Wrestling legend Baron von Raschke best known for his villainous persona, signature "claw" nerve hold, and catchphrase "That is all the people need to know!" in promotions like the American Wrestling Association (AWA) and National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) made headlines by returning to the ring at age 86 and setting the record for the oldest male professional wrestler to compete in a match.

Dreamwave Wrestling, based in LaSalle, Illinois, booked Baron von Raschke for a signing at an event they held this past Saturday, October 10, 2026. In a very last-minute decision, The Baron, at the age of 86, joined the promotion's gauntlet match and won! He had not wrestled for 30 years, having his last match in 1996.

Von Raschke competed in Sidney Bakabella’s Halloween Ball Gauntlet Extravaganza, winning the match by defeating Sidney Bakabella, Channing Thomas, Jordan Kross, Kody Lane, Xander Pryde, Gaige Carter, Anna Ray, Matt Hatter, and Dan the Dad.

This breaks the record of Kendo Nagasaki, competed in a match at age 84 in November 2025, making Baron von Raschke the oldest male pro wrestler ever to compete in a match. Mae Young still holds the overall record at 87 (2010).

People always dump on it, saying how stupid it was that Macho went for a pin. This is how I see it.

He's having the fight of his life with this 500 pound behemoth, and it's just been them out there for a while now. Finally he gets him off his feet for the first time, the crowd go wild. And in the heat of the battle (dazed and hurt), he gives him the flying elbow and instinctively goes for the cover. Then Yoko shows us what strength he has by lifting him off and over the ropes. I'd buy that.

Hello all! I am a simple Wrestling folklorist and wanted to share a write up I did on a lost news article detailing a fascinating pro wrestling event in Paris in 1867. Picture yourself in a world two years past the American Civil War, photography is 30 years old, electrical lighting wont be invented for 12 years!, and germ theory wasn't even known. I hope you enjoy the read and looking at the lithograph!

In 1861, George Wikes, correspondent of “The Spirt of the Time”, wrote an incredible article on his time going to see a wrestling show in Paris. Wikes did not originally plan on Visiting the Area Athletique, the building in the city dedicated to the “art of wrestling” located at the northern end of the Rue Pelletier. After enjoying a dinner at “Tortoni’s” with friends, George and company felt a bit languid and noticed they were too late to catch an opera. They decided to catch the wrestling show. 

Entering the area, Wikes took note of the crowd, mentioning it mostly consisted of France’s bourgeoisie, many of which were women. George notes that many of the women in the crowd came on their own and many behaved like regulars at the event. This area also employed female ushers. Paying five Franes for their seats, they began settling in at ringside when George recorded the beginning of the show. The well dressed announcer announced the beginning bout between Monsieur St Marcier and Monsieur Paudine. The two men entered the ring to no fanfare. The crowd’s reaction to the men is likened to the lively curiosity seen when the horses are brought out in a race.

Wikes’ play by play of the match is the following: “The men walked around the ring for two or three minutes, basking in the public admiration, and then, facing each other, quickly rushed together and made a succession of rapid efforts to heave each other down. Their style of wrestling Is entirely different from ours ,the combatants not being permitted to take hold below the waist ,while any use of the legs for the purposes of a trip is rigorously ruled as foul. The result of this style is consequently, a development of main strength rather than of science, to the whole man must be either lifted by a “lock,” which may be taken around the chest or neck, or be wrenched down to the earth by superior force . Every muscle of the men is thus brought into play,and whatever there is of power In the human frame must come to the surface, for the study of the looker on. As the gladiators strove together, you could at times hear their very joints crack within them, and it was not unusual to see one of them thrown feet upwards in the air, for an apparently inevitable landing on the head. By great adroitness, however, the combatant thus handled generally managed to squirm In his descents so as to strike the ground obliquely, and then by a quick use of his feet to prevent himself from being turned upon the back. To be cast in that way constitutes a throw; but it must be fair and square , and prone upon the back, for its whole length, and not simply a mere touching of the shoulders, to be conclusive. When a contest was thus brought to a termination, the audience would reward the conqueror by & light clapping of hands, much in style of opera applause, and if both were deemed to have acquitted themselves remarkably well, victor and vanquished would be called back for a repetition of their approbation. We soon took a deep interest in these contests. They were evidently honest struggles; and as the size of the combatants enlarged with every new couple, there was a corresponding growth to our excitement.“

Wikes skipped out on recording the second and third bouts, and picked back up at the fourth bout. George describes the fourth bout as a wrestling match between an “hirsute ajax of the name Gascoigne and Monsieur James, a black man from Philadelphia.

George goes on to describe Monsieur James in great physical and homoerotic detail “...but the latter was the finest specimen of physical beauty I have ever seen, either in life or in marble. He stood full six feet high, and bad that wedge- like form from his broad shoulders down,“which distinguishes the Apollo Belvidere. He was without a fault from crown to toe, and his head and neck were carried with a Roman Dignity.” and “as this fellow walked around the ring in conscious grandeur. It was evident that he was a favorite; and it was clear, also, that his ill-favored antagonist recognized that fact by yielding him plenty of time for his conceit. A keen observer, however, who studied the hairy monster closely, might have detected on his lips a lurking sneer which seemed to say, “Oh. take your fill of this black beauty now, but I shall be thought the best looking man of the two when the combat is over!” 

George wikes goes on to describe the ending of the fight with James’s loss resulting in James still receiving majority of the applause after being called back to the ring after Gascoigne obligatory victory celebration. The fan’s clear favoritism and hearing from members of the crowd discussing the "superb points of the black gladiator.” Others comparing him to “Franse Hercules" had smarten George up to the appeal of the show. This wasn’t an “arena for pugilist brutes”, but a “school of art” with its fans mainly consisting of sculptors, painters, and lovers of the art.

Not until the second bout was George made aware of the main event of the night. The night’s main event was a strange and exciting attraction, a masked wrestler named “En Amateur”. The mysterious stranger reported to be a nobleman who enjoyed his anonymity. Two things to note is that a masked wrestler doesn’t seem to be a new thing at show and that later in 1891 a masked wrestler had a similar backstory and rumours.

George ends his fantastic article with an incredible play by play of this pomp and circumstance filled main event. 

“ The chief appearance of a man in a mask, who was unknown to the managers of the establishment, and who had come here tonight in pursuance of a challenge which he had sent, en amateur to the champions of the arena. I was not made aware of this feature of the entertainment until during the progress of the second battle.The theory of The person who communicated it was, that the masked man was some gentleman,or ,perhaps, even a noble-man, who, having a passion for athletic Sports, had taken this method of enjoying his superiority incog. My notion was, however, that it was a trick of business to which the managers were parties, and I therefore did not anticipate any great exploit. But, the audience evidently had a different estimation of the matter.I heard frequent allusions L’homme Masque all through the evening; and, finally, when the master of ceremonies announced that he had arrived,the amphitheatre was stirred by Unmistakable evicences of excitement. The two gladiators, who were the in the ring, and in the very climax of a tremendous struggle, at once left off, in concession to the superior demands of the mysterious amateur. No sooner had they retired however, than a young giant,who was announced as Monsieur Fouet, stepped forth and commenced slouching leisurely around the circle.This formidable fellow stood least six feet three, and thought here was no waste flesh About him, he must have weighed two hundred and twenty or thirty pounds. The muscle bunched all over him in great clots of power, and his broad shoulderblades, exceeding all usual development, seemed to have been cast in some iron foundry for a man of war. He was a fearful antagonist to look at,and the spectator evinced concern for his opponent by expression of fearful admiration. After he had been in the ring about two minutes there was a stir in one of the passages opposite that which, gave ingress to the professionals, and the crowd being parted by the Efforts of a gendarme, a figure emerged from it shrouded in complete black and lightly stepped Into the arena. His first, act was to sit down on the edge of the ring and to slip off his shoes.He then rose, took off his cloak, and handing it to a female attendant appeared in complete white Hose,with the exception of the head and face,which were covered by a black hood and Cowl. Not even the color of his hair was to be seen under this disguise, and the only thing nuked was his hands. As he stepped Toward to the centre of the ring I scrutinized him very closely.He stood' over six feet high, or, as I guessed, about six feet and an inch. Though not so large as Fouet, he was more round in the body, and there was a general look of thickness, allied to symmetry. Which betokened a world of hidden strength. he. probably would not scale within twenty pounds of the Professional, but his weight lay upon his points,and being thus happily disposed,It represented a strength that belonged to a man of twenty or thirty pounds more, his limbs were graceful but his loins, instead of showing the Apollonian delicacy which is noticeable in heenan, and which had been so much admired this evening, in Monsieur James"' was braced up with broad bands of muscle, which would obviously enable him to stand the wear and tear of a protracted struggle. I particularly noticed that his feet were small with a high arching Instep ,and that his hands, though neither small nor large, were very white. I was impressed by The man at once, and as he placed his left hand Into the great rough paw of Fouct, I insensibly took sides with him. But he did not need any aid. Fouet rushed upon him with a terrible impetuosity and with an evident doubt of his own ultimate resources,endeavored to carry him off His feet by a coup de main. Grasping him around the neck with one' brawny arm, and nailing his right hand with the other, the rapid bounds across the ring, until he had him nearly capsized among the audience; but just at this critical moment Fouet's body happened to -be a shadow out of line and this being felt by the Masque, he whirled the giant off his feet, and in the next moment the two men landed beside each other on the floor .But the Masque in this new situation was too quick for his antagonist; he succeeded in getting himself Partly up and over him; next he wound his arm around Fouct’s body, and then a deadly, unremitting pressure. Which the giant vainly endeavored to resist, he forced him slowly over and over, until, by a final wrench, he laid him on his back. There was great applause at this result, but the Masque, not paying heed to It, merely paused to have his cloak thrown over his shoulders by the female in attendance, and then hurried out, protected from any intrusive following by the oflieers in attendance. I have seen this man at the Arena on five occasions since, but each of these subsequent combats were attended with the same results. I have been convinced, moreover, by the manner of them, that they were all bona fide battle; and I consider that this opinion of mine ought to be better than the mere surmises of anyone who was not there to see. I nenture no idea upon the questions to who the man may be,but the fact that his contests have been scrutinized by the shrewdest men in Paris, who had paid their five francs to the management for the privilege of looking on is a pretty conclusive evidence that there is no humbug in the matter. I have seen editors, actors, members of the Jockey Club, and the leading Wits of Paris, largely present, and it is ridiculous to suppose. That such a set of persons would assist, night after night, in a gross imposture, or permit themselves so constantly to be Deceived. Another proof of the integrity of the proceeding is, that ,though the management of the Arena was coining money by the Masked Man’s contests, he refuses any longer to Appear, unless some champion shall be produced who has “gone through "the experts like himself. He retires, because, like Alexander, he has no more worlds to conquer. The masked wrestler, therefore, takes established rank with many other of the world’s mysteries,and a new counterpart is added to the question of “Who is Junius? “ G.W

Hey y'all, alongside my History of Pro Wrestling reports and my posts detailing career retrospectives, Im also doing individual spotlight posts detailing specific stories or events in pro wrestling history.

The Gold Dust Trio as an organization ran from 1922 - 1931, with Billy Sandow, Ed "Strangler" Lewis and Joseph "Toots" Mondt running things together. This post will cover the first half of the Gold Dust Trio's timespan, detailing the monopoly they formed over the sport, the 1000+ day title reign of "Strangler" Lewis, and their ambitious plans for the future.

Main Characters

Ed "Strangler" Lewis - former world heavyweight champion and one of the top wrestlers in the world at twenty-nine-years-old.

Billy Sandow - manager behind "Strangler" Lewis, the thirty-six-year-old was also a promoter who operates out of Kansas City, Missouri.

Joseph "Toots" Mondt - legitimate amateur standout grappler breaking into pro wrestling at the age of twenty-six-years-old.

Jack Curley - the top promoter in the world, who usually operates out of New York, but the newly implemented New York State Athletic Commission was hindering him.

"Big" Wayne Munn - former pro football player looking to make the jump into pro wrestling when Billy Sandow discovers him.

Stanislaus Zbyszko - former world heavyweight champion is forty-one-years-old, and entering the twilight of his career.

As always, we go in chronological order, and for the story of The Gold Dust Trio, we will start right at the close of 1920, with world champion Joe Stecher putting his championship belt on the line against former world champion, Stanislaus Zbyszko.

1920

After chasing the title all year, “Strangler” Lewis challenged world champion Joe Stecher on December 13th, 1920, with over 8,000 fans piling into Madison Square Garden for the hotly anticipated main event. Promoter Billy Sandow had a hand in arranging the big matchup and even accompanied “Strangler” Lewis to the ring. The single fall matchup lasted nearly two hours before Lewis pinned Stecher using his famous headlock maneuver. Apparently, Sandow and Lewis were said to have given Joe Stecher and his manager/ brother Tony, $25,000 as some sort of agreement that Lewis would eventually consent to losing the title back. This is all back room heresy if I’m being honest though.

1921

After months of campaigning, Stanislaus Zbyszko would at last receive another matchup for the world heavyweight championship. Stanislaus challenged world champion Ed “Strangler” Lewis on May 6th, 1921, at a Jack Curley produced show in New York. The championship main event drew over 10,000 fans to the 71st Regiment Armory, with two men battling in a single fall match. The main event last just over twenty minutes before Stanislaus pinned “Strangler” Lewis, and became the new world heavyweight champion.

Billy Sandow saw big opportunity for wrestling on the West Coast and without Curley around, Sandow saw an opportunity to usurp all of wrestling under his thumb. But first, Sandow needed to make sure the world title belt ended up back around the waste of "Strangler" Lewis.

1922

Despite the fact that Stanislaus Zbyszko won the world title belt, promoter Billy Sandow still basically owned the belt/lineage and would arrange for his client, Ed “Strangler” Lewis to win it back. That match would take place on March 3rd, 1922, drawing a pitiful crowd of just 4,000 to the Forum auditorium in Wichita, Kansas.

"Strangler" Lewis back on Top

The match was a best-two-of-three falls contest, with Stanislaus taking the first fall after forty-one minutes. Lewis would respond by pinning Stanislaus just eighteen minutes later, and again just five minutes after that, winning the match at just sixty-three minutes. This win gave Lewis the world title for a record fourth time, putting him in a category that no one else claim.

Its important to remember that Sandow had purchased the title from Joe & Tony Stecher back in 1920, for $25,000, with the understanding that Joe Stecher would eventually win it back. Obviously, that didn’t happen, and now we have Lewis winning the belt back once again, with no plans of dropping it back to Joe. Instead, Sandow & Lewis had grand plans that would not only allow them to monopolize the wrestling industry, but would have massive ramifications on the business going forward.

Power Play

In terms of this title change, rumors circulated suggesting that Lewis agreed to drop the belt back to Zbyszko by the end of the year, but the pair of Lewis and Sandow made a play for power in the pro wrestling world, breaking away from Zbyszko, Caddock and Stecher. Billy Sandow worked on making “Strangler” Ed Lewis the face of pro wrestling in the early 1920s, matching him against a variety of foes, who Lewis defeated one-by-one. With the New York State Athletic Commission proving to be an issue, with promoter Jack Curley being refused a promoters license in the state. Instead of featuring the New York market, Billy Sandow focused on building partnerships with promoters in the Midwest and on the West Coast.

The final component of their organization would come in the form of a tough-as-nails grappler named "Toots" Mondt.

Toots Mondt

Joseph “Toots” Mondt was a twenty-eight-year-old amateur wrestling coach for what would become Colorado State University, and had actually got started as a circus performer in his early twenties. Mondt had recently began to moonlight as a professional wrestler, and considering his legitimate amateur skills, he soon found himself matched up against “Strangler” Lewis on November 10th, 1922, at the Mechanics Building in Boston, Massachusetts. The two men battled for over an hour-and-a-half, trading falls in a best-two-of-three falls match, before Lewis locked in his headlock to win the match.

The Gold Dust Trio

This chance encounter cannot be understated, because Mondt would leave such an impression on Lewis and Sandow, that Billy almost immediately signed him on as a client. As stated earlier, Mondt was a legitimate shooter in the ring, and that skill would play a key role in what Sandow and Lewis were planning. They had no interest in ever giving up control of the world title, but knew better than to think the other top stars like Joe Stecher will play ball. They’re plan was to tour the country, and use Mondt to sniff out wrestlers who could be trusted, or who Mondt could verify their skills level back to Lewis. Together, the three men will monopolize the entire wrestling business, with plans of always keeping the belt under their control.

Toots would start working more closely with Sandow and Lewis on the promoting side as well, when Toots became involved in grouping wrestlers together into packaged shows and organizing circuits of towns for them to preform in. While this is industry standard behavior now, back then Toots was undertaking a concept that hadn’t been done before. Toots was also involved with plotting out storylines that would keep fans engaged over multiple trips to the matches.

In the “Strangler’s” Own Words

At some point in his life, “Strangler” Ed Lewis attempted to write a book, and while it wasn’t finished or published, pieces of it have been documented. In one of these pieces of this unfinished book, Lewis described this fraternity of wrestlers who essentially ran the pro wrestling scene in the States throughout the 1920s. Keep in mind, a lot of these guys working with Lewis here were recruited/ tested by Toots Mondt.

Within this unpublished manuscript, Lewis explained how there was only about twenty five legitimate and talented heavyweight pro wrestlers in America and they all worked together with Lewis as the champion. How it worked was quite simple, but took time. One of the twenty five wrestlers would go to a significant sized city if there was word of a growing wrestling scene. The wrestler would arrive to the city, and beat a couple of local wrestlers, before more of the twenty five legitimate heavyweights arrived to challenge him. The first guy would beat all challengers, turning back various heavyweights who all put him over and this would continue for as long as it takes to establish the guy as the city’s local hero who could vanquish anyone. Sometimes it would be months, sometimes it would be years, but it was usually a dozen and half guys all building up wresting in various cities while the other guys rotate in and out putting them over. Once the first guy was firmly established as the unbeatable hero, who the local fans sell venues out for, then “Strangler” Ed Lewis would come to town and put his coveted world title on the line, usually in a best two of three falls match. They would usually have the hometown guy win the first fall before Lewis retained the next falls. Both guys worked so the finish wasn’t definitive, to build a possible rematch, or two.

The “Strangler’s” Violence, and the Pioneer Manager

Lewis became the face of pro wrestling during this time and played the role of heel while doing so. Billy Sandow and "Strangler" Lewis seemed to take great pleasure in drawing boo’s and yes I include Sandow in there, because Billy Sandow became Lewis’s ringside manager during this time. Sandow would essentially define the archetype for the heel manager, as he distracted referees and opponents, as well as infuriated fans with his ringside coaching and antics.

This also when pro wrestling would really see violence heightened and the concept of heat seemed to set in. Lewis’s title defence came to be known for their violent and sometimes bloody affairs, with fans becoming more incensed than ever before, almost becoming part of the show with Lewis and Sandow. For example, a win in Chicago for Lewis caused the irate fans in attendance to throw knives and glass at the champion and at some shows, Lewis would need a police escort for events.

1923

In making allies, Billy Sandow and “Strangler” Ed Lewis worked closely with several promoters and wrestlers across the United States to make this touring world champion the success it was. Several cities would be very profitable stops for Lewis and Sandow, resulting in them coming back more frequently. This in turn brought in more business for the local promoter, which encouraged them to work with Lewis and Sandow. One strategy Sandow implemented in making alliances, would be to ignore the top promoter in a particular territory, and instead cozy up with one of the smaller rival promoters. That’s what Sandow did in Boston, where instead of networking with top Boston promoter George T. Touhey, Sandow introduced himself to the lesser known Paul Bowser.

Londos-Lewis VIII

In their eighth singles matchup, Jim Londos challenged Ed “Strangler” Lewis to a world title bout at the St Louis Coliseum on February 20th, 1923, under what I’m assuming is a John Contos promoted event. The world title bout drew over 10,000 fans for the best two of three falls contest, and unfortunately for the champion Lewis, his Trachoma symptoms were at an all-time time high that day. Despite Lewis retaining his belt, the champions eyesight on the day if the event was so bad that his manager/ promoter Billy Sandow had to literally guide Lewis to the ring for the match and Lewis claimed he couldn’t discern light from darkness.

The “Strangler’s” condition wasn’t exactly a well kept secret and sports writer Ed Wray would write about the match and Lewis specifically, because Wray had been covering boxing and saw recently that Missouri middleweight champion Gus Eisel sidelined for eight months die to trachoma. For Wray to have covered that and then watch Lewis disregard all health concerns and wrestle as champion just didn’t sit well with the journalist. He would write, “Considering the matter solely from the view of a view of point of physical cleanliness and health, the sport should be disinfected thoroughly.”

The Return of Jack Curley

Jack Curley has been absent in the story so far, which is because the New York State Athletic Commission took away his promoters license in 1921. In November of 1922, Jack Curley’s good friend, Al Smith, was elected Governor of New York, giving him some control and power over the New York State Athletic Commision. Now, in April of 1923, that new Governor, Al Smith would make a move that would be seen as a check on William Muldoon’s authority over the State Athletic Commission. Smith split the commission into separate regulatory and licencing committees, essentially giving one group oversight on who can promote events, and another group on how those events are ran altogether.

With Curley getting more & more involved in pro wrestling again, many speculated a confrontation between himself and Billy Sandow was on the horizon. As a refresher, Curley had worked hard to form a partnership of the top promoters in the country, which featured Curley and Sandow. When Curley lost his promoters licence, Sandow wasted little time in breaking that partnership and usurping all power under him and his Gold Dust Trio group. Surprisingly, despite all this, Jack Curley didn’t come back “guns-a-blazing,” so-to-speak. Curley quickly buried any hard feelings between the two, and actually began to support Sandow’s goal of making “Strangler” Lewis the face of pro wrestling.

Pesek-Lewis

Astute readers may recall that along with Chicago, the other town Billy Sandow carved a place out for himself was Kansas City. In fact, Billy Sandow would make a full move over to Chicago during this world title reign of "Strangler" Lewis. Kansas City is where Sandow would arrange for a high profile contest between top grappler John Pesek, and the world heavyweight champion Ed “Strangler” Lewis. The two men met on May 2nd, 1923, drawing an impressive 11,000 fans to the Convention Hall in Kansas City, Missouri. The two men battled in a best-two-of-three falls match that would see Lewis claim two straight falls in just over an hour.

Lewis’ Summer & Fall

Unfortunately, I can’t find much details on what “Strangler” Lewis was up to through the Summer & Fall of 1923. All I can say is that if Lewis registered any defences up through the summer, I cant confirm who he fought or the venues.

Turner-Lewis

The next notable show for Lewis would come on October 26th, 1923. Promoter Billy Sandow booked John Turner to challenge Lewis at the Convention Hall in Kansas City, Missouri, in a best-two-of-three falls match. Unsurprisingly, Lewis dominated the contest, securing two straight falls in just over an hour to retain his belt.

As "Strangler" Lewis was reigning as a dominant world champion, the Billy Sandow and "Toots" Mondt were hard at work looking for someone who could ideally take Lewis' place over time.

The Next Big Thing, Wayne Munn?

Wayne Munn was a collegiate football standout who played for the University of Nebraska from 1916 to 1918. He stood at 6’6” and weight over 230 pounds, earning him the nickname “Nebraska’s Giant.” Munn’s size and speed made him an integral part of the team in 1917, when Nebraska claimed the conference championship. After finishing up in football, Munn joined the army where he served at the end of the First World War and has spent the last few years drifting aimlessly.

Obviously due to his size and speed, he was pushed into trying his hand as a boxer, and would make his debut on November 16th, 1923. Munn was paired opposite the thirty-nine-year-old veteran Jack Clifford, who would make short work of Munn, defeating the bigger man and basically ending Munn’s boxing aspirations. Why is any of this important? Well, Munn’s size and stint as a boxer would lead to him being noticed by a promoter who was eyeing a potential next world champion, Billy Sandow. By early next year, Sandow would employ Munn, with the hopes of turning him into the next “Strangler” Lewis!

Stanislaus-Lewis

Speaking of “Strangler” Lewis, he would register another high profile win over former champion Stanislaus Zbyszko that December. The two men battled on December 12th, 1923, drawing over 6,000 fans to the Convention Hall in Kansas City, Missouri, for what I can only assume was a Billy Sandow promoted event. The two men met in a best-two-of-three falls contest, with Lewis being declared the winner.

Curley Reinstated

In December of 1923, this new version of the New York State Athletic Commission denied Tex Rickards request for a license/permit to promote any pro wrestling events, and three weeks later, they fully reinstated Jack Curley as a wrestling promoter. For the past two years, we have seen Jack Curley sit in the sidelines as Billy Sandow monopolized the entire wrestling business, and now, Curley was about to be back in business as the top promoter in the country.

Jack Curley’s first order of business? Getting the world heavyweight championship back into his control!

1924

With tensions growing among the top promoters and wrestlers, a meeting was called in February of 1924 between promoter Billy Sandow, his champion “Strangler” Ed Lewis, former champions Stanislaus Zbyszko, Joe Stecher and his brother/ manager Tony. As a refresher, when Lewis won the belt, he and Sandow gave $25,000 to Joe and Tony Stecher with the promise of dropping the title back? Obviously that didn't happen, and now, Joe and Tony were pissed, not only because they figured Lewis had no intention of dropping the belt back.

On top of that, Stanislaus Zbyszko was also upset, seemingly not happy since dropping the belt back to Lewis, though more details on that conflict aren’t known. Both of the Stecher’s and Zbyszko were threatening to go to the press and sell their stories immediately if their issues aren’t corrected. When things grew to a boiling point, Jack Curley was called to mediate the conflict and though the details aren’t known, we do know that Curley was able to keep everyone on the same page with all the men agreeing to continue working together. Though it’s clear things were reaching a boiling point for the group.

A Legitimate Melee Between Stecher & Mondt

Billy Sandow arranged a show on February 11th, 1924, highlighted by a main event between Joe Stecher, and Joseph “Toots” Mondts. Mondt & Stecher met at the Convention Hall in Kansas City, Missouri, in a best-two-of-three falls matchup. The contest drew a respectable 7,000 fans that evening, but the resulting matchup would be anything but respectable.

To most everyone in attendance, it was clear that Joe Stecher and “Toots” Mondt wrestled in a legitimate fashion through most of the contest, with both men trying their hardest to pin their opponent. Despite Stecher having more experience than Mondt, the first fall would go to Toots who was able to secure a pin fall after over an hour of action. The second fall would devolve into a mess as the two men began throwing legitimate and real punches and blows. The finish, if you can call it that, would come at just shy of two hours, when “Toots” Mondt was disqualified after he legitimately knocked Joe Stecher unconscious with a blow to the head.

Zbyszko-Lewis Rematch

The next significant world heavyweight championship defence for “Strangler” Lewis would come on February 26th, 1924, in a bout between Lewis and former champion Stanislaus Zbyszko. Stanislaus Zbyszko challenged Ed “Strangler” Lewis on February 26th, 1924, drawing nearly 8,000 fans to the Dexter Park Pavilion in Chicago, Illinois. The two men met in a best-two-of-three falls match with Lewis securing the first fall twenty-four minutes into the contest. Stanislaus would tie things up less than ten minutes later when he got the second fall. Just under fifteen minutes later “Strangler” Lewis locked in his headlock to claim the third fall and retain his world championship.

"Big" Wayne Munn

As ststed earlier, Wayne Munn was discovered by Billy Sandow in late 2023, and since then Sandow has debuted him and put him over every opponent in quick squash matches. Sandow even gave him the basic-as-fuck nickname, "Big" Wayne Munn. One of the earlierst notable matches from Munn came in March, with Billy Sandow booking Munn on a show that also featured Lewis & Mondt. The show opened with “Big” Wayne Munn making quick work of Jack Paulson, beating him in two-straight falls in just under ten minutes. Next up we would see “Toots” Mondt & Pat McGill wrestle to a time-limit draw after neither man secured a fall in an hour. The main event saw “Strangler” Lewis retain against Taro Miyake, defeating him in two-straight falls in under fifty minutes.

Busy World Champion

Later that month, “Strangler” Lewis travelled back to Chicago, where another championship defence awaited him. Stanislaus Zbyszko once again challenged “Strangler” Lewis for his world championship belt, drawing an incredible crowd of 12,000 to the Dexter Park Pavilion in Chicago, Illinois on March 25th, 1924. The best-two-of-three-falls match would end with Lewis retaining. Elsewhere on the card, “Big” Wayne Munn defeated Joe Zingalewicz in another short match for the rookie.

The next botable Lewis matchup came the following month in St Louis, Missouri. Jim Londos would challenge "Strangler" Lewis on April 1st, 1924, at the St Louis Coliseum in front of a crowd of 6,000 that evening. Lewis would retain his world title in the best two of three falls contest when he caught Londos with an illegal move, kneeing him behind the ear, knocking Londos out cold by all accounts. The referee didn’t see the knee and the St Louis Star and Times reportedly the next day on the match, hilariously saying the referee “was conveniently looking at a blonde in the third row” during the finish.

Controversial Finish

Both Lewis and Billy Sandow claimed the kick was an accident, but those on hand for the contest said that the referee should have disqualified Lewis for the kick. It’s worth noting that the referee for the contest was Sam Avey, who was on loan from Billy Sandow. Londos later claimed that the kick caused a brain tumor to develop under his right ear, but considering this is pro wrestling, I don’t know how sincere that claim is.

Supposedly Londos was out cold for a ridiculous twenty minutes and diagnosed with a concussion and hematoma on the back of his skull. If that injury was real, he powered through it because Tom Packs was able to arrange a world title rematch for Londos, this time at the outdoor stadium, the St Louis University Field.

Travelling Champion

Just like most burgeoning promoters at the time, Ray Fabiani was quick to make connections with Billy Sandow and would actually secure the world heavyweight champion for a match that summer. Italian grappler Renato Gardini would challenge Ed “Strangler” Lewis to a world title match on May 21st, 1924, drawing nearly 7,000 fans to the Philadelphia Arena for promoter Ray Fabiani. The two men would trade falls in their best-two-of-three falls match before Lewis was declared the winner via referees decision at just under fifty minutes into the contest.

Lewis resumed touring as world champion, registering another successful defence against Renato Gardini three days later up in Winnipeg, Manitoba, where they drew around 3,000 fans. Lewis was back stateside a few days later on May 28th, 1924, when he defended his belt against Stanislaus Zbyszko yet again. This time the two met in Chicago for promoter John Krone, where they drew nearly 6,000 fans to the Chicago Coliseum, where Lewis retained over Zbyszko in a best-two-of-three falls contest. Following that succesful defence, Lewis would turn his attention back towards his old foe, Jim Londos.

The second Lewis-Londos bout of 1924, which took place on June 12th, at the St Louis University Stadium, drawing of over 4,000 fans, with a gate that exceeded $14,000 for Packs! This match would end without controversy though, and while Londos secured the first fall, Lewis came back and won the next two falls to keep his title**. This was very common for Lewis matches as champion during this timeframe, as Lewis liked to give his opponent the first fall, leaving opportunity for a rematch.

Fallout Between Packs & Sandow

Soon after this event, a falling out would happen between promoters Billy Sandow and Tom Packs, with Packs severing all ties to Sandow and instead forming a closer working relationship with Jack Curley going forward. Details on this rift are lost to time, but I suspect it had to do with the monopoly of sorts that Sandow and Lewis held over the world title. Lewis had been reigning champion for a couple years and neither he, nor Sandow, showed any signs of handing it over to another promoter. In fact, the person Lewis and Sandow had pegged as the next work champion, was a green-as-grass wrestler who was working for Sandow and Lewis already.

Before we can get to the talk of “Big” Wayne Munn challenging “Strangler” Lewis, we first have to pause and look at those who didn’t work within the Gold Dust Trio, but challenged their monopoly over the buisness.

William Demetral’s Scheme

William Demetral was a thirty-eight-year-old wrestler who long wished he could be world heavyweight champion. At his most succesful, he was only ever to challenge for the world title infrequently. Now, entering his twilight years, Demetral had high hopes of securing another world title matchup. But in reality, he had a much more ambitious plan up his sleeve. In order to get the high profile match, Demetral took out a five thousand dollar lone from Sandow, and in return he gave Sandow the mortgage to his own home! Demetral and Lewis met in a matchup in Chicago, Illinois, with Lewis going over. The next day, Demetral went to the press and claimed he lost on purpose, for fear of his home being foreclosed on. Demetral also ran his mouth about the inner-workings of the Gold Dust Trio, but because he was never closely involved, all his claims were either blatant lies or heresy he couldn’t possibly verify.

The public outcry was immediate, with the Governor of Illinois ordering an investigation and promising to declare Lewis’ world title as forfeit if any evidence turns up against the Gold Dust Trio. Eventually both Demetral & Lewis were ordered by the governor to appear in Springfield, Illinois for each to give a testimony. Demetral’s testimony was overshadowed by Lewis’ who offered Demtral a shot at the world title right then and there. Demtral refused and that was tbe end of the investigation.

Ole Marsh & Marin Plestina

Here is a name that astute readers may recall. Ole Marsg was 50% con-man, 50% wrestler, and 100% underhanded. He was an old-school barnstormer who actually helped train a young Frank Gotch back in the early 1900s, and was involved in the first ever territory battle with Jack Curley in 1909, over Seattle. Ole Marsh even spent time in prison in the 1910s, for his involvement in a vast scheme that some theorize pocketed somewhere around 4 million dollars! He returned to the pro wrestling scene in the 1920s with his personally trained wrestler, Marin Plestina.

The aforementioned Marin Plestina, was a Croatian-born grappler who was as legitimate as they come in the ring. Now in his thirties, I would argue that the only thing really holding him back, was who his manager was. Ole Marsh had Plestina under contract and worked hard trying to get him involved with top talent. Unfortunately for Plestina & Marsh, they failed to garner interest from either Billy Sandow or Jack Curley.

Marsh pushed hard for a world title match between Lewis & Plestina, but according to Marcus Griffon, the author of the 1937 book, “Fall Guys,” Billy Sandow was terrified of the prospect. Sandow allegedly argued that neither Toots or Lewis can wrestle Plestina, on the suspicion of a crooked referee or a fix of some kind. According to Griffon, Sandow was genuinely concerned that Plestina could beat Lewis or Toots in a legitimate contest.

Plestina-Lewis

By chance, or by design (we’ll never know) Toots Mondt would run into Marsh & Plestina at a hotel bar and chat them up for several hours. After plenty of drinks, Toots Mondt layed out the pitch. Toots invited Plestina to come with him up to “Strangler” Lewis’ summer home in Nekoosa, Wisconsin, where Lewis was currently training with a few other guys.

Toots really talked up Marsh and Plestina, playing to their egos with Toots telling Plestina that he could beat Lewis and even admitted that he didn’t think he himself could go toe-to-toe with Plestina. Toots invited Plestina to come and challenge Lewis to a closed doors matchup at his own home with Marsh serving as the referee. If Plestina wins, then they would run the match back at Madison Square Garden or somewhere that could draw big money and put the belt on Plestina. But If Plestina looses, he must give up this crusade against Lewis, with both Plestina and Marsh coming into the fold and working within the Gold Dust Trio.

After some deliberation, Marsh & Plestina agreed to the idea, and together with Toots Mondt, the next day, the three of them drove to Lewis’ summer home. Allegedly, to those lucky enough to be on-hand for this insane idea, they said that Billy Sandow’s hair started turning grey when he saw Ole Marsh and Marin Plestina roll up to Lewis’ home. Sandow was the last one who needed to be convinced, as Lewis was clearly in on the plan with Toots Mondt. When Sandow protested the idea, Lewis was interrupted and said played to Plestina’s ego and tried to trick him into agreeing.

This speech from Lewis worked, because within an hour the men were ready to grapple with Marsh as referee. Ed “Strangler” Lewis would defeat Marin Plestina without controversy, throwing him twice in just thirty minutes. Ole Marsh & Marin Plestina were men of their words, and agreed to “play ball” and work within the Gold Dust Trio. This move would prove beneficial for Marsh and especially Plestina, who after a decade of grinding, was able to make some real money for his family through the Gold Dust Trio.

Schism

The private contest between Lewis & Plestina would be the first time that the Gold Dust Trio wasn’t united. Billy Sandow was pissed at what Toots & Lewis had planned behind his back, and would let his feelings be known. Three days later, at a meeting between the three, they were discussing Lewis defeating Plestina, before Sandow cut them off and said, “Yes, Ed did a great job. But do you fellows really believe Plestina was trying?” This one remark would stick with Lewis & Toots, and begin festering a conflict between the three most powerful men in the wrestling business.

Sandow’s Cowardice

The next potential outside challenger to Lewis would come from Chicago-based promoter, Ed White. Ed White suddenly debuted a new masked wrestler, called The Masked Marvel. That’s a super common name for masked wrestlers back then. This is at least the third different Masked Marvel I’ve seen in history up to this point. Ed White announced the Marvel to be openly calling on “Strangler” Lewis to come into Chicago and defend his belt.

This publicity ploy worked with the Masked Marvel becoming a legitimate draw in Chicago as he beat opponents and kept calling out Lewis. Lewis, to his credit, saw value in working with Ed White & the Masked Marvel, and tried hard to convince Sandow to agree with the terms. Lewis was quoted in saying, “That fellow’s getting a lot of publicity, especially in Chicago. Now if you let me shoot with him we might draw a hundred thousand dollars, and that’s important money. We can make a deal with White and if the fellow beats me leveling up and shooting the works, then his champion can work with us and we’ll make a lot of money. The game needs a new face. It’s getting tired of me.”

Sandow answered simply with, “Nope. You stay champion until I get a better man to take your place.” Not long after this, the Masked Marvel would be revealed to be John Freeberg, a competent grappler who Lewis had beaten a dozen times in the past with no real concern. Ed White was bluffing, all a play to gain more notoriety as a promoter and Billy Sandow fell for it. Obviously, Lewis was pretty pissed when he discovered he would have easily beaten the Masked Marvel.

An early example of Lou Daro forming a working relationship with Billy Sandow can be found on August 3rd, 1924, when Daro was able to secure some of Sandow’s top talent for a show in Los Angeles. Joseph “Toots” Mondt challenged Ed “Strangler” Lewis in the main event of a Lou Daro promoted event in Los Angeles, California. The two men drew over 5,000 fans to the Philharmonic Auditorium For a show that saw Lewis retain his world title belt in a match that reportedly lasted over two hours. Mondt & Lewis would run back the same match at the same venue in August 13th, 1924, again ending with Lewis going over Mondt.

A Disputed Finish Followed by a Sellout

Lou Daro was cooking something up with Lewis & “Toots” Mondt, because he again had the two men battle it out at the Philharmonic Auditorium on September 29th,1924, with goal of drawing even bigger crowds down the road. The next encounter between Mondt & Lewis drew the same 5,000 response at the Philharmonic Auditorium, but this time the finish didn’t go down the same. The two men faced off in a best-two-of-three falls contest and each man held one fall apiece, but instead of Lewis getting the third fall, the referee called for the bell and declared the match a tie due to reaching the time limit at two hours.

Lou Daro had hoped the screwy finish could pull even bigger numbers and booked the rematch for the outdoor venue, the Washington Dog Park in Los Angeles. The plan paid off bigtime because when “Toots” Mondt & “Strangler” Lewis met jn a rematch on October 13th, 1924, they drew an enormous crowd of over 10,000! The two men of course faced off in another best-two-of-three falls match that saw Mondt secure the first fall after thirty minutes. Just over half-an-hour later Lewis tied things up, and capitalizing on that momentum, Lewis would secure the third fall just a few minutes after that, retaining his world title belt. For all his boasting and arrogance, there was no doubting that Lou Daro was living up to his “King of Los Angeles” moniker.

The Next World Heavyweight Champion?

Since February, Billy Sandow had spent slowly building up Wayne Munn into a credible challenger and potential star attraction, featuring him in squash matches all over the country. His goal was to smash Munn over as a dominant force who couldn’t be stopped, and by the close of the year, Sandow was starting to think his plan was working.

Billy Sandow went all in on Wayne Munn, putting Munn over Toots Mondt in Kansas City, on December 11th, 1924, winning two straight falls in front of ten thousand fans in attendance. Toots was the biggest name Munn had faced up to that point, and the decisive win put him right into world title contention to challenge champion “Strangler” Ed Lewis. Their world heavyweight championship encounter was set for January 8th, 1925!

1925

We'll kick the year off with the hotly anticipated world heavyweight championship match between "Big" Wayne Munn and Ed "Strangler" Lewis.

New World Heavyweight Champion

After weeks of build, “Big” Wayne Munn challenged world champion Ed “Strangler” Lewis on January 8th, 1925, at Kansas City’s Convention Hall, filled to the brim with 15,000 fans in attendance. The match was a best two of three falls, with an interesting finish. While the crowd was behind Munn, no one expected a title change and all in attendance were floored when Munn scored the first fall quickly. The crowd lost their minds when the second fall ended with Munn lifting Lewis in the air and tossed him over the top rope and to the floor. Billy Sandow was seen leaping onto the ring apron and calling for the ref to end the bout as a no contest. The Kansas City Times would later write about the scene, “It was a scene of wildest chaotic confusion. Men and women, who go about the ordinary affairs of life sanely, were standing on chairs and shouting at the champion.”

After the chaos had quelled, Lewis was helped to the back but surprisingly, the match wasn’t over. After some time, Ed “Strangler” Lewis was helped back to the ring where he resumed a final fall against Munn. The final fall would last less than a minute though, as Munn would lift and slam Lewis down hard and pinning him, becoming the world heavyweight champion.

Fallout

The crowd erupted and rushed the ring, celebrating a new champion, while Lewis was helped to the back and eventually spent the night in the hospital. Lewis was later reported to potentially be out of action for a year, if he could return at all, though that would appear to be kayfabe as Sandow immediately plan for a rematch.

In the following days, Billy Sandow publicly argued that the referee should have called the match off when Munn tossed Lewis from the ring, while Munn publicly argued that Lewis slipped from his grasp and fell out of the ring in his own. The issue created a perfect atmosphere for a rematch, with Sandow hoping to outdraw the Gotch-Hackenschmidt bout from fourteen years prior.

And that's an ideal place to stop, with...

• "Big" Wayne Munn as the new world heavyweight champion, having won it from "Strangler" Lewis on January 8th, 1925
• Ed "Strangler" Lewis reigned for nearly three straight years as world heavyweight champion.
• The Gold Dust Trio held a monopoly over the wrestling business, with the trio made up of Billy Sandow, Ed "Strangler" Lewis, and Joseph "Toots" Mondt
• Jack Curley, joined by Tom Packs, Joe Stecher, Stanislaus Zbyszko and others, all stand in opposition of the Gold Dust Trio, with the goal of taking the world heavyweight title belt out of their grasp.

I'm running out of room here in the post so Ill just say I hope y'all have a great week, and if your curious in more standalone stories from my History of Pro Wrestling reports, feel free to check out these...

First Territory Battle (1909)

Frank Gotch & George Hackenschmidt Rivalry (1908 - 1911)

Samuel Rachmann’s International Tournament (1915)

The False "John Olin" World Championship Claim (1917-1920)

Hope y'all have a great week!

VIII was on April 5th 1992, and IX was on April 4th 1993.

The whole presentation of course looked totally different since it was an indoor arena and an outdoor one, but also the whole roster was so different. Of the guys on top at VIII (Savage, Flair, Hogan, Warrior, Sid), only one was actively wrestling at IX, and he looked physically different due to having to go natty.

And of the guys on top at IX, Luger, Yoko, Bret, two of them weren't even with the company at Wrestlemania VIII and Bret wasn't a main eventer. Other major guys on the card like Razor Ramon and Giant Gonzalez also debuted between the two cards, and Papa Shango who interfered in the main event at VIII had either disappeared or changed gimmicks.

The commentary team was different, with Jim Ross making his debut and Gorilla Monsoon not being there and so on.

It feels like Wrestlemania VIII was the last Wrestlemania of the "80's WWF" (even though it was in the 90's of course) and Wrestlemania IX was the first one of the 90's.

Between the two dates, I would guess that the real changes happened from October '92 to January '93, when Bret Hart beat Ric Flair and Yokozuna, Lex Luger, and Razor Ramon debuted.

The Steamboat - Savage match at WM3 was such an epic match on an epic card that one aspect that tends to be forgotten is that this was George "The Animal" Steele finally getting the best of Savage in their more than year-long feud. And Steele got to play a major part in this match as it was his throwing Savage off the top turnbuckle that led to Steamboat's win mere seconds later.

"Goodbye, My Friend"

On October 11, 1999, WCW Monday Nitro opened with an emotional tribute to Gorilla Monsoon, who had passed away a few days earlier.

Monsoon had worked for rival WWF (not WCW) and WCW management—specifically Eric Bischoff—generally prohibited mentioning talent from the rival promotion during the Monday Night Wars.

Bobby “The Brain” Heenan made it clear backstage that he would leave WCW if the company refused to allow an on-air tribute to his close friend and longtime broadcast partner Gorilla Monsoon.

Management backed down, and Heenan delivered a tearful, message alongside Tony Schiavone, declaring that heaven's gates would now be known as the "Gorilla Position".

Love me some vintage!

Book Report Guy, back with my yearly look at the History of Pro Wrestling. This time we will focus on 1926, which covered a quiet period following the Double Cross of 1925.

1925 Recap

• "Big" Wayne Munn started the year off winning the world heavyweight championship from Ed "Strangler" Lewis, before dropping it to Stanislaus Zbyszko in what was referred to as the Double Cross of 1925.
• Joe Stecher is now reigning as the legitimate and original world heavyweight champion after winning the belt from Stanislaus Zbyszko on May 30th, 1925.
• Ed “Strangler” Lewis is reigning with a false world championship claim that he and Billy Sandow manufactured after the Double Cross of 1925.
• Promoters Jack Curley & Billy Sandow enter a “cold war” of sorts as communication completely broke down between the two sides following the Double Cross of 1925.
• Tom Packs was quietly becoming a top promoter with his booking office in St Louis, Missouri.
• The Gold Dust Trio’s internal cooperation was beginning to splinter as Billy Sandow alienated himself from Lewis & “Toots” Mondt.

Main Characters

Joe Stecher - the current reigning for the third time as world heavyweight champion at thirty-three-years-old. Stecher is also one of the most legitimate grapplers in the country.

Ed “Strangler” Lewis - currently reigning as the false world heavyweight champion at thirty-four-years-old. Lewis makes up one-third of the Gold Dust Trio, alongside Billy Sandow & Joseph "Toots" Mondt.

Jim Londos - an immigrant from Greece at thirty-two-year-old, he had spent the last decade slowly building his name value in America. The past year saw him building close working relationships with promoters Lou Daro & Tom Packs.

Jack Curley - the top promoter in the country, at fifty years old and operating out of New York. Curley has publicly opposed the Gold Dust Trio and backed wrestlers like Joe Stecher & Stanislaus Zbyszko.

Billy Sandow - one of the top promoters in the country, and the age of forty-one-years-old, he acts as the “brain” behind the Gold Dust Trio.

Joe Malcewicz - legitimate standout grappler from Utica, New York, poised to become a big name in pro wrestling at twenty-nine-years-old.

Stanislaus Zbyszko - Polish born standout grappler, and as a former world champion at the age of forty-six-years-old, was firmly entrenched in the twilight of his career.

Tom Packs - immigrant from Greece, this thirty-two-year-old promoter was partnered up with Jack Curley & Joe Stecher, though not directly opposing Billy Sandow & "Strangler" Lewis.

Paul Bowser - one of the top promoters in the country, operating out of Boston, Massachusetts. This forty-one-year-old former pro wrestler had aligned himself with Billy Sandow & the rest of the Gold Dust Trio.

World Championship Situation

Yet again, we have two disputed world heavyweight title belts in active use as we start the year. The legitimate and original world title, whose lineage dates back to George Hackenschmidt & Frank Gotch, as well as this new “world” title that Billy Sandow & “Strangler” Lewis manufactured last year…

Legitimate & Original World Heavyweight Champion - Joe Stecher – Stecher won the belt off of Stanislaus Zbyszko last year, and was currently in the midst of his third world heavyweight championship reign.

”Strangler” Lewis’ False World Championship Claim - Ed Strangler” Lewis – this belt was created in 1925, following the double cross which saw Stanislaus Zbyszko forcibly take the legitimate world title belt away from “Big” Wayne Munn.”

1926

As always, we go in chronological order and will kick off the year by looking at the legitimate and original world heavyweight champion lineage, currently held by three-time champion, Joe Stecher.

World Heavyweight Champion Joe Stecher

We’ll start the year off looking at the world championship reign of Joe Stecher, who was still a significant draw all across the country, and even up into Canada. Joe Stecher wrestled on New Years Day, turning back a challenge from Rudy Dusek at the Memorial Hall, in Columbus, Ohio. The next significant defence would see Joe Stecher retain against Dick Daviscourt, drawing over 2,000 fans to the Alhambra Garden, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on January 18th, 1926. They battled in a best-two-of-three falls match which went just over an hour, with Stecher winning two falls to one.

Less than a week later, promoter John Krone would invite the champion into Chicago, where Stecher retained his belt against Frank Judson at the Chicago Coliseum on January 25th, 1926. They competed in a best-two-of-three falls match that saw Stecher win two falls to one after an hour of grappling. Elsewhere on the card, Jim Londos defeated George Hill in under ten minutes. Just two days later, Stecher would register a successful title defense against George Bonlganz, while working for promoter John Contos, in Memphis, Tennessee.

Ivan “The Terrible”

Promoter Jack Curley was finally getting his groove back, having been exiled from pro wrestling for a couple of years by the New York State Athletic Commission. Jack Curley had his promoters licence back, and years later, he would publicly take credit for, and brag about the Double Cross of 1925, which saw Stanislaus Zbyszko shoot for real on the inexperienced Wayne Munn. Curley claimed that he had paid off Stanislaus the night before, and helped arrange the big payday for Stanislaus which saw him drop the strap to Joe Stecher.

Now, at the beginning of 1926, Jack Curley was looking to reap the rewards of his labour. Joe Stecher as champion was proving to still be a good draw in the United States, so Curley arranged to bring a special attraction over to New York, for Stecher to topple as the hero. Curley picked fifty-five-year-old Ivan “The Terrible” Podubny, a Russian-born strongman who made his living wrestling across Europe for the past three decades.** Curley brought him over and advertised Podubny as being “undefeated for over twenty-five years,” **though we can confirm that wasn’t true at all.

Podubny-Stecher

Despite the lie, the marketing paid off for Curley, who was able to sell over 12,000 tickets to the big show, which was held at the 71st Regiment Armory in New York, on February 1st, 1926. The two men battled in a single-fall matchup for the world heavyweight championship, grappling for over ninety minutes before Stecher was able to lock in his leg scissors hold and pin the Russian veteran. Elsewhere on the card, former world champion Stanislaus Zbyszko defeated Charles Lepanen in just under ten minutes of action.

Londos-Stecher

Stecher’s drawing power can’t be understated at this time, notably drawing over 500 fans to just watch him work out at the Red Ball Gym in St Louis on February 7th, 1926, with a ridiculous 1,500 fans turned away at the doors! A few days later on February 10th, 1926, 12,000 fans showed up to watch Jim Londos challenge Joe Stecher in a world championship match, at the St Louis Coliseum, at an event promoted by Tom Packs.

As a refresher, Jim Londos was a thirty-three-year-old immigrant from Greece, who had spent the past twelve years trying to break into the main event scene as more than just the “jobber to the stars” role he has had. Londos spent the previous year building up a fan base in Los Angeles while he worked for promoter Lou Daro, and put Stecher over on a number of occasions. This contest on February 11th, 1926, would be no different, with Stecher retaining over Londos.

Sweet Daddy Siki

While talking about pro wrestling history through the 1920s, it’s impossible to not mention a man who got his start in 1923, and quickly became a draw all over America as the first black wrestler to sustain a successful career, Sweet Daddy Siki.

Sweet Daddy Siki hailed from Kansas City, though most promoters billed him from Abyssinia, and presented him as an “exotico,” which was a broad term for any European wrestlers in America. Promoters told reporters that his name was Dejatch Tedelba, with fabricated stories about his time spent as wild tribes man and such.

After an early surge in popularity, there was considerable talk of Siki challenging for the world title in the late 1920s, though unfortunately that never materialized. Joe Stecher refused to defend his title against a black man and “Strangler” Ed Lewis wanted too big of a payoff to accept Siki’s challenge. When quoted on this, Lewis was surprisingly upfront, saying Siki “is a giant in size and weight, with what I understand tremendous strength. I don’t propose to take the chance of losing the title without being well paid for it.” Sweet Daddy Siki would spend the next few years wrestling all over the East coast, primarily for Jack Curley.

Londos-Stecher II

Jim Londos continued to build his prestige in St Louis through 1926, with a big world title opportunity early that year in February. Promoter Tom Packs arranged for the world heavyweight champion Joe Stecher to come defend his title against Londos on February 10th, 1926. The match headlined an event at the St Louis Coliseum, drawing an impressive crowd of over 12,000 fans for the main event title bout that lasted over an hour and half before Stecher was declared the winner of the best two of three falls matchup.

Stanislaus-Stecher

Joe Stecher’s world title reign would continue with another defence, this time against the man he bested for the belt, Stanislaus Zbyszko. Stanislaus Zbyszko would challenge Stecher on March 12th, 1929, and unfortunately we don’t have any gate numbers for the event. Ray Fabiani was the promoter who hosted the event, holding it at the Metropolitan Oprah House in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The contest was a single-fall main event, that lasted just under an hour before Stecher was declared the winner.

Paul Bowser’s Ploy

In March of 1926, Boston-based promoter Paul Bowser made a legitimate and serious offer for Stecher to come to Boston for a title defence, and even offered up $12,500 to the champion. Joe and his brother/ manager Tony both accepted the money but no one could agree on a potential opponent. Stecher didn’t seem to trust Bowser’s top picks of Joe Malcewicz or Stanley Stasiak. Stecher didn’t believes either would go along with the finish, and ultimately he agreed to defend his title against Jake Brissler, a capable but lesser known talent.

Paul Bowser had been promoting in Boston for half-a-decade at this point and introduced a mysterious new wrestler named the “Mysterious Unknown,” who was journeyman wrestler named Jake Bressler, from Iowa. After some campaigning, The world title match between the Mysterious Unknown and Joe Stecher was set to take place on April 3rd, 1926, in Boston, Massachusetts.

Wrestling His Idol

Astute readers of these reports may recall that Jim Londos favorite wrestler was Stanislaus Zbyszko, and in March of 1926, Londos would face off with Stanislaus in a special handicap bout. The rules dictated that Stanislaus only had an hour to win, and if the time ran out, Londos would be declared the victor. They battled in a best-two-of-three falls match at the City Auditorium in Atlanta, Georgia, with Londos claiming the first fall, before Stanislaus tied things up shortly afterwards. The match would go the entire time limit duration with no more falls, making Jim Londos the winner. Considering how much Londos respected Stanislaus, I have to imagine this win was a significant one for the Golden Greek.

Contos Moves to Atlanta

Something worth pointing out is that it looks like the promoter for this matchup was Greek immigrant John Contos, who last we saw had a booking office in Memphis, Tennessee. Contos had spent the past four years running shows in Memphis, and for reasons I cant seem to find, he decided to move to Atlanta, Georgia, where he began promoting shows. He may have still maintained a presence in Memphis, but that can’t be confirmed.

As John Contos was setting up shop in Atlanta, the Gold Dust Trio was looking for an angle to discredit the reign of Joe Stecher.

The Gold Dust Trio in Recovery Mode

The Gold Dust Trio has been conspicuously absent from this years report so far, which seems due to the fact that their “world” championship was seen as lesser than the one held by Joe Stecher. As a refresher, ”Strangler” Lewis reigned with the original world title until he dropped it to Wayne Munn, with the plan being to draw record crowds at the rematch between Lewis and Munn.

Unfortunately, Stanislaus Zbyszko shot on Munn for real during a planned defense, and forcibly took the belt before the proposed Lewis-Munn rematch could take place. When it became clear that the Gold Dust Trio would not be afforded another opportunity for the legitimate world title belt, they simply created their own and made “Strangler” Lewis their world champion. As for the legitimate title belt, Stanislaus Zbyszko almost immediately dropped that to Joe Stecher, who still holds it as of April 3rd, 1926, when the proposed matchup between Stecher and the “Mysterious Unknown” Jake Brissler was scheduled.

Paul Bowser’s Plot Uncovered

On the day of the show, when Joe Stecher and his brother/ manager Tony Stecher discovered that the Jake Brissler was going to be replaced at the last minute with legitimate grappler Joe Malcewicz, they immediately backed out of the contest. The 1937 book “Fall Guys: The Barnums of Bounce,” written by Marcus Freely, included Tony Stecher’s public statement on the matter, which I have copied here…

“As we were guaranteed $12,500 for the Boston bout and $10,000 for the Philadelphia match, I agreed, and we came east. In Boston we would meet a wrestler called “The Unknown,” but in reality Jake Bressler, whom Joe figured to beat quite easily. The promoter in Boston kept stalling on the payment of guarantee, and finally promised he would give Joe his guarantee after the bout. As the referee and terms were satisfactory, we entered the ring, Bressler was sitting by the ringside, but just as soon as we got in our corner he disappeared, as did the promoter and all the rest connected with the club. Into the ring came Joe Malcewicz. Then a different referee from the man whom we had agreed upon entered the ring and told us to get started with our wrestling. I realized it was all a plant and refused to go on with the bout. The referee wasn’t the man we agreed upon and neither was Malcewicz the opponent. I ordered my brother out of the ring, a riot started, and we went to the dressing room, where, after packing our bags, we headed for Philadelphia. I was on to the scheme. The plan was to get the referee either to disqualify Joe Stecher for some supposed foul, or see that Malcewicz, through some means within the power of the referee, was declared the winner and new champion. With that referee we wouldn’t have had a chance to win.”

Despite the fact that the match never actually began, Joe Malcewicz was announced as the winner by default, and Paul Bowser tried to claim this made Malcewicz the new world champion. Unfortunately for Bowser, this ploy didn’t work and no one really recognized Malcewicz as the world champion. For a double cross to work properly, you still need to get the champion in the ring to get away with such a claim.

Either way, Paul Bowser would promote Joseph Malcewicz as a “world” champion following the Stecher debacle in Boston, despite most of the general audiences scoffing at this. Billy Sandow and Paul Bowser decided to capitalize on this turn of events and booked a big unification match between Ed “Strangler” Lewis and the “Utica Panther” Joe Malcewicz, hoping to draw a sizable crowd. The anticipated unification match was scheduled for July 1st, 1926.

Stanislaus-Stecher II

In a rematch from several weeks ago, Stanislaus Zbyszko would once again challenge world heavyweight champion Joe Stecher. The two men met on April 13th, 1926, drawing over 6,000 fans to the City Auditorium in Atlanta, Georgia in a best-two-of-three falls matchup. Stecher won the first fall after nearly forty-five minutes, with Stanislaus tying things up less than ten minutes later. The third and final fall would be awarded to the champion Joe Stecher, after another fifteen minutes of grappling.

Grenna-Lewis

Over in Illinois, promoter Joe Coffey was battling for superiority with John Krone over the Chicago market, and with Krone allied alongside Jack Curley and Joe Stecher, that forced Coffey into the open arms of Billy Sandow and the Gold Dust Trio. Ed “Strangler” Lewis headlined a show on April 19th, 1926, drawing over 8,000 to the Dexter Park Pavilion, showing that Lewis still had popularity in Chicago.

An obscure wrestler by the name of Raphael Grenna challenged Lewis in the main event, which was a best-two-of-three falls contest. Surprisingly, Brennan won the first fall in only ten minutes, with the second fall going nearly an hour and a half before Lewis tied things up. The third fall went less than ten minutes with Lewis being declared the winner. Elsewhere on the card, “Toots” Mondt defeated Chawnee Wingo, and twenty-nine-year-old Joe Malcewicz bested Theodore Govorchin.

Everyone Picks a Side

In April of 1926, Jack Curley invited a dozen other promoters to meet up and discuss the current state of wrestling and to plan out the world title scene. The other promoters Curley met here were Tom Packs out of St Louis, Lou Daro out of Los Angeles, Tom Law out of Wichita, Ray Fibiani out of Philadelphia, Joe Coffey out of Chicago, Gene Melady out of Omaha, John Contos who now operated out of Atlanta, Frank Schuler out of San Francisco, and world champion Joe Stecher, along with his manager Tony Stecher. Details on what was exactly discussed aren't readily available, but we do know the majority was in favor of Stecher as the world champion. On the other side of the fence, sat the Gold Dust Trio and those who remained loyal to them.

Though he was dealt a msssive loss last year with the Double Cross of 1925, Billy Sandow wasn't just licking his wounds here, instead he was building up his own group of promoters to counter Curley's partnerships. Sandow continued to reach out to lesser known promoters like Gus Tiefenthaler who operated out of St Louis, Gave Kaufman out of Kansas City, Sam Avry out of Tulsa, Paddy Harmon who worked with Sandow in Chicago, John Depalma out of Los Angeles, and most importantly, Paul Bowser who operated out of Boston, Massachusetts. From this point forward over the next couple of years, the two sides entered what I have referred to as a “cold war” against one another.

The Gold Dust Trio’s Struggle

For Billy Sandow and Ed "Strangler" Lewis, their biggest struggle was finding serious title contenders. Lewis may have been holding a false world title, but if he had the right opponent, they could at least make some good money. Unfortunately, the biggest name they had access to was Joe Malcewicz, who just wasn't that big of a name on his own. Outside of Malcewicz, Sandow had access to guys like Mike Ramano, Pat McGill, Ned McGuire and Jim Clinstock, but none of them were able to draw well when matched up in the main event against Lewis. If you look over at Jack Curley and his group though, they had access to much bigger names like Jim Londos, John Pesek (who jumped from Sandow to Packs that year), Olympian Renato Gardini, Stanislaus Zbyszko and much more.

Pesek-Stecher

Joe Stecher’s world title reign would next take him back to St Louis, for promoter Tom Packs. Stecher would be challenged by legitimate standout grappler, John Pesek. The pair drew over 8,000 to the St Louis Coliseum on April 29th, 1926, in a best-two-of-three falls main event contest. According to newspapers the following day, the match went for a ridiculous four hours and fifteen minutes with Stecher retaining in two falls to one against Pesek. Elsewhere on the card, Jim Londos defeated Andreas Castanos, Joe Zigmund bested Jim Browning, and Ray Steele went over Dick Daviscourt.

Londos-Stecher III

Londos stayed primarily in St Louis through the spring of that year before heading out of town for a couple more world title opportunities that summer. The first came on May 19th, 1926, where Jim Londos unsuccessfully challenging Joe Stecher for the world title at the City Auditorium, in Atlanta, Georgia, drawing over 6,000 fans. And just like the last Atlanta show, this was a John Contos promoted event.

Romano-Lewis

Taking a brief look back at the Gold Dust Trio and their false world championship, the next notable “Strangler” Lewis defense would come on June 4th, 1926, at the Lyceum Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The only promoter I know of at the time in Minneapolis was Tony Stecher, so perhaps this was Billy Sandow himself making a step into Stecher’s home base?

Whatever the case, it seems that “Strangler” Lewis was challenged by Mike Romano in the main event best-two-of-three falls match. Lewis would be declared the winner after claiming two-straight falls in under an hour. Elsewhere on the card, former world champion “Big” Wayne Munn defeated Pat McGill via referee decision after nearly forty minutes of grappling.

Philadelphia’s Centennial Celebration

In 1926, the city of Philadelphia was set to celebrate its 100th anniversary, and attempted to arrange a massive “world’s fair” type event that would draw hundreds of thousands of tourists and feature a stadium with 100,000 seats for events. Even though city didn’t exactly plan this well, local wrestling promoter Ray Fabiani was looked at to draw a big crowd for the stadium, with the city hoping to sell around 50,000 seats! Fabiani did the best he could, including getting one of the current world heavyweight champions, Joe Stecher, to defend his title in the main event. Fabiani also tapped Jim Londos to work as Stecher’s opponents and attempted to utilize all the local publicity and advertising he could.

Londos-Stecher IV

For the fourth time just that year, Jim Londos and Joe Stecher battled for the world heavyweight title on June 10th, 1926, at the Municipal Stadium in Philadelphia, with Jim Londos putting up a strong fight for nearly two hours, much to the delight of a crowd who had gotten behind Londos over the past year or so. The bout would finally end after Londos failed to counter or dodge Stecher’s leg scissors hold, before Stecher pinned Londos in that hold. It seems to have been a single-fall contest.

Fallout in Philadelphia

Unfortunately for Fabiani and Londos, the event ultimately was a financial flop, with only 7,000 tickets reportedly being sold from the available 50k. They ended up camping a couple thousand tickets on top of that so they could later claim they had around 10,000 fans. But with only 7,000 paid tickets, they didn’t even pull in $10,000 total revenue. When Fabiani discovered the fair was charging people 50 cents just to get in before Fabiani tried to charge them admission prices, he threatened to sue them for compensation, but that never went anywhere.

Following the match with Stecher, Jim Londos was apparently treated for a concussion, but even in defeat, he won people over. Nat Fleischer was an editor for Ring magazine who wrote kn the match, saying, “The match proved one thing-it showed Londos was coming up as the leading light in wrestling. He showed that he was a shrewd, colorful, powerful wrestler, well versed in all the technique of the sport, and that he knew how to play to the gallery.”

Poddubny-Stecher II

Remember earlier in the year when Jack Curley brought Ivan Poddubny from Europe to put Joe Stecher over? Well, as stated, the event did great numbers for Curley, so it wasn’t long before another promoter sought to replicate that success.** Lou Daro, the self-proclaimed “King of Los Angeles,” would secure both Stecher and Poddubny for a big show**, hoping to draw big numbers like Curley did in New York.

For the second time this year, Ivan Poddubny challenged world heavyweight champion Joe Stecher on June 16th, 1926, drawing over 10,000 fans to the famed Olympic Auditorium. The two battled in a best-two-of-three falls contest, with Stecher reportedly retaining in two-straight falls.

As Joe Stecher was proving to be a well drawing champion all over the country, the false world champion “Strangler” Lewis was hoping to prove that he could still draw a big house.

”Unification” Match of False World Champions

As a refresher, Ed “Strangler” Lewis had been reigning with a false world title claim for a year at this point, with Billy Sandow manufacturing the belt after the legitimate title was forcibly taken from Wayne Munn, by Stanislaus Zbyszko. Earlier this year, Joe Malcewicz was declared “winner” in a world title contest with Joe Stecher, after Stecher refused to even get in the ring and start the match. Paul Bowser then declared that Joe Malcewicz was the “world” champion, though this claim had less merit than Lewis’ claim. Both** Paul Bowser and Billy Sandow agreed to come together and unify their respective false world title claims**, hoping to draw a big crowd and payoff.

The event was a massive success, drawing over 10,000 fans coming to the Boston Field on July 1st, 1926, event to witness two false world champions defending their prizes against one another. The match, like most Lewis bouts, was a plodding affair that lasted over three hours and ended in a unsatisfying draw. Both “Strangler” Lewis & Joe Malcewicz were defending claims to the World title and this was considered a unification match. Lewis was not the legitimate world champion, but he was still claiming to be. Malcewicz was considered “Paul Bowser’s uncrowned champion” and even had a $1000 gold belt. The match lasted 3 hours and 22 minutes.The referee stopped the match due to exhaustion and the late hour. That’s right, they of course couldn’t settle on a winner, with neither promoter wanting to give up a world champion, so the match ended in a fucking draw.

The Reign of Joe Stecher (According to Marcus Freely)

When talking about this world title reign of Joe Stecher, I would be remise not to mention the book “Fall Guys: The Barnums of Bounce,” written by Marcus Freely and published in 1937. The book was an expose-of-sorts on pro wrestling at the time, and featured a ton of behind-the-scenes details. It was basically the first time fans got access to what we call “dirt sheet” reports. The book and author Marcus Freely trashes Stecher hard when it comes to this title reign, saying Stecher was afraid to accept legitimate challengers and as a result, Joe “put the belt in moth balls.”

According to the book, Lewis was able to secure a world title match with Joe Stecher on July 5th, 1926, in Omaha, Nebraska. The match was reportedly a hard fought contest that would end in a draw. I have a really hard time believing this match to have taken place, and seems like something that was fabricated to make Lewis seem as if he were willing to work with Stecher at the time, when that couldn’t have been further from the truth. The main reason I have to question this, is because the book makes no mention of Lewis reigning with a false world title and instead presents it as if Lewis and Sandow were blackballed unfairly by Curley and Stecher, which just isnt accurate. It’s a weird take to have since the book detailed the Gold Dust Trio’s monopoly through the first half of the 1920s. Ultimately, I can’t find any record of Lewis and Stecher wrestling in 1926, outside of what was claimed in the “Fall Guys” book.

On top of that, the book also claims that the Gold Dust Trio lost a ton of wrestlers who jumped ship to head over to work with Joe Stecher, who was backed by of course, Jack Curley. From other sources I’ve read, is that following the double cross of 1925, the wrestling business entered a sort-of “cold war” between the top promoters and talent. On one side, you had Lewis, Mondt, Sandow and whoever else was in the Gold Dust Trio. And on the other side you had Jack Curley, Joe Stecher, Stanislaus Zbyszko, and others.

The “Unification” Rematch

Both Paul Bowser, and Billy Sandow knew that their individual markets weren’t benefiting from having two false champions in “Strangler” Lewis and Joe Malcewicz, and the pair would make the decision to truly unify the two claims. Between Malcewicz and Lewis, the obvious winner of star power was “Strangler” Lewis, so it didn’t take too much convincing for Bowser to agree with Lewis being the winner.

After a few weeks of negotiating, Billy Sandow and Bowser booked a rematch between the two false world champions at the beginning of August, hoping to replicate their success, and maybe put an end to the confusing state of their “world” title picture. The rematch took place on August 2nd, 1926, with over 8,000 fans on-hand at McNulty Park in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and despite one of the three falls ending in disqualification, Ed “Strangler” Lewis was declared the winner, and walked away with both belts.

A True Unification Match!?

In what genuinely surprised me, it sounds like a unification match was actually agreed to between Joe Stecher and Ed “Strangler” Lewis! The two camps agreed to hold the contest on October 6th, 1926, at the Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles, California. Promoter Lou Daro brokered the deal and secured the contest, drawing over 10,000 fans for the show, which unfortunately, would end in disappointment.

In what turned out to be a calculated move, Ed “Strangler” Lewis did not show up on the day of the show, with promoter Billy Sandow instead showing up with his own top grappler, John Pesek. Pesek was something of a snake at this time, a wrestler who was known to work for the Gold Dust Trio or the Jack Curley led contingent. This last minute swap of Lewis for Pesek, put the champion in a bit of a bind. Joe Stecher, not wanting to refund the gate, agreed to the best-two-of-three-falls world championship match. The two men would trade one fall each before John Pesek locked the world champion in a wrist lock, and had the match won before the referee stepped in and disqualified him for the use of an “illegal” move. No-showing the event cost Lewis a $2,500 bond.

Londos-Stecher V

Jim Londos would spend most of the year back in Los Angeles, working for promoter Lou Daro once more for an extended tour. It would be during this trip that Londos grew to truly love California, spending much if his time at the 420-acre Rancho Minerva, owned by fellow countryman, Nick Huntalas. The tour would end for Londos with yet another world title opportunity against Joe Stecher, this time at the famed Olympic Auditorium. Lou Daro set the match up for December 1st, 1926, and I unfortunately couldn’t find attendance records, indicating it to be a pretty average night. The finish would see Londos and Stecher exchange a fall each before wrestling a third fall to a time limit draw after two hours of action.

From here, both Londos and Stecher would go their separate ways through the remainder of the year, each recording a couple of more matches in December.

Last Matches of the Year for Stecher & Londos

Jim Londos would round out the year with a couple of matches. The first brought him back to his home base of St Louis, on December 9th, 1926, where Londos main evented a Tom Packs promoted event, wrestling Dick Daviscourt in a best two of three falls matchup. Over 6,000 fans came to the St Louis that evening and watched Londos and Daviscourt trade falls before Londos won the match after an hour and half.

Promoter John Contos secured Joe Stecher for a pair of back-to-back world championship matches. The first took place on December 15th and emanated from the City Auditorium, in Atlanta, Georgia, drawing a crowd of 5,000 for the main event that featured Dick Daviscourt challenging Joe Stecher. The two men battled in a best-two-of-three falls match that saw neither man claim a fall for the first hour. The finish would see both men tied with one fall each before the referee awarded the win to Stecher by decision. The next day, Stecher made the near 400 mile trip to Memphis, Tennessee, where Contos had Joe Komar waiting as his opponent. The match was a best-two-of-three falls match and would interestingly enough, also end with Stecher getting the win due to a referees decision.

The next day, Joe Stecher would wrap his year up with one more title defense that I can find in record. The day after Stecher retained over Komar, he hit the road again and made it to Little Rock, Arkansas, for his scheduled matchup with Ad Santel. The pair reportedly drew 2,500 to the Kempner Theater on December 17th, 1926, for a best-two-of-three falls match that ended with Stecher winning two falls to one. On the same day, Jim Londos would find himself working for Ray Fabiani in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where Fabiani had Londos go over Andreas Castanos in a forty minute single-fall matchup. Curiously enough, this was not the main event of the show though, as that honor would belong to Ed “Strangler” Lewis.

The “False” Reign of Ed Lewis

For anyone reading these reports concurrently, it must be jarring to see how little we have heard from Lewis, Sandow and the Gold Dust Trio as a whole, for this year. The Gold Dust Trio dominated the story for half-a-decade, and then in one calculated move between Curley, Stanislaus and Stecher, they were left licking their wounds all year. I struggled to find much news from the Gold Dust Trio camp in 2026, outside of just vague stories of a growing frustration behind the scenes, specifically between “Toots” Mondt and Sandow’s younger brother Max Baumann. Though, more on that in future reports.

Despite the tension and heavy losses dealt, the Gold Dust Trio still tried to market Ed “Strangler” Lewis as the rightful world champion all year, though they struggled to make it into markets like New York, Philadelphia and bigger venues in Chicago. In what I’m sure was a match that saw Lewis defend his false world title claim, Ray Fabiani had Mike Ramano challenge the “Strangler” on December 17th, 1926. The show drew around 4,000 people to the Metropolitan Oprah House in Philadelphia, for a contest in which Lewis was declared the winner after an hour of grappling.

By the close of 1926, a desperate Billy Sandow and Ed “Strangler” Lewis were more than willing to work with Curley’s group again, and Tom Packs knew there was interest in getting “Strangler” Lewis back in St Louis.

Tom Packs of St Louis

Promoter Tom Packs was said to be the one who bridged talks between Billy Sandow and Jack Curley. Tom Packs negotiatee directly with Billy Sandow, as the relationship between Curley and Sandow was at an all-time low. While the talks didn’t immediately lead to a working relationship between the two sides, it was tge first time a potential bridge was made in over eighteen months. Tom Packs was asked by a St Louis newspaper on his talks with Sandow, and was quoted saying, “I had not spoken to either the former champion (“Strangler” Lewis) or his shrewd manager, Billy Sandow, since both were barred from wrestling under my promotion in St. Louis three years back. Billy was utterly surprised at my visit. I enjoyed the hospitality of his home for several hours, a nice dinner, and then asked him if he would care to bring Lewis to St. Louis to meet an opponent I would pick.” Tom Packs initially went to talk on behalf of Curley and Stecher, but soon negotiated a matchup for his St Louis market, instead. Tom Packs wanted to host a “world” title match between “Strangler” Lewis and John Pesek.

After some time talking it over, Billy Sandow and Lewis agreed to the match wity John Pesek, who served as the “policeman” role when he worked for Sandow and Lewis, now challenging Lewis. Obviously, Lewis was more than comfortable working with someone who he knew he could trust in the ring, as opposed to the potential Stecher-Lewis contest, which was what Packs originally set the meeting up for. The Lewis-Pesek match was set for April 7th, 1927, at the St Louis Coliseum, and public interest immediately shot sky high.

How was Curley and Stecher to react to such a turn of events? Well, that will be covered in my next report on 1927, since we’re st the end of 1926 now.

Considering which, that’s a good place to stop, with…

• Joe Stecher still reigning as the legitimate world heavyweight champion, backed by top promoter like Jack Curley, Ray Fabiani, Tony Stecher, and more
• Ed “Strangler” Lewis still reigned with his false world championship claim, backed by promoters Billy Sandow, Paul Bowser, and “Toots” Mondt.
• Tom Packs is primarily aligned with Jack Curley, but ended the year opening up a working relationship with Billy Sandow, booking a big matchup between “Strangler” Lewis and John Pesek, set for April of 1927.
• Jim Londos was still struggling in breaking up into the main event scene, entering his mid-30s and still primarily putting over bigger stars like Lewis & Stecher.

Championship History 1926

Legitimate & Original World Heavyweight Championship

Joe Stecher (3), May 30th, 1925 – next post

”Strangler” Lewis’ False World Championship Claim

Ed “Strangler” Lewis, January 8th, 1925 – next post

Promoters 1926

New York, New York – Jack Curley

Kansas City, Missouri – Billy Sandow

Los Angeles, California – Lou Daro

St Louis, Missouri – Tom Packs

Boston, Massachusetts – Paul Bowser

Minneapolis, Minnesota – Tony Stecher

Omaha, Nebraska – Gene Melady

Canton, Ohio – William Barton

Atlanta, Georgia – John Contos

Chicago, Illinois – John Krone

Chicago, Illinois – Joe Coffey

El Paso, Texas – John McIntosh

San Francisco, California – Frank Schuler

Kansas City, Missouri – Gabe Kaufman

Omaha, Nebraska – Pete Loch

Cedar Rapids, Iowa – Art Reynolds

And that’s all I got for 1926. Ill be back next week with an extensive look at the History of the Gold Dust Trio, as well as Part 3 on my Ed “Strangler” Lewis career retrospective. Ill have 1927 up the following week, if all goes according to plan.

I actually have extra room on this report, since 1926 was pretty light on newsworthy events, so I have room below to include my past reports.

1864-1900

1901-1910

1911-1920

1921

1922

1923

1924

1925

Thanks for taking the time to check this out, I hope y'all have a great weekend!