Last week the wrestling world lost an all-time great. At the age of 82 the legendary Bruno Sammartino passed away. Bruno is the Godfather of the wrestling we all see today. Who knows what the WWE would be if there was no Sammartino selling out Madison Square Garden in the late 1960s and 1970s. Know as “The Living Legend” if there is a Mount Rushmore for wrestling his spot is not debatable.
As impressive it is for John Cena or Ric Flair to be 16-time champions, nothing compares to the 2 title reigns of Sammartino. In what was then the WWWF, he held the belt for a total of 11 years. Bruno Sammartino was an Italian immigrant. He and his family came to the United States after World War II where his family had to hide out from Nazi occupied Italy.
When his family arrived in America they settled in Pittsburg, PA. Bruno was a skinny kid who did not speak any English at the time. Of course, that led to him being bullied. He started getting into weightlifting and building his body up. Sammartino started to make a name for himself as a weightlifter and in 1959 he set the world record for the bench press with 565 pounds. In 1959 he also started to get into the world of wrestling.
Sammartino was a natural as a pro wrestler and caught the attention of Vince McMahon Sr and wrestled for him in the Capital Wrestling Corporation. Bruno ended up leaving Vince after feeling he was being held back for Buddy Rodgers. After a failed attempt to go to the west coast and wrestle Bruno ended up in Canada wrestling for Frank Tunney out of Toronto. In 1963 Bruno made his way back to the states and wrestled again for Vince McMahon in what was now the WWWF. He challenged and defeated Buddy Rodgers for his first world title.
At this time the WWWF had broken away from the NWA and had its own champion. Bruno represented that the company well and sold-out arenas throughout the territory. None was prestigious than the most famous venue in America’s most famous city. Bruno was the man in Madison Square Garden, also affectionately known as “The Mecca” in New York City. Holding record that still stands today with 187 sellouts is testament to the legend’s greatness.
Written By
Keith B. Holt
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