Bruno Sammartino

[FromGlasgow]

I was saddened this week to hear about the death of Bruno Sammartino, Unless I've missed it I'm surprised there is nothing on this message board about it, I can even find something on Jake the milkman no offense to this guy but Bruno Sammartino is one of the greatest ever names in wrestling, I wasn't old enough to have followed his career during its peak but I did catch the end of it in his final WWF run during the mid 80's and enjoyed watching him and went back to watch a few of his earlier matches over the years on video and youtube. Was one of the last few surviving performers from that era thats now almost all gone sadly.

 

[tdmoon]

I am glad you posted this, FromGlasgow. I was also surprised it hadn't been mentioned here; Bruno is easily on the Mt. Rushmore of wrestling legends, one of the greatest to ever lace up the boots. I considered starting a thread about it but the few times I've started threads about a death or illness to a former wrestler(yeah, it was me who started the Milliman thread, haha) they haven't generated any interest so I didn't bother this time. Of course, Bruno is a bigger name so you may have better luck. RIP in peace to the WWWF/WWF/WWE's greatest champion.

 

[Psykohurricane55]

I actually wanted to start a thread about this as well since he's pretty much the grandfather of wrestling but at the same time, i thought that most fans on this board wouldn'T be interested in writing about him since he's not somebody from the attitude era and most fans wouldn't really remember him.

Anyway, while i didn'T grow up watching him, i knew of him mostly because i started watching wrestling around the time that he was feuding with macho man just before his son got fired and bruno left with him. then i got to see some of his matches through old vhs tapes and later on on the WWE network and the guy was pretty much the biggest name wrestling had at the time and while his workrate was basic, he did matter because that was the style at the time and fans still believe in him and that what made him great.

In the end, i'm glad he was able to live a full life and he died of old age which is rare for a pro wrestler. The guy was a true legend and the WWE wouldn't what it is today without him. He will be miss.

 

[enviousdominous]

What I love most about Bruno was that he never doubted his presence. He was bigger than the business itself, and that was never more evident than when Vincent J McMahon tried and failed to ruin Bruno's career by blackballing him. Bruno was later hired back by the WWWF because McMahon Sr didn't have anyone as big as him to headline Madison Square Gardon.

Bruno wasn't cocky, he just wouldn't let an asshole push him around. The McMahons were famous for going into negotiations with no intention of negotiating at all, and they felt like they could make or break anybody. They couldn't do that with Bruno, he was a rare breed of professional that had McMahon Sr crawling back to him begging him to come work for the WWWF.

Bruno was a class act for his entire career, and he was one of the few prowrestlers who I would say was untouchable in terms of character in and out of the ring. He will be greatly missed, but he'll also be greatly remembered. If there was only one face on the Mount Rushmore of Prowrestling, it would rightfully be his.

 

[LibSuperstar]

What I love most about Bruno was that he never doubted his presence. He was bigger than the business itself, and that was never more evident than when Vincent J McMahon tried and failed to ruin Bruno's career by blackballing him. Bruno was later hired back by the WWWF because McMahon Sr didn't have anyone as big as him to headline Madison Square Gardon.

Bruno wasn't cocky, he just wouldn't let an asshole push him around. The McMahons were famous for going into negotiations with no intention of negotiating at all, and they felt like they could make or break anybody. They couldn't do that with Bruno, he was a rare breed of professional that had McMahon Sr crawling back to him begging him to come work for the WWWF.

Bruno was a class act for his entire career, and he was one of the few prowrestlers who I would say was untouchable in terms of character in and out of the ring. He will be greatly missed, but he'll also be greatly remembered. If there was only one face on the Mount Rushmore of Prowrestling, it would rightfully be his.

Just learned of this through reading Capitol Revolution by Tim Hornbaker.

 

[GhettoV1]

When one thinks of pro wrestling in the 1960s it's always Bruno Sammartino and Antonio Rocca as those stars that one can build a company around with.

 

[Goldie]

Glad someone has finally posted!
It was a different era back then- and despite WWE being a north eastern territory at the time- I would still say that Bruno is the 2nd most significant WWE star ever ... right after Hogan.
We will never ever see an 8 year world championship reign again.

He wasn't flashy, he was soft spoken... but he was no-nonsense, a hero.... and people could relate to him.

RIP champ

 

[GhettoV1]

Bruno was the only World Heavyweight Champion that was always on wrestling magazine covers unlike the NWA and AWA World Champions.

 

[LibSuperstar]

When one thinks of pro wrestling in the 1960s it's always Bruno Sammartino and Antonino Rocca as those stars that one can build a company around with.

Rocca like Sammartino did such great business for MSG and was WWE's first star in the Capitol Wrestling years.