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Griffin Loses One Title Shot, Earns Another

Posted: Dec 24th 2009 By: CMBurnham

Dane Griffin closed out the year in NWA-OK by coming very close to gaining another singles title. He came up short, but rebounded two nights later by earning a future shot for his first Heavyweight Title.

Griffin faced NWA-OK Oklahoma Light Heavyweight Champion El Latino in Latino's first title defence on December 12 in Ardmore. NWA-OK looked to bring wrestling back to prominence in the city where Griffin got his start. Accompanied by his sometime valet, La Reina de Corazones, Griffin knew he walked in with a weight advantage over the smaller Latino. But even with the superior size and the advantage of Reina at ringside, Latino had a far superior experience advantage and used that as best he could to come up victorious in his first title defence.

Many people would think that Griffin would be frustrated at being knocked down to the bottom of the ladder again in title contention, but if that frustration existed, Griffin channeled it into the his match the following Monday in Ada against MSWA Mid-South Tag Team Champion Montego Seeka. This was a rematch of sorts since the last time NWA-OK was in Ada, these two faced off. That time, Reina proved to be the difference maker, hitting Seeka with an Enziguri Kick while the referee was distracted and allowing Griffin to lock in a Crippler Crossface, forcing Seeka to tap out. This time, Griffin had to rely on his own experience, since Reina was unable to be at this show and Seeka wanted to even the score up. He tried hard, but at the end of the match, there was an exchange of moves as both men tried to set up finishers. Finally, Griffin secured a Death Valley Driver, then connected with a Sit-out Powerbomb to gain the win.

Griffin had little time to bask in the glory of this victory before his next challenge was up. He was one of 9 men to be entered into a Gauntlet Battle Royal and the winner earned a future shot at NWA-OK Oklahoma Champion Carnage. Griffin had the fortune to draw the #9 spot, letting him enter last. This allowed him to not only be the freshest man in the event, but also to potentially have many of the other combatants eliminated before he came in. Griffin ended up as one of the final two men in the ring, together with Wage. And while it would normally have been a given to see Wage pick up the smaller Griffin and catapult him over the top rope, Wage had the misfortune to pick #1 and the fatigue had taken its toll. Griffin was able to send him out of the ring and was declared the winner, then, in a random act of aggression, he knocked out referee Alex Santos before leaving the ring.

It's unknown when Griffin will get to take advantage of his title shot. NWA-OK posted on their MySpace page that they would be going on hiatus until April. Also, on December 12, Thug Nasty defeated Wage to become the #1 contender to the NWA-OK Oklahoma Title. In the meanwhile, Griffin will sit patiently, knowing that if he plays his cards correctly, he could lay claim to the most prestigious title in his resume yet.

Tags: Dane Griffin, NWA-OK, El Latino, La Reina de Corazones, Montego Seeka, Wage, Alex Santos, Thug Nasty , Carnage