wrestling / Columns

411’s Wrestler of the Week – Styles & Puma Battle

January 13, 2015 | Posted by Larry Csonka

Welcome to YEAR TEN, WEEK 40 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…

 photo WrestlerOfWeek_zps4f74fe91.jpg

Larry Csonka
1) Prince Puma:
Prince Puma survived the Aztec Warfare match to become the first ever Lucha Underground champion. Puma has been booked well, and at the end of the match had to go one n one with the match that beat him the night the promotion debuted, Johnny Mundo. Puma takes the top spot this week partly due to the fact that he is the first ever champion, and also because it continues on his momentum from 2014.

2) TMDK (Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls): TMDK (Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls) defeated Masato Tanaka & Takashi Sugiura to become the NEW GHC Tag Team Champions for NOAH. On top of that, TMDK is currently in the middle of a big crossover angle with NJPW’s Suziku-gun stable.
3) AJ Styles:
4) Biff Busick
5) Lashley

Arnold Furious
1) TMDK (Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls):
I said it’d be a big year for TMDK and they’ve started sensationally well by capturing the GHC tag team titles at NOAH’s New Year Navigation show. It’s their second run after losing the belts last January. The team they beat was the dominant Dangan Yankees (Masato Tanaka & Takashi Sugiura) so it’s a big deal. With their participation in New Japan this year it’s interesting they’ll be going in as NOAH’s premier tag team.

2) Naomichi Marufuji: On the same show Marufuji retained his GHC title, his 6th successful title defense. This time against NJPW wrestler Satoshi Kojima. Marufuji is one of the rarities in wrestling; a champion who actually defends his belt on a monthly basis.
3) Jushin Liger: The NWA Junior Heavyweight champion successfully defended his title on New Japan’s New Year Dash show, besting El Desperado of Suzuki-gun. Liger might be 50 years old but he can still go.
4) Team 246 (Shuji Kondo & Kaz Hayashi)
5) Bad News Barrett

Ryan Byers
1) Bray Wyatt:
Let’s get this part out of the way first . . . though I like aspects of both guys as performers, I HATED the Bray Wyatt vs. Dean Ambrose feud, almost entirely because of how it was booked. We never got an explanation as to why Wyatt started messing with Ambrose, we got a conveniently invented backstory in terms of Ambrose’s felonious father, we got gimmick match after gimmick match with no reason for the stips, we got spots that should have been major injury angles that were ignored and never sold, and we got stupid commentary over hardcore matches featuring guys killing each other. However, I have to say that they way WWE put together the ending to the rivalry this past Monday on Raw makes it clear to me that they’ve got big plans for Bray Wyatt, and that’s why he gets my vote here. It is incredibly rare to see a main event level feud in this company won cleanly by a heel wrestler whose name is not either “Hunter,” “Hearst,” or “Helmsely,” but Wyatt did just that when he loaded up Ambrose into the back of the ambulance with no real shenanigans to speak of. Rumor has it that this might be part of the setup for a Wrestlemania match with the Undertaker but, even if it’s not, it still seems to be a precursor of big things to come.

2) AJ Styles: Styles pinned reigning IWGP Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi in the main event eight man tag of this week’s New Japan Pro Wrestling show, which was essentially the NJPW equivalent of the Raw after Wrestlemania, serving as the follow up on the January 4 Tokyo Dome show. This almost certainly sets the Phenomenal One up for an IWPG Title rematch against Tanahashi during one of New Japan’s big February shows.
3) TMDK: Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls felt like they were faltering a bit in Pro Wrestling NOAH, as they’d been directionless since their GHC Tag Team Title reign ended. Well, they won those belts back over the weekend, and they’ve got a fresh feud for the titles as well, thanks to the importation of Davey Boy Smith Jr. and Lance Archer from New Japan.
4) Naomichi Marufuji
5) Sin Cara

Mike Hammerlock
1) Prince Puma:
Not enough votes this week. Good problem to have. Prince Puma (aka Ricochet) won the inaugural Lucha Underground Title in an Aztec Warfare match, which was a Royal Rumble with pins instead of over the top rope. The match ran roughly 53 minutes. The booking was impeccable. LU has an aerialist, spot-heavy style. I dig it. Pumachet and Johnny Mundo (who wrestled the whole match) teamed to eliminate the supposedly unstoppable Mil Muertes, then Puma won with a 630. The whole thing flew by. I enjoyed every second of it and Puma came away looking like a star.

2) AJ Styles: You beat Tanahashi on the heels of Wrestle Kingdom IX, you make my list. AJ continues to be a gold standard for American wrestlers. Can’t wait for some other top guys to see how cool AJ cutting loose in New Japan has been and then join him over there.
3) Bray Wyatt: Definitively won his feud against Dean Ambrose in a bruising ambulance match. Of course the WWE undercut it by having Ambrose wrestle on Smackdown (when he should have been in the kayfabe ICU). Still, Bray’s in prime position heading into the Royal Rumble. Apologies this week to the Usos (who defended their tag titles in a sweet three-way match), Bad Luck Fale, TMDK, Bobby Lashley (too much BS at the end of his TNA title win), Bad News Barrett, Drew Galloway and Naomichi Marufuji. Austin Aries had a tight match against Low Ki to retake the TNA X Division belt. Had to throw that a vote.
4) Johnny Mundo
5) Austin Aries

Kevin P
1. Lashley:
Man, this was a week filled with big wins for people. This list could easily also feature Alberto El Patron, Drew Galloway or Bray Wyatt. Instead, I go with Lashley. Honestly, I’m not a Lashley fan. I really didn’t like him during his WWE run but he has shown improvement. I’ve seen some of his stuff in TNA last year and was impressed, but I decided to watch their debut on Destination America. The show was alright and Lashley won the TNA World Title in the main event. It wasn’t the cleanest of victories, but Lashley won the biggest title in the company on their big debut on a new channel.

2. AJ Styles: I’ve already expressed how much I enjoyed Wrestle Kingdom 9. It was my first full on NJPW show and it delivered. I wasn’t able to catch their show the night after live, as I didn’t even know it was airing, but when I did watch it one thing stuck out to me. AJ Styles pinned the IWGP Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi in a tag match before declaring that he wants a rematch. AJ has been phenomenal, pun intended, since his arrival in NJPW and pinning the top guy adds another accomplishment to his growing list.
3. Prince Puma: I haven’t watched much Lucha Underground but I was able to check out the Royal Rumble style match to crown the first ever Lucha Underground Champion. It was long but a lot of fun and cool to see Prince Puma win. LU is a fun alternative to anything else on TV and I hope to see them stick around.
4. Austin Aries
5. Bad News Barrett

Mike Chin
1) Lashley:
TNA has relaunched on Destination America, and reinserted Lashley as world champ. The big man’s allegiances are unclear, and there was no shortage of sports entertainment shenanigans in the impact main event, but regardless, Lashley is once again the man for the number two promotion stateside.

2) Alberto El Patron: The former Alberto Del Rio left WWE and has emerged as the unlikely hottest ticket around for all other US promotions–a constant subject to TNA rumors, a new presence toward the top of the card for ROH, and now WWL’s champion.
3) Bray Wyatt: As if the matter weren’t already settled, Wyatt drove the final nail in the coffin for his feud with Dean Ambrose when he won their Ambulance Match on Raw.
4) Bad News Barrett
5) Prince Puma

Derrick Cannon
1) Lashley
Lashley had a huge win on what was literally one of the biggest nights in TNA history. With the dawn of TNA on Destination America, we also saw the crowning of the first champion of TNA’s new era in Lashley.

2) Bray Wyatt: Bray Wyatt had a chaotic and intriguing close to the current chapter of his rivalry with Dean Ambrose. It will be intriguing to see how the next few weeks unfold for Wyatt heading into and at the Royal Rumble.
3) Alberto El Patron: Alberto is once again a hot commodity and far more relevant than he has been in quite some time. ROH and WWL will benefit heavily from his career resurgence.
4) Bad News Barrett
5) Seth Rollins

Jack McGee
1) Prince Puma
When you go back into the history books, it is always interesting to find out who was the first to do something important. Well, when you go back and read about the history of Lucha Underground, Prince Puma’s name will be there as the first ever champion for the promotion. He won the title in a wildly entertaining Aztec Warfare bout, finally pinning Johnny Mundo and going full circle to what was set up during the first episode.

2) Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls: Became the new GHC Tag Team Champions by defeating Masato Tanaka & Takashi Sugiur. Add into the fact that they are going to be a focal point of the New Japan vs. NOAH angle, and these young men deserve some love this week. the finish, and the fact that it was the weakest of their three matches.
3) Lashley: Lashley wins back the TNA World Title on the promotion’s debut on Destination America. It loses some points from me due to the shady nature of
4) AJ Styles
5) Biff Busick

Jack Stevenson
1) Bray Wyatt: Since his comprehensive defeat in his war against John Cena, Bray Wyatt has regrouped impressively, coming out decisively on top in rivalries against Chris Jericho and, now, Dean Ambrose. His victory over Ambrose in Raw’s Ambulance match was secured in spectacular fashion, as he crashed his opponent head first into the Ambulance with Sister Abigail, before sealing him inside for the victory. He’s seen off some of WWE’s best in the second half of 2014, and having started 2015 with a convincing win in a very good match, Wyatt must surely now be considered among the top contenders for the WWE Championship.

2) AJ Styles: A pinfall victory over Hiroshi Tanahashi in an eight man tag makes AJ Styles the obvious next challenger for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. Coming just one day after he saw off another top New Japan competitor in Tetsuya Naito, the win at New Year’s Dash is compelling evidence that Styles is going to be just as much of a threat in 2015 as he was last year.
3) Bad News Barrett: In a banner week for wrestlers whose names begin with the letter ‘B,’ Bad News Barrett barreled through Dolph Ziggler to reclaim the Intercontinental Championship that he never truly lost. He needed the Authority to bend the rules for him to do it though.
4) Biff Busick
5) Bad Luck Fale

Wyatt Beougher
1) Alberto El Patron:
With his second title win in his second promotion in just over a month, the former Alberto Del Rio is apparently looking to have a 2015 like Ricochet’s 2014, collecting titles and/or accolades wherever he goes. With upcoming dates in Lucha Underground and RoH and an apparent interest from the new-look TNA (and I would assume GFW if it ever actually starts), the sky is truly the limit for Alberto, and earning my top spot is surely just the tip of the iceberg.

2) Prince Puma: Speaking of Ricochet, his alter ego won a phenomenally booked Aztec Warfare match on the ninth episode of Lucha Underground to become the promotion’s first champion. With former WWE stars like Chavo Guerrero, Johnny Mundo, and Big Ryck on the roster, Lucha Underground continues to show that they are intending to become an alternative to the WWE by putting their title on the much less-heralded (but supremely talented) Prince Puma.
3) AJ Styles: Styles continued to build on his momentum from Wrestle Kingdom by picking up a tag team win over reigning IWGP heavyweight champion Hiroshi Tanahashi, putting himself solidly back into the thick of NJPW’s heavyweight championship picture.
4) Bray Wyatt
5) Bad News Barrett


THE WINNERS~!
* Special Mention…Alberto El Patron – 12 Votes

* Fifth Place…Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls – 16 Votes

* Fourth Place…Lashley – 19 Votes

* Third Place…Bray Wyatt – 22 Votes

Defeated Dean Ambrose in Raw’s first ever ambulance match.

* Second Place…Prince Puma – 23 Votes

Your first ever Lucha Underground Champion!

* And 411’s Wrestler of the Week is…
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*

 photo AJTakesOutTanahashi_zps9f0bd9e9.png

AJ Styles – 24 Votes

Got the pin on IWGP Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi and will get a shot to earn back the IWGP Title.

The Standings~!
Here are the standings after week forty

1. Seth Rollins – 147pts.

2. Dolph Ziggler – 119 pts.

3. Dean Ambrose – 98pts.

4. AJ Styles – 89pts.

5. Roman Reigns – 80pts.

6. Rusev – 67pts.

7. Bobby Lashley – 66pts.

8. John Cena – 60pts.

9. Brock Lesnar – 58pts.
9. Eric Young – 58pts.
.
.
.
.
.
Kazuchika Okada – 54pts

Hiroshi Tanahashi – 45pts

Kyle O’Reilly – 41pts.

Ricochet/Prince Puma – 39pts

Bray Wyatt – 34pts
BxB Hulk – 34pts

Bobby Fish – 33pts.

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

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

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

Randy Orton – 19pts.

Kevin Owens – 18pts.
Jay Briscoe – 18pts.
Luke Harper – 18pts.
Charlotte – 18pts.
Cesaro – 18pts.
Adam Cole – 18pts.
YAMATO – 18pts

Alberto El Patron – 16pts.
AJ Lee – 16pts.
Batista – 16pts.

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

Samoa Joe – 14pts.

Icarus – 13pts.
Bully Ray – 13pts.
Daniel Bryan – 13pts.

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

Stardust (Cody Rhodes) – 11pts.

KUSHIDA – 10pts.

Johnny Mundo – 9pts.
CM Punk – 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.
Kota Ibushi – 7pts

Shelton Benjamin – 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.
Finn Balor – 6pts.

Tomohiro Ishii – 4pts
Jeff Hardy – 4pts.

Shane Hatse – 3pts.
Mikey Nicolls – 3pts.
Go Shiozaki – 3pts.
Mil Muertes – 3pts.
Taryn Terrell – 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.

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

Matt Hardy Hardy – 1pt
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


* Voting began 4.15.14

* 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)