Buddy Rogers continued to wrestle after this match, though he worked mainly in short tag matches until his first retirement one year later. By using this site, you agree to the legal terms set out in ourDisclaimer, Terms of Service, Privacy Policy, and Disclosure. Legend claims that promoters dragged Buddy Rogers out of his hospital bed just days before his May 17th, 1963 title bout against Bruno Sammartino, forcing him into the match after suffering a heart attack six weeks before. By 1971, Bruno Sammartino was beaten up. He is overall a two-time world champion in professional wrestling. [48] Watts wrote that Monsoon "soon found himself in deep water" when messing with Sammartino, and he did not go into further detail on the incident out of respect for Monsoon. He successfully defended the belt against both Ali and The Miz before being recently dethroned by Braun Strowman on the lastWWE Smackdownepisode in January. The toll of a near eight year run as the top star in the WWWF a company that was still very much trying to expand its influence nationally beyond the realm of the NWA was beginning to grind The Living Legend down, both mentally and physically. 5 Bruno Sammartino WWE Champion, 2803 Days. On April 3, 2014, Paul Triple H Levesque revealed an official WWE statue to recognize The Living Legend Bruno Sammartino. - Bruno Sammartino and Dominic DeNucci defeated The Mongols (Geeto and Bepo) for the WWF International Tag Team Titles. 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. . Even though his popularity is attributed heavily to his Italian roots, I think he was just the hard-working European immigrant that hit a chord with everyone, Prof. Ouch of Professor Ouchs Bizarre Bazaar & Odditorium in Philadelphia told The Wrestling Estate in 2018 following Sammartinos death in 2018. Bruno Sammartino is . Bruno's belt now appearsin an acclaimed film, 9. Bruno Sammartino is the greatest world champion in the history of professional wrestling. . [17] Soon, he was in demand by other promoters in different Canadian territories. But this is the precise difference, as wrestling in Sammartino's day was very different compared to how it is today. 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. 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. They therefore defended the titles only just once every month, in their 120 day title reign, though looking back its hard to even remember these matches as their reign in the memories of many lasted a long time with minimal matches or moments of note. Sammartino was living proof of the American Dream, an immigrant who left a wartorn time to become an accomplished athlete. [4], He also became known for performing strongman stunts in the Pittsburgh area, and sportscaster Bob Prince put him on his television show. Despite this mammoth title reign length, Pete Dunne barely defended his belt in televised appearances. Many wonder which duo will be next in line to hold these belts. Samuel Kendall is a freelance writer predominantly covering film, video games and professional wrestling. 1963 - Bulldog Brower and Johnny Valentine defeat Bruno Sammartino and Whipper Billy Watson to win the Toronto NWA International Tag Team Title in Toronto, Ontario. Sammartino faced Piper in both singles and tag team matches. Bruno Sammartinos incredible reign as the World Champion in WWWF (now WWE) still remains as the longest singular reign as a pro wrestling World Champion by a male wrestler (Fabulous Moolah had two reigns as NWA Worlds Women Champion over 3,000 days). That was live TV that went to New York. 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. Send Flowers, Plants & Gifts. No creases or tear Fifty years ago, on January 18, 1971, Ivan Koloff delivered a Russian Leg Drop to World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) World Heavyweight Champion Bruno Sammartino in Madison Square Garden in New York City to get the 1-2-3, becoming only the third man to hold the WWWF World Championship. BREAKING NEWS: IPWHF ACQUIRES BRUNO SAMMARTINO TITLE BELT, Chants of Bruno! Presented here is Sugar Ray Leonard signed photo. RELATED: 5 Wrestlers That Were Better World Champions in WCW (& 5 That Were Better In WWE). You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world. non-confrontation at the Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh. 10 Long Championship Reigns With Minimal Title Defenses, Pete Dunne WWE NXT United Kingdom Champion, 685 Days, Cody Rhodes Intercontinental Title, 236 Days, Brock Lesnar WWE World Heavyweight Champion, 224 Days, Brock Lesnar WWE Universal Champion, 504 Days, Shinsuke Nakamura Intercontinental Champion, 201 Days, WALTERWWE NXT United Kingdom Champion, 337+ Days, Blake & Murphy WWE NXT Tag Team Champions, 219 Days, The IIconics WWE Women's Tag Team Titles, 120 Days, Ricochet North American Championship, 161 Days, 10 Failed WWE Champions That Should Have Worked, 10 Superstars Who Were WWE ChampionFor One Day Or Less, remains to be seen who could defeat him in 2020, 5 Wrestlers That Were Better World Champions in WCW (& 5 That Were Better In WWE), Ruthless Aggression: 10 Title Reigns (That We Completely Forgot About), which duo will be next in line to hold these belts. [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. He finally lost the title to Superstar Billy Graham in 1977 bringing his total time as Champion to a staggering 4,040 days. Sammartino won the title on May 17, 1963, defeating Rogers in 48 seconds. 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 . 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. 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. Shinsuke Nakamuraheld the WWE Intercontinental Championship for a total of 201 days throughout the latter half of 2019. Gorgeous George screwed over Chief Don Eagle, BUDDY ROGERS: The Man Who Drove a Wedge in the NWA. 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. Eager to recapture the support of the immigrant wave that had carried Bruno Sammartino for nearly eight years, McMahon hoped that Morales would appeal to the growing Hispanic audience as Bruno had for Europeans. [48], On July 26, 2004, Sammartino and Ric Flair were involved in the "Who snubbed who?" Can we bury the hatchet more or less, and well take a picture, and Ill stand between the two of you, So, I told her, Well, I dont want to keep holding grudges. 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. Bruno! WWF House Show - House Show @ Boutwell Auditorium in Birmingham, Alabama, USA. That match meant so much to me because that put me at the top. He actually made his WWWF debut on Spectator Sports TV out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, defeating WWWF World Champion Bruno Sammartino by count-out (the title cant change hands via count-out). And it was 50-years ago this week that that legendary run came to a shocking end in Madison Square Garden. Answer (1 of 3): George "The Animal" Steele Bruno Sammartino met James Myers in 1967 and immediately saw his potential as a main event performer. He was inducted into the WWE . He's also written for Pro Wrestling Illustrated, WrestleZone, The Windsor Star, and other publications. Roman Reigns is the wrestler who has come closest to those legendary Bruno Sammartino reigns from the decade of the 60's in this era of pro-wrestling. WWWF World Championship. After nearly fifteen years of promoting an "ethnic babyface" at the top of his cards, the . It was during this time Sammartino found out through Angelo Savoldi, a recently fired office employee of Capitol Wrestling Corporation, that he had been cheated by Vince McMahon Sr. on the promised gate percentages for his entire second title run. I didnt get as great as I did in wrestling by not loving it. [10][14] After two months, Sammartino returned and faced Hansen in a rematch on June 25, 1976 at Shea Stadium, which was on the closed circuit TV undercard of the Ali vs. Antonio Inoki match for WWWF cities. Lou Thesz, a 2x NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion and one of NWAs most historic champions, defeated Rogers for the Ten Pounds of Gold ironically in Maple Leaf Wrestling at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto ending Rogers World title reign at 573-days. Turner plans to maintain ownership of the 1965-1971 version of the WWWF World Championship for decades to come. 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. [26] In his autobiography, Hulk Hogan claimed that his match with Andr the Giant was the real reason for the huge draw at Shea Stadium; however, the feud between Sammartino and Zbyszko sold out everywhere in the build-up to the show. I had seen wrestlers stopped from going to the ring because something wasnt right". COVID-19 tripped those plans and the "new" film was released in the spring of 2022. 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. The International Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame is proud to enshrine this beautiful and pricelesschampionship belt as the centerpiece of ourmuseum collection. Bob Backlund, the talented former N.C.A.A. Preview: MLW FUSION Jacob Fatu vs. ACH (01/20/21), Preview: IMPACT! 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. Bruno once again proved to be the premier competitor in sports-entertainment and carried the title for a second impressive reign of . That firstbelt has been missing for over 50 years and, though still considered stolen property, it is unlikely to be recovered. If he does, it remains to be seen who could defeat him in 2020. 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. The Sammartinos also teamed against "Mr. 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. To clear up a common misconception, Rogers was not immediately named WWWF World Heavyweight Champion. 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 . Others say Rogers was reluctant to give up the title after being told prior that he would win the match. In early 1977, Sammartino informed McMahon Sr. that he felt he could no longer continue as champion due to his injuries. Sammartino successfully retained his title 653 times, including 62 defenses in MSG alone, before . "Did I really say to him, We can do this the easy way or the hard way? ", 10 Reasons why Bruno Sammartino's 1965-1971 WWWF Title Belt is the 'Holy Grail' of Pro Wrestling Artifacts, 2. 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. With John Atkins, Angela Capri, Primo Carnera, John Cena. Sammartino is the longest-reigning WWE Champion in history. In 1971, Gorilla Monsoon and Phil Zacko gave Bruno Sammartino the belt that he had carried from 1965-1971 to keep. Brunopresented hisbelt toPedro Morales, 4. Sammartino ended up in a screaming match with Cimino on Pittsburgh's local Studio Wrestling program, and Cimino suspended him for a month. In addition, Ivelisse has her first title defense against Mercedes Martinez. In the late 1960s, Sammartino was involved in a fight with former Pennsylvania Athletic Commissioner Joe Cimino. 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). George Steele: WWWF Baltimore Show (Apr '77) Apr 30th 1977: Billy Graham: 200 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years" in 2003, This page was last edited on 25 February 2023, at 17:39. Bruno's belt was briefly worn by Ivan Kohloff, 3. Bruno made a film to tell the story behind his belt. So, that was the big break, if you will. During one title reign he held the belt for an astonishing 2,803 days, a period positively unheard of in today's wrestling climate. [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. 10/23/67 Bruno defeated Hans Mortier 6,612 paid $18,136.10. The following title matches feature the WWE Championship. By Ian Carey Feb 5, 2023. Late 1967: Sammartino vacated his half of the tag team titles to focus on his world title defenses. Man, everything went so quiet, Koloff remembered (again in quotes from Pro Wrestling Stories). 21.07.1973 - 05.01.1974. After leaving the WWF, Sammartino became an outspoken critic of the path on which Vincent K. McMahon had taken professional wrestling. Bruno is memorialized in the statue wearing his 1965-1971WWWF World Championship. He also wrestled and defeated Blackjack Mulligan, Lord Alfred Hayes, Dick Murdoch, Kenji Shibuya, and "Crippler" Ray Stevens. 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 [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. Sammartino instead that night had his first match against new number one contender, Gorilla Monsoon. Because Monsoon won the match by disqualification, thus Sammartino retained his belt. WWE continues to be unsure of how exactly to present Shinsuke, and it may now be a case of them not knowing just how good they've got it until its gone. I looked around the arena. Sammartino is honored on the Madison Square Garden Walk of Fame. WWC North American Heavyweight Champion. That takes your density down to a title defense every 37.9 days. Related. (According to Wrestledata.com, the two were on opposing ends of a tag team contest in 1960. His ability to speak Italian also ingratiated him with that immigrant population. He is also a musical performer with his band OdESSA who can be investigated at the link above. Ivan Koloff vs Bruno Sammartino 1/18/71 The Russian Nightmare had a long career starting in Canada and continuing thru the United States. 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. Bruno Sammartino depicts the exciting story of the championship wrestler and his family's narrow escape from the Nazis in World War II Italy. Bruno had the belt polished andthen maintained personal ownership of his prized possession until he passed away on April 18, 2018. [35], On March 25, 2010, Sammartino was honored at the 74th annual Dapper Dan Dinner, a popular awards and charity fundraising event in Pittsburgh, with a lifetime achievement award, for which fellow former Studio Wrestling personalities Bill Cardille, "Jumping" Johnny DeFazio, Dominic DeNucci, Frank Durso, and referee Andy "Kid" DePaul were all present. That made me the number one guy I was going to be the headliner after that, you know? But it would be Canadian-born Russian wrestler Ivan Koloff who would put an end to Sammartinos historic reign. On January 18, 1971, Ivan Kohloff won the WWWF World Championship and secured his legacy in professional wrestling lore by pinning Bruno Sammartino. 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. The program will feature commentary by Richert and by Darryl Sammartino, Bruno's son, per the release. The city . While on his way to California, he missed two bookings in Baltimore and Chicago, and as a result was suspended in those territories. Their feud culminated on August 9, 1980, in front of 36,295 fans at Shea Stadium. It will be interesting to see what will happens with Reigns going forward, and if WWE plans to give . WWE commissioned a statue of Bruno wearing his belt, 6. It was in 1968, returning to Montreal to work for International Wrestling Association (IWA) Montreal that he became Ivan Koloff, winning the IWA Montreal World Heavyweight title from Johnny Rougeau that July. Sammartino worked as a commentator for the Universal 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. Finn Balor looks set to add one more to this list as he has his gun-fingers set on the Austrian this upcomingWrestlemaniaweekend. Company policy meant that Sammartino could not hold two championships simultaneously, so he was replaced by Victor Rivera. It had been eight long years as champion, and my schedule had been so hectic, you just couldnt believe it, Sammartino said of his first run (in quotes compiled by ProWrestlingStories.I traveled overseas a lot to Japan and Australia you name it, I went everywhere. Hans Mortier 6,612 paid $ 18,136.10 is the bruno sammartino title defenses Grail ' of Pro wrestling Artifacts, 2 Rogers was immediately! Much to me because that put me at the top Pittsburgh 's local wrestling. Ownership of his prized possession until he passed away on April 18, 2018 easy way the. Sammartino 's 1965-1971 WWWF title belt is the precise difference, as wrestling Sammartino! 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