411’s Wrestler of The Week: AJ Styles Battles Becky Lynch

Welcome to YEAR TWELVE, WEEK 23 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…

Voting period: SEPTEMBER 5 – SEPTEMBER 11

Larry Csonka
1) AJ Styles:
AJ Styles defeated Dean Ambrose in an excellent main event at the WWE Backlash PPV to become the WWE World Champion. Styles is the man right now, he has great matches with everyone, he’s been great on the mic and is flat out the best wrestler in the business right now. Styles getting the run with the belt is the right move, he’s the hot hand and simply killing it. Watching the evolution of Styles over the past 15 years has been a joy, and to see him win the WWE Title, something I never thought possible prior to wrestling getting weird in a great way in 2015, was amazing.

2) Becky Lynch: After playing the bridesmaid to Sasha and Charlotte for almost her entire main roster run, Becky Lynch finally got her chance and became the first ever Smackdown women’s champion. Lynch not only deserves the shot to run with the belt, but she will be a great anchor for the division. As a fan of hers for a long time, I was beyond thrilled that she got the win.
3) The Miz: Retained the IC Title in a great match against Dolph Ziggler at WWE Backlash.
4) Zack Sabre Jr. & TJ Perkins
5) The Monster Matanza Cueto

Mitch Nickelson
1) AJ Styles:
If you asked me right after AJ Styles debuted in the Royal Rumble earlier this year to predict what his WWE career would look like by September, I probably would’ve said that he’d hopefully be enjoying a nice Intercontinental Championship run. Who would’ve guessed that WWE would’ve been so good to AJ? He defeated Dean Ambrose at Backlash in a hard fought match, capturing the WWE World Championship. It keeps feeling like we’ve all stepped into an alternate wrestling reality in which very, very good things happen every now and then.

2) Heath Slater & Rhyno: Holy crap, Heath did it! This perennial loser has taken a very unfavorable story of not being drafted to either Raw or SmackDown and somehow played it out to a conclusion that has him carrying championship gold (or silver or whatever those new tag belts are made of). Kudos to Rhyno as well, who’s also a surprise champ at this stage in his career. I’m especially a huge fan of Slater so I am ECSTATIC that he’s found some winning ways.
3) Jeff Hardy: The sequel to Final Deletion, Delete or Decay, was highly anticipated and proved a worthy entry into this bizarre Hardy canon. Brother Nero is the one getting the nod from me over the other compound combatants due to his selfless receipt of a Janice shot to his stomach. Matt called him “mutilated” on his Twitter after the war – hopefully he lives to fire off some more Roman candles on another day.
4) The Miz
5) Rey Mysterio

Robert S. Leighty Jr
1) AJ Styles:
Styles wins the WWE Title and that makes this choice pretty much a no brainer. Styles is well on his way to running away with Wrestler of the Year.

2) Heath Slater/Rhyno: Great way to pay off the Slater storyline and he deserves it for being consistently entertaining week after week. Rhyno has played his role well also, and is being used perfectly on SD.
3) Becky Lynch: Finally gets her chance to be a champion and should be who they build the SD Women’s roster around.
4) The Broken Hardys
5) The Miz

Rob Stewart
1) AJ Styles:
The Era of AJ has begun, as the new Face That Runs The Place captured his first WWE World title at the surprisingly good Backlash live special/pay-per-view on Sunday. His match with Ambrose was good (not great) and AJ may have won through a cheap shot after a ref bump… but AJ has already ascended to the top of WWE after just 9 months in the company.

2) The Miz: Miz retained his Intercontinental Championship against Dolph Ziggler in a pretty good match after Maryse intervened with an old fashioned Perfume To The Eyes trick. More importantly, he furthered his character work and angle against Daniel Bryan pre-match by continuing to belittle the Smackdown Live GM and demand a contract renegotiation. Miz’ title run is one of the best things going in WWE these days, and he has completely rededicated himself to being a top heel in the company.
3) Heath Slater and Rhyno: Heath’s got a contract, baybay! I really didn’t see this coming, as I assumed that Smackdown was going to put the tag titles on the Usos to prop up their eventual battles with American Alpha (and they still might; Slater and Rhyno may have a “Zack Ryder One-Day IC Reign” type run with the belts), but at Backlash, the Heath Slater redemption story had a feel-good ending with a tag team title victory.
4) The Monster Matanza Cueto
5) The Broken Hardys

Mike Hammerlock
1) AJ Styles:
AJ winning the WWE title only feels big because it is. Almost makes you believe in merit. He’s doing what he did in New Japan – blowing it up in the ring and proving he’s among the elite in the wrestling business. Good for him. Even better, good for us.

2) Broken Matt Hardy and Brother Nero: Sure, they’re doing performance art more than wrestling, but the gonzo stylings of DELETE or DECAY deserve recognition. I don’t know what to call it, but I want to see more.
3) Rey Mysterio Jr.: Lucha Underground is back and, thanks to Rey and Pentagon Dark, it’s off to a hot start.
4) Becky Lynch
5) Ricochet

Mike Chin
1) AJ Styles:
This is a very competitive week, but there was no question who would land in the number one spot. Styles won his first WWE Championship to once and for all establish that WWE takes him seriously and firmly cement his legacy as an all-time great without any asterisks about never winning the world title in the biggest promotion of his day.

2) Rey Mysterio : Mysterio wrestled an excellent main event match on Lucha Underground, getting the best of Pentagon Dark. Pair that with Dario Cueto’s dodgy promo at the top of the show, and he has to be considered the incumbent top contender for the LU title, at least in the short term.
3) The Broken Hardys: You might love it, you might hate it, but Delete or Decay was nothing if not memorable. After all these years, the Hardys are still making us shake our heads in a mix of confusion and amazement and that’s good enough squeeze out the number three spot.
4) Becky Lynch
5) The Miz

Kevin Pantoja
1) AJ Styles:
Come on. There can’t be a different choice. AJ Styles has been phenomenal, pun intended, in 2016. He’s especially kicked it up a notch since the heel turn and at Backlash, he achieved the ultimate goal. He defeated Dean Ambrose to become the WWE Champion. Not just that, but he did so after a great match that was the best WWE main event I’ve seen all year long. It shows that the company truly believes in him and is especially impressive when you consider that he isn’t a McMahon guy. He made his name away from the WWE and those guys don’t really get major shine. Styles joins Ric Flair, Big Show, Kurt Angle and Brock Lesnar as guys to win the title in their first (maybe Hogan too but I’m not sure) and is the first guy to officially hold the WWE, TNA and IWGP Titles. Styles is not just the best wrestler on the planet right now, but he’s one of the greatest of all time.

2) The Miz: I wanted to put Becky Lynch here, but the Miz and his performance can’t be overlooked. He’s been really good for a long time now, but recently, he’s kicked it up a notch. Not only has his Intercontinental Title run been a joy, but his in ring work is better than ever. Coming off of a promo that garnered a lot of buzz, I felt a match with Dolph Ziggler was a let down. Part of me was still right, but they delivered in a big way. It was easily their best match ever and Miz nailed everything he had to. He talked trash and played a masterful heel. He mocked Daniel Bryan’s “Yes” taunt and even did some of Bryan’s trademark submissions. He retained the title and needs to be given more credit consistently.
3) Becky Lynch: Backlash had plenty of feel good moments but the first was the crowning of the Smackdown Women’s Champion. Becky Lynch last eliminated Carmella to win the Six Pack Challenge to determine the first Smackdown Women’s Champion and it felt very earned. She was the only one of the “Four Horsewomen” to never hold a title, even in NXT. She has been the most popular woman on the main roster for a long time and this was the right call. Her emotion after the victory was heartfelt. The match itself was really good too, which always helps your position on my list.
4) Heath Slater and Rhyno
5) Zack Sabre Jr.

Dylan Diot
1) AJ Styles:
AJ Styles defeated Dean Ambrose at Backlash to become the NEW WWE World Heavyweight Champion. It was the right time for Styles to win the belt, as he’s been red hot since his debut with the company and has killed it when put in a big spot on PPV, as was the case this past Sunday. Styles also became the first man to have held the WWE, TNA & IWGP World Championships.

2) Becky Lynch: Becky Lynch won a Six Pack Challenge elimination match at Backlash to become the first WWE Smackdown Women’s Champion. She was a great choice to become the first champion as she immediately adds credibility due to her strong work ability and she will make the championship matches very entertaining going forward.
3) Rhyno & Heath Slater: Rhyno & Heath Slater defeated The Usos in the finals of the WWE Smackdown Tag Team Championship tournament to become the first champions. It was a great moment for Slater and was the culmination of one of WWE’s better storylines in some time.
4) Bayley
5) Johnny Gargano

THE WINNERS~!
* Special Mention…Broken Matt Hardy – 10 Votes

* Fifth Place…Brother Nero – 3 Votes

* Fourth Place…The Miz – 14 Votes

* Third Place…Heath Slater and Rhyno – 16 Votes

The first ever WWE Smackdown Tag Team Champions!

* Second Place…Becky Lynch – 18 Votes

The first ever WWE Smackdown Women’s Champion!

* And 411’s Wrestler of the Week is…

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AJ Styles – 40 Votes

The NEW WWE Champion!

The Standings
Here are the standings after week 23…

* AJ Styles – 74pts

* Prince Puma/Ricochet – 54pts

* Lashley – 45pts

* Dean Ambrose – 42pts

* Rey Mysterio Jr. – 36pts
* Dragon Azteca Jr. – 36pts

* The Monster Matanza Cueto – 33pts
* Will Ospreay – 33pts
* Sexy Star – 33pts

* Tetsuya Naito – 30pts
* Finn Balor – 30pts

* Johnny Mundo – 28pts

* Kevin Owens – 27pts

* Cage – 24 pts
* Roman Reigns – 24pts
* Jack Evans – 24pts
* PJ Black – 24 pts

* Jay Lethal – 21pts
* Samoa Joe – 21pts

* The Miz – 20pts

* Dash – 18pts
* Dawson – 18pts

* Kota Ibushi – 16pts
* Broken Matt Hardy – 16pts

* Kenny Omega – 15pts
* Seth Rollins – 15pts
* Drew Galloway – 15pts
* Johnny Gargano – 15pts
* KUSHIDA – 15pts
* Aerostar – 15pts

* Sami Zayn – 13pts

* Shinsuke Nakamura – 12pts
* Becky Lynch – 12pts
* Sasha Banks – 12pts
* Son of Havoc – 12pts
* Michael Elgin -12pts
* Bobby Fish – 12pts
* Daniels – 12pts
* Kazarian – 12pts
* Mike Bennett – 12pts
* Eddie Edwards – 12pts
* Tomohiro Ishii – 12pts
* TJ Perkins – 12pts
* Marty Scurll – 12pts

* Dolph Ziggler – 10pts
* Kazuchika Okada – 10pts

* Adam Cole – 9pts
* Tommaso Ciampa – 9pts
* Heath Slater – 9pts
* Rhyno – 9pts
* Mil Muertes – 9pts
* Drago – 9pts
* Kyle O’Reilly – 9pts
* SANADA – 9pts
* Katsuyori Shibata – 9pts
* Zack Sabre Jr – 9pts
* Ethan Carter III – 9pts
* Meiko Satomura – 9pts
* DASH Chisako – 9pts
* Cassandra Miyagi – 9pts

* Rusev – 7pts

* Fenix – 6pts
* Pentagon Jr – 6pts
* Mariposa – 6pts
* Yuji Nagata – 6pts
* Takashi Sugiura – 6pts
* Matt Riddle – 6pts

* Bayley – 4pts
* Brother Nero – 4pts

* The Mack – 3pts
* Cesaro – 3pts
* Dana Brooke – 3pts
* Xavier Woods – 3pts
* Kofi Kingston – 3pts
* Big E – 3pts
* Evie – 3pts
* Heidi Lovelace – 3pts
* Dustin (Chuck Taylor) – 3pts
* Cedric Alexander – 3pts
* YAMATO – 3pts
* James Storm – 3pts

* Matt Sydal – 2pts

* Chavo Guerrero – 1pt
* Abyss – 1pt
* Crazy Steve – 1pt
* Charlotte – 1pt
* Gran Metalik – 1pt
* Zack Ryder – 1pt
* Big Cass – 1pt
* Enzo Amore – 1pt
* Karl Anderson – 1pt
* Doc Gallows – 1pt
* Rocky Romero – 1pt
* Trent Barreta – 1pt
* Timothy Thatcher – 1pt
* Jay Briscoe – 1pt
* Mark Briscoe – 1pt
* ACH – 1pt
* Satoshi Kojima – 1pt
* Hiroyoshi Tenzan – 1pt
* Taiji Ishimori – 1pt
* Hiroshi Tanahashi – 1pt

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* Voting began the week of April 4th, 2016

* 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.

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**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)
Year Ten Winner: Seth Rollins (2014-2015)

Year Eleven Winners: The New Day (2015-2016)