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The Oklafan 2023 Mid-Year Report

Posted: Jul 4th 2023 By: Oklafan Staff

2023 is over halfway done and we at Oklafan.com are pleased to release The Mid-Year Report. In this report, we'll look at the top 20 wrestlers of 2022 (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. Dan Webber. Webber won the UWE Title twice in 2023, though he aligned with Mike Andrews to get that done. He also captured the BPW Oklahoma Tag Team Title with Morrison at the end of April. In addition to his seemingly never-ending issues with Koko, he also has been in a prolonged feud in WAH with Conner Smith, which probably should have ended by this point. There may also be fractures with Webber and the rest of the Dojo in WFC as he was not able to win the Ryder Cup Tournament and his actions led to Justin Lee losing the WFC Hometown Heroes Title. Overall, Webber doesn't seem as dominant as he was last year. Still a strong participant, but is he the "Top Guy" of the state? Not at this point. But maybe 6 months will make a difference.

Current ranking: #20

2. Koko. Koko regained the CPW title, though he was not able to take it away from the man he lost it to, Franco Varga. Nonetheless, he sits atop CPW once again. He continues to have issues with Dan Webber in UWE and made what appears to be a full-time return to WFC in the Freedom Rings Rumble. He also challenged Rush Freeman for the WAH Title. All this after Koko seemed to withdraw from a lot of wrestling in the first half of the year. Hopefully this newly reinvigorated spirit will pay off for him by the time 2023 closes out

Current ranking: #35

3. Derek James. James has been heavily focused on the tag team scene in Oklahoma for the first half of this year. He held the BPW Oklahoma Tag Team Title with Cade Fite and Leo Fox for most of the first half of 2023. And he and Logan Knight brought gold to The Regime in CPW by winning the Tag Team Titles, thanks in part to the betrayal of the fans by Skylar Slice. Tag Team gold is great, but Derek still has aspirations to reassert himself as a singles competitor. He wants to regain the UWO Title that he lost almost a year ago. And it seems quite likely that he would like to embed his name a champion in a company that he has never held gold in before. A few wins here and there in a tag team is not like a dominant run as a singles competitor.

Current ranking: #43

4. Luke Richmond. On the plus side, Richmond captured the NCWO United States Title in April. But that was the last time that NCWO ran an event and they have no other events scheduled until October. Additionally, try as he might, Richmond was not able to take the BPW Oklahoma Title from Brandon Groom. He has fallen out of contention for that belt, though he has been granted a shot at the BPW Lion Heart Title at their July event. Richmond seems rather directionless at this point. He is not making waves in CPW The main companies he works for are not running more than a few shows in Oklahoma this year. Richmond needs to make some inroads swiftly in order to let everyone understand that he is a serious threat to whoever their champions (or other roster members) are.

Current ranking: Unranked

5. Tommy Dean. Tommy only competed in 4 matches in Oklahoma in the first half of the year, taking time away to address some personal issues. His return to CPW was a surprise to all, including Nathan Estrada who he immediatly jumped into a feud with. Dean appears to be back for good, revitalised and ready to once again show why he is one of the best in the state.

Current ranking: unranked

6. Reese/Romeo Reese. Reese spent almost the entire first half of the 2023 as 1/2 of the WAH Tag Team Champions. He also seems to be looking to put UWE Tag Team gold around his waist with his somewhat unexpected partnership with Cappuccino Jones. And he must be regarded as a threat in MajCW as part of Kinzer Keel's group. With Dark Forces forced to disband, one has to wonder what the future will hold for him there. Reese has often seemed to thrive best when surrounded by a group. Is there somewhere that he can fit in or will we finally see Reese stand on his own two feet?

Current ranking: #27

7. Sam Stackhouse. The BCW Champion continues to make waves and get his name out there with GCW. And despite all the time he spends in Texas, he was still finding time for a couple of companies in Oklahoma. That may all be over, though, as some behind-the-scenes activity surrounding his Death Match with Morrison led Sam to declare that he would not be competing in Oklahoma any more. Obviously, he hasn't totally cut off his appearances and he even made a recent return to WFC, but don't expect to see him as much as he used to be here. Good for the world of wrestling. Bad for the Oklahoma fans unless you happen to make it to one of the select shows he chooses to be on.

Current ranking: : #32

8. Johnny Dynamite. The WFC Tag Team Champion has basically been a WFC exclusive. Their second reign as tag team champions has been very successful and Dynamite even garnered an opportunity at the WFC Hometown Heroes Title against Justin Lee before Lee lost the title to Alex Royal. What Dynamite hasn't shown is a great aptitude for singles competition. His partner made it to the finals of the Ryder Herring Memorial Cup Tournament. But Dynamite wasn't even invited to compete. As long as they hold tag team gold, things look good for him. But when that reign ends, does Dynamite try for a third title reign? Or does he look to finally showcase his singles skills?

Current ranking: unranked

9. Malachi. It's been a long time since any team has held 3 tag team titles in Oklahoma. And Malachi, along with Tank Bryson, have put together a Triple Crown Tag Team Title run which seems to almost lock them as Tag Team of the Year. Unlike other competitors I've mentioned who are tag team wrestlers, Malachi has been dominant in his matches. If he can have this level of success as a tag team competitor, could he duplicate this as a singles wrestler? That question needs to be in the back of everyone's head before facing him in the ring.

Current ranking: #8

10. Adrian Vega. Vega's had a busy year outside the ring with the birth of his child happening right before the new year began. He was EPW All-American Champion for over 6 months before dropping that title to Devion Black in April. Unfortunately, he injured himself in that match and only recently reported that his doctor had cleared him to begin training again. Hopefully he can return to the ring and capture more gold before the end of the year.

Current ranking: unranked

11. Mr. Nasty. The title picture for Nasty was both successful and somewhat unfulfilling to him. He formed an impromptu tag team with Alex Royal in UWE called Royal Pimpin' and captured the UWE Tag Team Titles from Southern Aristocracy. He challenged Mascara Purpura for the CPW 918 Title, ending the luchador's 1-year title reign. But lost it the same night to Red James when James cashed in his Any Time/Any Title contract. And Nasty was unable to take the BCW Title from Sam Stackhouse at the most recent BCW event. Nasty is always a star no matter where he goes and is never one to suffer fools gladly. Disposing of people like Tommy Dean and Eddie LeVaughn has not been difficult for him. Hopefully, disposing of title holders and picking up their gold will be just as easy in the near future.

Current ranking: #21

12. Johnny Lightning. The other half of the WFC Tag Team Champions showed his singles prowess by making it all the way to the finals of the 2023 Ryder Herring Memorial Cup Tournament before losing to Alex Royal. And if it had not been for the actions of Snowman Enterprises after Lightning's victory in the semi-finals, he might have been the winner of the whole thing. Lightning seems perched on the precipice of being a singles champion at some point in the future. He might benefit in exploring some other companies besides WFC to make his way in to to increase his odds of that happening.

Current ranking: #29

13. Tego

The "Heat Seeker" has really changed his approach to pro wrestling since the end of last year and the death of his tag team partner Jermaine Johnson. Since then, Tego captured the TexPro Oklahoma and TexPro Texas Titles and held them for much of the first half of 2023. He is also making waves in EPW and seems to be eyeing gold there, either for himself or perhaps in a tag team with his old Terror Squad partner Marce Lewis. Tego's abilities are never in question and with as much experience as he has gained in over 15 years of competition, he should be a strong threat to anyone he steps in the ring against.

Current ranking: #15

#14: Brawler Morrison. He has dropped the "Brawler" and now just uses his last name. The current UWO Champion has been on an absolute rampage in this state and has made serious inroads into Texas as well. Adopting more of a shooter style in the ring, he and Dan Webber finally captured the BPW Oklahoma Tag Team Titles from Subject To Death. With two titles around his waist, Morrison has plenty of opponents eying him in this state. But he has shown he can survive basically anything thrown at him, including being the winner of Oklahoma's first Death Match. Can Morrison be as successful in the second half of the year as he was for the first? With him, anything is possible.

Current ranking: #4

#15: Logan Knight. He won the EPW Title from Gemini [2nd] in a classic match. He was the inaugural MajCW Flawless Champion and utilised the Flawless Clause to obtain a MajCW Title opportuntiy for himself in July. He and Derek James captured the CPW Tag Team Titles, bringing titles to the Regime. All in all, it's been quite the year for "The Spotlight" and it's only halfway done. Knight came out victorious in a 30-minute Iron Man Match in WAH, positioning himself to challenge Rush Freeman for the WAH Title, but was not able to capture that. There are still some goals Logan should achieve and if he does, he might find himself sitting atop the mountain here in Oklahoma.

Current ranking: #17


16. Skylar Slice. Skylar turned her back on the CPW fans when she betrayed Drake Gallows and joined the Regime. Her motivation for this remains unclear, but perhaps it was jealousy because she could never capture the CPW Women's Title. It's one of the few women's titles in Oklahoma that she has never held. Slice's appearances out side of CPW have been few this year, though she did appear recently at a BCW event. She holds championship gold in Texas and has been regularly competing in Colorado as well. Never count her out as he does hold the record for the highest-ranked woman on the Top 50 (at #4).

Current ranking: unranked


17. Thrash. Talk about being born under a bad sign. Thrash has been a WFC exclusive for a little over a year now. He won the Freedom Rings Rumble in 2022, but was not able to win the WFC Title. He won the WFC Hometown Heroes Title in 2022, but lost it about an hour later when Reed, who won the Ryder Herring Memorial Cup Tournament that year, cashed in on him. And this year, he finally captured the WFC Prime Title after winning a Hair-vs-Title match against Jason Jones, only to lose the belt less 6 week later to Dustin Tibbs. That's one of the problems with putting all your eggs in one basket: If that basket doesn't hold together, your eggs aren't worth anything. Thrash could be a star anywhere he wanted to. He has been before. Perhaps its time for him to reinvestigate some options out there.

Current ranking: unranked

18. Malik Mayfield. Like his former Chosen Influence Tag Team Partner Luke Richmond, Malik has suffered to a certain extent because the federations he calls home aren't running as many events as they used to. But Malik was able to capitalise in several ways that Richmond hasn't been. He and Olivier Vegos captured the CPW Tag Team Titles in April. He has been making regular appearances at EPW and Tex Pro, where he has returned after a vicious attack from Devion Black. Mayfield has been a solid singles competitor before and can be so again. He has reinvented himself as "The Moment", but now needs to capitalise on that name for himself. His moment is waiting out there. Once he finds it, he can shine so brightly.

Current ranking: unranked

19. Nova Phoenix. The single most dominant woman in Oklahoma wrestling today. She won the UWO Women's Title last year and is still champion 9 months later. She also held the CPW Women's Title, though she lost that in Oklahoma's first women's cage match. Everywhere Phoenix goes, she proves why there are so few that can stand up to her in the ring. And if Oklahoma allowed women to compete against men, she would be even more dominant. Could this be the year that a woman tops the Top 50?

Current ranking: #2

20. Tim Rockwell. As has been the case for the past 11 years, Rockwell's primary concern in Oklahoma is WFC. He's made one-off appearances in other places, but WFC is his company. The only other company he is regularly appearing for is MStW in Arkansas. So, kind of like Thrash, he is putting all his eggs in one basket. But unlike Thrash, who seems to have a giant cloud of poor luck hanging over him, Rockwell may be creating his own bad luck. He could have won the Ryder Herring Cup, but gave his spot to Alex Royal. He could have one the Freedom Rings Rumble, but gave his spot to Thrash. Being benevolent has its place, but sometimes you have to look out for #1. And Rockwell knows what it's like to be #1, even though he hasn't been there for 15 years. Will Rockwell's generosity pay off for him or will he find himself looking around, wondering where things went wrong? If it's the latter, he might want to look back at this article to figure it out.

Current ranking: #49