Ken Zimmerman Jr.

Edwin Bibby and Duncan C. Ross established the first recognized professional wrestling championship in the United States on January 19, 1881. The men wrestled catch-as-catch-can style for the American Heavyweight Wrestling Championship. William Muldoon was the World Heavyweight Champion based on his defeat of Thiebaud Bauer in 1880. Andre Christol brought the World Title to the United States in the

In his book Hooker, Lou Thesz wrote about the rivalry between two of his favorite wrestlers, Joe Stecher and Ed “Strangler” Lewis. Stecher and Lewis would emerge as the two best legitimate professional wrestler of the 1910s. Either man could beat every other wrestler at the time in a legitimate contest or “shoot”. The men wrestled three long, boring contests

Prior to the creation of the territorial system in 1948, pro wrestling promoters fought with each other to control the world championship. Promoting the world champion led to bigger gates, so most promoters wanted to control the championship. In the 1930s, promoters would enter into agreements with each other but they were often fleeting. When one promoter got offended, thought

I 1899, Martin “Farmer” Burns was transitioning into the role of part-time wrestler and full-time trainer. One of his most famous pupils would be Frank Gotch, who Burns defeated a week after this match. Burns was 38 years-old and had lost his American Heavyweight Wrestling Championship two years earlier. Burns blended both roles on a very busy December night in

William Hayes Shaw, who wrestled as Pat O’Shocker through most of his wrestling career, found himself in the spotlight in 1933. O’Shocker wasn’t looking for this sort of fame though. Newspapers were carrying a story about how wrestling promoters tried to use O’Shocker in a planned double-cross. Joseph “Toots” Mondt booked wrestlers out of New York and was aligned with

I 1933, about 10 år inn i sin brytekarriere, Jim Browning ville vinne verdenstittelen. Starter sin karriere i Kansas og hjemstaten Missouri, Browning måtte forlate disse kjente grunnene, hvis han hadde til hensikt å nå den høyeste toppen i profesjonell bryting. Fordi verdensmestere måtte turnere nasjonalt, og ofte internasjonalt, verdenstittelen ble

Jeg har tidligere skrevet at Fall Guys: The Barnums of Bounce av Marcus Griffin er en problematisk kilde. Mens Griffin har innsidekunnskap på grunn av sin tid på reklamekontoret i Buffalo på 1930-tallet, han skrev boken med det formål å hevne seg mot promotørene som sparket ham. Boken inneholder faktainformasjon blandet med interessant

In the early 1920s, Christos Theofilou begynte å bryte som Jim Londos etter flere år som gimmicky “Wrestling Gipser”. Londos skjønte sannsynligvis ikke at navneendringen ville være det første skrittet til at han ble den største billettkontorattraksjonen i profesjonell bryting på 1930-tallet. Det andre trinnet var hans fremvekst som en hovedbegivenhetsbryter i St. Louis. Født i