Category: Early Professional Wrestling History

One of the oldest adages in combat sports is “a good big man always beats a good little man”. It is the reason that we have weight divisions in boxing, wrestling and mixed martial arts. O martes, Novembro 2, 1881, 160-pound Edwin Bibby proved there are exceptions to this rule. While small, Edwin Bibby was particularly strong for his size.

En xuño 4, 1883, the Greco-Roman World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion William Muldoon faced skilled French wrestler Jules Rigal in San Francisco, California. When the wrestlers stripped to their trunks for the match, it was obvious Muldoon’s power would prove a formidable challenge to Rigal. Muldoon stood around 6 feet tall and weighed between 193 e 210 pounds during his career.

O poderoso William Muldoon foi considerado invencible como grecorromano Wrestling Campión do Mundo. Only one man seriously challenged Muldoon during his dominant reign. The 165-pound Clarence Whistler consistently gave Muldoon his toughest challenges. Muldoon e Whistler reuniu o xoves, Novembro 1, 1883 en San Francisco, California in one of their several matches. William Muldoon was almost a head taller and weighed

Fred Beell developed a reputation in the early 20th Century as a powerful and dangerous wrestler. His reputation was not built by his 1903 campaign. Beell suffered as many high-profile defeats as victories. Beell started well in April 1903, when he defeated St. Paul AAU Wrestling Champion James McAuley. McAuley won the first fall in 22 actas. Beell won the

Joe Acton foi un dos mellores loitadores de Inglaterra durante o século 19. 151-pound Acton pasou por filas dos medios de Inglaterra antes de arar a través dos pesos pesados. Despois de bater o mellor a Inglaterra tiña que ofrecer, incluíndo Tom Canón, Acton decidiu probar as súas habilidades en Estados Unidos. Joe Acton resolto en Filadelfia na casa de Arthur Cámara dos Campións descanso durante os meses de verán de

Frank Gotch holds the title of America’s greatest legitimate professional wrestler. Gotch competed in mostly legitimate contests with a few pre-arranged or “Traballou” matches thrown in the mix. Por 1904 ou 1905, no one could really beat Gotch unless he allowed it. In the early years of his career, Gotch was not so dominant. He dropped matches to his mentor,

Cando World Heavyweight Champion Wrestling William Muldoon se aposentou en 1889, el esperaba que o seu protexido Ernest Roeber sería recoñecido como o novo campión. Porén, Muldoon gañou o seu título en loita greco-romana, que foi a experiencia de orixe alemá do Roeber. Desafortunadamente, as aventuras de Martin “Agricultores” Burns e Evan “O Estrangulador” Lewis catapultou catch-as-catch-pode loitar no estilo dominante. Roeber tiña un

En abril 7, 1914, 22-year-old Wladek Zbyszko met 22-year-old Ed “Estrangulador” Lewis would meet in the first of many matches between the two men. They would cooperate in a number of worked or “prearranged” fósforo. Lewis in fact dropped his American Heavyweight Wrestling Championship to Wladek Zbyszko in 1917. In the early 1920s, Lewis would drop his World Heavyweight Wrestling

En outubro 20, 1906, Fred Beell proved dynamite comes in small packages. Beell, light heavyweight wrestling champion, defeated former American heavyweight champion Dan McLeod. Beell parlayed an active 1906 into defeats of former American Heavyweight Champion Dan McLeod and current American Heavyweight Champion Frank Gotch. Beell won the American Middleweight (Light Heavyweight) Championship but remained out of the spotlight until

En novembro 7, 1908, Charles Olson met “Americus” Gus Schonlein for the World Light Heavyweight Wrestling Championship. The match proved to be as exciting as observers suspected it would be but it ended in controversy. Olson stood 6’01” but weighed only 170 libras. Born Max Flaskamp in Krefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia in 1879, he took the name Charles or Charley Olson