Lewis Avoids Stecher

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Why do wrestlers work matches instead of wrestling competitive contests? The second legitimate contest between Joe Stecher and Ed “Strangler” Lewis at the Omaha, Nebraska Fairgrounds on Tuesday, July 4, 1916, can answer the question definitively. The contest bored the fans to tears as Lewis avoided Stecher for the duration of the match. Go into the match, fans expected to […]

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Episode 91 – Exposes

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In this episode, I discuss the limited damage exposes have done to the worked nature of professional wrestling. Main Content I started thinking about this week’s topic while watching Abbott and Costello in the Foreign Legion (1950). The movie starts out with Bud Abbott as a wrestling promoter/booker talking with two pro wrestlers about “the script.” The wrestlers are portrayed […]

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Episode 90 – Managoff, Sr. & Jr.

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In this episode, I discuss the first father-son professional wrestlers, Bob Managoff and Bobby Managoff, Jr. Update I have tentatively scheduled The Divided Championship for June 22, 2025. Main Content Robert M. Manoogian was born in Armenia on April 15, 1883. Manoogian wrestled as Bob Managoff and Bob “Turtle” Fredericks. He was not known as Bob Managoff, Sr. until he […]

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Jenkins Schools Roeber

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Wrestling fans know Tom Jenkins as Frank Gotch’s toughest opponent and a multiple time American Heavyweight Wrestling Champion. In 1899, Jenkins was campaigning for a match with current American Heavyweight Wrestling Champion Dan McLeod. To further boost his chances of securing a match with McLeod, Jenkins wrestled Ernst Roeber at the League Ballpark in Cleveland, Ohio on Tuesday, July 4, […]

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Episode 88 – Memorial Day

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In this episode, I discuss why promoters liked to schedule big cards for holidays. Update The reach of the podcast continues to amaze me. Besides the United States, listeners have downloaded episodes in the Netherlands, Seychelles, Turkey, Canada, Germany, Finland, United Kingdom, Japan, Austria, Estonia, France, Ireland, and Poland. I will try to release more episodes going forward. Main Content […]

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Slattery Exposes Wrestling

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During June 1927, the Illinois state legislature rocked the professional boxing and professional wrestling worlds when a subcommittee started investigating the state athletic commission. The legislature believed that promoters were putting on “fake” contests in both sports. Before the committee concluded its work, it suspended the boxing and wrestling licenses of 130 athletes. These revelations further disillusioned wrestling fans aggravated […]

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