Bruno Leopoldo Francesco Sammartino (born October 6, 1935) is an Italian-born American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for being the longest-running champion of the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF), holding the title across two reigns for over 11 years (4040 days) in total, as well as the longest single WWE Championship reign in professional wrestling history.
Sammartino's wrestling style was more mat-oriented which was typical of wrestlers from his era. His brawling, power moves, and personal charisma helped him become the most popular American wrestler in the 1960s and early 1970s. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame on April 6, 2013 by his longtime friend, Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Sammartino began exercising at the local Young Men’s Hebrew Association and grew to become one of the strongest men on the planet. After setting a world record in 1959 by bench-pressing 565 pounds, Sammartino caught the eye of Mr. McMahon’s father, Vincent J. McMahon, and went pro almost instantly.
Bruno became an overnight sensation, connecting with not only fellow Italians, but also Latinos, Greeks and Jews, successfully bridging the gap in America’s melting pot of wrestling fans. His legend continued to grow on May 17, 1963, when Sammartino defeated Buddy Rogers in just 48 seconds to become the second-ever WWE Champion in front of nearly 20,000 fans at the old Madison Square Garden.
Bruno held the WWE Championship for nearly eight years, by far the longest reign of all time, and a record for all professional wrestling champions, no matter the organization. A household name all over the country, the beloved hero defended his title in legendary rivalries against WWE Hall of Famers Killer Kowalski, Gorilla Monsoon and George “The Animal” Steele. In early 1968, Sammartino headlined the first wrestling event at the brand-new Madison Square Garden, just eight days after it opened. The Garden truly was the house that Bruno built as he sold it out an astounding 187 times. When he lost the title in 1971, grown men were seen weeping, but on Dec. 10, 1973, Sammartino became the first two-time WWE Champion, and held the title for an additional three-and-a-half years.
On Aug. 9, 1980, Sammartino defeated his former protégé, Larry Zbyszko, inside a steel cage at New York City’s Shea Stadium in front of more than 35,000 people. The heated grudge match broke box-office records for wrestling events and Bruno retired from the ring the following year. Bruno returned to WWE in the mid-80s as a broadcaster alongside Mr. McMahon and as a support system for his son David, who was just beginning his grappling career. Now known as The Living Legend, Bruno also engaged in several rivalries with emerging stars “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, “Macho Man” Randy Savage and The Honky Tonk Man.
In his final match, Bruno teamed with the man many say he passed the torch to, Hulk Hogan. Many Superstars have carried the torch for WWE since then, but it was Bruno Sammartino who lit the fire, and became WWE’s first genuine superhero. He’ll be recognized for his incomparable career at MSG April 6, when he takes his rightful place in the WWE Hall of Fame.
The best of Bruno Sammartino :
Professional wrestling career :
Studio Wrestling–Pittsburgh Promotion (1959–1974)
Sammartino made his professional debut in Pittsburgh on December 17, 1959, pinning Dmitri Grabowski in 19 seconds.[2] On December 23, he defeated Miguel Torres, for the local Spectator Sports promotion, in Pittsburgh. He soon became extremely popular. The name of the local TV wrestling program was Studio Wrestling and it was broadcast on WIIC-TV Channel 11. The host was Pittsburgh personality "Chilly Billy" Bill Cardille.
In 1966, Sammartino bought the Pittsburgh-based Spectator Sports promotion. The promotion was a stopping point for national stars such as Gorilla Monsoon, The Crusher, Bill Watts, George Steele, and Bobo Brazil, as well as featuring local talent like Johnny De Fazio, Frank "Carnegie Cop" Holtz, Hurricane Hunt, Tony "The Battman" Marino, and John L. Sullivan (who later gained fame as Johnny Valiant). Unlike many promoters, Bruno was said to be a good pay-off man & very fair to his fellow wrestlers. Many men, including George "The Animal" Steele, have stated that Bruno has always shown concern for how much all of the wrestlers earn on a card – not just himself. Sammartino sold the promotion in 1971. He was later asked by the new Buffalo-based owners to help with the booking of Pittsburgh area shows. The local TV show was canceled in 1974, and the promotion shut down. The Pittsburgh area then became part of the WWWF territory.
World Wide Wrestling Federation/World Wrestling Federation (1959–1988) :
Early headlines (1959–1962)
Sammartino's first match in Madison Square Garden in New York City was on January 2, 1960 against Bull Curry (who was substituting for Killer Kowalski). Within six months of his debut in wrestling, Sammartino was headlining at Madison Square Garden (starting in tag matches, teaming with Antonino Rocca).
On February 18, 1961, Sammartino faced Chick Garibaldi in an afternoon match at the Sunnyside Gardens in New York. During the match, Sammartino bodyslammed Garibaldi and immediately noticed his opponent's eyes roll up inside his head. By the time the ref checked on the fallen wrestler, he was dead in the ring. It was later determined that Garibaldi had died from a heart attack. In the movie Legends Never Die, Sammartino stated that it took him many years to get over that incident.
Sammartino made major headlines when he became the first (and only) man to lift the 640 lb (290 kg) Haystacks Calhoun in a match. He did not slam him as much as lift him shoulder-heigh and drop him.
After tiring of low payoffs and broken promises, Sammartino left Vincent McMahon Sr.'s Capitol Wrestling Corporation to join a rival New York promoter and former McMahon Sr. partner Kola Kwariani. Kwariani's hold on New York soon weakened because of low attendance and athletic commission pressure to curb violence. In an effort to increase attendance, Kwariani had Sammartino wrestle his tag partner Antonino Rocca twice during this time. Sammartino was then told by Rudy Miller to jump back to McMahon.
Sammartino found himself with even fewer dates and payoffs than the first time he wrestled for McMahon. He gave notice to McMahon that he was going to San Francisco, and its large Italian population, to wrestle for promoter Roy Shire. Very soon after arriving, Sammartino was informed by the local athletic commission that he was suspended. Unable to find work across the country (because every state athletic commission honors suspensions given by other state athletic commissions), Bruno headed back to Pittsburgh to work as a laborer. Sammartino found out that his suspension was due to his skipping a match he was booked for in Baltimore. He was also booked to wrestle in Chicago that same night. In his autobiography, Sammartino states that he believed McMahon set him up, by double-booking him and not informing him of his match in Baltimore, as a way of punishment for working for Kwariani.
On the advice of wrestler Yukon Eric, Bruno contacted Toronto promoter Frank Tunney hoping to take advantage of Toronto's large Italian population. Despite McMahon trying to blackball him there as well, Tunney decided to take a chance. Bruno 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. His ability to speak Italian also ingratiated himself with that immigrant population. With Canadian legend Whipper Billy Watson, Bruno won his first championship in September 1962, the local version of the International tag team title. Soon, he was in demand by other promoters in different Canadian territories.
During his tenure in Toronto, Bruno wrestled and beat the (then) National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) Champion Buddy Rogers for the title. Rogers was unable to continue after being accidentally butted in the groin while attempting a leap frog. Sammartino refused to accept the title under the circumstances.
Sammartino also wrestled NWA Champ Lou Thesz twice in Canada. 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. Like Thesz's win over Buddy Rogers, this match was booked by NWA kingpin Sam Muchnick as a preliminary to the forming of the WWWF, to ensure the dominance of the senior organization and it's championship. Thesz recounted the matches as nothing special. Bruno has said in interviews that noted "shooter" Thesz did not try to take any advantage of him (as he often did in matches against wrestlers he did not like), but that he was prepared to respond in the event he did.
Meanwhile, McMahon Sr. was having a tough time drawing fans with newly created World Wide Wrestling Federation Champion Buddy Rogers in New York. Promoter Willie Gilzenberg appeared on Washington DC TV; referred to a non-title match in Canada; and "returned" the belt to Buddy Rogers (which thus created the WWWF belt).
Eventually, promoters Toots Mondt and McMahon Sr. cleared up Sammartino's suspension by paying his $500 fine (Bruno says they took it out of his future purses). After many weeks of phone calls with McMahon trying to lure Bruno back, Sammartino demanded a title run.
To show his gratitude to Tunney, Sammartino still wrestled every other Sunday on the big shows – regardless of how hectic his schedule became.
WWWF Champion (1963–1971)
He won the WWWF Championship on May 17, 1963, defeating "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers in just 48 seconds. Bruno has said in interviews that Rogers had to be tricked into the MSG main event. Allegedly, Rogers was to win on a disqualification. It was Sammartino himself that broke the news to him in the ring. While the crowd at Madison Square Garden had expected a tough contest they were shocked at the manner in which Sammartino was able to completely dominate the champion. It took just 48 seconds to crown Sammartino the WWWF Champion. Distraught and surprised Rogers quickly left the ring.
Rogers claimed until his dying day that he had suffered a heart attack a week before the match and was dragged out of a hospital to have the match. Bruno has said (and other wrestlers on the card verify) that all wrestlers were examined and passed by the State Athletic Commission doctor that night as was customary in those days. Bruno has also pointed out that if Rogers was sick, he never took time off from his schedule after he lost the belt. Others have pointed out that Rogers worked mainly in short tag matches until his first retirement one year later (he would later return for two brief comebacks, and much later as a manager)
Rogers and Sammartino did face each other two months later at Madison Square Garden in a tag team match, with Rogers & Handsome Johnny Barend defeating Bruno & Bobo Brazil 2 falls to 1. Sammartino did not trust Rogers (who had a reputation for taking cheap shots) and the two did not work together very much during the match.
However, Rogers retired prior to their scheduled title rematch on October 4, 1963, in Jersey City, NJ's Roosevelt Stadium. Sammartino instead that night had his first match against new #1 contender, Gorilla Monsoon (Monsoon won on disqualification, starting a monumentally successful feud).
Sammartino kept this title for seven years, eight months, and one day; it still stands as the longest continuous world title reign in men's wrestling history.
Sammartino was so popular that in 1965 he was picked by the National Wrestling Alliance board to wrestle against the legendary Lou Thesz in a match for both the NWA and WWWF titles. Sammartino, already working an extremely busy schedule, refused the title match opportunity for fear that winning the title would make his schedule even more hectic. NWA officials then selected Gene Kiniski as Thesz's opponent and he went on to become the new NWA champion.
On September 28, 1965, after a match with Tarzan Tyler in Madison Square Garden, Sammartino went to a restaurant in Times Square. When he returned, he found that a car window was shattered and his $10,000 championship belt was stolen.
Sammartino headlined cards that filled both the third and current Madison Square Gardens on a monthly basis. He battled the top bad guys of his time, including Killer Kowalski,Giant Baba, Gene Kiniski, Dr. Bill Miller,[1] Dr. Jerry Graham, Bull Ramos, Hans Mortier, Waldo Von Erich, "Crusher" Reginald Lisowski, Johnny Valentine, The Sheik, Freddie Blassie, Curtis Iaukea, Tarzan Tyler, Bill Watts, Gorilla Monsoon, Professor Toru Tanaka, Handsome Johnny Barend, The Kentucky Butcher and George "The Animal" Steele.
During this time, Bruno was involved in a shoot with Dr. Bill Miller. In a tag match with Tony Parisi against Miller and Baron Scicluna, Miller (who had a long amateur wrestling background) decided he would shoot on both Parisi and Bruno. After taking a beating in the ring, Parisi tagged out to Bruno. When Miller attempted to shoot on him, Bruno immediately snapped on a front facelock until Miller bled from his nose and passed out in the middle of the ring. Afterwards, Miller approached Bruno in the dressing room, shook his hand and profusely apologized.
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Sammartino defended the belt all over the world, including Australia, Spain, Mexico and Japan.
Bruno was honored with a private audience with the Pope in the Vatican during this period.
On January 18, 1971, Sammartino lost the championship at Madison Square Garden to Ivan Koloff. The crowd was so stunned into silence that Sammartino thought his hearing had been damaged. After the pin, Koloff slowly walked across the ring while the ref raised his hand three times. The announcer came into the ring with the belt but, fearful of a riot, did not present it to Koloff. Koloff left the ring while Sammartino stayed inside to keep the crowd's attention off Koloff. As Sammartino left the ring, people started crying.
Three weeks later, Pedro Morales beat Koloff to win the title; Sammartino congratulated Morales as the new champion was announced. While Morales drew well in New York, the crowds declined in other cities.
Meanwhile, on January 14, 1972, Sammartino returned to Los Angeles, California for the first time in five years to participate in the highlight of promoter Mike LeBelle's year: a 22-man battle royal. The battle royal included competitors such as Rocky Johnson, Mil Máscaras, John Tolos, Haystacks Calhoun, and Ripper Collins. The final two men left in the ring were Collins and Sammartino. After brawling for about five minutes, they noticed that they were the only ones left. After Sammartino bodyslammed Collins several times, he then applied the bearhug. Collins submitted and Bruno was the champion, and the $11,000 winner, of the third annual Olympic Battle Royal. This battle royal marked the first time that The Wrestler, an "Apter Mag", had fans vote on Match of the Year. It went on to become the Match of the Year for 1972.
Later in 1972, Sammartino was asked back by McMahon Sr. to regain the title. After refusing McMahon's initial offer, Sammartino was offered a percentage of all the gates when he wrestled and a decreased work schedule that only included major arenas.
Soon after, Bruno and champion Morales teamed up for a series of tag matches. In a televised match, Professor Tanaka blinded both men with salt and they were maneuvered into fighting each other. When their eyes cleared, to the surprise of the crowd, they kept fighting each other.
2 weeks later, all syndicated wrestling shows in the WWWF showed a clip of Morales and Sammartino signing a contract for a title match at Shea Stadium. When McMahon gestured for them to shake hands, both wordlessly turned and walked away.
On September 1, 1972, they wrestled to a 75-minute draw at Shea Stadium in New York. Despite miserable weather (cold & rainy), the gate narrowly missed becoming the largest take for an outdoor wrestling show at that time.
The match was a scientific trading of holds and mat wrestling. McMahon did not film the proceedings, so all that exists are still photographs. During the match George "The Animal" Steele, tried to interfere – but was restrained by an army of police before he could enter the ring.
Later WWWF/WWF Career & Initial Retirement (1978–1981)
Despite a very long and financially successful series of re-matches against Billy Graham, Sammartino was unwilling to regain the title. His final attempt was in Philadelphia, just a few days before Graham was scheduled to lose the title to Bob Backlund. The Philly match was the only documented instance of Sammartino losing a Steel Cage Match. He lost by accidentally knocking a bloody and battered Graham through the cage door.
After his second reign ended, Sammartino leisurely toured the U.S. and the world. He wrestled then NWA World Heavyweight Champion Harley Race to a one hour draw in St. Louis. He also wrestled and defeated, Blackjack Mulligan, Lord Alfred Hayes, Dick Murdoch, Kenji Shibuya, and "Crippler" Ray Stevens.
During this time period, Sammartino did a rare "clean job" for Killer Kowalski in Canada. At the time, Kowalski was the Grand Prix World Champion and recounted in an interview that he was "touched" his old friend and rival would do that for him.
One of the most emotional feuds of Sammartino's career started on January 22, 1980, when his former student Larry Zbyszko violently turned against him during a scientific wrestling exhibition, broadcast on the World Wrestling Federation's Championship Wrestling show. Sammartino, shocked and hurt by Zbyszko's betrayal, vowed to make Zbyszko (whom Bruno described as a "Judas") pay dearly. Their feud culminated on August 9, 1980, in front of 36,295 fans at Shea Stadium. As the main event of 1980's Showdown at Shea, Sammartino defeated Zbyszko inside a steel cage. This feud is considered by many wrestling historians and journalists to be the biggest feud in the history of wrestling in the northeast.
In his autobiography, Hulk Hogan claimed that his match with Andre the Giant was the real reason for the huge draw at Shea Stadium, however the feud between Sammartino and Zbyszko sold out everywhere in the build-up to the show. In contrast Hogan and André headlined exactly one card in White Plains, New York before they wrestled at Shea. They drew a paltry 1,200 in a building that held 3,500.
Sammartino retired from North American wrestling full-time in 1981, in a match that opened the Meadowlands Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Sammartino pinned George "The Animal" Steele in his match. Sammartino then finished up his full-time career by touring Japan.
Bruno Sammartino return to wwe :
Return to WWF (1984–1988)
In 1984, Bruno made an appearance at an Italian Festival in Wheeling, WV to do a weightlifting exhibition. While there, he was interviewed by a local TV station and when asked if he still watched TV wrestling he said it made him sick and that he would never watch it. He didn't like the direction that it was taking.
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. Bruno filed suit against McMahon and his Capitol Wrestling Corporation.[8] The suit was eventually settled out of court by McMahon's son, Vince McMahon Jr. after his father had died. Part of the settlement included Sammartino returning to do color commentary on WWF television in exchange for hundreds of thousands of dollars for what amounted to nineteen days of work.
The primary reason Sammartino returned was an attempt to promote the wrestling career of his son David Sammartino, who became a wrestler against his father's wishes. Despite lingering effects from previous injuries, Sammartino agreed to come out of retirement to help his son launch his career. Bruno says that this time period was his least favorite of his career.
At the inaugural WrestleMania at a sold out Madison Square Garden in 1985, Sammartino was in his son's corner, for his match against Brutus Beefcake. The match ended in a double-disqualification after the Sammartinos began brawling with Beefcake and his manager Johnny Valiant. He returned to in ring action soon after with his son, as they wrestled against Beefcake & Valiant at Madison Square Garden. The Sammartinos also teamed against Paul Orndorff and Bobby Heenan in various arenas. Despite being in his early-50's, Sammartino frequently proved to be in much better physical shape than his opponents, often leaving them "blown up" by the middle of the match.
Personal life :
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Bruno has been married to his wife Carol since 1959 and they have three children, David, and twin sons Danny and Darryl and also has four grandchildren. He and his wife have lived in Ross Township, Allegheny County near Pittsburgh since 1965.
Bruno Sammartino WWE Hall of Fame Interview :
Criticism of pro wrestling today :
In his retirement, Sammartino has publicly criticized the direction professional wrestling has taken, making reference to lurid storylines, over-the-top theatrics, and drug and steroid abuse. In particular he has been critical of Vince McMahon, saying that McMahon has been detrimental to his father's creation. Sammartino has refused to provide commentary on WWE-produced retrospectives of his career, instead participating in a series of independently-produced documentaries, including Bruno Sammartino's Legends Never Die, La Roccia, The Passing of the Belt, and The Boys are Back. Despite being the biggest drawing card in wrestling during the 1960s and 1970s, Sammartino was not mentioned in the A&E wrestling documentary The Unreal Story of Professional Wrestling. He attributed his exclusion to McMahon, who provided much of the footage to the production.[citation needed]
Sammartino accepted WWE's offer to join their Hall of Fame class of 2013 claiming that he is satisfied with the way the company has addressed his concerns. He said, "Being that they made those changes, now that they want me in there so badly I absolutely accept it because they did what I wanted them to do."
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