Gotch vs. Hackenschmidt: The Original Wrestling Screwjob

Soon after the turn of the 20th century, thousands of fans bought into the hype of the "Russian Lion" George Hackenschmidt and Frank Gotch.

Many fans and historians revere "real wrestlers" like Frank Gotch and George Hackenschmidt for their legitimate toughness and grappling abilities.

Depending on which source you turn to, the Frank Gotch and George Hackenschmidt rivalry is overflowing with anecdotes that often contradict each other with alleged eyewitnesses and firsthand accounts that are hard to prove.

When Gotch and Hackenschmidt first met on the night of April 3rd, 1908, at the Dexter Park Pavilion in Chicago in front of 10,000 fans, it was the clash of the deceivingly powerful American farmboy versus the astonishing physical specimen forged in the old continent.

However, their rematch would damage the perception and credibility of professional wrestling for decades to come.

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