Missouri Wrestling Revival

By Ben Simon

The new Official Missouri Rankings list, good through August, has been calculated and published.  Head over to the MO Rankings page for the ninth (and latest) publication.  To qualify for the Top 10, a wrestler must have the highest ratings with consistent activity (RD ≤ 200).  Rankings are published every two months.

For details on how the rankings work, read the Introduction

MOVEMENTS & EXPLANATIONS

^#1Jake Dirden, ^#2Ricky Cruz, and ^#3Moondog Rover were all excellent this period: 3-0, 2-0, and 2-0, respectively.  They belong here; no changes.

^#4Jon Webb has just returned from a three month tour of Japan and has risen three spots quickly due to a combination of factors.  First, he pinned WLW main-eventer Michael Magnuson.  Second, the men he superseded have had a mediocre two months.  Sometimes that’s just what it takes to advance.

^#5Everett Connors has had a busy, impressive two months.  “Risky Business” climbed four rungs, while knocking rival Sean Orleans out of the picture with a MMWA Junior Heavyweight title victory.  Connors was recently suspended from MMWA Wrestling due to his participation in an illegal title defense.

^#6Leland Race fell two spots after a disqualification loss to ^#8The Iceman and a double count-out versus Marc Godeker.  The WLW Heavyweight Champion is capable of long winning streaks, and this period is just a small setback.

^#7Mike Outlaw lost to Jake Dirden twice this period, which means Outlaw also ceded the Dynamo Pro Championship to “Dirdey.”  Because Dirden is so dominant at the top, Outlaw is only deducted one space on the rankings ladder.  Now that Mark Bland is out of power and can no longer call early stoppages in his matches, Mike Outlaw continues his quest to regain Dynamo Pro’s belt.

^#9Evan Morris beat Elvis Aliaga in June for the NWA Missouri Heavyweight Championship.  He sought to be a fighting champion, putting his belt on the line in different promotions.  Two successful defenses later (against Shane Somers and Joey Anderson), “Young and Dangerous” Morris breaks into the list as one of the best in the State.

^#10Gary Jackson clunks down five spots and just hangs on to a ranking.  “Gorgeous” Gary was blasted with a foreign object by A.J. Williams, who stole a victory.  The legend also could not put Evan Gelistico away with the cloverleaf before a time limit draw.  Williams and Gelistico were rated much lower than Jackson, so this brings “Night Train” down quite a bit.