Wrestlers of the Week 1/9-15/05

I've been absent because of a tag team assault of work & problems with my internet access. But finally, I persevered, like Ricky Morton making the hot tag to Robert Gibson. The numbers in parentheses are the rankings of that competitor last week.

1) Rey Mysterio (4) - W/ Rob Van Dam, lost to the Basham Brothers in a "Fatal Four Way" match, 1/13. Still, despite the loss, Mysterio carried the match, defeating Eddie Guerrero by pinfall to further their competitive storyline (Mysterio is now up on Eddie 3-0 in wins). RVD was a sack of potatoes, doing nothing more than getting injured; SELL THE EMOTION, Rey Rey!!

2) Batista (1) - Lost in the Elimination Chamber to Orton, 1/9; lost to Orton, 1/10. Double losses are not looked upon with favor by the Mad Scientists, but Batista oozes mad charisma. Wasn't he a "deacon" not 1.5 years ago, and a "leviathan" before that? "Eventually, we all get what we deserve." Here's hoping.

3) Edge (3) - Lost in the Elimination Chamber to Jericho, 1/9; d. Rhyno, 1/10. Was the first man put out in the Chamber, which does nothing for his credibility. He won a whiffer on Rhyno - I was praying for a double spear/gore spot, but alas ... - but the post-match confrontation with Michaels gave me hope.

4) Chris Sabin (-) - d. Christopher Daniels, 1/14. Wins a clutch victory for consideration in the Ultimate X match at Resolution, and I'd consider him the odds-on favorite to win, as he's scored three victories in the four Ultimate X matches that he's been involved in.

5) Chris Jericho (-) - Lost in the Elimination Chamber to Batista, 1/9; w/ Chris Benoit, d. Christian/Tyson Tomko, 1/10. I could be wrong here, but Jericho has probably outlived his usefulness as far as a serious title contender. He's probably best used as a perennial midcarder, unless he gets traded to Smackdown; there seems to be a bit more respect given to the smaller competitor.

6) Chris Candido (6) - Lost to Dustin Rhodes, 1/14. Yeah, he may have lost two weeks in a row, but Candido was getting much love from the announce table during this match. I'm expecting some good things out of him following Resolution (perhaps an X title run??), and with spots coming open in TNA on an almost daily basis, I expect there'll be some serious competitors for Candido to look good against ... unless TNA is done after February.

7) Christopher Daniels (-) - Lost to Chris Sabin, 1/14. How many damn wrestlers are there named Chris, anyway? Candido, Jericho, Sabin, Daniels, Benoit ... not to mention Christy Hemme and Christian. Anyway, Daniels loses an important match to Sabin (no shame in that, though, as it was a good match). I expect Daniels to still be involved in the Resolution PPV, though.

Honorable mentions: Roderick Strong (the only Angle Invitational competitor that I've given a shit about so far; when are they planning to pull the trigger on this angle?); Kid Kash (I'm hoping the future chiropractor gets a win over the Director of Authority's boy, but I'm not holding my breath); Monty Brown (held his own in a three-way interview between DDP & Nash, which is hopefully a sign of things to come in Final Resolution).