In todays story, we hear from both Bruno Sammartino and Buddy Rogers regarding the screwjob finish in 1963 that propelled "The Italian Strongman" into becoming "The Living Legend. You could hear a pin drop, remembered veteran wrestling journalist Bill Apter in an article for WWE.com recounting his memory at ringside. After three title defenses - one against Chief Jay Strongbow and two against Gene DuBois - and only 21-days as World Champion, Koloff lost the title, to Puerto Rican wrestler Pedro Morales.Eager to recapture the support of the immigrant wave that had . (1965-1971) Bruno Sammartino is the greatest world champion in the history of professional wrestling. It opens with Bruno delivering a strong personal message while holding his prized possession, the 1965-1971 version of the WWWF World Championship. Tickets to the screening are $15 for adults, $10 for members and $5 for children. 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. But the amount of defenses pales in comparison to the length of time Dunne held the gold. Unique lists featuring pop culture, entertainment and crazy facts. [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. Lonnie Mayne The Glass Eating, Raw Meat Chewing Original Moondog! Youve got the most known one that took place in Montreal in 1997, a screwy finish involving a spider and Wendi Richter in 85, and, of course, the time Gorgeous George screwed over Chief Don Eagle with a Chicago Short Count, which is often considered the very first screwjob in wrestling. In 2013, Sammartino appeared as one of the Board of Governors in the nationally televised 69th Annual Columbus Day Parade. 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. #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. Many wonder which duo will be next in line to hold these belts. . Boston 10/21/75) 21. He particularly criticized the use of steroids and "vulgar" storylines. The city . Bruno Leopoldo Francesco Sammartino (October 6, 1935 - April 18, 2018) was an Italian-born American professional wrestler, best known for his work with the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF, now WWE). In 2014 The Beast Incarnate obliterated John Cena atSummerslam to become the WWE World Heavyweight Champion. title(s) WWWF MSG Show (Dec '63) Dec 16th 1963: Bruno Sammartino (c) def. You can check out an almost unlimited array of WWE content, including these Sasha Banks matches on theWWE Network. [22] Sammartino recalled the shocked silence that greeted the result, remarking he thought he had damaged his ears. 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. 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. That said, Sammartino's record is likely safe, as it's difficult to imagine WWE ever putting a title on someone even remotely as long as his top reign. [23], Eventually, on December 10, 1973, Sammartino regained the WWWF Heavyweight Championship by defeating Stan Stasiak. [15] With Whipper Billy Watson, Sammartino won his first professional wrestling championship in September 1962, the local version of the International Tag Team Championship. Sammartino then finished up his full-time career by touring Japan. 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. 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. Ivan Koloff backstage with manager Captain Lou Albano after defeating Bruno Sammartino (Photo: PWI) Sadly, Koloff's reign was short-lived. Soon after, Sammartino and then champion Pedro Morales teamed up for a series of tag team matches. 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. 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. That victory in 48 seconds began a 2,803-day reign that stands today as the longest in history, by far. Their feud culminated on August 9, 1980, in front of 36,295 fans at Shea Stadium. Fortunately for Bruno Sammartino, his time had now arrived. A sold-out Garden. Related. Some of the nearly 20,000 Madison Square Garden fans watched as Sammartino defeated his . The Sammartinos also teamed against "Mr. RELATED: Ruthless Aggression: 10 Title Reigns (That We Completely Forgot About). Bruno Sammartino was the first two-time WWE Champion. Many other belts would come his way in his long storied career as well. [49], Sammartino underwent heart surgery in 2011. During one title reign he held the belt for an astonishing 2,803 days, a period positively unheard of in today's wrestling climate. He is overall a two-time world champion in professional wrestling. There are paper champions, there are fighting champions, and there are champions who scarcely put their gold up for grabs. 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. Head on over to theLWOS Boardsto engage in conversation with fellow fans! Brunopresented hisbelt toPedro Morales, 4. WWWF World Championship. 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. Twitter: @JustSKendall Spectator Sports was a local Pittsburgh promotion previously owned by WWWF co-owner Toots Mondt but now owned by Sammartino himself it was on Spectator Sports TVthat Koloff had first encountered Sammartino, facing him as Orwell Parris (in an enhancement role), in 1965 in a non-title match. [14] Sammartino made his Toronto debut in March 1962 and very quickly, with the help of self-promotion in local newspapers and radio programs, became an attraction. May 17, 1963: Bruno Sammartino defeated Buddy Rogers with a reverse backbreaker to capture the WWWF World title. 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. Buddy Rogers was wrestling every day and he was NOT in a hospital. By Robert D. McFadden. 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. In addition, Ivelisse has her first title defense against Mercedes Martinez. Traduzioni in contesto per "Un Submission match titolato" in italiano-inglese da Reverso Context: Un Submission match titolato tra i due stato dunque sancito per Extreme Rules. May 13 - USA Event: Buddy Rogers (c) vs. Bobo Brazil - Singles match Brazil won by disqualification. Pedro then began to use the first golden eagle title design for the rest of his WWWF Championship run. On May 17, 1963, Bruno Sammartino made history by defeating Buddy Rogers for the WWE Championship then known as the WWWF Championship in Madison Square Garden. Two weeks later, all syndicated wrestling shows in the WWWF showed a clip of Sammartino and Morales signing a contract for a title match at Shea Stadium. 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. Bruno owned his title belt for over 52 years, 10. He lives in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, with his wife and son. He was inducted into the WWE . Pittsburgh has a new arena, which was the Civic Arena that held 19,000 people, and Buddy Rogers came in with a big cigar strutting around, and by the time it was 8:00 pm, he went to look at the audience, and the place was empty. The very business model of television/pay per view that Vince McMahon's WWE now runs off of was non-existent. Between Antonino Rocca and Bruno Sammartino they went with the younger Sammartino who was 28 years old at the time. Despite this mammoth title reign length, Pete Dunne barely defended his belt in televised appearances. After handing over ME duties to Alex Richards, he remains a frequent contributor to the site. 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. This post may contain affiliate links, which means we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. While he was still a pop culture icon in the New York area, McMahon was faced with the real possibility of his World Champion getting injured or having his popularity wane from mental burnout. Also on the card, the newest member of Valkyrie, Serena Deeb faces Angelina Love. [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. During one title reign he held the belt for an astonishing 2,803 days, a period positively unheard of in today's wrestling climate. Buddy Rogers continued to wrestle after this match, though he worked mainly in short tag matches until his first retirement one year later. He wrestled then NWA World Heavyweight Champion Harley Race to a one-hour draw in St. Louis. World Wide Wrestling Federation. This helps us provide free content for you to enjoy! 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. The championship remained vacant for over a year. That match meant so much to me because that put me at the top. But then on January 24, 1963, something happened. [7] Later that year, he won the International Tag Team Championship for the second time by teaming with Dominic DeNucci. He held the title until 1971. In early 1977, Sammartino informed McMahon Sr. that he felt he could no longer continue as champion due to his injuries. Dumpster match, multiple title defenses. Sammartino successfully retained his title 653 times, including 62 defenses in MSG alone, before . Sammartino filed suit against McMahon Sr. and his Capitol Wrestling Corporation. [10], When the Sammartinos arrived in the U.S., Bruno spoke no English and was sickly from the privations of the war years. [15], Sammartino also challenged NWA World Heavyweight Champion Lou Thesz twice for the championship in Canada. Some of his defenses ended in time limit draws, and some in DQ, but . His second reign began in 1973 and it lasted until he was pinned by "Superstar" Billy Graham in 1977. In the late 1960s, Sammartino was involved in a fight with former Pennsylvania Athletic Commissioner Joe Cimino. Bruno Sammartino defeated Nature Boy Buddy Rogers to become the WWWF World Champion. Despite this, the reign lasted for alengthy 161 days. That was live TV that went to New York. It wasnt until he got in the ring that Sammartino told him in no uncertain terms that it was HE who was going over that day. 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. He also wrestled and defeated Blackjack Mulligan, Lord Alfred Hayes, Dick Murdoch, Kenji Shibuya, and "Crippler" Ray Stevens. I didnt know it at the time, I dont even think Buddy knew it at the time either, but we were both booked there. Of all the statues created byWWE, including AndrThe Giant, Ultimate Warrior, Dusty Rhodes, Ric Flair, and Rowdy Roddy Piper, only the Bruno statue wearsa championship belt. Louis. That made me the number one guy I was going to be the headliner after that, you know? He turned to weightlifting and wrestling to build himself up. The reason for the split was because Northeast promoters Toots Mondt and Vince McMahon, Sr. controlled Buddy Rogers bookings and wanted to keep Rogers (and the title) in the Northeast. The other NWA members were not pleased with the situation, and this led to the split. Peers revered him, Hollywood celebrities courted him, Italian Americans adored him, and Arnold Schwarzenegger called him "The Star of all stars."Young Bruno and his family fled the Nazi's and were nearly executed. Dr. Jerry Graham: WWWF World Heavyweight Title: WWWF MSG Show (Nov '63) Nov 18th 1963: . WWE Hall of Famer Bruno Sammartino revealed why his record-setting WWWF title reign ended. Lengthy championships are a big aspect in wrestling, but it is definitely easier when the champion does not frequently have to defend his title. I had seen wrestlers stopped from going to the ring because something wasnt right". It was the hardest thing in my life to go out of wrestling. [10] When he was four, his father emigrated to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He became the first wrestler to become a WWE triple crown champion. [5] He trained in wrestling with Rex Peery, the University of Pittsburgh team coach. 2022. Bruno! Morales would lose his World title to Stan The Man Stasiak in December of 1973, only to lose it nine days later back to Bruno for another lengthy reign (1,237 days, from 1973 through 1977). Thesz made him this offer: "We could do this the easy way or the hard way." 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 new film, just called Bruno Sammartino, is simply a revamped and slightly updated version of La Mia Mama, meaning it's long of Sammartino's tough-as-nails mother, but shockingly short on the champion's in-ring exploits. Buddy Rogers & Diamond Jack & Johnny Barend & The Shadow: 8-person tag: WWWF Philadelphia Show (Jun '63) Jun 8th . You spend your whole life in this particular field, then all of a sudden its no more. [52][53] Mayor Bill Peduto remembered him as "one of the greatest ambassadors the city of Pittsburgh ever had."[54]. Sammartino's run incredibly stretched from April 1963 to January 1971; an immense seven and a half years on top. However, whilst he held the gold he only actually defended the belt on television or pay per view a total of 3 times! After three title defenses one against Chief Jay Strongbow and two against Gene DuBois and only 21-days as World Champion, Koloff lost the title, to Puerto Rican wrestler Pedro Morales. [39] On March 28, 2015, Sammartino inducted Larry Zbyszko into the WWE Hall of Fame. In many ways, it was a full circle. "Did I really say to him, We can do this the easy way or the hard way? It was no different on the night of May 17, 1963, when. 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 Sammartino often mentioned Don Leo Jonathan when he was asked about his toughest foes. 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. Georgiann Makropoulos she used to write a lot of wrestling stuff and had been the president of Rogers fan club and then sometime later became the president of my fan club went to him, and she then went to me, and she said, Please, its been all these years. 78 days. Though they appeared on-screen a fairly considerable amount during this time, the cocky heels were unwilling to perform with their belts on the line very regularly in the earlier days of NXT. 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. And his Capitol wrestling Corporation 49 ], Sammartino underwent heart surgery 2011. 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