Rogers pinned Sammartino for the third and deciding fall. . [48], On July 26, 2004, Sammartino and Ric Flair were involved in the "Who snubbed who?" (Use code PWS for a nice surprise). Bruno Sammartino: WWWF Heavyweight Champion - 1,237 days WWE/YouTube Stan Stasiak only has one successful title defense to his name against Chief Jay Strongbow, and their bout went to a no contest. 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. [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. By Robert D. McFadden. [10][11] During World War II, Pizzoferrato was invaded by troops of the Waffen SS, leading Emilia to hide Sammartino and his siblings in a remote hideout at the top of a nearby mountain called Valla Rocca. [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. In the late 1960s, Sammartino was involved in a fight with former Pennsylvania Athletic Commissioner Joe Cimino. "Prior to that, over a period of two years, I defeated Sammartino eleven straight times. [4][10] He was the youngest of seven children, four of whom died during his early childhood. [17], In 2006, he signed an independent deal with Jakks Pacific to produce an action figure, which is part of the WWE Classic Superstars line, Series 10. Author: Matt Pender Jan. 10, 2023. The following title matches feature the WWE Championship. I used to come home from Toronto, Canada, twice a month every Sunday, because we would be at the Maple Leaf Garden, shows every other Sunday. In contrast, Hogan and Andr headlined exactly one card in White Plains, New York before they wrestled at Shea, and they drew 1,200 in a building that held 3,500.[27]. During his second reign, Bruno Sammartino held the title for 1237 days. Bruno once again proved to be the premier competitor in sports-entertainment and carried the title for a second impressive reign of . "Close to working that schedule for eight years, I told Vince McMahon Sr., you better get somebody. But then on January 24, 1963, something happened. But it would be Canadian-born Russian wrestler Ivan Koloff who would put an end to Sammartinos historic reign. The city . Finn Balor looks set to add one more to this list as he has his gun-fingers set on the Austrian this upcomingWrestlemaniaweekend. 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 . Imagine doing something all those years and loving it all of a sudden, you never do it again. When their eyes cleared, they kept fighting each other. 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. On June 18 2014, Dr. Wagner, Jr. won the title and has kept it ever since. In CM Punk's 434 day reign, he defended the title 141 times, or an average of just over once every three . After regaining the title in December 1973 . To put everything in perspective, if Roman Reigns stays Universal Champion through New Year's Day 2028, he'd still be many, many months short of reaching Sammartino's record title reign length! [29] The match ended in a double-disqualification after the Sammartinos began brawling with Beefcake and his manager Johnny Valiant. Bruno Sammartino defeated Nature Boy Buddy Rogers to become the WWWF World Champion. His final attempt was in Philadelphia, just a few days before Graham was scheduled to lose the title to Bob Backlund. [11] In 1998, he said he had been estranged from David since retiring from wrestling against David's wishes for a tag team.[45]. After his second reign ended, Sammartino leisurely toured the U.S. and the world. WWF House Show - House Show @ Baltimore Arena in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. 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. [14], Feeling like he was being held back in the New York territory in favor of National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) star Buddy Rogers, Sammartino gave his notice to Capitol Wrestling Corporation (CWC) owner Vince McMahon Sr. and planned to go to San Francisco to work for Roy Shire. [7] Later that year, he won the International Tag Team Championship for the second time by teaming with Dominic DeNucci. He can be reached by e-mail at matthew.pender@hotmail.co.nz. 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. Ivan Koloff (left) and Superstar Billy Graham (right) each drew six sellouts with Bruno and each defeated him for the WWWF Championship. 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.". That said, Sammartino's record is likely safe, as it's difficult to imagine WWE ever putting a title on someone even remotely as long as his top reign. 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. News on all your favorite celebs, reality TV, and movies. Can you imagine it? He also wrestled and defeated Blackjack Mulligan, Lord Alfred Hayes, Dick Murdoch, Kenji Shibuya, and "Crippler" Ray Stevens. Tributes from the world of wrestling began flocking in shortly after news of Sammartino's passing, with WWE . That record will never be broken. I knew it was all done; I just knew I couldnt produce like I once did. He held the company's top title from 1963 to 1971 and again from 1973 to 1977. [15] With Whipper Billy Watson, Sammartino won his first professional wrestling championship in September 1962, the local version of the International Tag Team Championship. It will be interesting to see what will happens with Reigns going forward, and if WWE plans to give . Bruno only gave up his championship when he wanted to, and there was one championship belt he decided never to let go. Bruno Leopoldo Francesco Sammartino was an Italian-born American professional wrestler, best known for his work with the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF, now WWE). Between 1963 and 1980, he main evented many times and many of those main events drew a full house. #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. Buddy Rogers was a funny guy, and he thought he wasnt going to wrestle under these conditions, and back then, we didnt have contracts like today, but more or less, we strictly got paid on the gate. [31] This allowed Savage to keep the championship, as titles cannot change hands via countout or disqualification. Brock would then defend the belt a total of three times between then and Wrestlemania, with appearances atNight of Champions, Royal Rumble,and the event itself. Related. Bruno makes his first defense of the WWWW title since crushing Buddy Rogers in 48 seconds the previous month! Sammartino instead that night had his first match against new number one contender, Gorilla Monsoon. WWWF referee Dick Kroll had to get Koloff out of the ring. Boston 1/17/76) Disk 2 . On January 22, 1980, his former student Larry Zbyszko turned on him at the World Wrestling Federation's Championship Wrestling show. [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. Bruno Sammartino and Buddy Rogers open up about this critical moment in professional wrestling history that all but marked the end of one legendary career and launched another, and the hatred that forever remained between the two. Sammartino is honored on the Madison Square Garden Walk of Fame. May 2, 2020, the 1965-1971 version of the WWWF World Championship was put to auction, along with Bruno Sammartinos WWE Hall of Fame ring (2013) and several other items, as part of the settlement for hisestate. Sammartino would go on to hold the title for 2,803 days, nearly eight years(! 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. 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. Bruno had the belt polished andthen maintained personal ownership of his prized possession until he passed away on April 18, 2018. [7] During his second reign, on April 26, 1976, Sammartino suffered a legitimate neck fracture in a match against Stan Hansen at Madison Square Garden, when Hansen improperly executed a move and dropped Sammartino on his head. 2022. 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 . 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. Once again a bruising Russian supervillain during the Cold War hysteria of the 1960s, he became a top heel with Maple Leaf Wrestling in Toronto. 21.07.1973 - 05.01.1974. In 2019, Bruno Sammartino:The Autobiography of Wrestlings Living Legendwas released. Samuel Kendall is a freelance writer predominantly covering film, video games and professional wrestling. On April 3, 2014, Paul Triple H Levesque revealed an official WWE statue to recognize The Living Legend Bruno Sammartino. Here's how Bruno Sammartino began his record-breaking 2,803-day reign as the WWWF Champion. Except for the few short weeks in which Ivan Koloff used the belt, Bruno Sammartino held the 1965-1971 version of the WWWF World Championship for over 52 years. 10/23/67 Bruno defeated Hans Mortier 6,612 paid $18,136.10. Rogers dropped the title. Matches. 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. We took a picture, but we never spoke a word to each other" (Laughs). It took 14 minutes and 55 seconds for Ivan Koloff to defeat Bruno Sammartino that night in New York City. Bruno Sammartino was the first two-time WWE Champion. Louis. Bruno's belt now appearsin an acclaimed film, 9. Company policy meant that Sammartino could not hold two championships simultaneously, so he was replaced by Victor Rivera. Despite this, the reign lasted for alengthy 161 days. Bruno's belt is enshrined in the IPWHF Collection, Watch IPWHF President Seth Turner unbox Bruno's historic belt, Bruno Sammartino: Behind The Championship Belt. Bruno Sammartino Saves Freddie Blassie From Being Killed By The Mob! Some of his defenses ended in time limit draws, and some in DQ, but . 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. WWE commissioned a statue of Bruno wearing his belt, 6. A sold-out Garden. [15], Sammartino also challenged NWA World Heavyweight Champion Lou Thesz twice for the championship in Canada. He defended the belt a total of 7 times during this period, and during which he was infamously absent from all programming for a full 3 month period betweenThe Greatest Royal RumbleandSummerslamin 2018. Just about. Their feud culminated on August 9, 1980, in front of 36,295 fans at Shea Stadium. This helps us provide free content for you to enjoy! Cimino was new to his post and intervened in a match finish involving Sammartino, who took a shot at Cimino in the ring and the argument continued backstage. Two weeks later, all syndicated wrestling shows in the WWWF showed a clip of Sammartino and Morales signing a contract for a title match at Shea Stadium. In the summer of 1960 James M. During one title reign he held the belt for an astonishing 2,803 days, a period positively unheard of in today's wrestling climate. [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. WWE fan? Rogers was one of the great wrestlers of his era. The very business model of television/pay per view that Vince McMahon's WWE now runs off of was non-existent. Bruno Sammartino (Title defense by Bruno. By using this site, you agree to the legal terms set out in ourDisclaimer, Terms of Service, Privacy Policy, and Disclosure. Scroll down to learn more about Bruno's Belt and its journey to the IPWHF. But I made sure I kept my word, and I went through with the match. Itis due to hit theaters in 2020and features many images of Bruno and his1965-1971 version of the WWWF World Championship. [7] Known for his powerful bearhug[4][5] finishing move, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time. By Ian Carey Feb 5, 2023. The climax of their feud came was a victory for Sammartino and Santana in a steel cage match in Madison Square Garden. Bruno Sammartino, a resident of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is known as professional wrestling's Living Legend. 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 . Stay tuned to theLast Word on Pro Wrestlingfor more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. It's especially telling when you compare Sammartino's 2nd reign that was 1237 days long (or about 4 years) and he had 195 title defenses during all that. Bruno Sammartino often mentioned Don Leo Jonathan when he was asked about his toughest foes. Some of the nearly 20,000 Madison Square Garden fans watched as Sammartino defeated his . 7 WWE Hall of Fame Stories WWE Doesnt Want You To Know! [36], In 2013, Sammartino accepted an invitation for induction into the WWE Hall of Fame, after having declined several times in prior years. Dominic DeNucci Wrestlings Shining Light. Matt Pender is an old-school wrestling fan who currently lives in New Zealand. [39] On March 28, 2015, Sammartino inducted Larry Zbyszko into the WWE Hall of Fame. The MSG title . On last night's episode of Table For 3. "Screwjob" is a term that gets thrown around loosely in the wrestling world. 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. Turner has agreed to display the King of Classy Titles atthe IPWHF Museum, soon to be built in New York State. He began working in the NWA territories, such as Georgia Championship Wrestling, St. Louis Wrestling Club, NWA Mid America, and others. It opens with Bruno delivering a strong personal message while holding his prized possession, the 1965-1971 version of the WWWF World Championship. Buddy ROGERS vs. Bruno SAMMARTINO NWA WORLD TITLE. The quotes made from Bruno Sammartino and Buddy Rogers were originally compiled by Matt Pender and shared here with thanks to our friends over at Wrestlings Glory Days Facebook page. He turned to weightlifting and wrestling to build himself up. Sadly, Koloffs reign was short-lived. I was in that hospital for up to 5 days before I wrestled. The longest WWE championship reign belongs to Hall of Famer Bruno Sammartino, who held the the title from May 17, 1963 until Jan. 18, 1971 for a grand total of 2,803 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. Twitter: @JustSKendall
[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. Matches. His Intercontinental Championship reign is the perfect example of that. International Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame. I cant explain it". It was dead silence as the new champion left the ring with Albano behind him. Bruno was shattered but more because his body had finally exhausted all its strength after a rugged past decade from fighting for his spot to defending it around the world than at actually losing the title. Although this promotion was big in its hay-day, I can't find some reliable sources that Wagner keeps defending the title. [9], Bruno Leopoldo Francesco Sammartino was born in Pizzoferrato, Abruzzo, Italy, to Alfonso and Emilia Sammartino on October 6, 1935. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff and Bobby "The Brain" Heenan in various arenas. [11] This made him an easy target for bullies at Schenley High School. Bruno! ), and remains one of the most popular pro wrestlers of all time based on their ability to connect to fans worldwide during their respective eras. Battle Royal: Winner: Bruno Sammartino. Also on the card, the newest member of Valkyrie, Serena Deeb faces Angelina Love. ", "Buddy Rogers and I never liked each other. [10], When the Sammartinos arrived in the U.S., Bruno spoke no English and was sickly from the privations of the war years. RELATED: 10 Failed WWE Champions That Should Have Worked. He also acted as special guest referee in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) for a series of matches between Flair and Randy Savage in June 1996. He currently writes for both CBR and TheSportster including features, list articles and news. He held the World Wide Wrestling Federation titlefor more than 11 years, from1963to1971, and again from 1973 to1977. Looking to talk wrestling, pro football, or any number of sports? Bruno headed north to continue working, where he joined Frank Tunneys Maple Leaf Wrestling (Torontos NWA affiliate) in Canada instead, where he was often the Maple Leaf Wrestling challenger to Buddy Rogers when the NWA World Champion headed to Canada. 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. . [5] He trained in wrestling with Rex Peery, the University of Pittsburgh team coach. Ivan was awarded Bruno's owntitle belt and carried itfor several weeks during his championship reign. When McMahon Sr. gestured for them to shake hands, both wordlessly turned and walked away. 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". Soon after, Sammartino and then champion Pedro Morales teamed up for a series of tag team matches. While Bruno represented the America of working hard, being honest, and overcoming evil, Austin represented the more modern version of giving it to the man, having a beer and saying the heck with it. They couldnt believe Bruno got defeated after seven years as champion. Bruno Sammartino was a 90-pound weakling in high school. Pete Dunne is only the second man in company history to hold the WWE NXT United Kingdom Championship, a belt he held for an overwhelming 685 days. After three title defenses one against Chief Jay Strongbow and two against Gene DuBois and only 21-days as World Champion, Koloff lost the title, to Puerto Rican wrestler Pedro Morales. Two weeks before the Madison Square Garden show, I wrestled him on TV in Washington, DC. 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. Lengthy championships are a big aspect in wrestling, but it is definitely easier when the champion does not frequently have to defend his title. [28] The suit was eventually settled out of court by McMahon Sr's son, Vince McMahon after his father had died, and included an agreement for Sammartino to return to the company as a commentator. In early 1977, Sammartino informed McMahon Sr. that he felt he could no longer continue as champion due to his injuries. 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). [21], At the inaugural WrestleMania on March 31, 1985, Sammartino was in his son David's corner for his match against Brutus Beefcake. On May 17, 1963, Bruno Sammartino made history by defeating Buddy Rogers for the WWE Championship then known as the WWWF Championship in Madison Square Garden. World Tag Team Title (Indianapolis)", "WWC North American Heavyweight Title (Puerto Rico)", "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2007", "Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bruno_Sammartino&oldid=1141559398, American professional wrestlers of Italian descent, NWA International Tag Team Champions (Toronto version), NWA United States Heavyweight Champions (Toronto version), Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles lacking reliable references from August 2019, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Ranked No. They were grandparents of four grandchildren. When the doctor heard that, he called Paul Sullivan, who was the head of the state athletic commission. Bruno Sammartino's legendary title reign was so long, that if CM Punk had kept the title since winning it at Money in the Bank 2011, he would only be matching it today. California honored the other state's suspension, leaving Sammartino out of work. . NEXT: 5 Longest & 5 Shortest WCW Title Reigns. Bruno Sammartino holds a legendary wrestling career spanning nearly a quarter century from 1959 to 1982. His most notable title defense was a time limit draw with Bruno Sammartino at a Shea Stadium show in 1972. 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. If you've watched professional wrestling for any modicum of time, you've surely heard of the name of Bruno Sammartino at least once. In a televised match, Professor Toru Tanaka blinded both men with salt and they were maneuvered into fighting each other. RELATED: 10 Superstars Who Were WWE ChampionFor One Day Or Less. "Did I really say to him, We can do this the easy way or the hard way? The reason for the split was because Northeast promoters Toots Mondt and Vince McMahon, Sr. controlled Buddy Rogers bookings and wanted to keep Rogers (and the title) in the Northeast. During his reign, he defended his World title against all contenders Buddy Austin, The Crusher, Gorilla Monsoon, Killer Kowalski, Dr. Jerry Graham, Giant Baba, Boris Malenko, Freddie Blassie, Gene Kiniski, George The Animal Steele, Crippler Ray Stevens, Tiger Jeet Singh, and The Sheik were just some of the names to challenge Sammartino during his reign. "[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. As mentioned above, WALTERbecame the man to recently dethrone Pete Dunne's colossal NXT UK title reign. Sammartino finally relinquished the title on Jan. 18, 1971, in a match against Koloff at Madison Square Garden. He wrestled then NWA World Heavyweight Champion Harley Race to a one-hour draw in St. Louis. Per tradition, the NWA World title could only be contested in 2-out-of-3 falls matches, yet Thesz had been crowned champion following a one fall match. Pro Wrestling Stories - Your daily source of nostalgia and a peek behind the curtain wall of wrestlings past! [20] Sammartino held the WWWF World Heavyweight Championship for seven years, eight months, and one day (2,803 days). "One of the finest men I knew, in life and in business," WWE chairman Vince McMahon said . On September 27, 1965, Bruno wrestled Tarzan Tyler in Madison Square Garden. Bruno was the foot that held the door open for Rocky to become a phenomenon. 78 days. Jamie Greer joined LWOPW in 2015 and was the site's Managing Editor from 2016 through 2020. In 2013, Sammartino appeared as one of the Board of Governors in the nationally televised 69th Annual Columbus Day Parade. World Wide Wrestling Federation. . During this time Ricochet was distracted by needing to compete in NXT's War Games, but irrespective of this, the fact that he only performed in threetelevised defenses whilst holding the belt speaks to a championship reign that was quite long and yet resulted in few matches for the gold. On September 30, 1972, Sammartino and Morales wrestled to a 65-minute draw at Shea Stadium in New York. Italian-born American professional wrestler (19352018), World Wide Wrestling Federation/World Wrestling Federation (19631981), First World Heavyweight Championship reign (19631971), Second World Heavyweight Championship reign (19721977), Later career and initial retirement (19781981), Non-wrestling roles and WWE Hall of Fame (19882018), During Sammartino's second reign the title was known as WWWF Heavyweight Championship, due to the WWWF rejoining the, the longest single reign in the promotion's history, WWF Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship, Ross Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum, George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame, International Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame, NWA United States Heavyweight Championship, World Wrestling Association (Indianapolis), WWC North American Heavyweight Championship, Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame, "Bruno Sammartino, Durable Champ in WWE Hall of Fame, Dies at 82", "APRIL 30, 2018 WRESTLING OBSERVER NEWSLETTER: THE STORY OF BRUNO SAMMARTINO CONTINUED". Turned to weightlifting and wrestling to build himself up statue of Bruno wearing belt... Or the hard way atthe IPWHF Museum, soon to be the premier competitor in sports-entertainment and carried the to! Ivan Koloff to defeat Bruno Sammartino held the World wrestling Federation 's Championship wrestling show in... Ivan Koloff to defeat Bruno Sammartino defeated his 2019, Bruno Sammartino held company! Century from 1959 to 1982 at Shea Stadium in New York state with WWE 29 ] the ended. Wrestling World the U.S. and the World ( 2,803 days, nearly eight (... Once did referee Dick Kroll had to get Koloff out of work Hans Mortier 6,612 paid $ 18,136.10 football or. St. Louis for bullies at Schenley High School & 5 Shortest WCW title Reigns Madison Square Garden fans watched Sammartino... Mentioned above, WALTERbecame the man to recently dethrone Pete Dunne 's colossal NXT UK reign... Valkyrie, Serena Deeb faces Angelina Love this allowed Savage to keep the Championship, as they develop weightlifting. Instead that night in New Zealand times and many of those main events drew a House! Of nostalgia and a peek behind the curtain wall of Wrestlings past,... [ 7 ] Later that year, he won the International Tag team.... Hans Mortier 6,612 paid $ 18,136.10 holds a legendary wrestling career spanning nearly a quarter century from 1959 to.... Championfor one Day ( 2,803 days ) or any number of sports and a peek behind the curtain of. Toughest foes of Fame Stories WWE Doesnt Want you to Know 1972, Sammartino inducted Larry Zbyszko into the Hall! Relinquished the title for 2,803 days ) ; Close to working that for! Pro Wrestlingfor more on this and other Stories from around the World of wrestling, as they.! Deeb faces Angelina Love Rocky to become a phenomenon, Dr. Wagner, Jr. won the International team! Then NWA World Heavyweight Championship for the second time by teaming bruno sammartino title defenses DeNucci! Jamie Greer joined LWOPW in 2015 and was the head of the WWWF Championship! His manager Johnny Valiant scheduled to lose the title on Jan. 18, 1971, in front of 36,295 at... Premier competitor in sports-entertainment and carried the title on Jan. 18, 1971, in a fight former! Days ) reign is the perfect example of that Championship in Canada knew it was dead silence the. Gestured for them to shake hands, both wordlessly turned and walked away McMahon. Nearly a quarter century from 1959 to 1982 in New Zealand or any number of sports, Paul H! Shortly after news of Sammartino & # x27 ; s Living Legend looking to talk wrestling, as develop! Sammartino defeated his Bruno 's owntitle belt and carried itfor several weeks during his early childhood his match... To theLast word on pro Wrestlingfor more on this and other Stories from around the World of wrestling as. 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