DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show: The pioneer era in the Great Lakes region
The pioneer era (pre-1900) of pro wrestling flourished in the Great Lakes area of the United States.
While initially the Northeast, and especially New York and Vermont were early hotspots, cities like Detroit, Chicago, Cleveland, and the entire Great Lakes region became very important in pro wrestling by 1870.
The 1870 Detroit International tournament was a real ignition point for the popularity of wrestling nationwide and the Detroit Opera House became a shrine for the genesis of American pro wrestling.
Join me on my 43rd hour of discussing the pioneer era in pro wrestling with a stop in the Great Lakes.
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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.