DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show: The first World Champion

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• By Karl Stern
• Published: 1 Feb 2017, 11:45

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We enter 1905 and finally get a true World Heavyweight Champion of professional wrestling on today’s episode of Karl Stern’s longform look at the industry’s history — but not without significant shenanigans.

Topics covered on this week’s episode of the DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling show:

• American Champion Tom Jenkins loses to Frank Gotch.
• Tom Jenkins gets involved in a worked matches scandal with George Hackenschmidt.
• Tom Jenkins regains the American title amid cries of fakery.
• Tom Jenkins meets the European Champion George Hackenschmidt to determine the champion of the world.
• Frank Gotch dominates the North American wrestling scene except for…
• The bizarre match between Fred Beehl and Frank Gotch featuring an early wrestling high spot.

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Karl Stern

Karl Stern is a pro wrestling historian specializing in the 1980s and pioneer era (pre-1900) of pro wrestling. He is an author who has written several books on wrestling and independently runs the When It Was Cool retro pop culture website.

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