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The 2017 Oklafan Mid-Year Report

Posted: Jul 7th 2017 By: Oklafan Staff

2017 is almost 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 2016 (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. Drake Gallows. A lot has gone right for Drake in 2017. He began the year as 1/2 of the MSWA Mid-South Tag Team Champions with Dean Lambert, although that title reign would end quickly at the hands of the Lynch Mob. He also recently became the inaugural ASP Champion and has defended that title on MSWA and BCW cards. And he and close friend Sam Stackhouse are top contenders to the WFC Tag Team Titles. Additionally, Gallows seems to have reasserted his interest in reclaiming the MSWA Mid-South Title that he lost a little over a year ago. Competing in 3 feds regularly is admirable, but a guy like Gallows could probably be doing a little bit more. He has made some ventures into Kansas and Texas and that does take away from his time in Oklahoma. Good for him, unfortunate for his ranking. This may be a vital year for Gallows and the future of his career.
Current ranking: #5

#2: Double D. The attitude change that was seen in D towards the end of last year does not seem to be going away. And it also does not seem to be helping him much. His feud with Randy Price for the IZW Impact Division Title generate a Match of the Year contender, but it also sees him without that title at the current moment. He has made monthly appearances for MSWA and will have the opportunity to face MVP at the MSWA Mid-South Justice event at the end of July. But he has not been able to secure a title there, despite having had multiple runs as MSWA Heavyweight and Oklahoma Champion. Also, since IZW was not running a weekly schedule for most of the first half of the year, this gave D the opportunity to branch out into other federations. But except for a few appearances at ComPro, which led to nothing, D has been content to enjoy the time off, except for his ventures out to Tennessee to defend the NWA Southern Junior Heavyweight Title. For a guy who once wrestled twice a week regularly, it seems like he is cutting back. And this doesn't bode well for the former 3-time #1 in the Top 50.
Current ranking: #25

3. Mr. Nasty. With the change of attitude from Tim Rockwell, Mr. Nasty now stands as the face of WFC. Despite that, he has never been able to secure the WFC Heavyweight Title. He did, however, enter 2017 as the UWE Heavyweight Champion, although that reign was recently cut short by Riker. And after pursuing it for most of the year, he finally beat Cody Burns for the BPPW Oklahoma Title....only to lose that Sam Stackhouse just minutes later. Gold seems to slide through Nasty's hands like water. And whether he fights on the side of the angels (like in WFC) or the devil (like in BPPW), defeat seems to catch up to Nasty more often than victory. Nasty needs to refocus so that hopefully the second half of 2017 will be better for him than the first.
Current ranking: #8

4. Skylar Slice. Last year was the year that female competitors at ComPro showed everyone that girls could be just as powerful as boys. But this year, one of two things seems to have happened. Either outside federations have taken note and Oklahoma women have gotten more bookings outside the state than in, or the interest seems to have burned itself out. For Slice, it is certainly more of the former, as she has competed on cards as near as Texas and as far away as Chicago. And while doing so, she was able to become the first IZW Women's Champion as well as maintain her reign as the initial ComPro Ladies champion. Both both those titles are now things of the past. And with lots of attention on Slice, her appearances in Oklahoma seem to become fewer and fewer. Hopefully, that means great things for her in the near future.
Current ranking: #44

5. Nathan Estrada. While everyone seems to be paying attention to Skylar Slice, her husband has become almost invisible. He entered 2017 as the ComPro Champion, but in his first title defence he lost that to Brian Breaker and then became essentially a non-entity. He did have the opportunity to challenge MSWA Mid-South Champion Prince Mahalli for his title in a Triple Threat Match with Carlito, but that didn't lead to victory for him as well. Despite his local frustrations, Estrada has also been making inroads outside the state, mostly across the southern states. It's good to see that Estrada is not letting the frustration get to him, but it's unfortunate that such a talented individual isn't more prominently figured in the state.
Current ranking: 40

6. Aaron Neil. Aaron lost a Loser-Leaves-IZW Match to Johnny Z in February and has not competed in the state since then. There are some competitors, mostly members of the Future Hall of Famers, who suggest that The Midnite Rider is actually Neil, but that has not been proven.
Current ranking: Unranked


7. Jon Cross. Cross last competed in September, 2017, where he lost the WFC Title to Tim Rockwell. After that, he revealed that he had some injuries which had been plaguing him for most of 2016 and that forced him into retirement.
Current ranking: Unranked

8. Riker. What a year it has been for Riker. First, he supplants Mr. Nasty for the UWE Title. Then, he reforms The Rising and they capture the BPPW Oklahoma Tag Team Titles. And to top it all off, he wins the 2017 Ryder Herring Memorial Cup Tournament. Be it singles or tag team, Riker has been on top of his game. Really, the only reason that he is not ranked #1 is because there were weeks that went by without him competing at all, but if he continues to perform at UWE, WFC and BPPW, and maybe looks into some other federations such as MSWA or IZW, he is almost guaranteed to be at the top of the list come the end of the year.
Current ranking: #2

9. Steven Cruze. What happened to this guy? It seemed like last year he was on the path to capturing the ComPro Title. Now? He hasn't competed as ComPro since the end of May. He has attempted to form some tag teams in WFC, both with Fuel and Lance Osburn, but that has led nowhere. Inroads have been made into UWE, but it's too early to see if that will pan out anywhere. All of this just screams that Cruze is completely directionless at the moment. He needs something (or someone?) to get him back on track before the end of the year.
Current ranking: Unranked

10. Erica. Long looked at as the veteran of the current female competitors in Oklahoma, Erica has reverted to her evil ways much like her paramour, Double D. And like D, it hasn't brought her the most success. She did capture the IZW Women's Title from Skylar Slice, but recently lost it to Robyn Reid and the two of them have been engaged in a very intense rivalry for that belt. She has also made appearances in MSWA, but does not seem to be getting any closer to winning the MSWA Ladies Title. And her forays into ComPro brought her about as much success as D, which is to say, almost none. Fresh competition is something that Erica craves, but it doesn't seem like much is coming her way instate. It might be best for her to look to more options out of state.
Current ranking: #29

11. Damien Morte. The Future Hall of Famers member has been essentially an IZW exclusive and he and Rage Logan spent most of the first half of 2017 as the IZW Tag Team Champions until being unseated by the Beach Bod Gods. Morte suffered a dislocated jaw during a match a couple of months ago and tried to fight through the pain, but has been out of action for all of June and part of May recuperating from that. He will need to heal up quickly if he intends to finish out the year as highly ranked as he was in 2016.
Current ranking: Unranked

12. Brock Landers. Brock has certainly undergone quite a lot of change in 2017. Last year, he became the only person to hold the MSWA Oklahoma and MSWA Cruiserweight TItles at the same time. This year, he has gone through the transformation to a tag team wrestler, guiding himself and Grizzly Gates to the MSWA Mid-South Tag Team Titles. He also seems to have embraced the fans (certainly a side effect of his association with Gates), at least at MSWA, though he is still not on their side in ASP. Landers seems content to compete in the OKC area, although he has made a couple of ventures into Tulsa for ComPro and BPPW. More travel would help him here as it is never safe to get to caught up in your comfort zone.
Current ranking: #16

13. Spyder: One of the most popular competitors in BPPW, Spyder captured the BPPW Oklahoma Title from Sam Stackhouse in March. But he only held it for a little over a month before losing it back to Stackhouse and he was then sidelined for quite a while recuperating from injuries. He has made a couple of ventures down to MSWA, but does not seem serious about competing down there. Spyder has always been content to be a big fish in a small pond, but that will not help him as much this year.
Current ranking: #26

14. Nikki Knight: Another example of the decline of women's wrestling in this state. Knight is a dual champion in Oklahoma, holding the ASP Women's Title and the ComPro Ladies Title. But women's wrestling is all but dead at ComPro and her opponent did not show up for her title defence at the last ASP event. Knight also holds two women's titles outside of Oklahoma and, as was mentioned with Slice and Erica before, it might be best for her to look there for frequent competition.
Current ranking: #32

15. C. J. Ward. Last year saw Ward shoot to the top of the Cruiserweight division in MSWA. This year, Ward has his eyes on several prizes. Topmost of these appears to be the MSWA Mid-South Title currently held by Prince Mahalli. It seems like every time that Mahalli thinks he has rid himself of Ward, the tenacious competitor finds a way to earn a title opportunity again. Additionally, Ward has made inroads into IZW, where he hopes that his No-Gimmicks-Needed approach will bring him the IZW Impact (Impact.....Impact....Impact...) Division Title. And, he has even shown up in WFC and hopes to be involved there more often. All this from someone who is just entering his second year of competition. Things look very bright for this young star if he continues to be aggressive the way he currently is.
Current ranking: #10

16. Dean Lambert. The brass ring just keeps slipping through the fingers of Lambert. After losing the MSWA Mid-South Tag Team Titles, Lambert has recently focused on capturing the MSWA Oklahoma Title from Father Padge. But every opportunity he has been given has resulted in a loss for "The Misfit". He also formed a tag team with Maddox Jones in WFC, but their pairing went nowhere and rumour has it that they have broken up behind the scenes. Like Steven Cruze, Lambert seems to be in need of guidance and motivation. Otherwise his career may be over before it really begins.
Current ranking: Unranked

17. The Canadian Red Devil. There are those who might tell you that CRD's career is now over. But CRD hasn't given everything up yet. Despite losing the ComPro Title to Nathan Estrada at the end of 2016, CRD found new ventures to focus on. He is undefeated in ASP (yet was not included as one of the 6 competitors to crown the initial ASP Champion). He has made a few sporadic appearances in MSWA. He seems to have recently returned to WFC and has announced he will also be competing for UWE in their Sooner Stampede. And try as he might, he is desperately locked in an issue with BPPW Co-Commissioner C. M. Burnham to get a contract to become a full-time competitor there. So, although it's scattered, he is still a presence on the Oklahoma wrestling scene. But by his own admission, he is at best part-time, so his ranking has to reflect that.
Current ranking: #38

18. Tyson Jaymes. Last year was possibly the best year of Tyson's career in Oklahoma. He took on the role of the guiding veteran and led himself and Will Chambers to the MSWA Mid-South Tag Team Titles. They even recaptured those belts at the beginning of 2017. But when Chambers left wrestling to pursue MMA, Jaymes seems to have become directionless. He is still a fixture on the MSWA cards, but that's about it. And his win-loss record this year is nothing to brag about. Jaymes needs to find that fire again before the year passes him by.
Current ranking: Unranked

19. Mr. Barnes. 2016 was the pinnacle for Mr. Barnes. 2017 has seen him absent more than present, most due to an automobile accident caused by a seizure. Barnes recently announced his retirement from the sport and competed in his final match against Buster Cherry on June 30th. He has been named Commmisioner of MSWA, so he will not be gone from the company. But he is no longer an active competitor.
Current ranking: Unranked

20. Gavin Dixon. Like Steven Cruze, the lack of success for this individual is baffling. Someone with a grappling background should be at the top of any company he competes for, but Dixon can sometimes be his own worst enemy. Most of his time in 2017 has been spent in ComPro, with a few excursions to MSWA and BCW. But all that time in ComPro has only yielded a feud with Morrison. Not title runs. No recognition. And Dixon may even have started to feel the frustration as he has not been as regular a competitor in the past couple of months as he was before. Perhaps it is time for Dixon to look back to IZW or to be more regular at MSWA. It would be a shame to lose another talented competitor due to a lack of challenge.