wrestling / Columns
411’s Wrestler of the Week 06.07.10: Week 10
Welcome to Week TEN, Year SIX, 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 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
If you are wondering how some of the writers decide who to vote for, please check out our Wrestler of the Week Supplemental Column!
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 at WrestleMania. This will be posted every Monday. Let’s see who wins this week…
The Voting~!
THE Larry Csonka
1) Evan Bourne
I have to say that the biggest, and most pleasant surprise of the week was the Evan Bourne stuff. While it may not last long, due to WWE’s track record, it was fun and refreshing. I have talked about the fact hundreds of times that they NEED to build new stars, and that they needed to take chances. Monday was fun, refreshing, and a step in he right direction. I doubt that they keep it up, but it was good while it lasted!
2) Wade Barrett: Became the very first NXT winner, and overall, came out of the show looking strong. Also, I have been informed that I have to, “TALK ABOUT BARRETT!”
3) Dr. Wagner Jr: Defeated Electroshock to regain the AAA Mega Championship at Triplemania.
4) Jack Evans
5) RVD
Aaron Hubbard
1) Evan Bourne
Made a shocking amount of impact by joining John Cena to defeat Edge and Sheamus in the main event of RAW, and got the pinfall for his team. Yes, Cena practically gift-wrapped the win for him, but this week was Evan’s week.
2) Wade Barrett: Took his first big step to superstardom by winning NXT.
3) Rob Van Dam: Defeated Samoa Joe, Sting and Matt Morgan in under six minutes on TNA Impact.
4) Kane
5) Daniel Bryan/Jack Swagger
Ryan Byers
1) Evan Bourne
I don’t know what it is about this week, but for some reason the two most important wrestling companies in the world (WWE and NJPW) decided that they both needed to make new stars. Perhaps nobody benefitted more from these decisions than Evan Bourne, who unexpectedly popped up in the Monday Night Raw main event as John Cena’s new little buddy before going on to pin a former WWE Champion in the form of Sheamus. WWE experimented with putting Bourne towards the top of the card once when they teamed him with Rey Misterio, and I always thought that they little guy more than held his own there. Hopefully the promotion’s apparent renewed faith in him leads to a bit of a sustained push and isn’t just a self-contained, one-off storyline for this past Monday’s show.
2) Bryan Danielson – I understand that it is Wade Barrett and not Bryan who actually won NXT this week, but the fact of the matter is that, in the long run, getting a clean win over Mike the Miz on Raw as part of a storyline that people actually care about and are reacting to will mean significantly more for Bryan’s career than the pseudo-reality show win will mean for Barrett’s. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t dislike Barrett as a performer, but the NXT concept was bungled fairly badly, and I don’t see it doing much for him.
3) Fujita “Jr.” Hayato – Though he hasn’t exactly gone up against the strongest competition in his block yet, the Michinoku Pro representative in New Japan’s ongoing Best of the Super Juniors tournament surprised me when he finished this week of the tourney leading Block B with six points. There’s still a chance that he could be overtaken before the tournament comes to an end, but the fact that Hayato is leading the pack for any period of time already puts him significantly ahead of where I thought he would land in the standings.
4) Wade Barrett
5) Tama Tonga
Michael Bauer
1) Evan Bourne
That is a push if I have ever seen one. Now, if Orton can’t go at Fatal Four Way, does Bourne now find himself in that mix? I would be really stoked if that happened.
2) Rey Mysterio: Have to give him credit for earning his spot t Fatal Four Way.
3) Wade Barrett/Bryan “Daniel Bryan” Danielson (tie): Barrett wins NXT and Bryan beats The Miz.
4) Fujita “Jr.” Hayato
5) Kane
Chad Nevett
1) Wade Barrett
Barrett won NXT, earning a spot on the main roster and a title shot of some kind at a PPV. He’ll make a good addition to the main roster and I’m looking forward to see what’s done with him.
2) Rey Mysterio: Earned the Undertaker’s spot at Fatal 4-Way by winning a battle royal.
3) Kofi Kingston: Retained the Intercontinental Championship in a rematch against former champ Drew McIntyre.
4) Daniel Bryan
5) Evan Bourne
Andy Critchell
1) Evan Bourne
Simply put, he came off looking like a big star on Monday’s Raw, even picking up the pin on Sheamus. Cena treated him like an equal and even the announcers weren’t acting like Evan had no business being there. Good stuff all the way around. STL represent!
2) Wade Barrett: He won NXT Season 1 and really it was no big surprise. He’s been the odds on favorite almost since the beginning and I think the guy has a big future.
3) The Uso Brothers: I’m shocked at how much I liked these guys after their promo on Monday and the subsequent beatdown of the Hart Dynasty. I really like that WWE hasn’t saddled them with the “savage Samoan” gimmick (even though it was great for Umaga) and these guys seem to be really good on the mic. Like Barrett, I think these two have a big future.
4) Rey-Rey
5) Daniel Bryan
Robert S. Leighty Jr
1) Evan Bourne
RAW opening with Bourne getting attacked by Edge was something I just didn’t expect, and having it come back to bite Edge in the ass in the Main Event was something even more shocking. I have no clue why the WWE decided all of a sudden that Bourne should be put in a Main Event with 3 former WWE Champion’s on RAW, but bless them for it. Bourne looked right at home on the bigger stage, and even got to pin Sheamus when John Cena was his partner. That is some high praise and it will be interesting to see where things go from here.
2) Wade Barrett: It was have been a shame if this man didn’t win NXT as things started to wind down this season. It was clear that he had everything the other 2 finalists lacked, and he also had the best pro on the show in Jericho. Now we will see where they go with him having a title shot on PPV.
3) Daniel Bryan: The long awaited match with The Miz and while short, they meshed well together. Bryan gets in the win in shocking fashion and then abuses Cole some more. That’s a win-win for everyone involved.
4) Rey Mysterio
5) RVD
Jeremy Thomas
1) Evan Bourne
File under “what the hell?” Not that I’m complaining. Evan Bourne is still one of the worst promo men in the business, but he was all gold on Raw and got THE pinfall of his career bar-none. I don’t know where it’s going from here, but there’s no doubt he was the man this week.
2) Wade Barrett/Daniel Bryan (tie): Both men had big weeks, as Barrett won NXT and Bryan beat Miz cleanly on Raw. These two were always going to be the NXT breakouts, and look, there they are. I think the ‘E’s got a couple stars here if they book them right from here on out.
3) Kane: Some may think I’m ranking him too high, but the fact of the matter is that he was the focus of SmackDown and just got launched into a storyline. Say what you want about the storyline and how well angles have worked for him in the past, but he did very well here and it may lead to something.
4) Rob Van Dam
5) The Uso Brothers
Steve Cook
1) Dr. Wagner Jr.
AAA held their biggest show of the year on Sunday, and for the second year in a row TripleMania featured Wagner winning the AAA Mega Championship, this time from Electroshock in an old-school lucha libre match. Wagnermania reigns supreme again, and all is right with the world.
2) LA Par-K: He would have been #1 if the crooked Mexico City commission didn’t overturn his victory over La Parka Jr. in the Nombre contra Nombre match. People always prefer the original over a poor man’s replacement.
3) Wade Barrett: Even though it was a foregone conclusion, Barrett winning NXT got him on WWE’s main roster and he has a PPV title shot coming to him sooner rather than later.
4) Evan Bourne
5) Kane
THE WINNERS~!
Daniel Bryan may not have won NXT, but his win over the Miz was enough to get him into the top three this week.
Chris Jericho: “VOTE FOR WADE BARRETT!”
Evan Bourne gets the biggest win of his WWE career, teaming with John Cena last week. Can the young star continue to rise?
Year-End Standings~!
TNA champion RVD gains a point to edge closer to the first place spot, but Wade Barrett’s NXT victory catapulted him into sole possession of 7th place. Evan Bourne, Dr. Wagner Jr. and Kane all made their debuts this week as the year-end list continues to grow.
Let’s check out the Year-End Standings!
1. Jack Swagger – 40 (SmackDown)
2. Rob Van Dam – 31 (TNA)
3. Kofi Kingston – 25 (Smackdown)
4. Claudio Castagnoli – 24 (ROH)
4. Tyson Kidd – 24 (Raw)
4. DH Smith – 24 (Raw)
7. Wade Barrett – 21 (NXT)
8. Daniel Bryan – 19 (NXT)
9. Randy Orton – 16 (Raw)
10. Madison Eagles – 15 (SHIMMER)
10. Togi Makabe – 15 (IWGP)
10. Evan Bourne – 15 (Raw)
10. Edge – 15 (Raw)
10. R-Truth – 15 (Raw)
Rey Mysterio – 12 (Smackdown)
Chris Hero – 12 (ROH)
Ares – 12 (US Independent)
Tursas – 12 (US Independent)
Kurt Angle – 12 (TNA)
Douglas Williams – 12 (TNA)
Minoru Suzuki – 12 (AJPW)
Paul London – 12 (US Independent)
El Generico – 12 (US Independent)
John Cena – 12 (Raw)
Desmond Wolfe – 12 (TNA)
Mr. Anderson – 10 (TNA)
Kazarian – 10 (TNA)
YAMATO – 9 (Dragon Gate)
Tyler Black – 7 (ROH)
Heath Slater – 6 (NXT)
Nick Jackson – 6 (TNA)
Matt Jackson – 6 (TNA)
Bison Smith – 6 (NOAH)
Keith Walker – 6 (NOAH)
AJ Styles – 6 (TNA)
Bret Hart – 6 (Raw)
Christopher Daniels – 4 (ROH)
Sheamus – 3 (Raw)
Davey Richards – 3 (ROH)
Jon Moxley – 3 (US Independent)
Chris Jericho – 3 (Raw)
CM Punk – 3 (Smackdown)
Dr. Wagner Jr. – 3(AAA)
John Morrison – 1 (Raw)
Kane – 1 (SmackDown)
Beth Phoenix – 1 (SmackDown)
Ted DiBiase – 1 (Raw)
Christian – 1 (Smackdown)
Shingo Takagi – 1 (Dragon Gate)
Chuck Taylor – 1 (US Independent)
Masaaki Mochizuki – 1 (Dragon Gate)
Batista – 1 (Raw)
The Undertaker – 1 (Smackdown)
WWE, Raw, SmackDown and NXT-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 Contracted Wrestlers are represented in MAGENTA.
Australian Contracted Wrestlers are represented in INDIGO.
 Year One Winner: Ric Flair
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If you are wondering how some of the writers decide who to vote for, please check out our Wrestler of the Week Supplemental Column!
