Episode 151 – Walk Through History

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In this episode, I discuss the development of professional wrestling in the United States from 1860s to 1940. I also review an early Portland wrestling card.

News and Update

Why on earth is Tony Khan putting Kazuchika Okada over Kyle Fletcher or Konosuke Takeshita.

Reports that ESPN and Netflix are not happy with their viewership numbers for WWE shows.

Main Content

The idea for this podcast came from Tony Richard’s Pro Wrestling Time Tunnel podcast, where he examined the seven phases of the territory system.

I am sure professional wrestling existed before the US Civil War. The war disrupted everyday life in the United States for most of the 1860s. Organizers start promoting professional wrestling in the late 1860s.

From the 1860s to the mid- to late-1870s, collar-and-elbow wrestling dominated professional wrestling. J.H. McLaughlin, John McMahon, Henry Moses Dufur, and Homer Lane earned national reputations as the biggest names in professional wrestling.

From 1875 to 1880, Professor William Miller, Thiebaud Bauer, and Andre Christol popularized Greco-Roman wrestling. When William Muldoon wins the world championship in this style in 1881, Greco-Roman wrestling overtakes collar-and-elbow wrestling in popularity. Mixed styles matches are also popular during the 1880s.

Edwin Bibby and Joe Acton bring catch-as-catch-can to prominence with their 1881 match for what would become the American Heavyweight Wrestling Championship. Evan “The Strangler” Lewis makes catch wrestling popular because the fans wanted to see someone defeat Lewis in catch-as-catch-can.

After Lewis defeats Ernst Roeber in unification match between the American Champions in catch and Greco-Roman wrestling respectively, catch wrestling surpasses every other style. All other styles of wrestling become novelty styles during the 1890s.

By 1900, professional wrestling starts to transition to a “worked” sport. The original impetus to work matches was to make money with gambling schemes. However, the wrestlers realized that working helped protect them from injury. When the promotional system develops in the 1910s, promoters wanted control of outcomes so contests are rare after 1915.

By the 1920s, contests are limited to settling promotional wars, where the promoters do not trust the other side to honor the settlement in a training match. Frequently, it is because of double-crosses. The 1930s could be considered the decade of double-crosses.

Recommendations and Reviews

Portland Wrestling Show from August 13, 1984

Jack Routledge started a wrestling promotion in Portland during the early 1920s. On Wednesday, January 4, 1922, Routledge put on a three match card at the Heilig Theater in Portland, Oregon. The wrestlers wrestled on a mat on the stage instead of in a ring.

In the opener, Jack De Lacey won a 15-minute decision over Charles Olson, the storied light heavyweight wrestler. The 43-year-old Olson was at the end of his career and did not mind putting over the youngster.

In the second match, local wrestler Oscar Butler used the head scissors and arm lock to force Cyclone Burns to give up 11 minutes, 22 seconds into a 30-minute match. The well-traveled Burns was 42 and also near the end of his career.

The main event was a middleweight match between Ted Thye, the wrestling instructor of the Multnomah Club, and Ben Rueben of Chicago, Illinois. The men wrestled for over a 90 minutes in an even match.

While the wrestlers stood near the edge of the mat, Thye applied a double-arm wristlock. Thye used the wristlock to turn Rueben to his back but Rueben landed off the mat onto the stage floor. The referee broke the men and told them to return to the center of the mat.

Rueben took two steps before collapsing to the mat. The referee realized that Rueben struck his head on the floor during the throw. The referee helped Rueben to his feet and sat Rueben on a stool. Rueben pitched forward face forward to the floor shortly after sitting down.

Rueben’s seconds carried him to the back. The referee gave Rueben ten minutes to recover or withdraw from the match. Dr. Archie Van Cleve examined Rueben and advised him that he may have dislocated a disc in his neck. Rueben withdrew from the match on the physician’s advice.

Rueben left Portland at the end of the month to seek treatment for arm weakness from his disk issue. However, Rueben did not take any time off for the “injury” during 1922.

Source: The Oregonian, January 5, 1922, p. 12 and wrestlingdata.com

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