so I’m throwing him a vote in a slow week.
4) Jay Lethal
5) BxB Hulk

Jack McGee
1) Akira Tozawa:
I love rewarding career milestones, and this week that will go to Akira Tozawa. At the Dragon Gate Champion Gate in Osaka – Night 1 he defeated Kzy in a great match to capture the Open the Brave Gate Championship and after 10-years with the promotion, it is his first singles title. This was a great match and a huge deal for Tozawa, who gets all of my praise this week.

2) BxB Hulk: Defeated Mr. Quu Quu Tanizaki Naoki Toyonaka Dolphin in a non-title match at the Dragon Gate Champion Gate in Osaka – Night 1 event and then defeated Uhaa Nation on night two in an excellent main event to retain the Open the Dream Gate Championship.
3) Jay Lethal: Defeated Alberto El Patron on ROH PPV to up his stock. Lethal has been great this past year, and needs to move away from the H.O.T. stuff so that he can main event for the company. He’s ready.
4) reDRagon
5) Jay Briscoe/Lashley

THE WINNERS~!
* Special Mention…BxB Hulk – 6 Votes

* Fifth Place…Lashley and Cage – 7 Votes

* Fourth Place…Jay Briscoe – 9 Votes

* Third Place…Jay Lethal – 14 Votes

Still your reigning and defending ROH TV Team Champion following a victory over the Alberto El Patron at the ROH 13th anniversary PPV

* Second Place…reDRagon (Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly) – 19 Votes

Still your reigning and defending ROH Tag Team Champions following a victory over the Young Bucks at the ROH 13th anniversary PPV.

* And 411’s Wrestler of the Week is…
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Akira Tozawa – 21 Votes

Your NEW Open the Brave Gate Champion!

The Standings~!
Here are the standings after week forty-seven…

1. Seth Rollins – 163pts.

2. Dolph Ziggler – 119pts.

3. Roman Reigns – 107pts.

4. AJ Styles – 104pts.

5. Dean Ambrose – 98pts.

6. Bobby Lashley – 90pts.

7. Rusev – 82pts.

8. Brock Lesnar – 70pts.

9. John Cena – 66pts.

10. Eric Young – 58pts.
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Kazuchika Okada – 54pts

Kyle O’Reilly – 53pts.

Daniel Bryan – 52pts.

Hiroshi Tanahashi – 45pts
Bobby Fish – 45pts.

Ricochet/Prince Puma – 40pts

BxB Hulk – 38pts

Bray Wyatt – 35pts

Kevin Owens – 27pts.
Cesaro – 27pts.

Adrian Neville – 26pts.

Davey Richards – 25pts.
Eddie Edwards – 25pts.

Jay Briscoe – 24pts.
Jey Uso – 24pts.
Jimmy Uso – 24pts.
Hideo Itami – 24pts.

Bobby Roode – 21pts.
Bad News Barrett – 21pts.

Randy Orton – 20pts.

Alberto El Patron – 19pts.

Finn Balor – 18pts.
Sami Zayn – 18pts.
Luke Harper – 18pts.
Charlotte – 18pts.
Adam Cole – 18pts.
YAMATO – 18pts
Tyson Kidd – 18pts.

AJ Lee – 16pts.
Batista – 16pts.
Jeff Hardy – 16pts.
Tomohiro Ishii – 16pts

Akira Tozawa – 15pts
Sting – 15pts.
Atlantis – 15pts.
Paige – 15pts.
Takao Omori – 15pts
Sheamus – 15pts.
Johnny Gargano – 15pts.

Samoa Joe – 14pts.

Cage – 13pts
Icarus – 13pts.
Bully Ray – 13pts.

Ryback – 12pts.
The Rock – 12pts.
Chris Jericho – 12pts.
Michael Elgin – 12pts.
Austin Aries – 12pts.
Shinsuke Nakamura – 12pts.

Stardust (Cody Rhodes) – 11pts.

KUSHIDA – 10pts.

Jay Lethal – 9pts.
Johnny Mundo – 9pts.
CM Punk – 9pts.
Havok – 9pts.
Ultimo Guerrero – 9pts.
Triple H – 9pts.
Yuji Nagata – 9pts
Yujiro Takahashi – 9pts
Masayuki Kono – 9pts
Minoru Suzuki – 9pts
Taryn Terrell – 9pts.

Kota Ibushi – 8pts.
Goldust – 8pts.

Alicia Fox – 7pts.
Devon – 7pts.
Matt Hardy Hardy – 7pts.

Shelton Benjamin – 6pts.
MVP – 6pts.
Gail Kim – 6pts.
Takao Omori – 6pts.
Jun Akiyama – 6pts.
Masato Tanaka – 6pts.
Takashi Sugiura – 6pts.
Suwama – 6pts.
Bad Luck Fale – 6pts
Biff Busick – 6pts.
Erick Rowan – 6pts.
Damien Sandow – 6pts.
Stephanie McMahon – 6pts.
Kalisto – 6pts.
Rich Swann – 6pts.
Tomoaki Honma – 6pts

Shane Hatse – 3pts.
Mikey Nicolls – 3pts.
Go Shiozaki – 3pts.
King Cuerno – 3pts.
Mil Muertes – 3pts.
Kenny Omega – 3pts.
Cyber Kong – 3pts.
Joe Doering – 3pts.
Hirooki Goto – 3pts.
Katsuyori Shibata – 3pts
T-Hawk – 3pts.
EITA – 3pts.
Mark Henry – 3pts.
Tyler Breeze – 3pts.
Adam Rose – 3pts.
Jack Swagger – 3pts.
Sin Cara – 3pts.
Sasha Banks – 3pts.
Mitsuya Nagai – 3pts.
Takeshi Minamino – 3pts.

The Miz – 2pt
Wesley Blake – 2pt
Bubby Murphy – 2pt
Naomichi Marufuji – 2pt
Dasher Hatfield – 2pts.
Mr. Touchdown – 2pts.

Kane – 1pt
Brie Bella – 1pt
Uhaa Nation – 1pt
Sanada – 1pt
Bram – 1pt
Alex Shelley – 1pt
Isami Kodaka – 1pt
Kazuyuki Fujita – 1pt
Vickie Guerrero – 1pt
Drew Galloway – 1pt
Caleb Konley – 1pt
Jimmy Susumu – 1pt
Jimmy Kagetora – 1pt
Fenix – 1pt
Kaz Hayashi – 1pt
Shuji Kondo – 1pt
HARASHIMA – 1pt
Kataro Suzuki – 1pt