Wladek Zbyszko Loses poob nthav
Feem ntau txojsia Wladek Zbyszko tus overshadowed ntawm nws tij laug Stanislaus Zbyszko. Stanislaus, leej twg tau 12 xyoo laus, posed tus kawg tiag kev hem thawj rau Frank Gotch ntiaj teb Heavyweight Wrestling Championship.
Wladek Zbyszko yog ib wrestler ntawm nws tus kheej txoj cai koom. Hmoov tsis, nws tsis tau txog hauv teb chaws Mis Kas no kom 1914, Thaum twg wrestling ntais ntawv feem ntau muaj prearranged. Wladek had proved his bona fides as a legitimate wrestler by winning the Paris Greco-Roman Wrestling Tournament in 1913.
After a tour of South America, Zbyskzo travelled to the United States to face his brother’s old rival, Aleksander “Alex” Aberg. After a series of matches with Aberg, Zbyszko took part in the 1915 International Wrestling kev sib tw nyob New York.
Los ntawm 1917, Zbyszko was working with the Gold Dust Trio, the promotional group of Ed “Strangler” Lewis. Wladek Zbyszko would have two reigns as World Heavyweight Champion. These title reigns are considered arranged agreements with Lewis and his promoters.
Lub sij hawm 1924, Zbyszko decided to make another run at the World Championship by taking part in a series of matches. As part of the series, Wladek Zbyskzo took on lightly regarded John Erkovich in St. Louis, Missouri on Thursday, Kaum ib hlis 6, 1924. Not unexpectedly, Wladek threw “Erko” with a half-nelson hold at 14 minutes and three seconds.
John E. Wray, the Sports Editor of the St. Louis Dispatch tom qab, sau tau, “We will venture, Txawm li cas los, to voice the opinion that great though he may have been as a wrestler, Wladek Zbyszko is definitely slipping as an actor.” Simply put, Wray didn’t believe the second two falls to be legitimate.
Wray noted that while Erkovich’s tactics were rudimentary and lacked versatility, Zbyszko seemed unable to fend off the attack. Wray noted that it seemed like Zbyszko was letting “Erko” take the lead.
Tom 12 feeb thiab 5 second, Erkovich secured a toehold on Zbyszko. Zbyszko yelled out in pain and turned onto his back giving Erkovich the second fall.
The third fall started with Erkovich trying to press the attack awkwardly. Wladek Zbyszko impersonated Ed “Strangler” Lewis and began applying a serious of powerful headlocks. The 225-pound Polish powerhouse appeared to be headed for victory in the third fall, when he slipped trying to apply another headlock.
Erkovich jumped on Zbyszko’s chest for a quick pin and the third fall during the 6th minute of the match. Thaum xub thawj, the crowd was shocked. Soon, they began to question if the match was fixed. Due to the timing of his career, most of Wladek Zbyszko’s matches were fixed contests.
If Wladek Zbyszko had come to the United States five years sooner, he may have contended with Frank Gotch but Zbyszko had to finish college first. Like his brother, he possessed legitimate skills even if most of his matches were not legitimate contests.
Koj yuav tawm ib saib los nug cov lus nug txog qhov no, los yog tej qho hauv tshooj nram qab no, ntawm kuv Facebook phab, Twitter profile thiab Google+ nplooj ntawv.
Qhov chaw: St. Louis Star-zaug, Lub rau hli ntuj 10, 1924 ib tsab, p. 12 thiab St. Louis Dispatch tom qab, Kaum ib hlis 7, 1924 ib tsab, p. 44