LogFAQs > #933434744

Wrestler of the Week, Week 3 (Jan 17-23)

5. Davey Boy Smith Jr.
I really enjoy MLW's match making in the past few months, and this Opera Cup highlighted that. Davey Boy had to go through a series of tough guys, in Low Ki and Alex Hammerstone, establishing himself as the big tough guy around, and on the other side of the bracket, his former tag team partner and long time friend Brian Pillman Jr. was a big underdog in his matches with the much more experienced TJ Perkins and Timothy Thatcher, and the two would go on to play those roles to perfection in the tournament final. Davey would pick up the win in a tournament I enjoyed a fair bit, which is good for number 5.

4. Cara Noir
Cara Noir was one of the few bright spots of British Wrestling in 2019 and was scheduled to challenge Eddie Dennis for the Progress Title last Sunday at Chapter 101, the first show of the company's new era after Jim Smallman's departure. Instead, the show began with Dennis announcing he was injured (shortly after returning from 6 months on the shelf) and vacating the title. Cara would go on to win the title in a 4 way elimination match that came down to Cara and Ilja Dragunov, his opponent in a trilogy of matches in 2019 that elevated both to this level. Cara becomes the first non-WWE talent to hold the Progress Championship since Mark Haskins in 2016 and it will be interesting to see if this is the beginning of a new direction for Progress. Either way, this is a big step in Cara Noir's career.

3. Buddy Murphy
The best way an undercard guy can usually get elevated in WWE is by affiliation with a top star, as they immediately are forced to actually remember you exist week to week. Buddy is a great worker and had some of WWE's best matches last year, so getting into a prominent role like a tag team with Seth, one of WWE's most valuable acts, should enable him to showcase that which in today's era can be enough to make you... as close to a star as WWE makes

2. Adam Page
The booking of the Adam Page/Kenny Omega team has been some of the best stuff in AEW, and easily the best stuff since Full Gear. This was obviously just the beginning of the next chapter, and it's clear for all to see that there is tension in the group, and if AEW can tell this story well (and the evidence so far is that when it comes to the major story beats, they've mostly done that) then the long term project that is Adam Page should pay off. The signs are already there as he is coming off as more of a star each week.

1. Keith Lee
Keith Lee is one of WWE's best successes in recent months, and was probably the person who benefited most out of Survivor Series (at least, on the men's side). He's been on a hot streak ever since and capitalized on that momentum winning the North American Championship from Roderick Strong in a predictably great match. You have to wonder if Lee is a guy Vince has any interest in, but I really hope not because he can have fun matches with so much of NXT if he's about to spend a year or more in prominent Takeover spots.

---

Advokaiser makes me feel eternal. All this pain is an illusion.