wrestling / Columns

411’s Wrestler of the Week: Does Sting Debut #1?

November 25, 2014 | Posted by Larry Csonka

Welcome to YEAR TEN, WEEK 33 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) Sting:
Sting finally made his long awaited WWE debut, something many thought we’d never see. Its big news, and will only continue on as we get that much closer to Sting actually wrestling for WWE.

2) Dolph Ziggler: Dolph Ziggler was booked very well at the Survivor Series PPV. He got to be the sole survivor of the main event, and in theory this is a huge performance for him going forward. Now the WWE has to properly follow up with him.
3) Luke Harper: Won the WWE IC Title and was positioned well with the Cena vs. Authority Survivor Series main event.
4) Taryn Terrell
5) Low Ki

Alex Crowder
1) Sting:
To think that people said the audience wouldn’t know who Sting is…they seemed to know. I don’t care how old he is at this point, it was a surreal moment that made me overlook the overbooking. STING IN A WWE RING! I got shivers down my spine and it made me feel like a kid again. Only Sting can make that much of an impact with a slow walk and two moves. What more can be said! Awesome. If this didn’t make you mark out, I question your fandom! Now, that was a moment that made wrestling feel worthwhile.

2) Dolph Ziggler: Dolph got to look really strong in the main event. Dolph outlasted his partners and overcame the 3 on 1 advantage. Dolph was the sole survivor and he was one of the few who got to take down Rollins recently. That is an accomplishment in itself (with Rollins winning so much lately).
3) Taryn Terrell: I think TNA does a fantastic job with their knockouts division, and Taryn is one of the better knockouts. Tayrn Terrell has always impressed me since she went to TNA. Sometimes, the ladies deserve credit and this is one of those times.
4) Luke Harper
5) Damien Mizdow and Miz

Robert S. Leighty Jr
1) Sting:
Dolph Ziggler probably deserves this spot, but I just saw Sting make his long awaited debut inside a WWE ring. That is historic enough to give him my vote, and even with the rumors flying I still marked out like crazy.

2) Dolph Ziggler: Star making performance from Ziggler as he (not Cena) gets the win as the sole survivor to get rid of HHH and Steph. Just insane, crazy drama in the match and Dolph played his role to perfection with the ass kicking he took and then all the hope spots/false finishes. Pray the man stays healthy this time around!
3) The Miz and Mizdow: Your new WWE Tag Champions!
4) Nikki Bella
5) Dean Ambrose

Jeremy Thomas
1) Sting:
Who else? This is the most obvious pick in a long, long time. Frankly, I would have picked him even if he’d tripped coming out Shockmaster-style, just because I’m that happy I don’t have to do “when is Sting signing with WWE?” articles anymore. But the debut came off as well as it possibly could, he got a huge response and was treated like the icon he is. Easy pick.

2) Dolph Ziggler: And this is the easy #2 pick, as Ziggler made a case for a main event elevation with his performance here. Here’s hoping it doesn’t get botched.
3) Seth Rollins: I know his team lost, but Rollins came out of this looking like a star anyway. He led the team like a ring general, hit all the right spots and his inability to put Ziggler away will be remembered for Dolph’s survival and not Rollins’ failure.
4) Miz & Mizdow
5) Dean Ambrose

@JustinWatry
1) Sting:
Finally! Even if you are not a big fan of Sting, this was a historic moment. Literally years in the making, MANY years in the making, we finally saw The Stinger in a WWE ring. Looks like a feud with Triple H is on the horizon, which is fine by me considering I spoke of wanting to see this bout at WrestleMania 31 a few weeks ago. Whether it happens or not remains to be seen. Until then, Sting is in WWE!

2) Dolph Ziggler: Just curious – what if it was John Cena who overcame the three on one odds? Oh, I know! Since it was Dolph Ziggler though, it was amazing…okay, sarcasm aside, it was a superb match. Really jacked up live crowd and excellent drama from start to finish. Loved the whole presentation of the Survivor Series main event. Dolph Ziggler got the deciding pin fall to end The Authority, and it was a very well done moment. Credit to WWE where credit is due.
3) Luke Harper: Lots of wrestlers deserve a shout out. However, I will not list them in fear of leaving somebody out. Instead, I will just repeat myself in saying that a lot of wrestlers deserve a shout out from the past week. Since Luke Harper won the IC Championship, he gets my third place vote. Nikki Bella is the new Divas Champion – hey, remember that Total Divas rumor about WWE not allowing a cast member to win the title? Hilarious then, more hilarious now. Oh, and Damien Sandow (Mizdow?) won his first title in WWE, so kudos to him!
4) Nikki Bella
5) Damien Sandow

Mike Chin
1) Sting:
I’d really like to give the number one spot to Dolph Ziggler but, for better or worse, Sting is the man wrestling fans around the world is buzzing about right now, and I can’t blame them. He has finally arrived in WWE and was not only the deciding factor in well-booked sports-entertainmenty main event, but looks to be on a collision course with Triple H.

2) Dolph Ziggler: Like most, I picked Team Cena to win at Survivor Series. I foresaw another night of John Cena standing tall, and it looked reasonable that Ryback might stand along aside him, and maybe even freshly minted face Erick Rowan. Instead. Ziggler defied the odds and is looking he could be treated as a main eventer again for the first time since he dropped the World Heavyweight Championship to Alberto Del Rio. Will Ziggler get a run toward the top, or was his win a surprise blip on the top of the card radar while we await the returns of guys like Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan? Time will tell.
3) Seth Rollins: When John Cena went down in the main event, I fully suspected that WWE was throwing us a curve ball and Seth Rollins would be standing tall with The Authority at the end of the night. Rollins took the final fall instead–a slightly less auspicious finish, but one that nonetheless kept him in the spotlight as WWE’s top active, full-time heel.
4) Luke Harper
5) Damien Mizdow

Kevin Pantoja
1. Dolph Ziggler:
I know that Sting is the biggest story in professional wrestling right now but even with his appearance last night, part of me was still buzzing about Dolph Ziggler’s performance. It was reminiscent of Shawn Michaels’ phenomenal 2003 run at Survivor Series. That was one amazing main event and Dolph was the MVP.

2. Sting – Well, duh. The man didn’t even have to wrestle but just him showing up on WWE television gave me goosebumps. I was speechless and it still feels surreal. It’s out of this world to see Sting in the WWE and I hope he sticks around as some sort of authority figure.
3. Luke Harper – I came very close to awarding this spot to Damien Mizdow for winning his first title but I had to give the edge to Luke Harper. Not only did Harper win his first Intercontinental Championship but he also was the second to last surviving member of Team Authority. I enjoy his work and I believe that big things are in store for Harper.
4. Damien Mizdow
5. Seth Rollins

Mike Hammerlock
1) Dolph Ziggler:
Nice that Ziggler’s repeated beatdowns and IC title loss had a payoff. Now the WWE needs to follow up. Dolph needs to chase the WWE title. What we got to see at Survivor Series was what it looks like when Dolph Ziggler is a major player, and it look real good. If a guy can reliably deliver a match that steals the show, that’ a great argument to put him in the main event. As for why I’ve got him #1 and not Sting, Ziggler actually wrestled a match.

2) Taryn Terrell: Won the TNA Knockouts title in a match that stole the show on Impact’s final original broadcast on Spike TV. Women can have really entertaining matches when you let them, which is why Gail Kim and Havoc have votes below too.
3) Sting: Yeah, it was dramatic and it’s setting up something that plays out at WrestleMania (I suspect Rock will be involved too). I’m a little less enthusiastic than others because Sting did some really terrible in-ring work at the end of his TNA run and he’s a 55-year-old man. This is a nostalgia trip, which is fine, but I prefer watching the guys who are in their primes and working actual matches.
4) Fenix
5) Gail Kim and Havoc

Derrick Cannon
1) Sting:
I also would like to say that under ordinary conditions I easily would have given the number one spot to Dolph Ziggler, who was the true in-ring contributor in every sense of the word. Sting making his debut at Survivor Series can’t be considered an ordinary condition. Sting debuting in WWE should be considered the biggest wrestling moment of 2014.
2) Dolph Ziggler: If things go right Survivor Series should mark the reemergence of Dolph Ziggler as a main event player. Dolph notched three eliminations and played a huge factor in the elimination of the undefeated Rusev. The three official eliminations came when he was the sole survivor of Team Cena. Ziggler was on fire at Survivor Series, and along with Sting’s debut made this year’s Survivor Series a night that will be remembered.
3) Seth Rollins: Seth Rollins was a force to be reckoned with at Survivor Series, and nearly stood tall at the end. Rollins and the Authority were only stopped by the heart shown by Ziggler and the epic WWE debut of Sting.
4) Dean Ambrose
5) Luke Harper

THE WINNERS~!
* Special Mention…The Miz – 6 Votes

* Fifth Place…Taryn Terrell – 9 Votes

* Fourth Place…Damien Sandow and Seth Rollins – 10 Votes

* Third Place…Luke Harper – 14 Votes

Your new WWE IC Champion!

* Second Place…Dolph Ziggler – 38 Votes

Was the sole survivor in Sunday’s Survivor Series main event.

* And 411’s Wrestler of the Week is…
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Sting – 42 Votes

He’s finally put pen to paper and made his WWE debut…

The Standings~!
Here are the standings after week thirty-three…

1. Seth Rollins – 138pts.

2. Dean Ambrose – 94pts.

3. AJ Styles – 74pts.

4. Roman Reigns – 71pts.

5. Bobby Lashley – 60pts.
5. John Cena – 60pts.

7. Dolph Ziggler – 59 pts.

8. Eric Young – 58pts.

9. Rusev – 52pts.

10. Kazuchika Okada – 45pts

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Brock Lesnar – 43pts.

Kyle O’Reilly – 33pts.

Ricochet – 27pts
Hiroshi Tanahashi – 27pts

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

Bobby Fish – 24pts.
Jey Uso – 24pts.
Jimmy Uso – 24pts.
Hideo Itami – 24pts.
Adrian Neville – 24pts.

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

BxB Hulk – 19pts
Randy Orton – 19pts.
Bray Wyatt – 19pts

Luke Harper – 18pts.
Charlotte – 18pts.
Cesaro – 18pts.
Adam Cole – 18pts.

AJ Lee – 16pts.
Batista – 16pts.

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

Samoa Joe – 14pts.

Bully Ray – 13pts.

Ryback – 12pts.
The Rock – 12pts.
Icarus – 12pts.
Daniel Bryan – 12pts.
Chris Jericho – 12pts.
Michael Elgin – 12pts.
Jay Briscoe – 12pts.
Austin Aries – 12pts.

Stardust (Cody Rhodes) – 11pts.

KUSHIDA – 10pts.

Johnny Mundo – 9pts.
Havok – 9pts.
Ultimo Guerrero – 9pts.
Triple H – 9pts.
Yujiro Takahashi – 9pts
Masayuki Kono – 9pts
Minoru Suzuki – 9pts
Tyson Kidd – 9pts.

Goldust – 8pts.

Alicia Fox – 7pts.
Devon – 7pts.

Shelton Benjamin – 6pts.
Gail Kim – 6pts.
Suwama – 6pts.
Bad Luck Fale – 6pts
Biff Busick – 6pts.
Erick Rowan – 6pts.
Damien Sandow – 6pts.
Stephanie McMahon – 6pts.
Kalisto – 6pts.
Rich Swann – 6pts.

Tomohiro Ishii – 4pts
Jeff Hardy – 4pts.

Taryn Terrell – 3pts.
Kenny Omega – 3pts.
Joe Doering – 3pts.
T-Hawk – 3pts.
EITA – 3pts.
Mark Henry – 3pts.
Tyler Breeze – 3pts.
Adam Rose – 3pts.
Jack Swagger – 3pts.
Sin Cara – 3pts.

The Miz – 2pt
Naomichi Marufuji – 2pt
Dasher Hatfield – 2pts.
Mr. Touchdown – 2pts.

Matt Hardy Hardy – 1pt
Kane – 1pt
Brie Bella – 1pt
Uhaa Nation – 1pt
Kota Ibushi – 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