Evan Lewis’ Wurggreep
This post was formally a podcast broadcast in 2015. In hierdie episode, I discuss what Evan “Die worger” Lewis’ hold would be called today.
Main Content – When I first heard of the stranglehold or “hang hold” of Evan “The Strangler” Lewis, it sounded like a guillotine choke. Egter, several sources I checked described it as a rear naked choke.
Lewis was greatly feared due to the effects of the stranglehold. Some wrestlers’ necks were injured, while several were unable to continue their matches. Some had visible red rings around their necks. I was surprised by this description because the rear naked choke is very safe for the most part.
The trouble is Lewis retired before film captured professional wrestling. Lewis’s image is available in a few posed photographs but only a couple artist renderings exist of his matches. None of these renderings illustrated Lewis’ hold.
Evan “Die worger” Lewis in Paperback
Until I discovered the February 2, 1890 uitgawe van die Pittsburgh Dispatch (Pittsburgh, PA). In an article extolling the virtues of wrestling as a method of self-defense, the illustrator for the article included an illustration of the Stranglehold.
And it was…the guillotine choke. Suddenly, the damage Lewis inflicted on his opponents made sense. With a guillotine you can put pressure on both the carotid artery and/or the windpipe.
I recently completed Evan “The Strangler” Lewis: The Most Feared Wrestler of the 19th Century which examines his career and many battles in great detail. Lewis was professional wrestling’s first villain mainly due the fearsome reputation of the stranglehold.
Lewis’ reputasie het regtig 'n sinistere wending geneem weens sy twee wedstrydreekse met Sorakichi Matsada vroeg in Chicago 1886. Nadat Lewis amper “gewurg het” Sorakichi in Januarie dood 1886, the stranglehold was banned. Lewis het sy frustrasie op Sorakichi Matsada uitgehaal met 'n selfs meer skadelike houvas.
I will let the reader decide if Lewis was a villain, misunderstood or somewhere in-between.
U kan 'n opmerking agterlaat of 'n vraag vra oor hierdie of enige pos in die kommentaarafdeling hieronder of op my Facebook bladsy of Twitter profiel.
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