Ring name(s) Evan Lewis Name Evan Lewis Billed height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) Role Professional wrestler | Retired 1899 Debut May 1882 | |
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Born May 24, 1860Ridgeway, Wisconsin, United States ( 1860-05-24 ) Died November 3, 1919, Dodgeville, Wisconsin, United States | ||
Billed weight 180 lb (82 kg; 13 st) | ||
Rip dead wrestlers evan lewis
Evan Lewis (May 24, 1860 – November 3, 1919) was an American professional wrestler who was the first recognized American Heavyweight Champion and is credited with perfecting the "stranglehold" or "neck yoke" more commonly known today as the rear naked choke. He is sometimes confused with Ed "Strangler" Lewis, a later 6-time World Heavyweight Champion also credited with first using the hold, whose moniker is attributed to Lewis's after a reporter noted a resemblance between the two.
Contents
- Rip dead wrestlers evan lewis
- Professional wrestling career
- Championships and accomplishments
- References
Professional wrestling career
Born in Ridgeway, Wisconsin, Lewis began wrestling professionally winning a 64-man tournament in Montana in May 1882. He returned to Wisconsin and defeated Ben Knight for the Wisconsin Heavyweight Championship in a Mineral Point match on March 20, 1883. Moving to Madison in 1885, he later defeated several international wrestlers including Andre Christol, Tom Cannon and Matsada Sorakichi.
Defeating Joe Acton in Chicago, Illinois, for the American Catch-as-Catch-can Championship on March 14, 1887, he later unified the World Catch-as-Catch-can and American Greco-Roman Championship in a best-of-five match against Ernest Roeber in New Orleans, Louisiana on March 3, 1893 (he also had defeated him for the "Collar and Elbow Championship" on May 18, 1890). After defending the title for over two years, Lewis lost the American Heavyweight Championship to Martin Burns, whom he had previously defeated in his debut match in 1886.