Posts about catch-as-catch-can or catch wrestling matches, the dominant style of wrestling in the United States after 1890.
D. A. McMillan served as a competent journeyman wrestler during the last two decades of the 19th Century. McMillan wrestled American Heavyweight Wrestling Champion Martin “Farmer” Burns in a worked gambling scheme that a newspaper reporter exposed. While McMillan never won the American title, McMillan beat lesser competition before the better wrestlers like Burns defeated him. On December 22, 1888, […]
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In this episode, we discuss how Hubert and Charley Pesek affected the career of John “The Nebraska Tigerman” Pesek. Update We are still a few episodes from Dan coming back on the podcast. He is recovering slowly but surely. I also briefly talk about AEW Forbidden Door and WWE Money in the Bank. Main Content John “The Nebraska Tigerman” Pesek […]
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In the fall of 1921, Jack Curley and Tex Rickard engaged in a promotional feud that started in professional boxing but spread to professional wrestling. Curley and Rickard settled their feud in a legitimate contest in November 1921. Curley selected John “The Nebraska Tigerman” Pesek to act for him against Rickard’s wrestler Marin Plestina. Before Curley and Rickard could arrange […]
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In this episode, I discuss the federal government prosecuting a gambling ring in 1910. The case exposed how wrestlers worked matches to bilk fans betting on the matches. Update I discuss Janel Grant’s legal team pausing Ms. Grant’s lawsuit as the federal government continues their investigation. I also discuss AEW’s need to correct course as they are driving off their […]
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If he had been bigger, Fred Beell would have been a dominant heavyweight in the first decade of the Twentieth Century. Instead, larger opponents often defeated Beell only because the opponent outweighed Beell by thirty to fifty pounds. On the rare occasions that Beell wrestled a middleweight, Beell crushed his opponent. On January 13, 1905, Beell wrestled H.P. Hansen in […]
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In this episode, we discuss wrestlers and jiu jitsu fighters working matches in Brazil. We also review WWE’s King and Queen of the Ring. We had a few audio issues in this episode but the audio was still usable. We should correct the issue in June. We will be back to the normal recording studio in July. Update Due to […]
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During November 1921, John “The Nebraska Tigerman” Pesek wrestled a legitimate contest with Marin Plestina to settle a promotional war between Jack Curley and boxing promoter Tex Rickard. Pesek fouled an injured Plestina, who was helpless to defend himself. After the match, Rickard returned to boxing while the New York State Athletic Commission banned Pesek from wrestling in New York. […]
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In this episode, I talk about the 1924 match between Jim Browning and Taro Miyake. Update Our Memorial Day episode will be the full crew. This episode and that episode will tie together with a Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) crossover and how gambling schemes affected pro wrestling and why it is a worry for modern MMA. I answer a listener […]
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Technical difficulties led to this podcast being more of a compilation. We discuss an odd decision by the New York State Althletic Commission in 1921. Update In our original update we covered most of the main wrestling stories since Dan went in to the hospital. Unfortunately, none of the audio was useable from this section. Main Content In 1921, the […]
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In 1919, John “The Nebraska Tigerman” Pesek found himself in the same position as Marin Plestina. The dominant wrestling trust would not give Pesek a match with one of the “Big Four” – Earl Caddock, Joe Stecher, Ed “Strangler” Lewis, and Wladek Zbyszko. Unable to secure a match with Stecher, Pesek wrestled Jim Londos in Omaha, Nebraska on October 10, […]
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