 Unfortunately, the bout never materialized, as Gotch broke a fibula in his leg while wrestling Managoff as part of a traveling circus, and his health deteriorated until he eventually died on December 16, 1917.Despite having never faced Gotch (though it is speculated that he had dominated the aging champion in an impromptu sparring session), Stecher reigned as the sport's elite star while also beginning a legendary rivalry with a new professional wrestling sensation named Ed "Strangler" Lewis.Stecher and Lewis wrestled for the first time on October 20, 1915, when a then-unknown Lewis was counted out after over two hours when he fell out of the ring and hit his head on a chair.