411’s Wrestler of the Week: Matanza Battles Mysterio

Welcome to YEAR ELEVEN, WEEK 52 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: March 21 through March 27

Larry Csonka
1) The Monster Matanza Cueto:
The Monster Matanza Cueto made his official Lucha Underground debut, entering as the special 21st entrant into Aztec Warfare. What happened next was complete domination and a star making performance. The Monster Matanza Cueto eliminated Fenix, the Mack, Aero Star, Texano, Joey Ryan, Dragon Azteca Jr, Chavo Guerrero, Prince Puma and finally Rey Mysterio to win the match and become the new Lucha Underground champion. Bow before your new king.

2) Rey Mysterio: Rey made his official Lucha Underground debut last week, entering Aztec Warfare at #2 and lasting until the final two before being tossed by the Monster Matanza Cueto. Rey looked in great shape, performed well and scored several eliminations to make his debut a memorable one.
3) Jeff Hardy: Won the gauntlet match on last week’s Impact to earn a shot at the TNA World Title.
4) Tomohiro Ishii
5) Jade

Mike Hammerlock
1) Matanza Cueto:
Now that’s how you do a debut. Matanza finally appeared inside the Lucha Underground temple and laid waste to much of the roster on his way to winning the LU title. He’s not nearly as gigantic as one might have expected. Built a bit like Haku mated with Steam-Powered Tentacle Boulder. Yet he’s got a nice array of suplexes and slams. He’s also got off the charts mystique at this moment. My only question is how do they corral him after the match so that he doesn’t start laying waste to the audience? I assume the main story for the rest of this season involves someone rising up to take on this seemingly irresistible force.

2) Rey Mysterio: Rey-Rey also made his LU debut and looked great doing it. He was one of the first two in the ring for Aztec Warfare, lasted to the end, ran through his greatest hits and managed to get Matanza reeling. LU is so much of a better fit than the WWE for him. Reminded me of why I became a fan of his in the first place.
3) Kevin Owens: Put on one hell of clash with AJ Styles on Raw, retaining his Intercontinental title. By far the best in-ring action the WWE produced this week.
4) Jeff Hardy/b>
5) Hiroshi Tanahashi and Michael Elgin

Mike Chin
1) Matanza Cueto:
The booking of a new monster heel can be deceptively tricky (just as Braun Strowman), but between Lucha Underground’s booking and Matanza’s work, he made an enormous impact at Aztec Warfare II and has changed the landscape of the main event picture there.

2) Kevin Owens: Owens was largely the focal point of Raw, including pinning AJ Styles (a meh finish to an excellent match) and subverting expectations in booking the triple threat match later in the show (a fantastic bit of character work).
3) Big E: Big E picked up the win over Rusev on Raw in a win that I particularly appreciated for how unlikely that would have seemed a year ago, and as a demonstration of how far Big E and New Day have come (yes, it’s a testament to the collapse of Rusev’s booking, too, but I’m trying to honor the power of positivity here…).
4) Rey Mysterio
5) Emma

Jack McGee
1) Matanza Cueto:
This man finally debuted, and then killed just about every major star in the promotion to want he title. And it was awesome.

2) Tomohiro Ishii: Still your reigning and defending ROH TV Champion.
3) Jeff Hardy: The new #1 contender for the TNA World Title.
4) Tetsuya Naito, EVIL and BUSHI
5) Sash Banks

Kevin Pantoja
1) Matanza Cueto:
This is one of the easiest choices I’ve ever made around here. In a relatively slow week, one thing stood above all and that was Lucha Underground’s Aztec Warfare II. Like the first Aztec Warfare, this was a really fun match that took up the entire episode. After all twenty entrants came out, Dario Cueto showed up and took back his Temple. How did he do that? By debuting the monster that is his brother, Matanza Cueto. And boy was he a monster. He came in and immediately eliminated the reigning champion, Fenix. Matanza followed that up by dominating the rest of the way and eliminating everyone left, from Chavo Guerrero to Texano and finally to Rey Mysterio. Matanza is the new Lucha Underground Champion and did so in the most badass way possible.

2) Rey Mysterio: Another big moment in Aztec Warfare II came right at the start. After Fenix entered at number one, Rey Mysterio was introduced as the second participant and the roof of the Temple nearly blew off. We as viewers have seen Msyterio in several scenes, but the believers in the Temple didn’t. Seeing Rey was a total surprise and the pop for his arrival was incredible. Mysterio went on to eliminate a fair amount of people and last all the way until the end of Aztec Warfare before falling to Matanza. Rey not only lasted the entirety but he looked better than he did in the last few years of his WWE run even. Hopefully, Mysterio has a big season for Lucha Underground.
3) Los Ingobernables de Japon: Outside of Lucha Underground, it was indeed a slow week. In third place is the group of Tetsuya Naito, EVIL and BUSHI. They took on Chaos (Kazuchika Okada, Hirooki Goto and YOSHI-HASHi) in the main event of NJPW’s Road to Invasion Attack in Korakuen Hall. As usual, Los Ingobernables was incredibly entertaining throughout and won a strong main event. They hyped Naito vs. Okada well and each guy played their part. BUSHI spitting the mist at Okada, incapacitating him so Naito can pin YOSHI-HASHI was crucial. Naito needs to win the belt at Invasion Attack. Personally, if he doesn’t, it’ll be the most disappointed I am in the outcome of a match since HHH beat CM Punk at Night of Champions 2011.
4) Jeff Hardy
5) Asuka and Sasha Banks

Wyatt Beougher
1) The Monster Matanza Cueto:
After nearly a year’s worth of build, I was certain that there was no way Matanza’s eventual debut could live up to the hype. I should have known better than to doubt Lucha Underground, as they absolutely knocked it out of the part with his debut vignette last week and his time in the Aztec Warfare match this week. Dario Cueto adding him to the match as a surprise 21st entrant and the utter dominance that followed were pitch perfect for what a brand-new monster’s debut. But all of that hype and build would have fallen flat if Matanza couldn’t go in the ring, and he more than proved that he was worthy of all of that build, as he manhandled the Lucha Underground roster and looked damned impressive in doing so. One part ECW “Path of Rage” Taz, one part Terror Mask from the Splatterhouse video game franchise, Matanza is the monster that Lucha Underground has been waiting for.

2) Kevin Owens: Outside of Aztec Warfare, this was a pretty slow week, and Owens successfully defending his intercontinental championship against AJ Styles on RAW in a very good match is good enough for second place on my list.
3) Rey Mysterio Jr: Among the in-ring debuts that happened during Aztec Warfare, Rey Mysterio’s was probably the second most noteworthy, after Matanza’s. While I don’t like that Rey was the one who actually got offense in on Matanza when it would have been better served going to someone like Fenix, Prince Puma, or even El Dragon Azteca Jr, there’s no denying that Rey put on a show during the match, and that’s good enough for third place this week.
4) Jeff Hardy
5) New Day

THE WINNERS~!
* Special Mention…Tetsuya Naito, EVIL and BUSHI – 5 Votes

* Fifth Place…Tomohiro Ishii – 6 Votes

* Fourth Place…Kevin Owens – 11 Votes

* Third Place…Jeff Hardy – 12 Votes

Won a shot at the TNA World Title.

* Second Place…Rey Mysterio – 17 Votes

Had an impressive debut in the Aztec Warfare match.

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

The Monster Matanza Cueto – 30 Votes

Won Aztec Warfare II and is now your NEW Lucha underground Champion!

The Standings
Here are the standings after week fifty-two…

T-1. Kofi Kingston – 132 pts.
T-1. Big E – 132 pts.

3. Xavier Woods – 119 pts.

4. Roman Reigns – 110 pts.

5. Dean Ambrose – 93 pts.

6. John Cena – 92 pts.

7. Kevin Owens – 79 pts.

8. Jay Lethal – 67 pts.

9. Shinsuke Nakamura – 66 pts.

10. Seth Rollins – 62 pts.

*
*
*
*
*

AJ Styles – 56 pts.

Kazuchika Okada – 55 pts.
Prince Puma/Ricochet – 55 pts.

Fenix – 51 pts.

Zack Sabre Jr – 49 pts.

Matt Hardy – 45 pts.
Bayley – 45 pts.

Mil Muertes – 44 pts.

Finn Balor – 43 pts.

Sasha Banks – 42 pts.

Brock Lesnar – 39 pts.

Kalisto – 38 pts.

Nick Jackson – 37 pts.
Matt Jackson – 37 pts.

Tomohiro Ishii – 33 pts.

Kenny Omega – 31pts.
Alberto Del Rio – 31 pts.

Cesaro – 30 pts.
Hiroshi Tanahashi – 30 pts.

KUSHIDA – 29 pts.

Ethan Carter III – 28 pts.

Kyle O’Reilly – 27 pts.
Naomichi Marufuji – 27 pts.
Matt Sydal – 27 pts.
Michael Elgin – 27 pts.

Timothy Thatcher – 25 pts.
Roderick Strong – 25 pts.
Sheamus – 25 pts.

Rey Mysterio Jr. – 24 pts.
Jeff Hardy – 24 pts.
Drago – 24 pts.
Kota Ibushi – 24 pts.
Rocky Romero – 24 pts.
Trent Baretta – 24 pts.
Kimber Lee – 24 pts.
Takashi Sugiura – 24 pts.
Katsuyori Shibata – 24 pts.
Triple H – 24 pts.

Tetsuya Naito – 23 pts.

Togi Makabe – 22 pts.

Angelico – 21 pts.
Son of Havoc – 21 pts.
Ivelisse – 21 pts.
Samoa Joe – 21 pts.
Hirooki Goto – 21 pts.

Eddie Edwards – 19 pts.
Davey Richards – 19 pts.
Drew Galloway – 19 pts.

Aerostar – 18 pts.
Bubba Ray Dudley – 18 pts.
D-Von Dudley – 18 pts.

Undertaker – 17 pts.

Pentagon Jr – 16 pts.
Bobby Roode – 16 pts.

The Monster Matanza Cueto – 15 pts.
Hideo Itami – 15 pts.
Shane McMahon – 15 pts.
Randy Orton – 15 pts.
Kurt Angle – 15 pts.
Bobby Fish – 15 pts.
Suwama -15 pts

Kazarian – 13 pts.
Christopher Daniels – 13 pts.
Sting – 13 pts.

Atsushi Kotoge – 12 pts.
Daisuke Harada – 12 pts.
Mike Bennett – 12 pts.
Matt Taven – 12 pts.
“Speedball” Mike Bailey – 12 pts.
Rich Swann – 12 pts.
Daniel Bryan – 12 pts.
Apollo Crews – 12 pts.
Scott Dawson – 12 pts.
Dash Wilder – 12 pts.
Lashley – 12 pts.
Sami Zayn – 12 pts.

Becky Lynch – 10 pts.
King Cuerno – 10 pts.

Eric Young – 9 pts.
Santana Garrett – 9 pts.
Ryback – 9 pts.
Jeff Jarrett – 9 pts.
Karl Anderson – 9 pts.
Cherry Bomb – 9 pts.
Trevor Lee – 9 pts.

Tomoaki Honma – 7 pts.
Johnny Gargano – 7 pts.
EVIL – 7 pts.

Shingo Takagi – 6 pts.
Taiji Ishimori – 6 pts
Minoru Suzuki – 6 pts
Tigre Uno – 6 pts.
KAI – 6 pts.
Masato Tanaka – 6 pts.
Charlotte – 6 pts.
King Bad News Barrett – 6 pts.
Nicole Matthews – 6 pts.
Gail Kim – 6 pts.

Neville – 5 pts.

James Storm – 3 pts.
Kamaitachi – 3 pts.
Carmella – 3 pts.
Johnny Mundo – 3 pts.
Jack Evans – 3 pts.
Cage – 3 pts.
Madison Eagles – 3 pts.
Jay Briscoe – 3 pts.
Hanson – 3 pts.
Raymond Rowe – 3 pts.
Kento Miyahara -3 pts.

Chris Hero – 2 pts.

BUSHI – 1 pt.
Lio Rush – 1 pt.
PJ Black – 1 pt.
El Siniestro de la Muerte – 1 pt.
Barrio Negro – 1 pt.
Terce – 1 pt.
Mark Andrews – 1 pt.
Kenny King – 1 pt.
The Rock – 1 pt.
Kane – 1 pt.
Jey Uso – 1 pt.
Jimmy Uso – 1 pt.
Nikki Bella – 1 pt.
Jason Jordan – 1 pt.
Chad Gable – 1 pt.
Titus O’Neil – 1 pt.
Baron Corbin – 1 pt.
Aiden English – 1 pt.
Simon Gotch – 1 pt.
Darren Young – 1 pt.
Minoru Tanaka – 1 pt.
Tajiri – 1 pt.
Masato Yoshino – 1 pt.
Jun Kasai – 1 pt.
Manabu Soya – 1 pt.
Estonian Thunderfrog – 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)

Year Ten Winner: Seth Rollins (2014-2015)