But as the quiet began to work back into a rumble, the fear of fan outburst became real. Despite this mammoth title reign length, Pete Dunne barely defended his belt in televised appearances. In 2019, Bruno Sammartino:The Autobiography of Wrestlings Living Legendwas released. Bruno's belt now appearsin an acclaimed film, 9. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. It was during this time Sammartino found out through Angelo Savoldi, a recently fired office employee of Capitol Wrestling Corporation, that he had been cheated by Vince McMahon Sr. on the promised gate percentages for his entire second title run. "Did I really say to him, We can do this the easy way or the hard way? In this Nov. 30, 2000, file photo, former pro wrestler Bruno Sammartino, 65, poses with a painting of him in his pro wrestling prime weighing 275 pounds in 1965 at age 35, in his Pittsburgh home. This post may contain affiliate links, which means we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. And a packed Madison Square Garden, who had become accustomed to wildly cheering Bruno Sammartino after each title defense, was shocked into complete silence. [12][11] During this time, his mother would sneak into their German-occupied town for food and supplies. [5] He trained in wrestling with Rex Peery, the University of Pittsburgh team coach. Some of his defenses ended in time limit draws, and some in DQ, but . Bruno is way more impressive than Flair if u ask me. Irvin Muchnick mentioned the incident in his book, Wrestling Babylon. Bruno!from 20,000 fans at sold-out Madison Square Garden in New York City reverberated from the rafters a record-setting 187 timesduring hiswrestling career. Bruno only gave up his championship when he wanted to, and there was one championship belt he decided never to let go. Yet few people know all the history behind Brunos belt and why some have called it the 'holy grail' of professional wrestling artifacts. [10], When the Sammartinos arrived in the U.S., Bruno spoke no English and was sickly from the privations of the war years. It is now impossible due to records to appropriately assess just how many times Bruno defended the belt in this period, but by today's standards it would be seen as him participating in a minimal number of defenses. 7 WWE Hall of Fame Stories WWE Doesnt Want You To Know! ", 10 Reasons why Bruno Sammartino's 1965-1971 WWWF Title Belt is the 'Holy Grail' of Pro Wrestling Artifacts, 2. When Vince McMahon, Sr. and Totts Mondt heard about this, of course, they got him to come to Washington, DC, and they put him in a famous hospital over there. By Robert D. McFadden. George Steele: WWWF Baltimore Show (Apr '77) Apr 30th 1977: Billy Graham: Sammartino would go on to hold the title for 2,803 days, nearly eight years(! I told him that the only way I would come back is if he put me in the ring with Buddy Rogers for the title. [23], Eventually, on December 10, 1973, Sammartino regained the WWWF Heavyweight Championship by defeating Stan Stasiak. [14] Sammartino made his Toronto debut in March 1962 and very quickly, with the help of self-promotion in local newspapers and radio programs, became an attraction. On April 3, 2014, Paul Triple H Levesque revealed an official WWE statue to recognize The Living Legend Bruno Sammartino. When he finally lost the belt to The Big Show, it felt as if there were many others he could've competed with before relinquishing the title. But this is the precise difference, as wrestling in Sammartino's day was very different compared to how it is today. Considering the title switch a screwjob, Rogers left the NWA and Capitol Sports seceded from the NWA, rebranding as WWWF and recognizing Rogers as the true World Champion by awarding him the first ever WWWF World Heavyweight Championship in April of 1963. Answer (1 of 3): George "The Animal" Steele Bruno Sammartino met James Myers in 1967 and immediately saw his potential as a main event performer. I was in that hospital for up to 5 days before I wrestled. Bruno Sammartino had been wrestling professionally since 1959, and the Italian immigrant who had left to the US with his family from Italy in 1950 after hiding from the Nazis during World War II captivated a rising influx of immigrants into the US during and post-war. As for "Bruno Finally Wins Mat Title," the 260-pound, 27-year-old Pittsburgh matter scored a two-fall win over the long-time champion "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers, 42, 235-pounds of Camden, New Jersey. The match was rated 1976 "Match of the Year" by Pro Wrestling Illustrated.[24]. Sammartino, professional wrestling's "Living Legend" and one of its longest-reigning champions, has died. The championship remained vacant for over a year. "[Its been] said that when I wrestled Rogers for the title, the reason was Rogers had had a heart attack and had to be helped to the ring, and thats how he lost the belt. [19] Sammartino and Rogers faced each other two months later at Madison Square Garden in a tag team match, with Rogers and Johnny Barend defeating Sammartino and Bobo Brazil by 2 falls to 1. He went on to win the World Welterweight and Middleweight Titles. Rogers was one of the great wrestlers of his era. Any working guy could relate to Bruno the way they related to Steve Austin many years later. Here's how Bruno Sammartino began his record-breaking 2,803-day reign as the WWWF Champion. . Ray Stevens 5'10 230 lbs San Francisco, CA I didnt get as great as I did in wrestling by not loving it. WWWF referee Dick Kroll had to get Koloff out of the ring. [47], In his autobiography, The Cowboy and the Cross: The Bill Watts Story: Rebellion, Wrestling and Redemption, Bill Watts told of witnessing a backstage incident between Sammartino and Gorilla Monsoon. [10] His devotion to weightlifting nearly resulted in a berth on the 1956 U.S. Olympic team, which went instead to eventual gold medalist Paul Anderson. He is the living legend, Bruno Sammartino.JOIN US and hit SUBSCRIBE!https://cultaholic.com/https://www.. On February 8, 1971, Pedro Morales defeated Ivan Koloff and was presented the 1965-1971 version of the WWWF World Championship belt by Bruno Sammartino. Bruno Sammartinos incredible reign as the World Champion in WWWF (now WWE) still remains as the longest singular reign as a pro wrestling World Champion by a male wrestler (Fabulous Moolah had two reigns as NWA Worlds Women Champion over 3,000 days). The early years of the organization were definitely different than modern times, where one of pro wrestling's most iconic wrestlers held the title for a jaw-dropping 11 years. In the many years that have since passed, the phrase, "We can do this the easy way or the hard way!" Sammartino worked as a commentator for the Universal Wrestling Federation. Pro wrestling legend Bruno Sammartino dies at 82, "Without Toronto, there would have been no Bruno Sammartino", "10 championships you never knew existed in WWE", "Remembering Bruno Sammartino, the singular face of a bygone pro wrestling era", Bruno Sammartino v. Capitol Wrestling Corporation and Vince McMahon, "Professional wrestling great Bruno Sammartino dies at 82", "Sammartino: McMahon is 'a sick-minded idiot', "Bruno's bad call on WWE Hall of Fame shows Vince is right everyone has a price", "Dapper Dan: Malkin, Sammartino, Penn State volleyball claim awards", "WWE to induct Bruno Sammartino into HOF", "WWE NEWS: Hall of Fame 2013 report - Complete "virtual-time" coverage of ceremony with Sammartino & Co., Stratus announces big news, Trump-McMahon?, more", "CALDWELL'S WWE RAW RESULTS 10/7 (Hour 1): Battleground PPV fall-out, WWE Title match to continue at next PPV, one "firing", Bruno Sammartino, more", "WWE HALL OF FAME REPORT 3/28: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of 2015 Ceremony - Randy Savage inducted, Nash, Zbysko, Schwarzenegger, Flair, Michaels, more", "Bruno Sammartino Behind The Championship Belt", "Madison Square Garden Pays Tribute To Bruno Sammartino", "New WWE 2K14 DLC Introduces More Superstars", "WWE 2K23 Roster Official List | WWE 2K23", "Wrestling with fame: Bruno Sammartino still a hero to fans", "Bruno Sammartino given key to Jersey City before his induction into WWE Hall of Fame", "WWE Hall of Famer Bruno Sammartino dies at age 82", "WWE Hall Of Famer Bruno Sammartino Dies At 82", "Bruno Sammartino, wrestling's original good-guy hero, dies at 82", "WWE Raw live results: Brock Lesnar returns to TV", "2019 TRAGOS/THESZ PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING HALL OF FAME CLASS ANNOUNCED - PWInsider.com", "Induction Weekend 2022 | Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame", "Keystone Sate Wrestling Alliance - Hall of Fame", "Bruno Sammartino body slams hall of fame", "WWWA honors Bruno Sammartino, and vice versa", "Triple H reveals Bruno Sammartino statue at WrestleMania Axxess", "W.W.A. Indianpolis, Indiana: . [11] In 1950,[13] she and the children joined her husband in Pittsburgh. . Many other belts would come his way in his long storied career as well. Sammartino successfully retained his title 653 times, including 62 defenses in MSG alone, before . 3.0 3 Ratings. Bruno Leopoldo Francesco Sammartino[1] (October 6, 1935 April 18, 2018) was an Italian-born American professional wrestler, best known for his work with the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF, now WWE). Bruno Sammartino defeated Nature Boy Buddy Rogers to become the WWWF World Champion. Over the course of his record-breaking run, Sammartino successfully retained his title 653 times, including 62 defenses in MSG alone. Bruno Sammartino holds a legendary wrestling career spanning nearly a quarter century from 1959 to 1982. He was quickly recruited by Capitol Sports Wrestling (the precursor to WWWF, founded by Jess McMahon and Toots Mondt in 1948, and now under control by Jesss son, Vince McMahon Sr.), but in 1962 he left the promotion. The toughest job in my life was climbing in that ring [after] coming out of intensive care and knowing that I could never wrestle again after that. On May 17, 1963, after only 22 days as WWWF World Champion, Rogers lost his title to 27-year old Bruno Sammartino in Madison Square Garden. ", "Buddy Rogers and I never liked each other. He finally accepted the offer to join because he was satisfied with the way the company had addressed his concerns about rampant drug use as well as vulgarity. One match ended in a draw and the other with Thesz scoring a fluke pin after a collision, despite Sammartino controlling the 20 minute match from the beginning. Mr. Sammartino, 50, of Allison Park, was the co-owner of the . That match meant so much to me because that put me at the top. 1959: Bruno Sammartino debuted in the wild world of Professional Wrestling. Dominic DeNucci Wrestlings Shining Light. [36], In 2013, Sammartino accepted an invitation for induction into the WWE Hall of Fame, after having declined several times in prior years. World Wide Wrestling Federation. In that time they performed in only 3 major televised defenses, against the Lucha Dragons, Enzo & Cass, and The Vaudevillains who triumphed over them at NXT Takeover: Unstoppable. After regaining the title in December 1973 . When their eyes cleared, they kept fighting each other. That record will never be broken. That works out at one defense every season, which is an astonishingly small number of matches to prove WALTER is still deserving of his championship. Sammartino is the longest-reigning WWE Champion in history. Bruno Sammartino is the greatest world champion in the history of professional wrestling. After nearly fifteen years of promoting an "ethnic babyface" at the top of his cards, the . 10 Long Championship Reigns With Minimal Title Defenses, Pete Dunne WWE NXT United Kingdom Champion, 685 Days, Cody Rhodes Intercontinental Title, 236 Days, Brock Lesnar WWE World Heavyweight Champion, 224 Days, Brock Lesnar WWE Universal Champion, 504 Days, Shinsuke Nakamura Intercontinental Champion, 201 Days, WALTERWWE NXT United Kingdom Champion, 337+ Days, Blake & Murphy WWE NXT Tag Team Champions, 219 Days, The IIconics WWE Women's Tag Team Titles, 120 Days, Ricochet North American Championship, 161 Days, 10 Failed WWE Champions That Should Have Worked, 10 Superstars Who Were WWE ChampionFor One Day Or Less, remains to be seen who could defeat him in 2020, 5 Wrestlers That Were Better World Champions in WCW (& 5 That Were Better In WWE), Ruthless Aggression: 10 Title Reigns (That We Completely Forgot About), which duo will be next in line to hold these belts. 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