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411 Wrestler of the Week: Week 35 – Makabe & Honma Reign Supreme
Welcome to YEAR TWELVE, WEEK 35 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. (The voting week runs Monday through Sunday). Let’s see who wins this week…
Week 35 – VOTING PERIOD IS DECEMBER 5 through DEC 11 (we’re running a week behind)
Larry Csonka
1) Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma :
Defeated IWGP tag team champions (The Guerrillas of Destiny) in an amazing finals match. After a largely forgettable tournament, the finals delivered big time, with everyone working hard and more than delivering to make the finals a memorable one. This was one of the best Guerrillas matches, if not the best ever, with Tonga working like the guy everyone was excited about before Loa came in. They worked a great pace for almost 28-minutes, with great near falls and big spots. Honma got powerbombed through a table, and then Tonga cut off the king kong knee drop with a gun stun, which was awesome. Loa almost died on the doomsday kokeshi, landing on his head. The kokeshi and king kong knee drop finally finished Loa; this was tremendously fun and we now have our challengers for the dome. This match exceeded all expectations, and would fit in as the main event of any major show it was so good. The Guerrillas destroying Makabe for the heat was the sort of aggression and fire I have been begging these guys to show forever, they came off as the bad asses they are intended to be and it was great. In every way. Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma repeat as WTL winners, which is a first I believe. These two teams showed absolutely no chemistry last year, so this felt rather amazing that they actually had this match. Everything came together so well here, I loved this.
2) The Miz: Has been absolute gold on Smackdown/
3) Jeff Cobb: Set as a new title contender in Evolve, defeating WWNlive golden boy Matt Riddle and Fred Yehi in the same weekend.
4) Tracy Williams
5) Roman Reigns
Kevin Pantoja
1) The Miz:
Unlike the previous week, this wasn’t full of major accomplishments. Instead, I’m giving the honor this week to the guy who won the main event of Smackdown, The Miz. Miz scored a pinfall victory over Dean Ambrose, which was big. It’s one thing to beat Ambrose by countout or disqualification but getting a pin, even with interference from James Ellsworth, was a big deal. Add in Miz’s great work during MizTV where he handed out the hilarious “Miz Participation Award” and you’ve got another great week for a guy having one of the best runs of anyone since the draft. Miz should hold the Intercontinental Title until WrestleMania.
2) Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma: I don’t quite understand Gedo’s booking. I think the best option for World Tag League winners was Hirooki Goto and Tomohiro Ishii, especially after Ishii got the best matches out of the Guerillas of Destiny a few months ago. Instead, Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma won the World Tag League by defeating the IWGP Tag Team Champions, the Guerillas of Destiny. So yes, that means that the two teams who met at Invasion Attack, Wrestling Dontaku and in the World Tag League Finals will face off again at Wrestle Kingdom. Whether I agree with the booking or not, Great Bash Heel won the WTL for the second straight year, which is a fine accomplishment.
3) Roman Reigns: Like The Miz, Roman Reigns successfully defended the second most important title on his brand this week. It wasn’t exactly the main event, but it was a good match. Reigns defeated Chris Jericho thanks to some botched interference from Kevin Owens. It was yet another win for Reigns who is right back on track after his suspension earlier this year. It seemed like his punishment for the suspension was taking three clean pins at the hands of Seth Rollins (Money in the Bank), Dean Ambrose (Battleground) and Finn Balor (Raw). Since then, the Big Dog has been back to eating.
4) Eddie Edwards
5) Rich Swann
Mike Chin
1) The Miz:
Against all odds, Miz is looking in his element as a fringe main eventer in this most recent push, and picked up the win over Dean Ambrose in the Smackdown main event.
2) Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma: Makabe and Honma won the NJPW World Tag League Finals.
3) Tracy Williams: Williams and Fred Yehi retained their tag titles in a great match at Evolve 74, and then Williams beat Drew Gulak in a good outing at Evolve 75.
4) Anderson and Gallows
5) Sexy Star
Jack McGee
1) Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma:
Goin to the dome!
2) Jeff Cobb: Had a huge first weekend with Evolve, as he immediately got put into the title mix.
3) Sexy Star: earned a Lucha Underground title shot.
4) Rich Swann
5) The Miz
Mike Hammerlock
1) Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma:
Beat IWGP tag champs the Guerrillas of Destiny to win New Japan’s World Tag League, thus earning the right to face the Guerrilla’s of Destiny for the titles at Wrestle Kingdom 11. To beat the man, you’ve got to beat the man. More than mildly miraculous they drew a great match out of Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa.
2) Tracy Williams: Had himself two big nights and EVOLVE 74 and 75. First he retained the tag titles with Fred Yehi against Ricochet and Peter Kaasa. Then he beat his mentor Drew Gulak, ending Gulak’s EVOLVE career.
3) Matt Riddle: Beat Ricochet at EVOLVE 75 in a match that teased what should be mind-blowing clashes in their future.
4) Eddie Edwards
5) The Miz
THE WINNERS~!
* Special Mention… Matt Riddle & Rich Swann – 3 Votes
* Fifth Place… Roman reigns, Sexy Star, & Eddie Edwards – 4 Votes
* Fourth Place…Jeff Cobb – 7 Votes
* Third Place…Tracy Williams – 9 Votes
* Second Place…The Miz – 16 Votes
* And 411’s Wrestler of the Week (week 34) is…
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Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma – 23 Votes
Your NJPW World Tag league Winner
The Standings
Here are the standings after week 35
1. AJ Styles – 103pts
2. Prince Puma/Ricochet – 69pts
3. Tetsuya Naito – 54pts
3. Dean Ambrose – 54pts
5. Lashley – 51pts
5. Sexy Star – 51pts
7. The Monster Matanza Cueto/Jeff Cobb – 48pts
7. Eddie Edwards – 48pts
9. Kevin Owens – 46pts
10. Johnny Mundo – 44pts
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Roman Reigns – 42pts
Rey Mysterio Jr. – 37pts
* Dragon Azteca Jr. – 36pts
* The Miz – 35pts
* Will Ospreay – 33pts
* Sasha Banks – 31pts
* Finn Balor – 30pts
* Johnny Gargano – 30pts
* Broken Matt Hardy – 28pts
* TJ Perkins – 27pts
* Samoa Joe – 27pts
* Dolph Ziggler – 25pts
* Kazuchika Okada – 25pts
* Kenny Omega – 24pts
* Kyle O’Reilly – 24pts
* Cage – 24 pts
* Jack Evans – 24pts
* PJ Black – 24 pts
* Jay Lethal – 21pts
* KUSHIDA – 21pts
* Bobby Fish – 21pts
* Dash – 18pts
* Dawson – 18pts
* Goldberg – 18pts
* Charlotte – 17pts
* Kota Ibushi – 16pts
* Brother Nero – 16pts
* Katsuyori Shibata – 16pts
* Togi Makabe – 15pts
* Tomoaki Honma – 15pts
* EVIL – 15pts
* Katsuhiko Nakajima – 15pts
* Nick Jackson – 15pts
* Matt Jackson – 15pts
* Seth Rollins – 15pts
* Drew Galloway – 15pts
* Tommaso Ciampa – 24pts
* Aerostar – 15pts
* Sami Zayn – 13pts
* Killshot/Shane Strickland – 13pts
* Chris Hero – 13 pts
* Pete Dunne – 12pts
* Brian Kendrick – 12pts
* Shinsuke Nakamura – 12pts
* Becky Lynch – 12pts
* Son of Havoc – 12pts
* Michael Elgin -12pts
* Daniels – 12pts
* Kazarian – 12pts
* Mike Bennett – 12pts
* Tomohiro Ishii – 12pts
* Marty Scurll – 12pts
* James Ellsworth – 10pts
* Adam Cole – 9pts
* Alexa Bliss – 9pts
* Heath Slater – 9pts
* Rhyno – 9pts
* Mil Muertes – 9pts
* Drago – 9pts
* SANADA – 9pts
* Tracy Williams – 9pts
* Zack Sabre Jr – 9pts
* Ethan Carter III – 9pts
* Meiko Satomura – 9pts
* DASH Chisako – 9pts
* Cassandra Miyagi – 9pts
* BUSHI – 9pts
* ACH – 7pts
* Taiji Ishimori – 7pts
* Satoshi Kojima – 7pts
* Rusev – 7pts
* Gran Metalik – 7pts
* Pentagon Jr – 7pts
* Matt Riddle – 7pts
* Rich Swann – 7pts
* Fenix – 6pts
* Mariposa – 6pts
* Yuji Nagata – 6pts
* Takashi Sugiura – 6pts
* David Finlay – 6pts
* Bray Wyatt – 6pts
* Bayley – 4pts
* The Mack – 3pts
* Cesaro – 3pts
* Dana Brooke – 3pts
* Xavier Woods – 3pts
* Kofi Kingston – 3pts
* Randy Orton – 3pts
* Big E – 3pts
* Evie – 3pts
* Heidi Lovelace – 3pts
* Dustin (Chuck Taylor) – 3pts
* Cedric Alexander – 3pts
* YAMATO – 3pts
* James Storm – 3pts
* Mark Haskins – 3pts
* Matt Sydal – 2pts
* Chavo Guerrero – 1pt
* DJ Z – 1pt
* Abyss – 1pt
* Crazy Steve – 1pt
* Chad Gable – 1pt
* Jason Jordan – 1pt
* Asuka – 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
* Hiroyoshi Tenzan – 1pt
* Hiroshi Tanahashi – 1pt
* David Starr – 1pt
* 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.
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)
