After leaving the WWF, Sammartino became an outspoken critic of the path on which Vincent K. McMahon had taken professional wrestling. Bob Backlund, the talented former N.C.A.A. That victory in 48 seconds began a 2,803-day reign that stands today as the longest in history, by far. When Buddy Rogers saw the attendance, he wanted to get out of there, and he told the doctor he felt a funny pain on his chest. Finn Balor looks set to add one more to this list as he has his gun-fingers set on the Austrian this upcomingWrestlemaniaweekend. WWE commissioned a statue of Bruno wearing his belt, 6. George Steele: WWWF Baltimore Show (Apr '77) Apr 30th 1977: Billy Graham: "We can do this the easy way or the hard way!". Bruno Sammartinos Last Christmas Campo die Sogni, 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. 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. An irate Sammartino attacked Savage during a TV interview, after Savage bragged about injuring Ricky Steamboat, by driving the timekeeper's bell into Steamboat's throat during a televised match. He held the title until 1971. Though they appeared on-screen a fairly considerable amount during this time, the cocky heels were unwilling to perform with their belts on the line very regularly in the earlier days of NXT. I looked around the arena. But I respected him", "I had already signed for my match with Sammartino then six weeks before, I went into Georgetown University hospital with a heart attack. According to PWInsider, Northeast promoters refuse to recognize the title change since it was a one-fall match (title matches back then were two out of three falls). 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. Over the course of his record-breaking run, Sammartino successfully retained his title 653 times, including 62 defenses in MSG alone. This match was booked by NWA promoter Sam Muchnick as a preliminary to the forming of the WWWF, to ensure the dominance of the senior organization and its championship.[18]. Before Hulk Hogan could be the face of the company during its national expansion, before Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock could lead The Attitude Era, and before John Cena or Roman Reigns were even born, Sammartino was a two-time WWE Champion who had cumulatively held the strap for over 11 years (as a fun fact, Cena was born . [12][11] During this time, his mother would sneak into their German-occupied town for food and supplies. Bruno owned his title belt for over 52 years, 10. Technically, this means three of the first four World Champions of the WWWF wore the same belt; however, Brunos belt was retired and replaced by a significantly lesser-quality belt for Pedro Morales, which did not last long. Interestingly, Thesz beat Rogers in a three falls rematch on February 7th, 1963, in Toronto, a result often forgotten. [17] Soon, he was in demand by other promoters in different Canadian territories. While nearly all the NWA territories were in favor of the new Champion in the NWA, one promotion was not McMahons Capitol Wrestling. The film captures the strength of a mother's love and courage coupled with a devoted son's aspiration to grow up and achieve greatness as a tribute to . Bruno selected a classic photograph with his 1965-1971 version of the WWWF World Championship for the cover of his autobiography, which he wrote with Sal Anthony Corrente. Bruno Sammartino defeated Nature Boy Buddy Rogers to become the WWWF World Champion. In many ways, it was a full circle. Unique lists featuring pop culture, entertainment and crazy facts. 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. [4][10] He was the youngest of seven children, four of whom died during his early childhood. Any fifteen-year-old kid coulda beat me that night. He turned to weightlifting and wrestling to build himself up. But unfortunately for both WWWF and Buddy Rogers, Rogers rising health issues would become an issue sooner than later following a series of heart issues, it was determined that Rogers could no longer be the face of the company. 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. In todays story, we hear from both Bruno Sammartino and Buddy Rogers regarding the screwjob finish in 1963 that propelled "The Italian Strongman" into becoming "The Living Legend. [5] He trained in wrestling with Rex Peery, the University of Pittsburgh team coach. These are ten resulting championship reigns which lasted a considerable amount of time, but featured very few notable matches for the title in question. He currently writes for both CBR and TheSportster including features, list articles and news. - Bruno Sammartino and Dominic DeNucci defeated The Mongols (Geeto and Bepo) for the WWF International Tag Team Titles. [10], In 1959, Sammartino set a world record in the bench press with a lift of 256 kilograms (565lb), done without elbow or wrist wraps. It was no different on the night of May 17, 1963, when. Blake & Murphy were one of the first major holders of the NXT Tag Team Titles, belts that they managed to hold for a total of 219 days. And with the US-Russia Cold War now in mass effect, it was the companys resident Russian bad-guy that McMahon turned to. [11] In 1998, he said he had been estranged from David since retiring from wrestling against David's wishes for a tag team.[45]. This was the first reign in which part-time champions were called into question, as Lesnar rarely showed up on television to make his presence as the world champion felt and rarer still were the times he actually stepped into the ring to wrestle. [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. Tickets to the screening are $15 for adults, $10 for members and $5 for children. 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. Sammartino, an Italian immigrant who ruled the WWE throughout the 1960s and 1970s, died Wednesday at the age of 82. Georgiann Makropoulos she used to write a lot of wrestling stuff and had been the president of Rogers fan club and then sometime later became the president of my fan club went to him, and she then went to me, and she said, Please, its been all these years. Bruno's belt appears on a statue in his hometown, 7. Bruno! Between 1963 and 1980, he main evented many times and many of those main events drew a full house. Many, many years later, there was a convention one time in New York where they invited some wrestlers from yesteryear where we signed autographs and so forth. [4], Sammartino made his professional debut in Pittsburgh on December 17, 1959, pinning Dmitri Grabowski in 19 seconds. 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. Actor: WWE Smackdown!. Bruno Sammartino holds a legendary wrestling career spanning nearly a quarter century from 1959 to 1982. WWF House Show - House Show @ Baltimore Arena in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. Bruno Sammartino is to professional wrestling what Babe Ruth is to baseball.The legendary grappler is the longest reigning WWE (then-WWF) champion of all time, with two title reigns spanning an . [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. Bruno Sammartino was a 90-pound weakling in high school. Dominic DeNucci Wrestlings Shining Light. Flair had denigrated Sammartino's wrestling ability in his book To Be the Man. Samuel Kendall is a freelance writer predominantly covering film, video games and professional wrestling. Sammartino retired from North American wrestling full-time in 1981,[10] in a match that opened the Meadowlands Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Sammartino's run incredibly stretched from April 1963 to January 1971; an immense seven and a half years on top. BREAKING NEWS: IPWHF ACQUIRES BRUNO SAMMARTINO TITLE BELT, Chants of Bruno! I dont know if I should allow him to go in the ring. Rogers would then drop the title a month later to Bruno Sammartino in less than a minute. Sold-out Madison Square Garden 189 times! The new film, just called Bruno Sammartino, is simply a revamped and slightly updated version of La Mia Mama, meaning it's long of Sammartino's tough-as-nails mother, but shockingly short on the champion's in-ring exploits. For half of that time he reigned as World Champion, . It was there that he was spotted by local professional wrestling promoter Rudy Miller, who recruited the young man into the ring. 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. He held the company's top title from 1963 to 1971 and again from 1973 to 1977. Sometimes, be they world champions, tag team champions, or otherwise, champions have commitments outside of their championship. FILE - 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 . [14][21] Despite a very long series of rematches against Graham, Sammartino was unable to regain the title. I cant explain it". He is overall a two-time world champion in professional wrestling. Also during this time, Sammartino began serving as color commentator for the WWF's syndicated programs, WWF Championship Wrestling and WWF All-Star Wrestling. I was in that hospital for up to 5 days before I wrestled. Buddy ROGERS vs. Bruno SAMMARTINO NWA WORLD TITLE. Bruno's belt was briefly worn by Ivan Kohloff, 3. WWE Hall of Famer Bruno Sammartino died on Wednesday at the age of 82 in Pittsburgh. I was so beat in so many ways; I was never one to even take an aspirin. 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. [22] Sammartino recalled the shocked silence that greeted the result, remarking he thought he had damaged his ears. Still an affiliate under the banner of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), Sammartino felt he was stuck in a holding pattern behind NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion, Nature Boy Buddy Rogers, who was Capitols biggest star since winning NWAs top prize in 1961. [16] Sammartino was forced to return to Pittsburgh and found work as a laborer. WWE Hall of Famer Bruno Sammartino revealed why his record-setting WWWF title reign ended. Sammartino is the longest-reigning WWE Champion in history. On October 28, 1989, Sammartino made a special appearance at the NWA pay-per-view event Halloween Havoc, where he was the special guest referee in a "Thunderdome" cage match which featured Ric Flair and Sting taking on Terry Funk and The Great Muta. [46] May 17, 2013 was declared "Bruno Sammartino Day" in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. Chants of Bruno! We took a picture, but we never spoke a word to each other" (Laughs). HISTORY: : Sugar Ray Leonard was the winner of a gold medal at the 1976 Summer Olympics. There, he held the WWWF World Heavyweight Championship (WWWF Heavyweight Championship during his second reign) for more than 11 years (4,040 days) across two reigns, the first of which is the longest single reign in the promotion's history at 2,803 days. BILLY GRAHAM IN THE IWE (JAPAN) . Bruno Sammartino (Title defense by Bruno. Bruno Sammartino. Bruno Sammartino depicts the exciting story of the championship wrestler and his family's narrow escape from the Nazis in World War II Italy. ", Disclaimer, Terms of Service, Privacy Policy, and Disclosure. Jamie Greer joined LWOPW in 2015 and was the site's Managing Editor from 2016 through 2020. "Screwjob" is a term that gets thrown around loosely in the wrestling world. I went in that ring". By Robert D. McFadden. [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. I knew it was all done; I just knew I couldnt produce like I once did. After regaining the title in December 1973 . Just 48 seconds later, Bruno Sammartino was the new champ, and a hero was born. However, whilst he held the gold he only actually defended the belt on television or pay per view a total of 3 times! 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