Oklahoma Bans Pro Wrestling...

Source: eWrestlingNews.com

The Oklahoma State Athletic Commission has sent out letters to promoters that they will not accept applications for pro wrestling, MMA and boxing events to be held in the state past March 31, which more or less bans the events from legally taking place in the state.

The letter said the Commission is being "threatened" by an "Out of State threat that could greatly affect the Commission's ability to provide for public safety and for the health and safety of the athletes" competing in the State.

Oklahoma currently taxes PPV buys made by residents 4%, no matter where the events are held. UFC says they plan to sue the Commission to stop the tax. The Commission claims that without the tax, they can't maintain the overhead needed as an authority. The tax accounts for 2/3rds of their budget.

Until the threat of the lawsuit is resolved, all licenses have been revoked, including for events already scheduled. WWE has a live RAW broadcast set for October 1 in Oklahoma City. Tickets are scheduled to go on sale this summer.

Oh wow. Hopefully this can be resolved so the fans of WWE, UFC, etc in Oklahoma can enjoy it in person.

^ Hell yes.
The Oklahoma State Athletic Commission is still going to make a PPV profit because that's still in effect, but they are going to lose money without live events. They charge a 5% fee of the gate of live events.
I don't understand it, they ban pro wrestling, MMA and boxing because UFC wants to sue them over the 4% PPV sales tax the Commission enforces. Not saying the 4% sales tax is right, but why not just ban the UFC until an agreement is made? Banning UFC wouldn't be right either, but WWE has been holding two events per-year lately in Oklahoma, there are small MMA and boxing events held in the state year-round, and, to my knowledge, UFC has only held one event here which was a few years ago. They've probably chosen this route so maybe other organizations would try to pressure UFC to drop the lawsuit.
I've heard that since the October 1st Raw was scheduled before this mess, the event will still go on. I've also heard that the event is in jeopardy of taking place until a decision is made. Tulsa also has a scheduled SmackDown taping for October 2nd.