The International Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame is proud to enshrine this beautiful and pricelesschampionship belt as the centerpiece of ourmuseum collection. George Steele: WWWF Baltimore Show (Apr '77) Apr 30th 1977: Billy Graham: 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.". Twitter: @JustSKendall No creases or tear Chants of Bruno! I was just so exhausted It became clear to Vince McMahon Sr. that his World Champion was gassed. And it was 50-years ago this week that that legendary run came to a shocking end in Madison Square Garden. Sammartino was the longest-reigning champion in the history of what's now known as WWE. Matches. By Ian Carey Feb 5, 2023. In many ways, it was a full circle. [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. Boston 1/17/76) Disk 2 . We took a picture, but we never spoke a word to each other" (Laughs). You dont get another penny out of that field; you dont have anything to do with that field. Between Antonino Rocca and Bruno Sammartino they went with the younger Sammartino who was 28 years old at the time. [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. [49], Sammartino underwent heart surgery in 2011. In addition, Ivelisse has her first title defense against Mercedes Martinez. Sammartino pinned George "The Animal" Steele in his match. Ivan Koloff (left) and Superstar Billy Graham (right) each drew six sellouts with Bruno and each defeated him for the WWWF Championship. 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. Terry Funk commented that Sammartino "was bigger than wrestling itself". That made me the number one guy I was going to be the headliner after that, you know? Morales would hold the title for 1,027 days, but it was clear that Pedro was no Bruno. [15] In his autobiography, Sammartino states that he believed McMahon set him up, by double-booking him and not informing him of his match in Baltimore, as a way of punishment. When the doctor heard that, he called Paul Sullivan, who was the head of the state athletic commission. 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. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff and Bobby "The Brain" Heenan in various arenas. Buddy ROGERS vs. Bruno SAMMARTINO NWA WORLD TITLE. He returned to in-ring action soon after with his son, as they wrestled against Beefcake and Valiant at Madison Square Garden. 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. The World's Most Entertaining Car Website. Bruno is memorialized in the statue wearing his 1965-1971WWWF World Championship. 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 . 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. Sammartino faced Piper in both singles and tag team matches. Their feud culminated on August 9, 1980, in front of 36,295 fans at Shea Stadium. In early 1977, Sammartino informed McMahon Sr. that he felt he could no longer continue as champion due to his injuries. Sammartino, professional wrestling's "Living Legend" and one of its longest-reigning champions, has died. Bruno was the foot that held the door open for Rocky to become a phenomenon. Flair had denigrated Sammartino's wrestling ability in his book To Be the Man. Bruno's belt was briefly worn by Ivan Kohloff, 3. 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. Sammartino is honored on the Madison Square Garden Walk of Fame. 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. In 2006, Bruno Sammartino personally commissioned an autobiographical documentary film, 5. The Sammartinos lived in Ross Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania near Pittsburgh from 1965 on. Any fifteen-year-old kid coulda beat me that night. His final attempt was in Philadelphia, just a few days before Graham was scheduled to lose the title to Bob Backlund. Mr. Sammartino, 50, of Allison Park, was the co-owner of the . On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. 11. Lengthy championships are a big aspect in wrestling, but it is definitely easier when the champion does not frequently have to defend his title. He can be reached by e-mail at matthew.pender@hotmail.co.nz. Rogers was one of the great wrestlers of his era. These are ten resulting championship reigns which lasted a considerable amount of time, but featured very few notable matches for the title in question. ROSS TOWNSHIP PA - Daniel Sammartino, the son of the late wrestling giant Bruno Sammartino, died Tuesday. . Dumpster match, multiple title defenses. On December 8, 1969, he teamed with Tony Marino to win the WWWF International Tag Team Championship by defeating The Rising Suns (Tanaka and Mitsu Arakawa). He is overall a two-time world champion in professional wrestling. I looked around the arena. 10.12.1973 - 30.04.1977. Just about. 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. The IIconics hold the claim to being the second ever WWE Women's Tag Team Champions, beating the team of Sasha Banks and Bayley atWrestlemania. Bobo Brazil & Bruno Sammartino & Buddy Austin & Pedro Morales: def. Yet few people know all the history behind Brunos belt and why some have called it the 'holy grail' of professional wrestling artifacts. [43][44], Sammartino was married to his wife Carol from 1959 until his death in 2018. In 1980, he won the tag team titles with Bob Backlund and was the Intercontinental Champion during the early '80s. 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. RELATED: Ruthless Aggression: 10 Title Reigns (That We Completely Forgot About). Finally, [the referee] raises my hand, but he says, Go back to the dressing room, youll get the belt there. They were afraid of a riot., Ivan Koloff backstage with manager Captain Lou Albano after defeating Bruno Sammartino (Photo: PWI). The statue is over 13 feet talland includes a likeness of his 1965-1971 version of the WWWF World Championship. This film comprehensively covers the life and career of Bruno Sammartino, and his struggles to become wrestlings greatest champion. FULL DESCRIPTION: This photo measures 8 inches by 10 inches.The photo is clean with no staining. 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. Rogers dropped the NWA Title to Thesz (and got back his deposit on the belt), and the Northeast promoters used the one-fall match as the reason for the split from the NWA. You spend your whole life in this particular field, then all of a sudden its no more. Soon after, Sammartino and then champion Pedro Morales teamed up for a series of tag team matches. Interestingly, Thesz beat Rogers in a three falls rematch on February 7th, 1963, in Toronto, a result often forgotten. In CM Punk's 434 day reign, he defended the title 141 times, or an average of just over once every three . By 1971, Bruno Sammartino was beaten up. Sammartino teamed with Paul Orndorff in his matches against Piper, while Piper would tag with his "bodyguard", Ace "Cowboy" Bob Orton. May 13 - USA Event: Buddy Rogers (c) vs. Bobo Brazil - Singles match Brazil won by disqualification. He would briefly return to St. Louis Wrestling Club he challenged Dory Funk Jr. for the NWA Worlds Heavyweight title in May of 1969 in Maple Leaf Gardens by September of that year, he had moved on to New York to begin working with the WWWF. Imagine doing something all those years and loving it all of a sudden, you never do it again. Bruno makes his first defense of the WWWW title since crushing Buddy Rogers in 48 seconds the previous month! [10] When he was four, his father emigrated to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Sammartino finally lost the WWE Championship in January 1971 . 10/23/67 Bruno defeated Hans Mortier 6,612 paid $18,136.10. Bruno's belt now appearsin an acclaimed film, 9. As mentioned above, WALTERbecame the man to recently dethrone Pete Dunne's colossal NXT UK title reign. #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. In 1966, he began using another gimmick briefly as Red McNulty working Western Canada with NWA Vancouver and Stampede Wrestling (then Wildkat Wrestling), then off to Japan, where he competed for Rikidozans Japan Wrestling Association (JWA) for three months. Late 1967: Sammartino vacated his half of the tag team titles to focus on his world title defenses. 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 . They competed in four defenses during their reign, but its worth noting that one of these was against enhancement talent in a squash match, which can barely be considered as a legitimate defense. At 93 minutes, the reimaged . Sammartino defeated Savage in a lumberjack match for the WWF Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship via disqualification at the Boston Garden. Ivan Koloff was actually a pro wrestler from Montreal, Quebec in Canada, and after starting out in the Canadian indies in 1961, soon adopted a Russian gimmick, under the name Ivan Zukoff. Bruno Sammartino: WWWF World Heavyweight Title: WWWF MSG Show (May '77) May 16th 1977: Bruno Sammartino: def. Pro Wrestling Stories - Your daily source of nostalgia and a peek behind the curtain wall of wrestlings past! . 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. 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. The doctor who was at every show said to Paul Sullivan, I am checking Buddy Rogers blood pressure, and I am listening to his chest, and everything sounds okay, but he claims that he has a pain in his chest. On May 17, 1963, after only 22 days as WWWF World Champion, Rogers lost his title to 27-year old Bruno Sammartino in Madison Square Garden. 1959: Bruno Sammartino debuted in the wild world of Professional Wrestling. "Prior to that, over a period of two years, I defeated Sammartino eleven straight times. They couldnt believe Bruno got defeated after seven years as champion. His biggest moment was winning the WWWF heavyweight title from the legendary Bruno Sammartino. ~~~Bruno Sammartino would hold the WWWF World title for an incredible EIGHT years straight! [49] Flair said Sammartino refused to shake his hand at the event, while Sammartino said Flair saw him coming down the hall, turned, and rushed away. However, he is currently on a similar run of holding the belt for an exceptional amount of time with minimal defenses. They had a show at the Civic Arena, but those were the days of the Buddy Rogers era, and Vince McMahon Sr. was trying to get me to come back because he saw my success in Canada. [42], Sammartino has appeared as a playable character in five WWE video games, including: WWE 2K14 (DLC), WWE SuperCard, WWE Champions, WWE Universe, and WWE 2K23. While nearly all the NWA territories were in favor of the new Champion in the NWA, one promotion was not McMahons Capitol Wrestling. [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. When Pat Sullivan heard that, he immediately stopped Buddy Rogers from going to the ring, but he also informed all the state athletic commissions that he was revoking his license until they found out if, in fact, there was a problem. 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. After handing over ME duties to Alex Richards, he remains a frequent contributor to the site. 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. Sammartino actually . May 17 - USA Event: Buddy Rogers (c) vs. Bruno Sammartino - Singles match Sammartino won by submission at 0:48. [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. Acknowledged as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Sammartino's legacy began in 1959 and lasted until his final match in October of 1981. . He particularly criticized the use of steroids and "vulgar" storylines. On February 8, 1971, Pedro Morales defeated Ivan Koloff and was presented the 1965-1971 version of the WWWF World Championship belt by Bruno Sammartino. Pro wrestling legend Bruno Sammartino dies at 82, "Without Toronto, there would have been no Bruno Sammartino", "10 championships you never knew existed in WWE", "Remembering Bruno Sammartino, the singular face of a bygone pro wrestling era", Bruno Sammartino v. Capitol Wrestling Corporation and Vince McMahon, "Professional wrestling great Bruno Sammartino dies at 82", "Sammartino: McMahon is 'a sick-minded idiot', "Bruno's bad call on WWE Hall of Fame shows Vince is right everyone has a price", "Dapper Dan: Malkin, Sammartino, Penn State volleyball claim awards", "WWE to induct Bruno Sammartino into HOF", "WWE NEWS: Hall of Fame 2013 report - Complete "virtual-time" coverage of ceremony with Sammartino & Co., Stratus announces big news, Trump-McMahon?, more", "CALDWELL'S WWE RAW RESULTS 10/7 (Hour 1): Battleground PPV fall-out, WWE Title match to continue at next PPV, one "firing", Bruno Sammartino, more", "WWE HALL OF FAME REPORT 3/28: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of 2015 Ceremony - Randy Savage inducted, Nash, Zbysko, Schwarzenegger, Flair, Michaels, more", "Bruno Sammartino Behind The Championship Belt", "Madison Square Garden Pays Tribute To Bruno Sammartino", "New WWE 2K14 DLC Introduces More Superstars", "WWE 2K23 Roster Official List | WWE 2K23", "Wrestling with fame: Bruno Sammartino still a hero to fans", "Bruno Sammartino given key to Jersey City before his induction into WWE Hall of Fame", "WWE Hall of Famer Bruno Sammartino dies at age 82", "WWE Hall Of Famer Bruno Sammartino Dies At 82", "Bruno Sammartino, wrestling's original good-guy hero, dies at 82", "WWE Raw live results: Brock Lesnar returns to TV", "2019 TRAGOS/THESZ PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING HALL OF FAME CLASS ANNOUNCED - PWInsider.com", "Induction Weekend 2022 | Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame", "Keystone Sate Wrestling Alliance - Hall of Fame", "Bruno Sammartino body slams hall of fame", "WWWA honors Bruno Sammartino, and vice versa", "Triple H reveals Bruno Sammartino statue at WrestleMania Axxess", "W.W.A. 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