Lewis y Roeber unifican el título

Cuando William Muldoon se retiró de la lucha libre profesional en 1889, pretendía para su protegido, ErnstRoeber, para convertirse en el nuevo campeón mundial de lucha libre de peso pesado. Ya que Muldoon siempre defendió su campeonato al estilo de lucha grecorromana, su elección tenía sentido. Roeber era posiblemente el mejor luchador grecorromano de Estados Unidos en ese momento..

Sin embargo, los fanáticos de la lucha libre y el periodista, cubriendo el deporte, were not quick to recognize Roeber as Muldoon had hoped. Primero, catch-as-catch-can wrestling was becoming the dominant American style. Many fans and pundits considered Evan Lewis, the current American Heavyweight Catch-as-Catch-Can Wrestling Champion, to be the best overall wrestler.

Lewis had given Muldoon a tough tussle in Muldoon’s final match. It took Muldoon 45 minutes to throw Lewis in Muldoon’s specialty of Greco-Roman Wrestling. Due to Lewis’ reputation, Roeber was recognized as the American Heavyweight Greco-Roman Wrestling Champion but not the world champion.

Both men defended their individual titles for the next few years, while demand built for them to meet and unify the championships. In 1893, the match would finally happen. On March 2nd, Lewis and Roeber would meet at the Olympic Athletic Club in New Orleans, Louisiana to unify the titles.

The match was 3-out-of-5 falls. Falls were often contested in different styles during the 19th Century until catch-as-catch-can became the dominant American style in the late 1890s.

The men entered the ring at 9 p.m. Muldoon was announced as Roeber’s second in the weeks leading up to the match. Sin embargo, he wasn’t in New Orleans for the match. A coin was tossed to select the style for the first fall. Lewis won the toss and unsurprisingly chose catch-as-catch-can for the first fall.

Roeber did have Lewis’ stranglehold banned for the match but it didn’t help him in the first fall. Lewis had Roeber on his hands and knees almost immediately. Lewis turned Roeber onto his shoulders to win the first fall in 7 minutes, 56 segundo.

Roeber won the second fall, contested by Greco-Roman wrestling rules, en 28 minutes, 52 segundo. For some reason, the third fall was Greco-Roman wrestling even though Lewis had won the toss. Lewis proved his wrestling skill though by winning the third fall.

Roeber was desperate entering the fourth fall. He pinned Lewis in a foul-filled fourth fall at 20 minutes, 43 segundo. Roeber’s tactics weren’t wise. You didn’t want to make Evan Lewis angry in a wrestling match.

Lewis won the final fall, contested under catch-as-catch-can rules, en 1 minute, 3 segundo. The newspapers don’t say how Lewis won but a quick submission sounds likely. If you made Lewis mad, you better tap quick when he secured a submission hold. Lewis would injure wrestlers on purpose, if they made him angry.

Roeber continued wrestling but Evan Lewis became the major star of the 1890s. He and Martin “Agricultor” Burns would take American professional wrestling into the 20th Century.

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Source: The Standard Union (brooklyn, Nueva York), Marzo 3, 1893 edition, p. 3

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