Episode 39 – Zbyszko’s Double-Cross
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
In this episode, we discuss the famous double-cross of “Big” Wayne Munn and the Gold Dust Trio by Stanislaus Zbyszko.
Update
We discuss the podcast and website schedule for 2024. I plan on recording forty podcasts and writing twenty posts for 2024. We will release three to four podcasts a year.
Podcast Art for the It Was Almost Real: The Pro Wrestling History Podcast
Main Topic
In 1924, Billy Sandow decided the Gold Dust Trio needed to promote a new wrestling star. Sandow selected “Big” Wayne Munn, a celebrated University of Nebraska football player.
Sandow’s partners, World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion Ed “Strangler” Lewis and Joseph “Toots” Mondt warned Sandow against putting the championship on Munn, who could not defend himself against shooters or hookers.
Sandow reassured Lewis and Mondt by saying he would only book Munn against wrestlers they could trust. Sandow’s decision led to one of the most significant double-crosses in American professional wrestling history.
Review
This week we reviewed two wrestling matches. The first is the oldest professional wrestling match on film. It is a Greco-Roman wrestling match from Prague in 1913. The men appear to be shooting or wrestling a legitimate contest.
Gustav Fristensky vs. Josef Smejkal – I believe Fristensky is in the long tights with the muscular build. Smejkal wears a signlet top initially but takes off the top during the intermission.
The second match is a film from 1940. This film has commentary and you can easily determine who is who. Cowboy Karl Davis vs. Terry McGinnis.
You can leave a comment or ask a question about this or any post on my Facebook page or Twitter profile.
Pin It
