Tag: William Muldoon

It’s a new DragonKingKarl Show, focusing on the final decade of the pioneer era of wrestling.

The biggest star of the era, William Muldoon, had his last pro wrestling match in New York while another veteran pioneer wrestler, John McMahon, had his last match as well.

Still earlier pioneers like Col. James H. McLaughlin and Homer Lane continued to wrestle periodically, but it was now the era of Evan “Strangler” Lewis and Farmer Burns who was on the rise as well.

The 1890s were an incredible era in wrestling history that set the stage for what American pro wrestling would become in the 1900s. Read more about it here.

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This week on Karl Stern’s 1000 Hours subseries on the DragonKingKarl Show where he focuses exclusively on the pre-Frank Gotch era of pro wrestling, we finish out the 1880s and enter the last decade of the pioneer era of pro wrestling.

Taken from his popular Pioneer Era Pro Wrestling Omnibus, we look at the final days of William Muldoon as a pro wrestler. He began losing interest in wrestling after the more entertainment based Greco-Roman style declined in popularity, replaced by the rougher and more vicious style of catch-as-catch-can and the rise of Evan “Strangler” Lewis.

Muldoon began casting his lot more and more with boxing, particularly with pioneer boxer John L. Sullivan and, well, let’s just say that didn’t go very well. They ended with each insulting the other in the newspapers and Sullivan accusing Muldoon of being (gasp) a GOVERNMENT RAT!

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It’s a new DragonKingKarl Show focusing on the pioneer era of pro wrestling.

William Muldoon got about a 25-year head start on Frank Gotch’s gimmick of returning from “retirement” multiple times and about a 100-year head start on Terry Funk. He had begun suffering from nagging hand and arm injuries and a severe downturn in the popularity of pro wrestling, especially French Greco-Roman style of which he was the dominant master.

Evan “Strangler” Lewis and the rise of catch-as-catch-can wrestling was beginning to dominate the scene. All the ingredients were starting to set the stage for the coming of Frank Gotch.

Martin “Farmer” Burns was now on the scene and soon, Tom Jenkins would be as well. Finally, Jack Carkeek got in legal trouble and would become no stranger to it.

Get all that and more on the new DKK.

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On this edition of the 1000 Hours subseries on the DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show, Karl Stern talks all about the pioneer era of pro wrestling,

This week, he takes a look back at 1881 in pro wrestling history including the evolution of William Muldoon from New York City Police officer to touring champion.

Also, a physical description was given for an early championship belt, plus we had the death of former American champion James Owens at the young age of 30.

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As my research into the pioneer era of pro wrestling continues, I am now into the 1880s which was dominated by “The Solid Man” William Muldoon.

But was the reality of Muldoon? Should he be held in higher esteem than the dominant wrestler of the 1870s: Col. James H. McLaughlin?

Muldoon started out as a policeman in New York, but ran afoul of the police chief and commissioners because he wrestled for money in the Greco-Roman style which had a terrible reputation at the time.

So just how did William Muldoon become the most popular star in the country and the most recognizable name of the pioneer era and was he on the level?

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