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The 2024 Oklafan Mid-Year Report

Posted: Jul 3rd 2024 By: CMBurnham

2024 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 2023 (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. Cappuccino Jones: The CPW 918 Champion has maintained his hold on that title, defending against a wealth of challengers through the end of May. He also has formed an oddball alliance with Justin Lee in WFC, though they have yet to receive an opportunity at the WFC Tag Team Titles. He and Romeo Reese lost the UWE Tag Team Titles at the beginning of the year and have made no effort to try to regain them. In fact, at the moment, it appears that Capp has reduced his active federations to CPW, WFC and TIW. And with CPW on hiatus possibly through November and TIW only running every other month, this severely reduces the opportunity for Capp to be seen in Oklahoma. He might want to consider branching out again to some other companies if he expects to repeat at the top of this list.
Current ranking: #15

2. Dan Webber: Webber is another mainstay of WFC, but he has yet to taste gold there. And while he has been a champion in UWE, he has not held a title there so far this year, though he appears to be in hot pursuit of UWE Champion Killbane. Unfortunately, Webber will not be able to try and reclaim any championship gold in WAH. When he lost his bid to try and be WAH Living Hope Champion, Co-Commissioner Robbie Awesome fired Webber from the company. But there was a recent bright spot for Webber as he beat Brandon Groom for the vacated ASP 5-Star Title on June 30th. Webber remains one of the most active competitors in Oklahoma and as long as he remains healthy, he should continue to be a top performer.
Current ranking: #5

3. Logan Knight: It's not been a kind year for Logan. He and Derek James were recently stripped of the BPW Oklahoma Tag Team Titles because Logan refused to return and defend them. He also relinquished the MajCW title after choosing to no longer compete for that company. Once a solid part of The Regime, after losing the CPW Tag Team Titles, he seemed to bear the brunt of the blame from Regime leader Merc. Legan sought to remedy that by winning the Any Time/Any Title contract, which he planned to cash in to regain the tag team titles. But Merc used it to secure a rematch for the CPW Title as Summer Sendoff and left Logan with nothing. His appearances at EPW have been sporadic at best. In fact his appearances in Oklahoma have been sporadic as, outside of CPW, most of his Oklahoma matches have been at the UWO dojo in front on zero fans. This is not to say he is not active as Logan is booked nearly every weekend. Just not in Oklahoma. And you can't be on the list if you're not active in the state.
Current ranking: unranked

4, Leo Fox: Leo has only competed in 4 matches in Oklahoma this year. At one point he held multiple different titles for companies, but chose to relinquish them when an opportunity to train with EC3 arose. This is certainly not a knock at Fox. He saw a chance to better himself and took it. But as stated before, you can't be on the list if you're not active in the state.
Current ranking: unranked

5. Mr. Nasty: Nasty and his alleged cousin, Eddie LeVaughn, held the WFC Tag Team Titles for the better part of 4 months this year. He also had a strong rivalry with Luke Langley in CPW. But neither of those things seem to have brought him any closer to a mountain top. Nasty can still compete with the best out there. But he is only competing about twice a month and seems to be comfortable in the northeast Oklahoma area. This limits the eyes on him and the opportunities the state provides him. He may want to rethink that approach.
Current ranking: #20

6. Derek James: James suffered the loss of the BPW Oklahoma Tag Team Titles due to his partner, Logan Knight, refusing to return to BPW and defend them. Knight's actions also cost him the CPW Tag Team Titles. He does remain a top contender for the UWO Title, but has yet to reclaim that belt. And he and Cade Fite have continued to make names for themselves in TIW and recently reentered WFC, though they have not secured a tag team title opportunity. At the moment, James appears rather directionless in many of the places he competes. He's on the verge of floundering into the mid-card...or lower. He needs to correct this.
Current ranking: unranked

7. Red James: Remember when Red James was the scourge of Oklahoma? Turning up anywhere and everywhere, causing problems, raising havoc, yelling his name and being a general nuisance? Well that certainly has changed. He does maintain his hold on the UWO Championship and it seems that he has decided to limit himself mostly to UWO and CPW competition. For someone who once was voted the Most Hated Wrestler of the Year, he now has become one of the most scarce wrestlers of the year. And if you aren't active in the state, it's hard to be on the list.
Current ranking: unranked

8. Tego: Now reembracing his full name of Montego Seeka, the "OG of Oklahoma" dominated action in EPW for almost 10 months, finally losing that title to Kevin James Sanchez in April. He and Romeo Reese also made some appearances for TexPro on their new Oklahoma based events. But like others in this list, Seeka appears to be directionless after losing the EPW Title. He does not appear to be returning to EPW and it is unclear what his direction intends to be going forward.
Current ranking: #22

9. The Lunchador: The food-loving luchador started the year as 1/2 of the WAH Tag Team Champions alongside the Canadian Red Devil. Hell's Kitchen held those belts until the end of March, dropping them to the Psychotic Messengers. Around that time, Lunchador was involved in an automobile accident which prevented him from competing for the next two months and he finally was able to return in June, reforming Hell's Kitchen and promising to regain the WAH Tag Team Titles. Injuries plague many wrestlers and are one of the most common and unfortunate sideliners of people in this business. Hopefully Lunchador can continue to bounce back from this.
Current ranking: unranked

10. Eddie LeVaughn/Eddie Lee Vaughn: It's really been a year of improvement for Eddie. A 4-month reign as WFC Tag Team Champion with his alleged cousin, Mr. Nasty was great for him. But perhaps his biggest achievement was dethroning Romeo Reese for the WAH Title, securing his first "main" championship in any company. LeVaughn is a constant for WFC, WAH, UWE and (as Lee Vaughn) TIW. His hard work is bringing improvement all over and is not going unnoticed.
Current ranking: #4

11. Malachi: On the surface, it seems like Malachi's story should be similar to Eddie LeVaughn's. He ended the career of Kevin James Sanchez and captured the EPW Title in the same match. He and Tank Bryson continue their dominance of WAH as the Tag Team Champions. He even logged a reign as the EPW Internet Television Champion for a couple of months at the beginning of the year. But the difference between Malachi and LeVaughn (and thus the reason for the difference in their rankings) is the amount of matches. Malachi is only working half as much as LeVaughn. And he is only this year establishing his identity as a singles wrestler. There is certainly time for Malachi to show up what he can do on his own. Hopefully he will show us great things.
Current ranking: #19

12. Devion Black: Devion is another one that has barely competed in Oklahoma this year. The vast majority of those matches have been for TexPro, where he holds the TexPro Tag Team Titles with Caine Carter. Black seems to be content in being exclusive to that company, though there have been whispers that he might make his way back to Northeast Oklahoma eventually.
Current ranking: #25

13. Koko: Another wrestler who at one point seemed to be EVERYWHERE in the state, Koko started the year as UWE Champion, losing that title to Killbane in March. He went on to team with the Canadian Red Devil to form the Canadian Rez Devils in April, capturing the CPW Tag Team Titles and holding them for about 2 months. But he is another wrestler who is suffering from injury and is awaiting clearance for a full return to the ring. In the meantime, he has been seen in an advisory capacity for the Lite Horsemen in WAH and recently came to the rescue of Dan Webber in UWE. Hopefully the news regarding Koko's health will be good and he can get back to in-ring dominance like he showed before.
Current ranking: unranked

14. Reese/Romeo Reese: Reese held the WAH Championship for the better part of 10 months before finally losing it to Eddie LeVaughn. He also was UWE Tag Team Champion with Cappuccino Jones at the beginning of the year, but quickly lost those. Outside of a few trips to TexPro, Reese seems happy to be basically a WAH exclusive now that GBK is no longer a thing at EPW. And with the impending arrival of a new child, Reese may be taking an extended time away from the ring, fulfilling his duties as a father.
Current ranking: #14

15. Trench Blythe: No one current in Oklahoma shows he heart and passion that Trench Blythe does. And no one has accumulated the accolades that he has this year. He is coming close to a 1-year reign as WAH Spotlight Champion. He captured the EPW International Title in June and the CPW Tag Team Titles with Badger James at the end of May. He also held the BPW Lion Heart Champion, but lost that at the very end of June. Badger can be seen virtually every weekend somewhere in Oklahoma, either surrounded by his Black Flag Rising brothers or carving pathways of his own. He never complains. He never disappoints. He is, quite simply, the best Oklahoma currently has to offer.
Current ranking: #1

16. Alex Royal: It's such a contradiction in terms. Royal started the year as the WFC Hometown Heroes Champion and lost that in February. He then laid claim to the only title he had never held in WFC, the Prime Title, and still holds that belt. But his record for 2024 is not very impressive past that. Loss after loss plagues Royal. And champions are expected to be better than that. Every year, Royal has managed to secure a Year-End Award. This may be the first year that doesn't happen.
Current ranking: unranked

17. Tank Bryson: Another victim of the injury bug, Bryson is out with a shoulder injury, but expects to be cleared by the end of July. This meant he had to relinquish the EPW International Title, though he was allowed to maintain the WAH Tag Team Title. Like his partner, Malachi, Bryson looks to be establishing himself as a singles competitor in EPW. Can he achieve the same heights as "The Saviour of Suffering"? Might it lead to a break-up of the Psychotic Messengers? Only time will tell.
Current ranking: #13

18. Merc: The CPW Champion always has a gameplan. He took the Any Time/Any Title contract from Logan Knight and cashed it in himself to regain the CPW Title from Nathan Estrada. His narcissistic mentality continues to cause problems in CPW, even amongst his own followers. Unfortunately, his ventures to TexPro have not brought the same success for him in terms of championship gold nor have his appearances at TIW. And with CPW on hiatus, he needs to find something else to put meaning in his career
Current ranking: #36

19. El Gallardo/San La Muerte/El Vaquero: Gallardo (who has returned to competing exclusively under that name) has made very sporadic appearances in Oklahoma this year, mostly at WAH. He is another one that at one point, held multiple titles across different federations and now finds himself directionless and looking for something to bring meaning to his in-ring appearances. This really seems to have been an ongoing issue for him since the dissolution of Dark Forces. Hopefully he can find what he needs soon.
Current ranking: unranked

20. Beau Betten/The Wolf of War: Beau looks to have abandoned the Wolf of War persona. He had made one appearance in February before disappearing from the Oklahoma scene. He turned back up in June at UWO for a Dojo training taping. It seems that Beau is intending to return at UWO. Could this be the beginning of the return of The Beau Show? Or will he experience complete cancellation? It's really up to Beau and will be a test of his drive and desire for this business.
Current ranking: unranked.