BILLY GRAHAM IN THE IWE (JAPAN) . #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. He wrestled then NWA World Heavyweight Champion Harley Race to a one-hour draw in St. Louis. Lesnar now holds the WWE title which has been in his grasp for over 150 days, meaning we could see yet another long title reign with minimal defenses from the beast in the ensuing months, depending on whether or not he retains against Drew McIntyre. The Northeast would soon break away from the NWA to form the World Wide Wrestling Federation (later known as the WWF and WWE today). Bruno Sammartino earned his fame. Sammartino finally relinquished the title on Jan. 18, 1971, in a match against Koloff at Madison Square Garden. Bobo Brazil & Bruno Sammartino & Buddy Austin & Pedro Morales: def. Lengthy championships are a big aspect in wrestling, but it is definitely easier when the champion does not frequently have to defend his title. They both encapsulated what a hero was for their respective eras. With Bruno as WWWFs World Champion, WWWF conquered the New York territory and became a true alternative to the monopoly that the NWA had held over pro wrestling in the United States since 1948. Bruno Sammartino: Directed by Patrea Patrick. He became the first wrestler to become a WWE triple crown champion. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way!". Related. Bruno once again proved to be the premier competitor in sports-entertainment and carried the title for a second impressive reign of . (Hornby had 12,989) In that sense, it's easy to see why WWE fans give Reigns' run the title of historic. 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. Twitter: @JustSKendall WWF Intercontinental Title: Bruno Sammartino defeats The Honky Tonk Man (c) by Count Out. Any fifteen-year-old kid coulda beat me that night. On January 22, 1980, his former student Larry Zbyszko turned on him at the World Wrestling Federation's Championship Wrestling show. They couldnt believe Bruno got defeated after seven years as champion. Although this promotion was big in its hay-day, I can't find some reliable sources that Wagner keeps defending the title. Soon after, Sammartino and then champion Pedro Morales teamed up for a series of tag team matches. Bruno Sammartino, a resident of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is known as professional wrestling's Living Legend. [40], Sammartino is included in two DVDs summarizing his career and life: Bruno Returns to Italy With Bruno Sammartino (2006) and Bruno Sammartino: Behind the Championship Belt (2006). Thesz made him this offer: "We could do this the easy way or the hard way." Turner plans to maintain ownership of the 1965-1971 version of the WWWF World Championship for decades to come. Sammartino, professional wrestling's "Living Legend" and one of its longest-reigning champions, has died. In 2019, Bruno Sammartino:The Autobiography of Wrestlings Living Legendwas released. [48], On July 26, 2004, Sammartino and Ric Flair were involved in the "Who snubbed who?" [30], Sammartino's highest-profile feud during this run was with "Macho Man" Randy Savage. 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. [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. 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. 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. Technically, this means three of the first four World Champions of the WWWF wore the same belt; however, Brunos belt was retired and replaced by a significantly lesser-quality belt for Pedro Morales, which did not last long. WWE commissioned a statue of Bruno wearing his belt, 6. There are paper champions, there are fighting champions, and there are champions who scarcely put their gold up for grabs. 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. The Sammartinos also teamed against "Mr. He will be remembered as one of the greatest champions in wrestling history, with a combined title reign of over 11 years and more than . 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. Bruno only gave up his championship when he wanted to, and there was one championship belt he decided never to let go. Bruno's 1965-1971 version of the championship is the oldest surviving title belt officially created for a champion of World Wrestling Entertainment, or WWE, which is today the largest and most successful professional wrestling company in the world. 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. "Close to working that schedule for eight years, I told Vince McMahon Sr., you better get somebody. He returned to in-ring action soon after with his son, as they wrestled against Beefcake and Valiant at Madison Square Garden. Three years after his stunning defeat, Bruno won the WWE Title for a second time. After my heart attack, I told myself to forget [wrestling]. [10] When he was four, his father emigrated to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 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. The Genius Cast with Lanny Poffo (2018-19), HOMAGE.com Our favorite in retro wrestling attire! An ever-increasing argument in today's wrestling world, in light of a continued use of part-time stars from yesteryear like Goldberg and Brock Lesnar, is how often should we realistically see the world champion defend their belt in televised appearances? I get your point but honestly, I think the amount of defenses should be the #1 criteria. Sammartino retired from North American wrestling full-time in 1981,[10] in a match that opened the Meadowlands Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey. 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. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff and Bobby "The Brain" Heenan in various arenas. Dominic DeNucci Wrestlings Shining Light. But it would be Canadian-born Russian wrestler Ivan Koloff who would put an end to Sammartinos historic reign. In 2006, Bruno Sammartino personally commissioned an autobiographical documentary film, Bruno Sammartino: Behind The Championship Belt. This match was booked by NWA promoter Sam Muchnick as a preliminary to the forming of the WWWF, to ensure the dominance of the senior organization and its championship.[18]. Preview: MLW FUSION Jacob Fatu vs. ACH (01/20/21), Preview: IMPACT! The MSG title . To clear up a common misconception, Rogers was not immediately named WWWF World Heavyweight Champion. FILE - In this Nov. 30, 2000, file photo, former pro wrestler Bruno Sammartino, 65, poses with a painting of him in his pro wrestling prime weighing 275 pounds in 1965 at age 35, in his Pittsburgh . On September 27, 1965, Bruno wrestled Tarzan Tyler in Madison Square Garden. [5] He trained in wrestling with Rex Peery, the University of Pittsburgh team coach. Sammartino would go on to hold the title for 2,803 days, nearly eight years(! The superstitious blamed New York's descent into hell in the 1970s as punishment for Bruno losing the title. Bruno! He held the World Wide Wrestling Federation titlefor more than 11 years, from1963to1971, and again from 1973 to1977. [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. If you've watched professional wrestling for any modicum of time, you've surely heard of the name of Bruno Sammartino at least once. Bruno chose a photo with his 1965 belt for the cover of his autobiography, Bruno Sammartino:The Autobiography of Wrestlings Living Legend, 8. 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. He also wrestled and defeated Blackjack Mulligan, Lord Alfred Hayes, Dick Murdoch, Kenji Shibuya, and "Crippler" Ray Stevens. Exclusives. The World's Most Entertaining Car Website. When he brought the bar down, he did not bounce it off his chest, but set it there for two seconds before attempting the press. 11. Terry Funk commented that Sammartino "was bigger than wrestling itself". (Use code PWS for a nice surprise). Author: Matt Pender Jan. 10, 2023. And with the US-Russia Cold War now in mass effect, it was the companys resident Russian bad-guy that McMahon turned to. Buddy Rogers continued to wrestle after this match, though he worked mainly in short tag matches until his first retirement one year later. For half of that time he reigned as World Champion, . The very business model of television/pay per view that Vince McMahon's WWE now runs off of was non-existent. 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. 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. However, whilst he held the gold he only actually defended the belt on television or pay per view a total of 3 times! 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. [10], When the Sammartinos arrived in the U.S., Bruno spoke no English and was sickly from the privations of the war years. They got away withthe 1963-1965 version of 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. 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. After nearly fifteen years of promoting an "ethnic babyface" at the top of his cards, the . I went in that ring". Answer (1 of 3): I don't think there's any actual record of how many times he defended the belt, because back then there were no RAW or Smackdown television shows, I don't think they were even doing pay-per-views at the time, wrestling back then was totally different, I wasn't born in the 60s but. Many wonder which duo will be next in line to hold these belts. (According to Wrestledata.com, the two were on opposing ends of a tag team contest in 1960. Following the match, thieves smashed a window and broke into Brunos car while he was having dinner. Bruno selected a classic photograph with his 1965-1971 version of the WWWF World Championship for the cover of his autobiography, which he wrote with Sal Anthony Corrente. And a packed Madison Square Garden, who had become accustomed to wildly cheering Bruno Sammartino after each title defense, was shocked into complete silence. 10.12.1973 - 30.04.1977. often gets attributed to other wrestling stories. The match was scheduled to be concluded quickly so as not to risk Buddy's health any further. California honored the other state's suspension, leaving Sammartino out of work. Bruno! 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. You spend your whole life in this particular field, then all of a sudden its no more. In 2014 The Beast Incarnate obliterated John Cena atSummerslam to become the WWE World Heavyweight Champion. When Lou Thesz came out of semi-retirement on January 24th, 1963, in Toronto to fight Buddy Rogers for the World Heavyweight Championship, Rogers was supposedly having second thoughts about dropping the title to Thesz. Also during this time, Sammartino began serving as color commentator for the WWF's syndicated programs, WWF Championship Wrestling and WWF All-Star Wrestling. [14][21] Despite a very long series of rematches against Graham, Sammartino was unable to regain the title. I knew it was all done; I just knew I couldnt produce like I once did. NEXT: 5 Longest & 5 Shortest WCW Title Reigns. 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. 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. He can be reached by e-mail at matthew.pender@hotmail.co.nz. 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. While Sammartino remained a popular champion in his second run, before losing to Superstar Billy Graham in April of 1977, it failed to capture the magic of the first run. [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. Presented here is Sugar Ray Leonard signed photo. Rhodes appeared in several multi-man matches during this time such as the Money in the Bank ladder match and the Elimination Chamber, where opportunities at a loftier prize outweighed defending the title he already held. [31] This allowed Savage to keep the championship, as titles cannot change hands via countout or disqualification. The match was rated 1976 "Match of the Year" by Pro Wrestling Illustrated.[24]. They were grandparents of four grandchildren. Man, everything went so quiet, Koloff remembered (again in quotes from Pro Wrestling Stories). [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. 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. May 17, 1963: Bruno Sammartino defeated Buddy Rogers with a reverse backbreaker to capture the WWWF World title. 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 . 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. WWE Hall of Famer Bruno Sammartino revealed why his record-setting WWWF title reign ended. 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. Arguably the greatest wrestling champion of all time. Head on over to theLWOS Boardsto engage in conversation with fellow fans! Sammartino worked as a commentator for the Universal Wrestling Federation. 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 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 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). [36], In 2013, Sammartino accepted an invitation for induction into the WWE Hall of Fame, after having declined several times in prior years. The other NWA members were not pleased with the situation, and this led to the split. Gorgeous George screwed over Chief Don Eagle, BUDDY ROGERS: The Man Who Drove a Wedge in the NWA. RELATED: 10 Superstars Who Were WWE ChampionFor One Day Or Less. Fortunately for Bruno Sammartino, his time had now arrived. Between Antonino Rocca and Bruno Sammartino they went with the younger Sammartino who was 28 years old at the time. Battle Royal: Winner: Bruno Sammartino. This helps us provide free content for you to enjoy! 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. [15], Sammartino also challenged NWA World Heavyweight Champion Lou Thesz twice for the championship in Canada. This film comprehensively covers the life and career of Bruno Sammartino, and his struggles to become wrestlings greatest champion. When the doctor heard that, he called Paul Sullivan, who was the head of the state athletic commission. PWSTees.com Your favorite Pro Wrestling Stories, on a tee! 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