Gold Dust Trio

The Gold Dust Trio was a group of promoters who controlled the world of professional wrestling during the 1920s while also making several fundamental changes to the industry's business model and operations that would ultimately change the direction of the sport towards a more pseudo-competitive exhibition. The Trio was composed of the era's dominant World Heavyweight Champion Ed "Strangler" Lewis and his manager Billy Sandow, as well as fellow wrestler and creative visionary Joseph "Toots" Mondt.

The evolution of professional wrestling as we know it today is credited by many to be the brainchild of Joseph "Toots" Mondt. Born in Iowa on January 18, 1894, he grew up in Greeley, Colorado, where he learned the art of wrestling through a correspondence course administered by grappling guru Martin "Farmer" Burns, who had been the nation's preeminent professional wrestler during the late nineteenth century. At age 16, Mondt made his debut on the carnival circuit; and a few years later, he toured with Burns himself, where he was given the nickname "Toots" (since he was the youngest member of the group). Under Burns' expert direction, Mondt became one of the sport's most dangerous "hookers;" and he was eventually recruited to join the camp of the great Ed "Strangler" Lewis. Perhaps the most dominant pro wrestler ever, Lewis (real name: Robert Friedrich) was born on June 30, 1891 and was a rising contender throughout the early 1910s before meeting Billy Sandow in late 1914. Born Wilhelm Bauman in 1884, Sandow was a 155-pound champion in the early 1900s, taking his name from the famous 19th century strongman Eugene Sandow. Sandow had operated several health clubs, but he lost his business in a failed gamble when he was defeated by veteran grappler Fred Beell. He then barnstormed throughout the South while guiding such wrestlers as Marin Plestina and Billy Jenkins; and upon trouping through Kentucky, he even wrestled Lewis in a handicap bout. But by late 1914, Lewis parted ways with his manager Jerry Walls; and he and Sandow then formed a business partnership that would eventually propel Lewis to the World Heavyweight Title just a few years later.

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