Stecher Wrestles Masked Marvel

On Thursday, January 27, 1916, Joe Stecher wrestled the Masked Marvel, the hottest star from the 1915 New York International Wrestling Tournament. Sam Rachmann created the tournament to set Aleksander “Alex” Aberg as the replacement for the retired Frank Gotch as World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion.

Rachmann failed but created a major star in the Masked Marvel, who saved the fall version of the International Tournament. Jack Curley, who was a partner with Rachmann in the fall version of the tournament, inherited both the Marvel and Aberg, when Rachmann returned to Europe.

Curley was in the process of setting up his promotion in New York City, where Curley controlled American professional wrestling for most of the next twenty years. Curley showed his promotional ability by booking the Marvel against Joe Stecher, the American Heavyweight Wrestling Champion, who fans, and newspaper reporters recognized at the World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion

While the Masked Marvel still drew fans in large numbers, newspaper reporters exposed the Marvel as Mort Henderson, a journeyman wrestler. Eventually, fans would catch on that Henderson could not have improved that much to give Aberg, Ed “Strangler” Lewis, and Wladek Zbyszko tough contests exposing the Marvel’s matches as works.

Curley did not wait for fans to smarten up and booked the Masked Marvel to wrestle Stecher. Curley’s plan paid off as the match drew a “good-sized crowd” to Madison Square Garden.

Stecher and the Marvel wrestled the best two-out-of-three-falls match. Since the newspapers exposed Mort Henderson as the Masked Marvel, Stecher decided to protect his reputation in this match.

Stecher took the Masked Marvel to the mat with ease and worked behind the Marvel. The Masked Marvel tried to defend against Stecher but was helpless against the superior Stecher. In earlier matches, the Marvel exhibited excellent defense again exposing his worked matches.

Stecher applied the leg scissors combined with the double-arm wristlock to pin the Masked Marvel in nine minutes, fifty seconds. The Masked Marvel held his ribs as the Marvel walked back to the dressing room for the intermission.

When Stecher and the Marvel returned to the ring, Stecher put any drama to rest by repeating the first fall in only five minutes, fifty-one seconds. Stecher ate the masked wonder up in two straight falls.

The undercard had four singles matches. Harold Christianson defeated Olaf Nelson with a double-arm wrist lock in seven minutes, thirty seconds. John Perrelli pinned Frank Leavitt, a wrestler from the US Army, in nine minutes, twenty seconds with a scissors hold and arm lock combination. Youssif Hussane forced Wilhelm Berner to give up to a toe hold. In the opening match, the referee disqualified Bull Montana for gouging, palm striking, and head butting Young Hackenschmidt.

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Sources: The New York Times (New York City, New York) January 28, 1916, p. 7