wrestling / Columns

411’s Wrestler of the Week – Suwama Battles Cena

January 5, 2016 | Posted by Larry Csonka

Welcome to YEAR ELEVEN, 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, 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…

Larry Csonka
1) Suwama:
In a quiet week, the calm before the storm really, Suwama defeated Champion Jun Akiyama to win the AJPW Triple Crown Championship. It’s easily the biggest accomplishment this week, and he deserves the nod for the top spot.

2) Kalisto: he picked up the big win over Kofi Kingston on Raw and then followed that up with a six-man win with the Dudleyz over New Day on Smackdown.
3) Negro Casas: He defeated Super Parka in January 1st, causing Parka to have his head shaved
4) Máximo Sexy
5) Kento Miyahara

Ryan Byers
1) Suwama:
All Japan Pro Wrestling and the Triple Crown have plummeted in prominence and prestige over the last several years, but this was a quiet week, so I’m going with the latest Triple Crown victory for Suwama in the top spot, as he knocked off Jun Akiyama on January 2. Suwama was also active and victorious in Big Japan this week, getting a win in a six man tag team match with partners Daisuke Sekimoto and Hideki Suzuki.

2) Kento Miyahara: While Suwama became the Triple Crown Champion, Miyahara became the new number one contender to the championship after pinning Suwama in a six man tag match the day after his championship victory.
3) Daisuke Sekimoto: Sekimoto was all over the place this week, competing in and winning matches for Big Japan, All Japan, and ZERO1 in addition to being half of the winning team in the tag tournament on the joint New Year’s Eve show promoted by Big Japan, DDT, and Kaientai Dojo.
4) Hideyoshi Kamitani & Ryota Hama
5) Ryuji Ito

Mike Chin
1) Suwama:
In a quiet seven days to transition from 2015 to 2016, Suwama beat Jun Akiyama to achieve the biggest win of the week, picking up the All Japan Triple Crown Championship.

2) Roman Reigns: In a week when no one really got over on WWE programming, Reigns got the better of Vince McMahon again on Raw, and then stood tall with Dean Ambrose to cap the final Smackdown of 2015.
3) The Rock: I hesitate to give a guy who didn’t set foot in the ring or even appear at a wrestling show a spot in my list, but when it comes to mainstream wrestling in the US, I don’t think there were any bigger waves made than The Rock announcing that he will appear at WrestleMania 32, and given the scale of the announcement and the upcoming event, I have to hypothesize that means he’ll be wrestling. Will he face Triple H? Brock Lesnar? The Undertaker? Just about any pairing would be noteworthy. And so, WrestleMania season begins…
4) Kento Miyahara
5) John Cena

Mike Hammerlock
1) Roderick Strong:
This is a throwaway week, so I’m going with a pure reparations list. These are all folks I wasn’t able to vote for or should have voted for more often. Strong has been one of the best and hardest working pro wrestlers on the planet for the past year. He’s the current ROH Television Champion and PWG World Champion. I should have voted for him at least a half a dozen times more than I did.

2) Bayley: I was away the week of NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn. Didn’t get in my vote. I think I can ’nuff said that one.
3) Hallowicked: Also was away the week Hallowicked won the Chikara Grand Championship, making him the first wrestler to officially win everything Chikara has to offer. Then he defended it six times before dropping it to Princess KimberLee. Wish he still spoke in gibberish.
4) Hiroshi Tanahashi
5) Ethan Carter III

JUSTIN WATRY
1) John Cena:
Officially back in WWE and already in the thick of things. You have to assume he is a major favorite to win the Royal Rumble and face Roman Reigns for the WWE World Championship at WrestleMania 32. My pick is Brock Lesnar, if he enters, but whatever – Cena returned this week to main event RAW against Alberto Del Rio capping off a solid show Monday night.

2) Roman Reigns: Current WWE World Champion and feuding with Mr. McMahon. Oh yeah, Sheamus too! When the boss appears on television, it is for a purpose. So far, so good. Also main evented Smackdown. The focus in WWE is Reigns right now, and that is just fine with me.
3) Kalisto: Now is the time to push forward with a solo run for Kalisto. Sorry about the Sin Cara injury, but Kalisto is more than deserving to be on his own. My suggestion is to have him win a match on RAW this week, announce his Rumble entry, and then at the pay-per-view, he lasts until the final four. Heck, throw him in there with Big Show right off the bat to play off the underdog stuff (if Big Show is actually in the #1 spot). Kalisto is one of my Superstars to watch in 2016…
4) Kevin Owens
5) Dean Ambrose

Jack McGee
1) Suwama:
Suwama is now your new All Japan Triple Crown champion.

2) Kalisto: Despite Sin Cara’s injury, Kalisto had a strong week on WWE TV.
3) The Rock: His WrestleMania 32 announcement got the most buzz of the voting week.
4) John Cena
5) Roman Reigns

Kevin Pantoja
1) Suwama:
Boy, what a quiet week. Almost nothing happened in the transition from 2015 to 2016. The biggest news was that Suwama won the All Japan Triple Crown. As noted in a previous Wrestler of the Week column, the prestige of the company and title has waned heavily in recent years but it was still the most noteworthy thing.

2) Sasha Banks: This may not seem like an obvious choice but it honestly really was a slow week. My favorite match of the week was the one on Monday between Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch. It obviously wasn’t on the level of their TakeOver: Brooklyn outing but it was much better than TLC. Sasha Banks won again to remain unbeaten in singles competition on the main roster. This has to be leading somewhere right?
3) Roman Reigns: Roman Reigns once again got the best of Vince McMahon on Raw. The angle is high profile, but not very interesting to me. Then on the last Smackdown on 2015, Reigns and Dean Ambrose picked up a win by disqualification to close the show.
4) John Cena
5) Dean Ambrose

THE WINNERS~!
* Special Mention…The Rock – 6 Votes

* Fifth Place…Kento Miyahara – 7 Votes

* Fourth Place…Kalisto – 11 Votes

* Third Place…Roman Reigns – 12 Votes

Reigns continues to roll as the top guy.

* Second Place…John Cena – 13 Votes

Cena is back in the mix.

* And 411’s Wrestler of the Week is…
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Suwama – 25 Votes

Your NEW AJPW Triple Crown Champion!

The Standings
Here are the standings after week forty…

T-1. Kofi Kingston – 98 pts.
T-1. Big E – 98 pts.

3. Roman Reigns – 94 pts.

4. John Cena – 92 pts.

5. Xavier Woods – 85 pts.

6. Dean Ambrose – 66 pts.

7. Seth Rollins – 62 pts.

8. Kevin Owens – 58 pts.

9. Jay Lethal – 55 pts.

10. Shinsuke Nakamura – 48 pts.

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Bayley – 45 pts.

Prince Puma/Ricochet – 43 pts.

Sasha Banks – 42 pts.

Finn Balor – 40 pts.
Kazuchika Okada – 40 pts.

Matt Hardy – 36 pts.

Brock Lesnar – 33 pts.

Mil Muertes – 31 pts.

Alberto Del Rio – 30 pts.
Cesaro – 30 pts.
Hiroshi Tanahashi – 30 pts.

KUSHIDA – 27 pts.
Kyle O’Reilly – 27 pts.
Naomichi Marufuji – 27 pts.

Ethan Carter III – 25 pts.
Timothy Thatcher – 25 pts.
Roderick Strong – 25 pts.
Sheamus – 25 pts.

Drago – 24 pts.
Fenix – 24 pts.
Kota Ibushi – 24 pts.
AJ Styles – 24 pts.
Rocky Romero – 24 pts.
Trent Baretta – 24 pts.
Michael Elgin – 24 pts.
Kimber Lee – 24 pts.

Togi Makabe – 22 pts.

Samoa Joe – 21 pts.
Nick Jackson – 21 pts.
Matt Jackson – 21 pts.
Hirooki Goto – 21 pts.

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

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

Undertaker – 17 pts.

Zack Sabre Jr – 16 pts.

Hideo Itami – 15 pts.
Randy Orton – 15 pts.
Jeff Hardy – 15 pts.
Angelico – 15 pts.
Son of Havoc – 15 pts.
Kurt Angle – 15 pts.
Bobby Fish – 15 pts.
Tomohiro Ishii – 15 pts.
Suwama -15 pts

Kazarian – 13 pts.
Christopher Daniels – 13 pts.
Sting – 13 pts.
Bobby Roode – 13 pts.
Kalisto – 13 pts.

Rey Mysterio Jr. – 12 pts.
Atsushi Kotoge – 12 pts.
Daisuke Harada – 12 pts.
Katsuyori Shibata – 12 pts.
Mike Bennett – 12 pts.
Matt Taven – 12 pts.
“Speedball” Mike Bailey – 12 pts.
Rich Swann – 12 pts.
Ivelisse – 12 pts.
Drew Galloway – 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.

Santana Garrett – 9 pts.
Ryback – 9 pts.
Jeff Jarrett – 9 pts.
Karl Anderson – 9 pts.
Cherry Bomb – 9 pts.
Takashi Sugiura – 9 pts.

Tetsuya Naito – 7 pts.
Tomoaki Honma – 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.
Johnny Gargano – 6 pts.
Gail Kim – 6 pts.
EVIL – 6 pts.

Neville – 5 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 – 1 pt.
PJ Black – 1 pt.
Pentagon Jr – 1 pt.
El Siniestro de la Muerte – 1 pt.
Barrio Negro – 1 pt.
Terce – 1 pt.
King Cuerno – 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.
Kenny Omega – 1 pt.
Minoru Tanaka – 1 pt.
Tajiri – 1 pt.
Masato Yoshino – 1 pt.
Jun Kasai – 1 pt.
Manabu Soya – 1 pt.