In 1931, Lewis and partner, Billy Sandow, signed former Notre Dame All-American running back "Jumping Joe" Savoldi to his first professional wrestling contract. Lewis was credited with training Savoldi in Los Angeles during the first half of 1931. After winning the AWA World Heavyweight Championship in April 1931, he faced Henri Deglane in May for a title defense in Montreal in a two-out-of-three falls match. After two falls, Deglane had feigned being bitten by Lewis, when in reality he had been bitten in the locker room. This led to Deglane being awarded the title via disqualification and a dispute over who was actually acknowledged as champion over the next two years.