This post may contain affiliate links, which means we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. [12][11] During this time, his mother would sneak into their German-occupied town for food and supplies. Looking to talk wrestling, pro football, or any number of sports? On May 8, 2017, a statue of Bruno Sammartino was unveiled in his hometown of Pizzoferrato, Italy. Twitter: @JustSKendall
An ever-increasing argument in today's wrestling world, in light of a continued use of part-time stars from yesteryear like Goldberg and Brock Lesnar, is how often should we realistically see the world champion defend their belt in televised appearances? And a packed Madison Square Garden, who had become accustomed to wildly cheering Bruno Sammartino after each title defense, was shocked into complete silence. During his lengthy reign, Sammartino would defeat every villain set up before him, always managing to hang on to his title belt. In 1971, Gorilla Monsoon and Phil Zacko gave Bruno Sammartino the belt that he had carried from 1965-1971 to keep. Bob Backlund, the talented former N.C.A.A. Sammartino continued doing commentary on Superstars of Wrestling until March 1988.[17]. The climax of their feud came was a victory for Sammartino and Santana in a steel cage match in Madison Square Garden. Irvin Muchnick mentioned the incident in his book, Wrestling Babylon. Thesz made him this offer: "We could do this the easy way or the hard way." [17] Soon, he was in demand by other promoters in different Canadian territories. Sammartino defeated Buddy Rogers in just 48 seconds to become the second-ever WWE Champion in front of nearly 20,000 fans on May 17, 1963 at the old Madison Square Garden. He went on to win the World Welterweight and Middleweight Titles. Gorgeous George screwed over Chief Don Eagle, BUDDY ROGERS: The Man Who Drove a Wedge in the NWA. He died in 1992 at the age of 71. Sammartino was living proof of the American Dream, an immigrant who left a wartorn time to become an accomplished athlete. WWWF referee Dick Kroll had to get Koloff out of the ring. 10.12.1973 - 30.04.1977. The championship remained vacant for over a year. Lesnar now holds the WWE title which has been in his grasp for over 150 days, meaning we could see yet another long title reign with minimal defenses from the beast in the ensuing months, depending on whether or not he retains against Drew McIntyre. His decision to loan the artifact to the IPWHF will not only benefit this organization but allows us to preserve and share thelegacy of the greatest wrestling champion of all time, Bruno Sammartino. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff and Bobby "The Brain" Heenan in various arenas. Rogers dropped the NWA Title to Thesz (and got back his deposit on the belt), and the Northeast promoters used the one-fall match as the reason for the split from the NWA. 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. Matches. After the first WWWF World Champion, Nature Boy Buddy Rogers, was hospitalized three times in April 1963 for chest pains, Vince McMahon, Sr. and Toots Mondt made a command decision to make an emergency title switch. 1 Hour 35 Minutes. Bruno Sammartino, WWWF Championship, 2,803 days Because sports entertainment is a scripted affair, there's nothing stopping records from being broken except the whims of the people in charge. After Bruno defeated Rogers, just one month later, the first official WWWF (WWE) World Championship was designed. [31] This allowed Savage to keep the championship, as titles cannot change hands via countout or disqualification. Three years after his stunning defeat, Bruno won the WWE Title for a second time. While on his way to California, he missed two bookings in Baltimore and Chicago, and as a result was suspended in those territories. [17] Sammartino worked several WCW events in a minor analysis role in the early 1990s, as well as a brief run doing color commentary with Jim Ross on Saturday Night in 1992. With John Atkins, Angela Capri, Primo Carnera, John Cena. SOURCES: Chris Yandek New Era Of Wrestling & The Sports Interview with Bruno Sammartino, Buddy Rogers interview on Jim Barniaks Sports Scrapbook,Solie.org October 97 interview with Bruno Sammartino, The International Gazette "Wrestlings Living Legend Bruno Sammartino Gets Inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.". Sammartino teamed with Paul Orndorff in his matches against Piper, while Piper would tag with his "bodyguard", Ace "Cowboy" Bob Orton. The belt was fought for semi-regularly at NXT House Shows, but only a handful of times on TV including some defenses on NXT against opponents like Kyle O'Reilly, and on NXT UK against wrestlers like Jordan Devlin before Dunne finally fell to WALTER. Jamie Greer joined LWOPW in 2015 and was the site's Managing Editor from 2016 through 2020. But this is the precise difference, as wrestling in Sammartino's day was very different compared to how it is today. NEXT: 5 Longest & 5 Shortest WCW Title Reigns. ", Disclaimer, Terms of Service, Privacy Policy, and Disclosure. Turner plans to maintain ownership of the 1965-1971 version of the WWWF World Championship for decades to come. #1 Bruno Sammartino - 2803 days (May 17, 1963 - January 18, 1971) Bruno Sammartino's inaugural reign as WWWF Champion is the longest World Title reign in WWE history. He was inducted into the WWE . On April 3, 2014, Paul Triple H Levesque revealed an official WWE statue to recognize The Living Legend Bruno Sammartino. On AXS (1/19/21) Eric Young versus Rhino. Buddy Rogers continued to wrestle after this match, though he worked mainly in short tag matches until his first retirement one year later. Author: Matt Pender Jan. 10, 2023. December 13, 1969: WWWF World Champion Bruno Sammartino & Batman defeated Tanaka & Arakawa in a Best 2 out of 3 falls match at the Pittsburgh Civic Arena to "win the titles". Acknowledged as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Sammartino's legacy began in 1959 and lasted until his final match in October of 1981. . When Lou Thesz came out of semi-retirement on January 24th, 1963, in Toronto to fight Buddy Rogers for the World Heavyweight Championship, Rogers was supposedly having second thoughts about dropping the title to Thesz. 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. I was in that hospital for up to 5 days before I wrestled. Some of his defenses ended in time limit draws, and some in DQ, but . Sammartino won the title on May 17, 1963, defeating Rogers in 48 seconds. [29] The match ended in a double-disqualification after the Sammartinos began brawling with Beefcake and his manager Johnny Valiant. In that sense, it's easy to see why WWE fans give Reigns' run the title of historic. So, that was the big break, if you will. Defeating Stan Stasiak, Bruno became the first-ever two-time WWE Champion. They had a show at the Civic Arena, but those were the days of the Buddy Rogers era, and Vince McMahon Sr. was trying to get me to come back because he saw my success in Canada. Indianpolis, Indiana: . I conducted a phone interview with wrestling's "Living Legend," Bruno Sammartino, who talked about what he's been up to lately, his thoughts on the WWE Hall of Fame and his memori AIR Awareness Outreach; AIR Business Lunch & Learn; AIR Community of Kindness; AIR Dogs: Paws For Minds AIR Hero AIR & NJAMHAA Conference [11] In 1998, he said he had been estranged from David since retiring from wrestling against David's wishes for a tag team.[45]. Later in 1972, Sammartino was asked back by McMahon Sr. to regain the title. 18.06.1987. In New York, you go through an extensive physical to get your license, and every night before you wrestled, you had a physical in the dressing room. After refusing McMahon Sr.'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. On December 8, 1969, he teamed with Tony Marino to win the WWWF International Tag Team Championship by defeating The Rising Suns (Tanaka and Mitsu Arakawa). Bruno Sammartino is the longest reigning WWE Champion in the company's history, stemming from the period when it was officially known as the WWWF. 7 WWE Hall of Fame Stories WWE Doesnt Want You To Know! Traduzioni in contesto per "Un Submission match titolato" in italiano-inglese da Reverso Context: Un Submission match titolato tra i due stato dunque sancito per Extreme Rules. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Buddy Rogers was examined and re-examined, and they couldnt find a thing wrong with him, and then after that, his license was reinstated. It was there that he was spotted by local professional wrestling promoter Rudy Miller, who recruited the young man into the ring. Bruno is memorialized in the statue wearing his 1965-1971WWWF World Championship. Lonnie Mayne The Glass Eating, Raw Meat Chewing Original Moondog! Company policy meant that Sammartino could not hold two championships simultaneously, so he was replaced by Victor Rivera. Sammartino, an Italian immigrant who ruled the WWE throughout the 1960s and 1970s, died Wednesday at the age of 82. (1965-1971) Bruno Sammartino is the greatest world champion in the history of professional wrestling. Following the match, thieves smashed a window and broke into Brunos car while he was having dinner. Bruno! WWE fan? . 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. Bruno Sammartino is the greatest world champion in the history of professional wrestling. I worked in pain. [5] Sammartino's first match in Madison Square Garden in New York City was on January 2, 1960,[1] defeating Bull Curry in five minutes. Arguably the greatest wrestling champion of all time. Can you imagine it? Sammartino worked as a commentator for the Universal Wrestling Federation. If you've watched professional wrestling for any modicum of time, you've surely heard of the name of Bruno Sammartino at least once. 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. This film comprehensively covers the life and career of Bruno Sammartino, and his struggles to become wrestlings greatest champion. It opens with Bruno delivering a strong personal message while holding his prized possession, the 1965-1971 version of the WWWF World Championship. Pro Wrestling Stories - Your daily source of nostalgia and a peek behind the curtain wall of wrestlings past! WWF House Show - House Show @ Baltimore Arena in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. Tickets to the screening are $15 for adults, $10 for members and $5 for children. Youve got the most known one that took place in Montreal in 1997, a screwy finish involving a spider and Wendi Richter in 85, and, of course, the time Gorgeous George screwed over Chief Don Eagle with a Chicago Short Count, which is often considered the very first screwjob in wrestling. [15] 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. Bruno, the Italian superhero from Pittsburgh, battled the 6'6" 315 "Mormon Giant" a number of times in 1973 and 1974 and Jonathan won at least twice. Sammartino also engaged in a feud with "Rowdy" Roddy Piper after Piper insulted his heritage on a segment of Piper's Pit at Madison Square Garden. Morales would lose his World title to Stan The Man Stasiak in December of 1973, only to lose it nine days later back to Bruno for another lengthy reign (1,237 days, from 1973 through 1977). He began working in the NWA territories, such as Georgia Championship Wrestling, St. Louis Wrestling Club, NWA Mid America, and others. In early 1977, Sammartino informed McMahon Sr. that he felt he could no longer continue as champion due to his injuries. They both encapsulated what a hero was for their respective eras. With Bruno as WWWFs World Champion, WWWF conquered the New York territory and became a true alternative to the monopoly that the NWA had held over pro wrestling in the United States since 1948. During one title reign he held the belt for an astonishing 2,803 days, a period positively unheard of in today's wrestling climate. He was 82. (Hornby had 12,989) The very business model of television/pay per view that Vince McMahon's WWE now runs off of was non-existent. WWE Hall of Famer Bruno Sammartino revealed why his record-setting WWWF title reign ended. or scroll down to learn more about the history of Bruno's Belt. [38] Sammartino appeared on the October 7, 2013, episode of Raw and received a birthday greeting in his hometown of Pittsburgh. Rogers was one of the great wrestlers of his era. Dumpster match, multiple title defenses. Rogers dropped the title. Sammartino finally lost the WWE Championship in January 1971 . Cody Rhodes held the WWE Intercontinental Championship for approximately eight months across 2011 and 2012, though in that time he only defended the belt a total of 4 times on pay per view. Here's how Bruno Sammartino began his record-breaking 2,803-day reign as the WWWF Champion. "Retiring you cant explain it; it really takes you down. [14] He died on April 18, 2018, at the age of 82 from multiple organ failure due to heart problems[12] following a two-month hospitalization. If hes willing, then fine., It was funny because Georgiann went and got him, got me, and she stood in the middle. WWWF World Championship. [42], Sammartino has appeared as a playable character in five WWE video games, including: WWE 2K14 (DLC), WWE SuperCard, WWE Champions, WWE Universe, and WWE 2K23. 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