wrestling / Columns

411’s Wrestler of the Week – Lots of New Champions

July 7, 2015 | Posted by Larry Csonka

Welcome to YEAR ELEVEN, WEEK 14 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…

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Larry Csonka
1) Kazuchika Okada & AJ Styles:
Kazuchika Okada & AJ Styles put on one of the very best matches of 2015 at the NJPW Dominion 7.5 event on Sunday. Okada may have walked away with the title, but together they made magic. When a match is this good, I have to give both guys the nod. Simply amazing work from both men, and they deserve all of the praise that they are receiving. Also from a story telling aspect, it was awesome as Okada went from the guy in tears losing at WK9 to overcoming and returning to the top of the mountain.

2) KUSHIDA: KUSHIDA following up his MOTY contending performance in the Best of the Super Junior Finals with another MOTY contending performance to defeat Kenny Omega to become the NEW IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion.
3) Finn Balor: Defeated Kevin Owens in a damn fine match on WWE’s Beast in the East special to win the NXT Title. The match was great and the whole thing felt like a huge deal.
4) Ethan Carter III
5) The Wolves

Kevin Pantoja
1) Kazuchika Okada:
As a massive AJ Styles fan, this was disappointing to hear about but yes, he is no longer the IWGP Heavyweight Champion. That honor goes to the “Rainmaker” himself, Kazuchika Okada. Okada and AJ headlined Dominion and, from what I hear, possibly stole the show. Okada was able to pull out the win and recapture the IWGP Heavyweight Title from the man that ended his near 400 day reign back in 2013. Okada coming out on top was enough to earn him the number one spot for me this week. I have yet to see the match at the time of writing, but will be doing so before the day is up. Regardless, massive accomplishment for Okada, now in his third reign with the belt.

2) Finn Balor: The “Beast from the East” special was actually a lot of fun. Had it not been for Dominion, Finn Balor would have topped the list for me. Instead, he’ll have to settle for a strong number two slot. The WWE Network special was built around Brock Lesnar and the NXT Title match. The title match delivered in spades. Balor and Kevin Owens were treated like big deals, as was the NXT Title. Balor was in full “demon” paint and had a great match against Owens. It culminated with him winning the NXT Title in a pretty great moment. It was a great match, a great atmosphere, a historic moment and the biggest news coming out of the “Beast in the East”. Absolutely awesome stuff.
3) Ethan Carter III: You know it’s been a good week when you can win the top title in your company and you come in third. Ethan Carter III has been the best heel in wrestling for a while now, but of course it’s not talked about much because he’s in TNA. While it’s possible that the company is a dying breed, EC3 has worked his ass off to prove that he is legit. I said it before and I’ll say it again, he is the biggest missed opportunity I’ve seen the WWE have. He has all of the tools and it shows now that he was given a chance. He beat Kurt Angle, rightfully, for the TNA World Heavyweight Title. The only reason he didn’t place higher is because the win wasn’t clean, which it should have been. Had he beaten Angle straight up, he would have had a strong case for the very top slot.
4) KUSHIDA
5) Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson

Eric Palmer
1) Kazuchika Okada:
As someone who isn’t an AJ Styles fan, I’m glad he dropped the belt. On the other hand, these two had an incredible match that might be my favorite of the year so far. Okada gets revenge for Styles ending his lengthy reign a couple of years back, and finds himself riding a huge wave of momentum now heading into the G1 Climax. In a very busy week for wrestling, Okada is still an easy number one choice.

2) Ethan Carter III: ECIII finally won the big one from Kurt Angle. It didn’t help TNA’s ratings or viewership at all, so doing it Wednesday instead of Sunday on Pay Per View was completely pointless, but ECIII is finally the TNA Heavyweight Champion. It’s just a shame Dixie waited until the ship hit the iceberg to do it.
3) KUSHIDA: KUSHIDA won the IWGP Jr Heavyweight Title from Kenny Omega at Dominion, setting up a rematch of the 2014 Battle of the Super Juniors Finals against Ricochet, likely at the G1 Finals event. Kushida and Omega had a fantastic match, and they added to KUSHIDA’s appeal with an awesome video before the match about this being his crowning achievement. It’s his second reign with the belt, but I think this one is going to be the one that really helps elevate him as a singles star.
4) Finn Balor
5) Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson

Arnold Furious
1) Kazuchika Okada:
The Rainmaker regained his IWGP title in spectacular fashion against AJ Styles. It’s a match we’ve all been hoping for, since AJ walked into New Japan last year. Their first few contests were blighted by outside interference and there was a worry that would happen again in Osaka. Luckily good old Red Shoes ejected the Bullet Club back up and let the two wrestlers have themselves a top notch wrestling match. I don’t quite have it as highly rated as Larry but it’s a cracking match. Having the best match of a, fairly, loaded weekend and winning the most important belt on offer is enough for me to go with Okada for WOTW. Hopefully it makes up for when I jinxed him at Wrestle Kingdom back in January.

2) Finn Balor: In any other week capturing the NXT title should be enough for top spot but Balor’s match with Kevin Owens had to play second fiddle to New Japan this weekend. Which is appropriate as the NXT title change took place in New Japan’s backyard. Balor vs. Owens was a very good match but, despite some wonderful theatre, couldn’t live up to Okada and AJ Styles. The title journey felt a little less exciting too. Okada’s fall from grace and redemption was a six-month plan.
3) KUSHIDA : As far as long term plans go, this was another winner. KUSHIDA has been bubbling under as a junior for years and finally won the Junior title from Kenny Omega at Dominion. It was a nice story for KUSHIDA who’s been slowly gaining support from the crowds and deservedly won the Best of the Super Juniors last month.
4) Hirooki Goto
5) AJ Styles

Mike Hammerlock
1) Kazuchika Okada:
The question with Okada these days is are they going to give him a multi-year reign? If anyone in New Japan is going to do, it’s going to be Okada. Maybe next a feud with Nakamura? Or Ibushi? Ultimately try to break the Tanahashi mystique at Wrestle Kingdom? Lots of interesting directions he can go. In the meantime, Okada showed off exactly why he’s the man. He didn’t just win the title, he and AJ Styles put on a classic.

2) Finn Balor: Kevin Owens is having such a great year that beating him has become a fairly huge deal. I expect Balor will be following him onto the WWE roster in the near future and this match showed fans why they should excited about that prospect. I know this wasn’t the main event on the Beast in the East card, but come on, this was the main event. It didn’t steal the show. It was the show. It also serves as a model lesson in what good booking can do for a belt. What’s the more prestigious title at the moment? The NXT belt or the Intercontinental belt? Kind of blows my mind to say, but NXT and it’s not all that close.
3) KUSHIDA: I agonized over picking between KUSHIDA and EC3, and I ultimately chose the guy who won in a far better match. Performance counts, particularly for me when I’m casting my WOTW vote. The art of wrestling extends far beyond being the booker’s chosen winner. True talent pulls us into what’s happening in the ring and gives us a spectacle to enjoy. KUSHIDA is getting his chance to shine as a singles performer and he’s doing a first rate job of it. Arguably he’s the hottest guy in pro wrestling at the moment … which tells you something about how good this week was that he only took 3rd place on my ballot.
4) Ethan Carter III
5) Hirooki Goto

Jeremy Thomas
1) Kazuchika Okada:
Okada won the IWGP Heavyweight Title at NJPW Dominion by beating AJ Styles in a fantastic match for his third reign. AJ has had a great first half of the year in New Japan and this was a nice bit of storyline symmetry due to Styles ending Okada’s last run with the belt.

2) Finn Balor: Unseated Kevin Owens for the NXT Title at Beast in the East, putting him at the top of the brand and giving Owens leave to complete the main roster transition.
3) Ethan Carter III: EC3 finally won the top title in TNA by knocking off Kurt Angle.
4) KUSHIDA/AJ Styles (tie)
5) Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson

Jack McGee
1) Kazuchika Okada:
Kazuchika Okada defeated AJ Styles in a most excellent main event at the Dominion PPV to regain the IWGP Title. It was really good, certainly a MOTY contender, and these guys once again proved that they are two of the very best in the business today.

2) The Wolves: Defeated the Dirty Heels in the final match of their best of five series to become the new TNA tag team champions. Unfortunately for TNA the tag title scene has been cursed, but they were able to make the best of the situation and the series was great overall, with a strong final match.
3) KUSHIDA: Your NEW IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion, winning in an awesome match with Kenny Omega. KUSHIDA is really damn good, and will be defending against a returning Ricochet very soon, which is a rematch many fans have wanted for some time.
4) Finn Balor
5) Ethan Carter III


THE WINNERS~!
* Special Mention…The Wolves – 5 Votes

* Fifth Place…AJ Styles – 8 Votes

* Fourth Place…Ethan Carter III – 15 Votes

* Third Place…KUSHIDA – 20 Votes

Your NEW IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion!

* Second Place…Finn Balor – 23 Votes

Your NEW NXT Champion!

* And 411’s Wrestler of the Week is…
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Kazuchika Okada – 35 Votes

Your NEW IWGP Heavyweight Champion!

The Standings
Here are the standings after week fourteen

Kevin Owens – 48 pts.

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

Seth Rollins – 31 pts.

Prince Puma – 25 pts.

Dean Ambrose – 24 pts.
KUSHIDA – 24 pts.

Xavier Woods – 22 pts.

John Cena – 19 pts.

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

Mil Muertes – 16 pts.

Kazuchika Okada – 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.

Finn Balor – 13 pts.

Shinsuke Nakamura – 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.
Sasha Banks – 12 pts.

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

Jeff Jarrett – 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.
Drago – 9 pts.

Ethan Carter III – 6 pts.
Tigre Uno – 6 pts.
Samoa Joe – 6 pts.
Masato Tanaka – 6 pts.
Takashi Sugiura – 6 pts.
Ryback – 6 pts.
King Bad News Barrett – 6 pts.
Brock Lesnar – 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.

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


* 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.


**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)

 photo Rollins WOTY_zpsozlrughk.png
Year Ten Winner: Seth Rollins (2014-2015)