by Stephen Von Slagle
Ed Lewis was a true pioneer of the sport and one of its earliest and most dominant champions. He truly paved the road for pro wrestling to be recognized as a legitimate sport in the eyes of the public during the early 20th century, and he was also there to see the fallout of the sport’s dark “legitimacy” secret revealed to that trusting public. This multiple-time World Champion (and expert submission wrestler) helped, as part of the influential Gold Dust Trio with partners Billy Sandow and Toots Mondt, to introduce what are now considered pro wrestling norms, forever changing the sport, and for that, the professional wrestling will always owe him a debt of gratitude.
Lewis got his “Strangler” nickname, according to legend, from a reporter who saw a similarity between a rookie Lewis and the former champion Evan “The Strangler” Lewis. Ed Lewis used a variation of what is now known as the Sleeper hold, which appeared to the public at the time as though he was strangling his opponent. Lewis, probably the most accomplished submission wrestler in the sport during the early 1900s, was feared and respected both inside and outside of the ring for his extensive knowledge of amateur wrestling, and even more for his wide array of crippling wrestling holds known as “hooks.” All of the wrestlers knew that Ed Lewis easily could, and sometimes did, legitimately injure any wrestler that crossed him, anytime he felt like it.
The Strangler is a member of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (1996), the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame (1999), the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum (2002), the WWE Hall of Fame (2016), and the International Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame (2021).
Robert “Ed ‘Strangler’ Lewis” Friedrich died on August 8, 1966 at the age of 76.