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Is History On Shane Morbid's Side?

Posted: Dec 3rd 2009 By: CMBurnham

Perhaps no one is happier about winning the 2009 Oklahoma Stampede than TAP Oklahoma Heritage & MWA MAX-Division Champion Shane Morbid.

Morbid had come up short in two title opportunities against ComPro Champion Draven Cross and had been told that his last title shot would be the final one he received as long as Draven was champion. ComPro owner Mike Two agreed with that, but said that whoever won the Oklahoma Stampede could challenge for whatever title they wanted to. That gave Morbid all the motivation he needed to come out victorious and he even went further by trading his #30 spot with ComPro Oklahoma X Division Champion Goldeneye for the #1 spot. Morbid wanted to go through every ComPro star in the match and prove that he was better than them all.

Winning the Stampede is no easy feat. But winning the ComPro title is even more difficult. There have only been 7 champions in the company's 3 year history and Draven is rapidly closing in on the one-year mark with the belt. With that said, how likely is it that he will be able to turn his title opportunity into success? Let's look at the history of the Oklahoma Stampede to find the answer to that question.

The early years of the Oklahoma Stampede are unknown to Oklafan, although it is known that Rocco Valentino won the first event. The earliest documented Oklahoma Stampede in our records was in 2000, when Bull Schmitt earned the right to challenge OPW Oklahoma Champion Rocco Valentino for the belt. He would win that match and become OPW Oklahoma Champion himself.

By February 2001, the OPW Oklahoma Title had been vacated, due to injuries suffered by Rocco Valentino. For the first time, the winner of the Stampede would not receive a title shot in the future, but rather the match itself WAS for the title. Splash Jackson eliminated Vinnie Valentino to become OPW Oklahoma Champion. He would remain champion until OPW closed at the end of the year.

2002 was an oddity. Normally, the Oklahoma Stampede was held only once a year, but for unknown reasons, there were 3 Oklahoma Stampedes this year. The first was held January 27, 2002 and Vinnie Valentino was the winner. Valentino issued an immediate challenge to OCW Oklahoma Champion Brandon Groom and they wrestled to a time-limit draw. Valentino would challenge Groom again at the next show and come out victorious. On March 3, Valentino entered an Oklahoma Stampede which was held simply to hold the event. Not titles or title shots were at stake. Valentino again came out victorious in the match. Then, December 28, 2002, perhaps the most infamous Oklahoma Stampede was held. This one had no winner. The final two men in the ring were Vinnie Valentino & Brandon Groom. Both men battled hard at each other until OCW Oklahoma Champion Rocco Valentino stormed the ring and shut the match down, denying the crowd a winner.

2003 saw the Oklahoma Stampede held under the auspices of SRPW. Halo won the event on March 2. Although records from 2003 for SRPW are a little spotty, it is believed that Halo never received an SRPW Title shot, nor was that Stampede for a title shot.

In 2004, once again a title would be at stake in the Oklahoma Stampede. This time, it was the TPW Title, vacated by Outcast when he left TPW for SRPW. Romero Contreras won his first Stampede to claim the belt. Oddly, 2004 is another year when more than 1 Oklahoma Stampede was held. The second was just two days after the first and was held by SRPW. This time Bobby Dalton was the winner. Again, as with the previous time SRPW held the Stampede, no title shot was received by the winner.

It would be almost two full years before the Oklahoma Stampede would again be held. Again, TPW put on the event and again, Romero Contreras would win. But this time, he was already the TPW Champion, so it wasn't for that title. This was the first year that the stipulation that the winner could challenge for whatever title he wanted was made and Contreras wanted to challenge for the TPW Tag Team Titles. TPW commissioner Kitty said he could choose whoever he wanted to for the title and he chose former associate Anthony Jackson. This was all fine and good...except that Jackson was already one half of the tag tem championship team Sexy Bologna, together with Sudden Impact 1. So that meant that Jackson was both defending and challenging for the belts. If that wasn't bizarre enough, Jackson ended up being tagged simultaneously by Contreras and Sudden Impact at one point in the match, meaning he was now the legal man for both teams and ended up fighting himself! To top it off, he made himself tap out...to HIMSELF...and Kitty was left with no choice but to declare all 3 men co-champions.

The event held in 2007 by NWA-U was technically not an Oklahoma Stampede, but a Sooner Stampede. But even though the name was changed, the basic concept and many of the participants were the same. The men were competing to win the vacant NWA-U Oklahoma Title and Slam Shady would be the lucky one in this confrontation. Shady would hold the title until NWA-U reverted back to NWA-OK and he faced NWA-OK Universal champion Brent Albright in a title unification match.

Romero Contreras emerged victorious one more time in 2008 and earned the right to challenge Anthony Jackson for the ComPro Title. This victory secured Contreras in history as the man with more verified Oklahoma Stampede victories than anyone else. Contreras went on to win the ComPro title in a match against Jackson where chairs, tables and chains were all legal.

So, it appears that winning the Oklahoma Stampede is virtually a lock on winning a Heavyweight Title. Only a couple of winners have never held Heavyweight Titles after winning the event. And only one person was not able to turn his first title shot into a victory. Shane Morbid does not want history to recall him as wasting an opportunity. He knows he has to capitalise. It will take everything he has against "The Annhilator". But the lure of gold is always the most tempting and Shane desperately wants to feel one more championship belt around his waist (or over his shoulder.) If he can use the week-and-a-half to his best, he would surprise few people with a victory and a reestablishment of the Oklahoma Triple Crown.

Tags: TAP, MWA, Shane Morbid, ComPro, Draven Cross, Mike Two, Goldeneye, Rocco Valentino, Bill Schmitt, OPW, Splash Jackson, Vinnie Valentino, OCW, Brandon Groom, SRPW, Halo, TPW, Outcast, Romero Contreras, Bobby Dalton, Kitty, Anthony Jackson, Sexy Bologna, Su