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The Oklafan Mid-Year Report

Posted: Jul 11th 2007 By: CMBurnham

2007 is more than halfway done and we at Oklafan.com believe that it is appropriate to institute a new tradition: The Mid-Year Report. In this report, we'll look at the top 20 wrestlers of 2006 (as listed in the Oklafan Top 50) and see where they stand today, what they've accomplished and where they might be going. With a little less than 6 months left before the end of the year, some performers might need that extra motivation to kick things into gear. So, without further ado, let's get to it:

1. Rocco Valentino. Rocco began the year holding 3 titles, the ComPro title, the FCW Title and the NWA-U Universal Title. By May 19th, he would have lost all 3 titles and be forced to retire. He put on a strong contender for Match of the Year (should Oklafan decide to institute that category) on May 19 against Brent Albright. He also spent a lot of time in 6-man tag team competition with the other members of the Compound Varsity. Will Rocco see ranking in the 2007 list? We suggest that it's still possible for him to make it on the list, even though he cannot compete again for the rest of the year. But he will not be ranked #1 this year.
Current ranking: #15

2. Ryan Davidson. Ryan began the year as the MSWA Mid-South Champion and IZW Impact Division Champion. He lost the Impact title to John O'Malley on St. Patrick's Day and was cheated out of the Mid-South Title by Brad Michaels. Although a long-time competitor for IZW, his loyalties in the IZW/MSWA war have been decidedly with Mid-South. He was part of the team that lost the Loser-Leaves-Town match on July 8. Ryan has spent a considerable amount of time competing outside of Oklahoma this year, especially in Texas. His willingness to put Texas dates as priority over Oklahoma dates, especially when he was Mid-South Champion, has hurt his standings.
Current ranking: 41

3. John O'Malley. The current IZW Impact Division Champion seems to be having another great year. Besides holding that title, he's the #1 contender to the MSWA Mid-South Title held by Brad Michaels. He also made an appearance on WWE RAW in January as a member of security. O'Malley has taken Mid-South's side in their turf war against IZW and was another member of the team on July 8 that lost the elimination match. With MSWA looking to be out of the picture, O'Malley will probably concentrate on IZW and defending his Impact title, assuming he gets the belt back from Brad Michaels.
Current ranking: #8

4. Aaron Neil. Neil added the MSWA Oklahoma Title to his collection this year and is the current champion. He's also a stalwart member of Impact, Inc. He's seemed a bit directionless, though. He had a feud with Outlaw, culminating in a blindfold match which he lost. He also has been unsuccessful in regaining the IZW Title which he lost to Michael Barry 10 months ago. All that, combined with a rather unimpressive 4-8 win/loss record leads to a dramatic drop in the "Real Deal's" stature.
Current ranking: unrated.

5. Dexter Hardaway. It was a tumultuous year for "Mr. Entertainment". He began the year as the AACW Mid-American Light Heavyweight Champion and added the SWCW Sooner Xtreme Title to his holdings as well. He joined Corporate America and The Family. But his name was added to the "former wrestler" list when he faced Big Daddy Moore and was forced to retire after losing that match. Nonetheless, Dexter's accomplishments in AACW, SWCW & ComPro this year cannot be overlooked and if he were still active, his ranking would probably be as high at the end of the year as it is now.
Current ranking: #5.

6. Bobby Burns. Burns has only competed in 1 match in Oklahoma since the collapse of SRPW. He lost to J. P. Steel at an FCW show in Muskogee. Burns has spent most of his time competing with Dan Wilder & Running Wolf in the latest version of the Texas Outlaws in the Siloam Springs, Arkansas based Sooner Pro Wrestling. Unless he returns to Oklahoma soil, he won't be listed in 2007.
Current ranking: unrated.

7. Justin Lee. Still one of the top performers in Oklahoma, Justin reigned as NWA-U Universal X Division Champion for all but 1 day in 2007, before that title was retired after the May 19 NWA-U show. He also tagged with Romero Contreras to become the 1st FCW Tag Team Champions. And he's ventured outside his comfort zone to SWCW, forming Warrior Elite with Tai Ji. Barring significant injury, Justin seems to be on the rise again, ready to accomplish whatever he sets his mind to.
Current ranking: #6

8. Beau Dalton. Not a great year so far for Beau. P.I.N.K. Nation is dead. He's not won any titles so far this year. He has stopped competing for MSWA and his ventures into ComPro have been less than successful. Currently, he's reinvented himself as a "punk vampire". Beau's always been good at creating new personas, but what he really needs to do is put together some wins to show he can be the dominant performer he was before.
Current ranking: unrated.

9. Anthony Jackson: "All Action" suffered some health concerns towards the end of 2006 which have prevented him from competing very often so far this year. With ComPro looking to start running regular shows again soon, hopefully Jackson will be able to compete. His personality and performance are sorely needed in their locker room.
Current ranking: unrated.

10. AWOL/Chance Christopher: He seems to be the most likely performer in the state to be called up to the WWE. He's been invited to 2 of their shows so far this year, although he has yet to appear on screen. He's also racking up the gold, adding the ComPro & AACW Titles to his accomplishments. He's competed in all but 2 federations in the state so far this year. He's in great shape, is still incredibly strong and it doesn't look like anyone or anything can stop him anytime soon.
Current ranking: #1

11. Glen Steel: Steel began the year as 1/2 of the MSWA Mid-South Tag Team Champions. He was also part of the original team called to defend the honour of MSWA against IZW on IZW's first Oklahoma City show. But some personal tragedies and problems took Glen off the active roster a few months ago and he has yet to return to the ring. He was in the crowd July 8 to see his locker room compatriots try (and fail) to save MSWA from the IZW invasion. At this point, it's unclear whether Glen will be on the Top 50 list, as not only does he have decide if he can return, but who he'll compete for.
Current ranking: #37.

12. Prophet: He is also a double champion, holding the AACW Television Title for over a year and adding the SWCW Title as well. He hasn't competed very much this year (until the last couple of months), but he boasts an impressive 6-1 record. Accustomed to being the biggest man in the yard, it takes someone with a lot of cunning (or a great willingness to cheat) to put him down. Prophet might do well to drop some of the weight that he brings, as it would increase his stamina. But he certainly doesn't need to drop any of his charisma, which often makes up for other deficincies.
Current ranking: #14

13. Tim Rockwell: Rockwell has carved an image as 1/2 of the greatest tag team in the state today, holding 3 tag team titles in 3 different federations and recently being ranked #2 in a MySpace poll on the greatest current independent tag teams. Before settling into the tag team area, Rockwell made a brief run at the AACW Light Heavyweight gold and could still be looked at as a threat to singles titles. He's young, quick and has learned plenty of cunning and underhandedness from his uncle Bernard Funk and manager Stevie Caballero.
Current ranking: #2.

14. Michael Barry: He's been on top of the IZW game for 10 months now and doesn't look to be knocked off anytime soon. Barry comes to the ring prepared every time and is capable of preparing for most different types of opponents, but seems to have been saddled with repeated challenges in IZW by Aaron Neil. It might be time for other people to step up and challenge for the big belt there, especially with them going to weekly shows at the end of the month. No one wants to look stale with a new crowd checking you out. Barry could also look at venturing to other feds in the state to get some variety as well.
Current ranking: #17.

15. Spoiler 2000: He began the year as 1/2 of the NWA-U Universal Tag Team Champions with Bash. Then, when Bash got injured, he chose the Bounty Hunter as his replacement and went right on chugging as champion until meeting the challenge of Texas, Inc. on May 19. The last sight we had of S2K was him standing victorious over a heavily lacerated Bounty Hunter, putting the blame for the loss of their tag team titles on his bloody face. That may also be the last we see of S2K in the state at all, since NWA-U has ceased activities and Spoiler competed exclusively for them in this state.
Current ranking: #28

16. Brandon Bishop. Another individual we probably won't see darkening our doors any time soon. Bishop had a Match of the Year contender against John Zorthos, the 2 of them bound together by a dog collar, at the first Oklahoma City IZW show. He was also a surprise partner for MSWA in their 10-man tag team elimination match the next month. But a falling out between Zorthos & Bishop led to Bishop stating on multiple message boards that he would not be returning to Oklahoma ever again. Too bad, as he was certainly one of the most popular competitors in the OKC area.
Current ranking: #20.

17. Romero Contreras: With the exception of losing the Sooner Stampede to crown the new NWA Oklahoma Champion, Romero is undefeated in Oklahoma so far this year. He's currently 1/2 of the FCW Tag Team Champions with Justin Lee. He gained a new throng of fans as "The Dark Match Main Event" in NWA-U and is still the hometown favourite for ComPro. Romero will be leading the effort to restart ComPro sometime in the future and can be counted on to be one of their star players, ready to make the fans smile and laugh.
Current ranking: #4

18. Shane Morbid: Shane has ventured back into tag team wrestling primarily, competing with Cast-Iron Cothern under the management of Boss Campbell. He also held the NWA-U Universal X Division Title for 1 day. He seems comfortable in tag team wrestling, but as always his attitude is nothing to inspire love and admiration from the fans. That's OK by him, though, as he revels in their displeasure. I suspect Morbid will see tag team gold sometime before the end of the year. And tag team success looks to be his best bet to a high ranking in the Top 50.
Current ranking: #18.

19. Cade Sydal. Sydal hasn't competed in Oklahoma since the demise of SRPW. There were rumours of him coming in to SWCW, but that hasn't panned out so far. "Crazy Legs" has been competing regularly in Texas.
Current ranking: unrated

20. Jack Dalton: He had a stellar match against Rocco Valentino last December at an NWA-U show. But he has only competed in an Oklahoma ring one time in 2007 when he was billed as Jack Nitro and tagged with Beau & Bobby Dalton against Trailer Park Trash in a Handicap Match. He's been busy over in Arkansas, though.
Current ranking: unrated.