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The 2019 Oklafan Mid-Year Report

Posted: Jul 10th 2019 By: CMBurnham

2019 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 2018 (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. Paul Puertorico: The MSWA Mid-South Champion has had a bit of a rough-and-tumble first half of 2019. For most of that time, he was also the WFC Champion, though he lost that title in January to Malico. HE regained in in February in the first ever "Who's Your Daddy?" match, then engaged in a feud with Double D. Over at MSWA, he continued his ongoing feud with V.A.N.G.O.H., teaming with Bad Boy & Jim Duggan to gain a victory over them. But then things began to fall apart. He and Gemini [2nd] entered the Tom Jones Tag Team invitational tournament, which was to crown new MSWA Mid-South Tag Team Champions. But miscommunication between himself and Gemini resulted in the Gorgeous MDs defeating them and advancing to the next round. Then, Puertorico was attacked backstage by Wesley Crane on the first night of the Ryder Herring Memorial Cup Tournament and rendered unable to compete, forcing him to relinquish the WFC Title. Puertorico is supposed to defend the Mid-South Title against Xavior on July 19th, but if he is still not cleared to compete, he may lose both belts through no fault of his own.
Current ranking: #9

#2. Double D: While things looked bleak for Paul Puertorico, there's been little to frown about for Double D. Puertorico's loss was his gain as he defeated Drake Gallows for the vacant WFC Title and became the only current Triple Crown Champion in Oklahoma so far in 2019. His reign as MSWA eXpress Champion seems to see no end in sight and will soon surpass the 1 year mark. And he beat Gavin Dixon for the vacant EmpCW Title on April 20th. Of course, D will say that he did all this himself, but that is not the truth, as Erica was with him for all of this and was a vital part in his success in all of this. Sadly, we at Oklafan do not condone such actions and while holding 3 separate titles in 3 federations is remarkable, the means by which he won and continues to maintain them is less than admirable.
Current ranking: #5

#3. Drake Gallows. Quite a busy year for Drake. No one has had more matches in 2019 than he has (26 at the time of this writing, which equals an average of once per week). He has added another reign as BCW Buzzsaw Champion to his resume as well as the KCW National Title and the ASP & BPW Oklahoma Tag Team Titles. Really, the only thing that he truly wants to put in his possession that has not made it there is the WFC Title. Try as he might, Gallows just cannot seem to figure out how to overcome either Paul Puertorico or Double D & Erica. Still, Drake's determination as well as his popularity with the crowd makes him recognisable all over the state. And we feel confident that Drake will have achieved his goal of being WFC Champion (and whatever other goals he may have set for himself) before this time next year.
Current ranking: #1

#4: Gemini [2nd]/Gemini Blue: This Space Age member won the Any Time/Any Title contract at the beginning of the year and this looks to have been more of a curse than a blessing. With Paul Puertorico being the MSWA Champion, the obvious target for Gemini was his fellow Space Age member. This caused problems between the two in the Tom Jones Tag Team Invitational Tournament and resulted in Space Age being eliminated. In WFC, Space Age ended up on the losing end of a feud with Mr. Durden's Pandemonium Sideshow and also could not capitalise on the open challenge issued by WFC Hometwon Heroes Champion J. D. He did get revenge on Wesley Crane for his actions against Puertorico by defeating Crane to advance in the Ryder Cup, but was then defeated by Graham Bell. Perhaps most shocking of all, at the recent LLR events in Oklahoma and Tulsa, Gemini & Elijah Sparks represented Space Age. Again, as with Paul Puertorico, Gemini had some miscommunication with Sparks that cost them their match against #DexStar Hardaway & Doc Black in Oklahoma City. The next night, they were able to stick together and defeat the Gorgeous MDs, but in a video posted online, Elijah seemingly turned from Superhero to Super Villain by attacking Gemini backstage, causing him a spinal injury and forcing him out of action for an unknown amount of time. Truthfully, besides winning the Any Time Contract, it has not been a great year for Gemini and it looks like it may be over now.
Current ranking: #30

#5: Fuel. Oklafan recently speculated whether Fuel was overextending himself. He is one-half of the NAW Tag Team Champions with Running Wolf, but has not been showing up to defend that title as often as would be expected. He was UWE Champion until Alex Royal revealed his true colours at the most recent UWE event, rejoining the Proclamation and taking the UWE Title with him while also causing serious injury to Fuel in a post-match attack. But most of 2019, Fuel has been embroiled in a feud with Tim Rockwell. A feud that went beyond the wrestling ring, that saw both men invade each others' wrestling shows and come close to having to have authourities called to restrain them. They were able to resolve those differences in the OKX event, but has it cost Fuel too much? Part of that may not be known until he is able to return to the ring and there does not appear to be a timeline for that.
Current ranking: #22

#6: Sam Stackhouse. Interesting year for the big man. He remains a member of the BPW Oklahoma Tag Team Champions The Payroll, though he did lose the BPW Oklahoma Title at the beginning of the year to Tommy Dean. He also won the UWE Tag Team Titles with Drake Gallows, but had those taken away from him by Dustin McGowan. And in WFC, he made Alex Royal drink tap water, which may be his biggest accomplishment of all of these. Additionally, Sam has remained regularly active, though he does seem at the moment to be more focused on just having fun (and proving he does not have to have Drake with him to be successful) than anything else. It's working for him, but will it continue to do so through the rest of the year?
Current ranking: #3

#7: Dusty Gold. Gold has only competed in 1 match this year, being a member of Team McGowan and losing to Team Doggins at the OKX event in May. He is currently focusing on his career in Texas and Arkansas.
Current ranking: unrated

#8: Alex Royal. Last year was a banner year for Royal as he won more Year-End awards than any other wrestler. This year looks to be even better. He reformed his partnership with J. D. and won the UWE Tag Team Titles (though they only held them for a matter of a few minutes, which might have been Royal's plan all along). He then turned his back on the UWE fans at the end of June and recaptured the UWE Title for a 3rd time. He is still a strong member of the Villains in WFC, though he did suffer the embarrassing loss to Sm Stackhouse which resulted in him having to drink tap water. His next big challenge? Facing his best friend, manager and What Can You Offer podcast partner, Jon Cross. Cross won the 2019 Sooner Stampede and won the right to challenge the UWE Champion at Showdown in October. Can Royal prove that he is better than the student?
Current ranking: #4

#9: Tommy Dean. The man who many consider the Cinderella of pro wrestling finally got to go to the ball in BPW, winning the Ticket to the Top Ladder Match and cashing it in on Sam Stackhouse for the BPW Oklahoma Title in January. He has been a fighting champion since that time and has been takne under the wing of Luke Langley. At the most recent BPW event, Langley issued a challenge to Dean for that title and that will be Dean's biggest test when that match happens at the end of July. Dean remains a solid competitor in WFC and recently reentered UWE as well. It seems like he just needs to right set of circumstances to be successful, but Dean has never been one to run from challenges.
Current ranking: #6

#10: Aeronaut. The masked member of Space Age has not been seen in an Oklahoma ring since the end of 2018. His whereabouts are currently unknown.
Current ranking; unrated

#11: Anarchy [2nd]. Not a bad year so far for Anarchy on his own. He lost the NAW Lightweight Title to his brother, Fuel, but regained hit from him before losing it to Michael Duplanti. He reigned as UWE Apex Champion for the better part of the first half of 2019 until Zakk Sinizter defeated him for that tile in May. He still maintains a partnership with Brett Irons as the Black Flag Brigade, but seems to have put that pairing and any tag team aspirations in UWE on the back burner. Anarchy remains what he has always been: outspoken, in your face and most importantly, his own man. Where he goes and what he chooses to do will always be up to him.
Current ranking: #13

#12. Wesley Crane. The man with one of the most recognisable entrances in Oklahoma wrestling has spent quite a bit of time outside the state this year. After taking about 3 months off for the birth of his third child, he returned at OKX to compete in one of the most violent matches seen in Oklahoma as he faced Malico in a Monster's Ball match. Content at the moment to show up as he will, Crane is not really engaged in any chase for a title or any feud. He just wants to cause torment and shock as he can. Most of Wes' time is currently spent in Texas and this is prohibiting him from being recognised on this list.
Current ranking: unrated

#13. Luke Langley/Clint Langley. Langley has had what can only be described as the best year of his career in Oklahoma. He won the Ryder Cup Tournament, beating his tag team partner Graham Bell in the finals. He competed in a 45-minute classic against Jon Cross which many are already calling hte Match of the Year. The only things left for him to do are 1) win a singles title before the end of the year and 2) have more matches than any other wrestler in Oklahoma. He's currently only 2 matches behind Drake Gallows for most matches and he has opportunities on his plate for the WFC Hometown Heroes Title and the BPW Oklahoma Title. Promoters understand that Langley delivers no matter where he goes. Can he go to the top of this list in the next 6 months?
Current ranking: #2

#14. Canadian Red Devil. The streak may be over. No one else has appeared in EVERY Top 50 since the beginning in 2005 except CRD. But that accomplishment may be over this year. CRD lost the ASP Mid-American Title to Angel Camacho and has not been seen in ASP since. He is almost exclusively a WFC competitor, where he finally bested Lockdown in a Submission match, but has not really accomplished much else of note. But this has happened before and CRD has often returned from summer break re-energized and ready to continue entertaining the fans the best way he knows how.
Current ranking: unrated

#15. Killer Cross/Draven. For such a big man, Draven really ends up being almost more bark than bite. Recently, it seemed like Draven would be the man to put Mr. Durden's Pandemonium Sideshow on the map at WFC. He put together an undefeated streak and was truly an unstoppable force. But recently, the Sideshow has chosen to take a step back, more content to play mindgames than win actual matches. Draven, or should I say "Killer Cross", has regularly teamed with Korvin Sage in MSWA, but that segment of V.A.N.G.O.H. has not been overly successful. Draven recently turned back up in UWE, where he aligned himself with Sideshow member Samedi and fellow returnee Akuma Jones in Samedi's feud with Bishop Nasty. For a guy with as many irons in fires as he has, it still does not seem like he is actually accomplishing anything. Draven looked to be the fearsome Annhilator that he was 10 yeas ago. He needs to find that killer instinct again and live up to his promise.
Current ranking: #40

#16. Aaron Anders/Graham Anders: After losing the COMPOUND Title to Ryan Davidson and not being granted a rematch, Anders made his way over to WFC. He partnered up with Luke Langley, but then revealed that he had actually partnered with Coach Doggins. That resulted in Langley challenging Anders to a Loser-Leaves-WFC/I Quit match, which not only gave Langley the final slot in the Ryder Cup Tournament, but also forced Anders to leave WFC. He has not been seen since.
Current ranking: unrated

#17. Prince Mahalli: Mahalli really seemed to hit a sophomore slump after entering his first Top 50 at #2. For quite a bit of 2019, Mahalli & Rasheed Ali teamed up and met defeat after defeat in their efforts to win the WCR Tag Team Titles from either the Von Erichs or The Step-Brothas. Mahalli seems to have parted ways with Ali and recently defeated Damon Windsor for the WCR Revolutionary Title. He also separated from C. M. Burnham and embraced the fans at MSWA while simultaneously engaging in a war with former partner Angel Camacho. Mahalli maintains hold of the ASP 5-Star Title as well. Perhaps Mahalli got too content in his early days and thought that could go on forever. Whatever the case, the newly invigorated Mahalli is being much more successful.
Current ranking: #8

#18. Colby Black/Doc Black: While he claims to be a doctor, a better professional description for him would be politician, as Black will do whatever he can to connive his way into and out of situations. He entered WCR but it has not been a particularly successful venture for him. He formed the Gorgeous MDs with Gorgeous Garcia and they advanced to the second round of the Tom Jones Invitational Tournament to crown new MSWA Mid-South Tag Team Champions, but then, Black got on the wrong side of MSWA management and found himself no longer welcome there. Black is good at marketing himself and looking outside of Oklahoma for opportunities. He just needs to learn to reign in his tendencies so as not to burn any more bridges before his brief career is over.
Current ranking: #32

#19. El Fuego del Sol. Fuego is very in demand and has the youth and energy to juggle a lot of commitments to various places. He has been a mainstay of WFC recently and of course is a regular performer for WCR, where he has been promised a shot at the WCR Title at a future event. Anywhere that lucha -style wrestling is in demand, Fuego is sure to inspire an audience. But all that has left him almost stuck. He is a strong competitor, but spreads himself so thin that it is almost impossible for him to gain traction anywhere new. Aside from those two aforementioned federations, Fuego has made spotty appearances in ASP and LLR, but those appearances are few and far between. Perhaps Fuego needs to focus on 2 or 3 federations full-time rather than going where ever the wind blows. It could prolong his career and provide some focus.
Currnet ranking: #20

@20. Colt Killbane. The newly christened "Murderman" has adopted almost a mercenry attitude. Go to a federation, cause carnage and destruction, move on. Since separating from Coach Doggins in WFC and Lance Osburn everywhere else, Killbane seems to be struggling to get noticed. He is a strong performer with a strong personality and perhaps this is working against him as Killbane does not tolerate fools and is not one to play political games. He was unable to capitalise on a chance to win the WFC Hometown Heroes Title and seems to be directionless in WFC. He comes and goes at BPW and UWE, recently falling short of a chance to become UWE Champion as well. What is getting in Killbane's way? Perhaps he really does NEED a manager to guide him, though obviously a reunion with Coach Doggins would be ill advised after the history between them. Whatever it is Killbane needs, let's hope he finds it before the end of the year.
Current ranking: #31