Wladek Zbyszko Beats Strangler for Title

On March 22, 1919, Ed “Strangler” Lewis met Wladek Zbyszko for the vacant World Heavyweight Wrestling Championship.  In a surprise victory, Zbyszko defeated Lewis to claim the title.  Unfortunately for Wladek Zbyszko, he would only have a cup of coffee with the belt.  A month or two later, Zbyszko lost the title to Joe Stetcher.

This match was most likely a “work” meaning the outcome was prearranged.  Starting with the New York Wrestling Tournament in 1915, legitimate matches or “shoots” became mostly a thing of the past.  Traditional competitive wrestling was boring the audience, who started staying away from the matches.  The 1915 tournament moved the sport towards spectacle in an attempt to draw back the fans.

Ed “Strangler” Lewis most likely let Zbyszko win the match.  Lou Thesz, Verne Gagne and Gene LeBell all said that Lewis could not be beaten unless he allowed it to further a story line.  Lewis was part of the promotional “Goldust Trio” with Joseph “Toots” Mondt and Billy Sandow.

Lewis would drop the belt occasionally to build anticipation for rematches and make Lewis look beatable.  They never worried about dropping the belt because the trio knew Lewis could win it back anytime he felt like it.

In 1920, Joe Stecher did not want to lose the belt, so Lewis simply defeated him for real and took the title.  Lewis then dropped the belt to an upcoming wrestling star, or in Stanislaus Zbyszko’s case, an old but capable lion.  Wladek’s older brother was the better wrestler of the Zbyszko brothers.

Lewis wrestled in over 6,000 matches losing only 20 or so matches, which he lost on purpose.  Ring historians and most professional wrestlers consider him to be the greatest actual wrestler in professional wrestling history although a handful will say Frank Gotch was better.

Wladek Zbyszko was not as famous as his older brother Stanislaus, who was twelve years older than Wladek.  Wladek Zbyszko was born Wladyslaw Cyganiewicz on November 20, 1891 in Poland.

Wladek Zbyszko followed his older brother to America where he claimed a version of the World Title in 1917.  Wladek would briefly hold the World Heavyweight Wrestling Championship two more times in 1918 and 1919.  While Wladek was a world champion in his own right, he never attained the stardom of older brother Stanislaus.

While Wladek was twelve years younger, he only outlived his brother by one year.  Wladek Zbyszko died on June 10, 1968 at 76 years of age.

If you like this post, please feel free to share it with others you think may enjoy it by clicking on the share button at the bottom of the post.  You can leave a comment or ask a question about this or any post on my Facebook page and Twitter profile.

Pin It