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Will Griffin Repeat As #1?

Posted: Oct 24th 2009 By: CMBurnham

Last year, many people were surprised by the choice of Dane Griffin as the #1 wrestler in the Oklafan Top 50. But with as many matches as he competed in, it was hard not to place him as #1 in the list. And Griffin has not let up this year, putting together an impressive string of 57 matches in the Sooner State this year.

In that time, he's held both the MSWA Mid-South Tag Team Title and the IZW Impact Division Title. And, with less than 2 1/2 months remaining in the year, his win/loss record of 30-26-1 is impressive. But is it enough?

Talk has already begun regarding who will be ranked #1 this year and a lot of wrestlers believe they have done what it takes to qualify for that elusive top spot. Dane is one of those people, but just because he wrestles a lot doesn't mean he abides by the rules.

This past Sunday, after polishing off the Canadian Red Devil at the MSWA event in Midwest City, Griffin headed to Ada to compete at the NWA-OK event. His opponent was well known to him in the form of MSWA Mid-South Tag Team Champion Montego Seeka. Their careers had paralled each other quite a bit. Both men trained at the UWF06 centre and debuted approximately at the same time. Both men had been tag team champions and held secondary singles titles, but still hadn't claimed that top heavyweight title that everyone wanted.

With both men wanting to make an impression in this match, Seeka relied on his ability, charisma and talent. Griffin took a different approach. Although just as talented as Seeka, Griffin always wants an advantage and brought out a new valet, La Reina de Corazones. Reina would prove to be the difference in the match as, while Griffin turned the referee away from his opponent, she got into the ring and delivered a thunderous enziguri kick. Griffin was then able to follow up with a crossface for the win, moving himself up a notch in contention to new NWA-OK Oklahoma Champion Carnage.

Griffin's victory over Seeka in Ada wasn't his only confrontation wth Seeka that weekend. The previous night in Lawton, Griffin, together with Shane Rawls and under the guidance of Brad Michaels, got a victory over Seeka and his BLK-OUT partner, MSWA Oklahoma Champion Jermaine Johnson. Like his win in Ada, this win didn't come without lots of controversy.

3 wins in a weekend is a great accomplishment and the only blemish on Griffin's record was Friday night when he lost in a Triple Threat Match involving Bernie D and Johnny Z. Although the majority of the conflict was between those two, Johnny convinced Dane to forge an alliance. Johnny held Bernie for Griffin to give a superkick to, but Bernie ducked and Griffin kicked Johnny. Bernie then hit a Sky-High on Griffin for the win.

Still, even with that one loss, Griffin still remains a strong contender for the #1 position. But if it doesn't turn out to be Griffin, who might it be? Here is a short list of other top contenders for the #1 position:

Brandon Groom (53 matches 30-26-1): He holds the TOPW Oklahoma Title, was the #1 contender for the IZW Impact Division Title and appeared on ECW this year. Groom spent a lot of time in ComPro in the first half of the year, then made IZW his home for the remainder of the year. He also spent some time in MSWA, frequently tag teaming with Blake Albright. Aside from that, he's been a singles competitor. Groom has been out of action since the beginning of october and may not be able to wrestle again until the middle of November at the earliest. This unforseen absence may cost him his number one spot, or even a spot in the top ten if he is unable to return to the ring at the projected time.

The Canadian Red Devil (71 matches, 43-27-1). The current ComPro Showtime Champion turns up pretty much anywhere there is wrestling. A mainstay in ComPro, MSWA & MWA, he has made it his goal to wrestle in every active federation in the state before the end of the year. Primarily a singles competitor, he has formed tag teams with Damien Morte and Justin Lee this year. This past weekend, he successfully defended the Showtime title against Michael York, but lost to Griffin and Shane Rawls in seperate singles encounters.

Jermaine Johnson (55 matches, 29-25-1): He was hailed as the man to bring prestige back to the MSWA Oklahoma Title and one of the reasons is the incredible work ethic he shows. Whether soaking in the cheers of the IZW crowd or basking in the boos as a member of Impact, Inc. in MSWA, Johnson shows up and performs at his best level. Primarily thought of as a tag team wrestler, Johnson has held the GPCW Wichita Mountains Title as well as the MSWA Oklahoma Title. His partnership with Montego Seeka has brought him the most success and that was just as true this past weekend. He teamed with Seeka and Carnage to defeat Al Farat, Javier Hussein & Dominator on Friday in Cache, then lost to Shane Rawls & Dane Griffin in Lawton on Saturday. His weekend ended well in Midwest City, as he and Johnny Z dealt a loss to SWCW Champion Kevin Morgan and MSWA Mid-South & IZW Champion Aaron Neil, due to ther inability to get along.

Kevin Morgan (52 matches, 35-15-2): Absolutely dominant. He won the SWCW Title 2 times this year and is seen as a top contender to the MSWA Mid-South Title as well. Combine that with time spent in ComPro & IZW and he's well known around the state. While he began his career as a tag team competitor, he's primarily focused on singles wrestling, although he will tag up when necessary. He's not afraid to buck up to equally large (or larger) opponents, as he stood up to John O'Malley (the first Oklafan Top 50 #1) in Lawton Saturday and earned a win by DQ as O'Malley was more focused on hurting Morgan than winning. Then, his personal issues in MSWA cost him his focus in the match and dealt him a loss.

Aaron Neil (62 matches, 44-12-6): Neil is the only person to hold two Heavyweight Titles simultaneously this year, a feat he still can claim. He's been IZW Champion since Valentine's Day and a month after that, won the MSWA Mid-South Title. Neil is one of the most gifted performers for a man his size and takes pride in being the face and representative of a federation. His feud with Johnny Z is still at the forefront of his attention. Although he began his weekend with a win over IZW Impact Division Champion Randy Price, his Steel Cage match in Lawton against Johnny went to a No-Decision. He then took the absent Bad Boy's place in a tag team match with Kevin Morgan against Impact, Inc., but the discontinuity between the two made a victory nigh-on impossible.

Montego Seeka (50 matches, 26, 24, 0): The MSWA Mid-South Tag Team Champion has excelled in tag team competition, generally with either Jermaine Johnson (as BLK-OUT) or with Ky-ote Joe (as Aerial Assault). Seeka can hold his own in singles, but seems to prefer being part of a team. His record for Friday and Saturday were the same as Johnson, but on Sunday, Seeka & Joe successfully defended the MSWA Tag Team Titles against Nemesis by DQ before heading to Ada and his loss to Griffin.

Tags: Dane Griffin, MSWA, IZW, Canadian Red Devil, NWA-OK, Montego Seeka, UWF06, Carnage, Shane Rawls, Brad Michaels, Jermaine Johnson, Bernie D, Johnny Z, Brandon Groom, TOPW, ComPro, Blake Albright, MWa, Damien Morte, Justin Lee, Impact, Inc., GPCW, Al Farat