| WRESTLING'S HISTORY THROUGH MY EYES Part 2 - The Champions Of Wrestling by Damian Gray (E-mail: trakxx2k3@vicgrimes.zzn.com) |
| From the moment Ed "Strangler" Lewis prepared to "job" the heavyweight title to Wayne Munn in 1925, no championship won by any wrestler in any federation can be taken at face value. It doesn't mean titles are meaningless, nor does it mean they're just a prop to move on storylines and sell tickets. Just don't tell this to wrestlers who've spent most of their careers with gold around their waists. To guys like Ric Flair, Ricky Steamboat and Verne Gagne, the belt is a gauge by which skill and popularity are measured simultaneously. The greatest champions all had or have tremendous ring prowess, a highly distinctive fighting style and a not-to-mention always devoted fan following. One of the most thrilling matches from any era of wrestling, had to be when Tony Folico -who at the time was- the National Wrestling Champion of Italy, battled Middleweight and Light Heavyweight Champion Charles Fischer. The match was never shown on television in it's full form, as the match was only filmed for a short subject feature by MGM on wrestling. Beofre the birth of over a dozen separate federations, Wild Red Berry was America's Undisputed Light Heavyweight Champion 9 times between 1937 and 1947. Most of his title matches were against arch-rival "Irish" Danny McShain. Former 3-time NCAA wrestling champion Danny Hodge wrestled every single match of his amateur career without ever being taken off of his feet. Hodge turned pro in the summer of 1960, winning the National Wrestling Alliance Junior Heavyweight Title 6 times, in the space of 10 years. Contrary to what many so-called "experts of wrestling" said, in 1957 -when Hulk Hogan was still getting his mummy to wipe his a**e- Danny Hodge became the first wrestler to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated. He's a wrestler who never turned pro, but no list of champions would be complete without Dan Gable, who could be the greatest amateur star ever. Gable was the very first American to win 2-in-a-row world championships (1968-1969), he was the first to win an Olympic Gold Medal without ever having a point scored against him. The most feared and one of the most famous pro wrestlers after the retirement of Frank Gotch was Joe Stetcher, a 3-time Undisputed World Champion (take that WWE). He was more widely known as "Scissors King" after he perfected the bodyscissors hold. During the middle of World War One, Stetcher faught Ed "Stangler" Lewis to a mind-boggling 5-hour draw. |
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| Ed "Strangler" Lewis |
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