I “Davitelj” Lewis Wins Title in 1920

U ponedjeljak, Prosinac 13, 1920, I “Davitelj” Lewis won the first of six World Heavyweight Wrestling Championships from Joe Stecher. The fact he won the title from his biggest rival and business enemy must have been particularly satisfying.

Godinu dana prije ove utakmice, Stecher and Lewis met in a match lasting over three hours. Lewis made a mental error in rushing for Stecher, who was reeling from one of Lewis’ headlocks. Lewis tried to pounce on him but was caught off-guard and thrown for a fall.

Lewis trained for over a year with the intent of not being caught unaware by Stecher or losing due to fatigue. In the rematch, Lewis beat Stecher after 1 hour and 41 zapisnik. Lewis ground Stecher into defeat with his powerful side headlock. Lewis used to use a carotid artery choke known in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu as a bulldog choke but it was outlawed, so he developed the headlock.

While mat finishes were mostly prearranged at this time, Lewis and Stecher legitimately detested each other. U trenutku, cooperation was impossible between the men. Later in their careers, they would wrestle in prearranged bouts.

After Lewis defeated Stecher, he formed what was known as the Gold Dust Trio promotion with Billy Sandow and Toots Mondt. They permanently transitioned professional wrestling to “worked” story lines with pre-arranged finishes.

They were comfortable with this new arrangement because if someone did not go along with the story lines, Lewis would beat them for real. This practice would bite them in 1925, when they put the belt on a football player named “Big” Wayne Munn.

Lewis was a celebrity in the 1920s before pro wrestling was exposed as worked and became more of a fringe entertainment. Svibnja 12, 1921, the Bismark Tribune ran a story about how Lewis and his wife, Doktor. Ada Scott Lewis, raised their daughter Babada with scientific methods.

Priča se odnose kako Babada ustao na 6. a.m. i zaspao na 8:30 poslije podne. Njezin otac učio svoje vježbe. On je također nosio sa sobom, kad je otišao trčanje. Njezina majka pobrinula dobila kozje mlijeko tri puta dnevno. One of the bizarre nutritional practices was feeding Babada bacon grease. The Lewis parents believed it was a great strength food.

Nažalost, ovaj brak nije dugo kao Lewis je bio oženjen i razveli pet puta. Touring as a wrestler put his marriages under great strain.

I “Davitelj” Lewis je rođen Robert Julius Herman Friedrich u Wisconsinu lipnja 30, 1891. On je osvojio Svjetsko prvenstvo u teškoj kategoriji, hrvanje tadašnji rekord šest puta. He was considered by both Lou Thesz and Gene LeBell, oba od kojih je pomogao vlak, as the greatest “shooter” or legitimate wrestler.

He trained LeBell after being blinded by trachoma, which he picked up from dirty wrestling mats. U vrijeme kada je ugovoreno bolest, nije izlječiva. Umro je u New Yorku kolovoza 8, 1966 u starosti 75.

Lewis je ostavio trajan ostavština. Jedan od posljednjih legitimnih naslov nositelja, koji je uvela u doba “worked” šibice, i trenirao sljedeću generaciju prvaka.

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