Kesepakatan Lengkap Stecher dan Zbyszko

Pada tanggal 13, 1920, Dan “Pencekik” Lewis mengalahkan Joe Stecher untuk Kejuaraan Gulat Kelas Berat Dunia. Professional wrestling was a staged exhibition by 1920. However, such was the strong feelings between the men that the match may have been a “shoot” or legitimate match in which Lewis took the belt.

Whether the outcome of the match was real, the feud between the men was real. Stecher menyimpan dendam selama lima tahun. Pada awal 1925, Stecher melihat peluang untuk membalas dendam tetapi dia membutuhkan bantuan Stanislaus Zbyszko untuk melakukannya..

Pada bulan Januari 1925, Lewis and his promotional partners Billy Sandow and Toots Mondt, the Gold Dust Trio, decided to put the World Championship on “Besar” Wayne Munn. Munn stood 6’06” and weighed a legitimate 260 pon. Lewis was a large professional wrestler and weighed a billed 220 pon. Hoping to cash in on the novelty of an attraction like Munn, “the Strangler” dropped the World Championship to Munn.

Despite his size, Munn was a novice wrestler easily defeated by a legitimate wrestler. Fearing an actual wrestler would decide to take the belt off Munn, the Gold Dust Trio were careful about matching Munn up against anyone who could actually wrestle. Journalist noticed that Munn wasn’t matched up with a true threat and called the Trio on their seeming protection of the new champion.

Not wanting to give away that the matches were staged but concerned about the bad publicity, the Trio decided to call on one of their most trusted wrestlers, the 46-year-old former champion and legitimate wrestler Stanislaus Zbyszko. However, when Zbyszko wrestled Munn, the Trio’s nightmare came true. Zbyszko bergulat dengan Munn secara sah dan menyematkan pria besar yang tak berdaya itu. The referee, takut suporter rusuh, harus memberi Zbyszko gelar atau mengekspos gulat sebagai tetap.

Stecher telah membayar Zbyszko untuk merebut gelar dari Munn dan kemudian menyerahkan sabuknya kepada Stecher untuk gelar Juara Dunia ketiganya.. Long-time St. Louis wrestling promoter Tom Packs promoted the match, which occurred in the St. Louis University Field.

Stecher muncul sebagai agresor sepanjang musim gugur pertama, which lasted 1 hour, 23 menit. Wrestlers were still trying to hide the arranged nature of the outcomes, so long matches were generally the rule. Zbyszko appeared groggy to start the second fall, which lasted only 5 menit. Stecher memenangkan pertandingan dengan pegangan guntingnya yang ditakuti.

The match was pretty rough because they wanted the fans to believe they were watching a legitimate contest. Zbyszko was legitimately injured when he fell to the mat during the second fall. The force of the fall caused contusions to his chest and a torn ligament in his shoulder. The match ended shortly after this unplanned fall.

Performa Stecher dan Zbyszko begitu meyakinkan, Kepala Polisi Gerk menangkap Stecher karena percobaan pembunuhan. Stecher harus memposting $1,000.00 bond to be released. Zbyszko dengan cepat membebaskan Stecher dan menyatakan lukanya adalah kesalahannya sendiri.

Around the same time, the Gold Dust Trio held their own World Title match, where Munn lost to Lewis. How Munn was still the World Champion after losing to Zbyszko was never adequately explained but the World Title would be contested for a number of years. Akhirnya, Stecher dan Lewis setuju untuk berbisnis satu sama lain.

St. Louis would host many important wrestling matches. Pada tanggal 30, 1925, St. Louis was the venue for the culmination of the biggest double cross in professional wrestling. It was a significant chapter in a storied wrestling town.

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Sources: The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Mei 31, 1925 edisi, p. 1 dan 9

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