Stanislaus Zbyszko Defeats Former Boxer

On January 10, 1910, recently arrived Polish wrestler Stanislaus Zbyszko took on Charlie “The Kid” Cutler in a best two-out-of-three falls match.  Cutler had been a boxer in a troupe run by John L. Sullivan before transitioning to wrestling.  While Cutler was extremely tough, Stanislaus Zbyszko had been wrestling since his youth.  Zbyszko would use these skills to overcome Cutler and set up a match with Frank Gotch.

Stanislaus Zbyszko won several Greco-Roman wrestling tournaments in Europe before coming to America.  While Zbyszko and Cutler would both win championships after wrestling moved to staged exhibitions in 1915, neither man could beat the physical, talented Frank Gotch and his sometimes questionable or dirty tactics.

Zbyszko and Cutler met in the main event of this winter card in the Windy City.  The crowd was a little rowdy when the men came to the ring because of an earlier match decided by a disqualification.  In a match where both contestants used rough tactics, Leo Pardello was disqualified for attempting a banned choke hold on Raoul De Rouen.

De Rouen earned the first fall with a scissors and wrist hold but both men fouled each other repeatedly.  Pardello lost it in the second fall by applying the illegal choke hold and generally roughing up De Rouen.  The writer for the January 11, 1910 edition of the Rock Island Argus stated, “The match was one of the roughest and most unscientific seen in this city in a long time.”

When Stanislaus Zbyszko entered the ring, he wanted to run through Charles “The Kid” Cutler to prove to the public Zbyszko was the man to beat Frank Gotch.  Zbyszko had already wrestled Gotch to a draw in late 1909.

Charles “The Kid” Cutler refused to be a patsy for Zbyszko.  Using surprising strength against the powerful Zbyszko, Cutler resisted the Pole’s herculean strength for almost a full hour.  Fans considered the match too slow as Cutler and Zbyszko traded leg locks for the early part of the match.

Finally, Zbyszko secured a chancery and bar arm hold for the first fall at 51 minutes, 57 minutes.  The men retired to their corners for a rest.

Zbyszko came back to the center of the ring and engaged with the fatiguing Cutler.  Fatigue makes a coward of us all and definitely sapped Cutler.  Cutler fell to the same chancery and bar arm hold at 15 minutes, 59 seconds.

Zbyszko did secure his match with Frank Gotch but may have wished he hadn’t.  Gotch used a few dirty tricks but mainly his strength and science in  the catch-as-catch can wrestling match.  Gotch specialized in catch wrestling which probably gave him an advantage over the Greco-Roman champion Stanislaus Zbyszko.

Zbyszko continued wrestling and would eventually win a world title in the last definite shoot wrestling match.  Cutler continued wrestling but never tangled with Zbyszko again.

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