page_title: Billy Meeske
section_title: Cruiserweight champion
hierarchical_section_title: Billy Meeske / Biography / Cruiserweight champion
caption_attribution_description: English: Original Caption: Billy Meeske, cruiserweight champion of Australia, who hopes to show Walter Miller that Australian wrestlers are equal to anyone.
context_page_description: Billy Meeske was an Australian professional wrestler who was three-time Australian Heavyweight Champion and one time Pacific Coast Light Heavyweight Champion.
  He was an active professional wrestler from 1922 to 1938, and he was credited as being a major influence in re-establishing professional wrestling in Australia following the First World War. During his professional wrestling career he also performed as part of vaudeville acts demonstrating feats of strength, such as supporting the weight of five men, feats of agility, and Russian dancing.
  While he achieved his greatest fame in professional wrestling he was also an all-round sportsman competing in many sports at the amateur and professional levels, and served in the Australian Imperial Force during the First World War with the rank of Sergeant.
context_section_description: After losing the championship Meeske performed at a local concerts across Victoria, performing demonstrations of feats of strength and agility and Russian dancing. He also gave wrestling exhibitions in Melbourne alongside Weber, and their joint promotional work was credited with greatly increasing the popularity of professional wrestling in Melbourne.
  In November 1923 Meeske announced his knee had recovered and he was ready to wrestle again, and a match against Jim McMurdo was scheduled for the cruiserweight championship with Meeske describing it as a chance to have "another chance at Weber." Meeske spoke positively about McMurdo's skill prior to the match, which took place in December and was described as an even contest which Meeske won with some cheating. A notable spot in the match was Meeske being thrown out of the ring and landing on a reporter.
  In January 1924 Meeske and McMurdo were scheduled to wrestle again but McMurdo was injured causing the match to be canceled. In February Meeske wrestled Charles Honroth instead in a match which Meeske won, but was criticized for being slow paced. Meeske then accused Weber of avoiding a match against him, and reiterated that he felt he had only lost due to his leg injury. In March 1924 Meeske was scheduled to fight Peter Fatouras, a Greek wrestler, in his debut in a challenge match in which he had to throw Fatouras out of the ring twice. He claimed to have cut open his hand on a kerosene tin full of soap ahead of the match, which was postponed as Meeske was booked to wrestle the visiting American wrestler Walter Miller after Weber pulled out of a match against him. The bout was promoted as being a test of the standard of Australian wrestling relative to America, and a test of whether Meeske deserved to challenge for the world championship. Miller defeated Meeske, badly injuring his shoulder in the finish resulting in tension between both wrestlers camps, Meeske demonstrating discontent with his own team for throwing in the towel after his injury, and Miller being heckled as he left the ring.
  In late May 1924 Meeske expressed that he wanted a no-rules rematch with Walter Miller before he returned to America and then a title match against Weber. The Miller-Meeske rematch took place in June and was evenly matched going the distance with Miller winning on points to the crowds dismay, although there was a lack of heat for the match and attendance was poor. Meeske almost immediately issued a challenge for a second rematch wagering two hundred pounds that he could beat Miller, and it was suggested that a rematch may decide the heavyweight championship, as Miller had beaten reigning champion Clarence Weber, however it was determined that as Miller had not lived in Australia for six months before beating Weber he could not qualify as champion and the match did not go ahead. Miller invited Meeske to come to America with him when he departed Australia.
  In October 1924 Meeske visited Brisbane, Queensland, to assist a team of amateur boxers and wrestlers and during his time there he trained for a match against Peter Limutkin. The Limutkin match was scheduled to take place in Sydney, New South Wales, and was the first major professional wrestling event in the city since before the war began, and the first time Meeske had wrestled in Sydney. It was organized as a result of the success of professional wrestling events involving Walter Miller in Melbourne. To promote the match both wrestlers gave training displays at the stadium where it was going to take place in late October. The match took place in late October and was attended by an estimated 2,000 or 3,000 people, which Meeske regarded as less than he expected, although he felt there was potential for professional wrestling to gain popularity. It went the full rounds with Meeske winning by decision although a doctor determining Limutkin had fractured a rib during it. Meeske went on holiday to the Blue Mountains after the match before returning to Melbourne in November and beginning to train to face Weber.
  American light-heavy champion w
caption: Billy Meeske, 1924
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