99. The luck of the Irish
The 1930s were particularly interesting when it comes to wrestling. Danno O’Mahony had amazing physical features, and he was really strong, and thanks to his size and look, he was earmarked for the top. However, he lacked talent, and the old school wrestler wanted a piece of him.
O’Mahony faced Jim Londos in the title duel, but you should know that Londos was promised $70,000 to lose the match and he told the press afterward that O’Mahony was strong enough to beat anyone. But people weren’t that gullible, especially the wrestlers who knew that size and strength didn’t matter in professional wrestling.
Instead of gaining more fame, the new champion was being booed in fights that took place later in the year, plus he was having issues with his working visa. The rivals wanted to expose O’Mahony’s weaknesses, but he and his promoter Paul Browser started to leave arenas forfeiting the booked matches.
Browser wanted to be in control of the events, so he booked the match between two of his clients – O’Mahony and Dick Shikat and the fight took place at Medison Square Garden in 1936. Instead of losing the clash, Shikat obliterated O’Mahony and won the match by submission. He later sold the title at auction to Billy Sandow, and had problems on his own, while Danno O’Mahony promoted himself as “legitimate” champion.
