BILLY GRAHAM IN THE IWE (JAPAN) . Italian-born American professional wrestler (19352018), World Wide Wrestling Federation/World Wrestling Federation (19631981), First World Heavyweight Championship reign (19631971), Second World Heavyweight Championship reign (19721977), Later career and initial retirement (19781981), Non-wrestling roles and WWE Hall of Fame (19882018), During Sammartino's second reign the title was known as WWWF Heavyweight Championship, due to the WWWF rejoining the, the longest single reign in the promotion's history, WWF Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship, Ross Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum, George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame, International Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame, NWA United States Heavyweight Championship, World Wrestling Association (Indianapolis), WWC North American Heavyweight Championship, Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame, "Bruno Sammartino, Durable Champ in WWE Hall of Fame, Dies at 82", "APRIL 30, 2018 WRESTLING OBSERVER NEWSLETTER: THE STORY OF BRUNO SAMMARTINO CONTINUED". 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. Sammartino is the longest-reigning WWE Champion in history. [46] May 17, 2013 was declared "Bruno Sammartino Day" in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. - Bruno Sammartino and Dominic DeNucci defeated The Mongols (Geeto and Bepo) for the WWF International Tag Team Titles. May 2, 2020, the 1965-1971 version of the WWWF World Championship was put to auction, along with Bruno Sammartinos WWE Hall of Fame ring (2013) and several other items, as part of the settlement for hisestate. 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. During his second reign, Bruno Sammartino held the title for 1237 days. [21], At the inaugural WrestleMania on March 31, 1985, Sammartino was in his son David's corner for his match against Brutus Beefcake. 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. 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. Ray Stevens 5'10 230 lbs San Francisco, CA 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. Between Antonino Rocca and Bruno Sammartino they went with the younger Sammartino who was 28 years old at the time. He held the title until 1971. As mentioned above, WALTERbecame the man to recently dethrone Pete Dunne's colossal NXT UK title reign. California honored the other state's suspension, leaving Sammartino out of work. 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. Ivan Koloff backstage with manager Captain Lou Albano after defeating Bruno Sammartino (Photo: PWI) Sadly, Koloff's reign was short-lived. 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. RELATED: Ruthless Aggression: 10 Title Reigns (That We Completely Forgot About). Sammartino ended up in a screaming match with Cimino on Pittsburgh's local Studio Wrestling program, and Cimino suspended him for a month. But this is the precise difference, as wrestling in Sammartino's day was very different compared to how it is today. I told him that the only way I would come back is if he put me in the ring with Buddy Rogers for the title. Which brings us to 2017, when Brock Lesnar held the WWE Universal Championship for a phenomenal 504 days after defeating fellow part-timer Bill Goldberg at Wrestlemania 33. [20] Sammartino held the WWWF World Heavyweight Championship for seven years, eight months, and one day (2,803 days). The MSG title . Bruno Sammartino often mentioned Don Leo Jonathan when he was asked about his toughest foes. He held the company's top title from 1963 to 1971 and again from 1973 to 1977. 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. I was in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in that territory, and Vince McMahon, Sr. was near bankruptcy because that was how poorly this place was doing. "Prior to that, over a period of two years, I defeated Sammartino eleven straight times. You can check out an almost unlimited array of WWE content, including these Sasha Banks matches on theWWE Network. "One of the finest men I knew, in life and in business," WWE chairman Vince McMahon said . Rogers would then drop the title a month later to Bruno Sammartino in less than a minute. When Buddy Rogers saw the attendance, he wanted to get out of there, and he told the doctor he felt a funny pain on his chest. Remarkably, Pedro Morales original golden eagle belt was procured from a pawn shop in Manhattan in late 1974/early 1975 for $75 by renowned wrestling historian, Tom Burke. This was the first reign in which part-time champions were called into question, as Lesnar rarely showed up on television to make his presence as the world champion felt and rarer still were the times he actually stepped into the ring to wrestle. Sammartino worked as a commentator for the Universal Wrestling Federation. 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. 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.". 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. WWC North American Heavyweight Champion. 2022. or scroll down to learn more about the history of Bruno's Belt. 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. 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. . Wrestling legend Bruno Sammartino has died at the age of 82. (Use code PWS for a nice surprise). That was live TV that went to New York. They were grandparents of four grandchildren. Three years after his stunning defeat, Bruno won the WWE Title for a second time. He lives in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, with his wife and son. 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. Company policy meant that Sammartino could not hold two championships simultaneously, so he was replaced by Victor Rivera. 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. 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. Now, here's the tricky thing. The following title matches feature the WWE Championship. 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. World Tag Team Title (Indianapolis)", "WWC North American Heavyweight Title (Puerto Rico)", "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2007", "Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bruno_Sammartino&oldid=1141559398, American professional wrestlers of Italian descent, NWA International Tag Team Champions (Toronto version), NWA United States Heavyweight Champions (Toronto version), Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles lacking reliable references from August 2019, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Ranked No. 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. On June 18 2014, Dr. Wagner, Jr. won the title and has kept it ever since. [52][53] Mayor Bill Peduto remembered him as "one of the greatest ambassadors the city of Pittsburgh ever had."[54]. 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. During one title reign he held the belt for an astonishing 2,803 days, a period positively unheard of in today's wrestling climate. In the summer of 1960 James M. 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. Rogers dropped the title. Imagine doing something all those years and loving it all of a sudden, you never do it again. 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. 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. He held the World Wide Wrestling Federation title for more than 11 years, from 1963 to1971, and again from 1973 to1977. Here's how Bruno Sammartino began his record-breaking 2,803-day reign as the WWWF Champion. April 18, 2018. #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. Thesz made him this offer: "We could do this the easy way or the hard way." Rogers retired prior to their scheduled title rematch on October 4, 1963, in Jersey City, New Jersey's Roosevelt Stadium. In CM Punk's 434 day reign, he defended the title 141 times, or an average of just over once every three . Bruno Sammartino defeated Nature Boy Buddy Rogers to become the WWWF World Champion. I dont know if I should allow him to go in the ring. To put everything in perspective, if Roman Reigns stays Universal Champion through New Year's Day 2028, he'd still be many, many months short of reaching Sammartino's record title reign length! I was in that hospital for up to 5 days before I wrestled. WWE Hall of Famer Bruno Sammartino died on Wednesday at the age of 82 in Pittsburgh. Bruno only gave up his championship when he wanted to, and there was one championship belt he decided never to let go. Any working guy could relate to Bruno the way they related to Steve Austin many years later. 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. He is also a musical performer with his band OdESSA who can be investigated at the link above. 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. The city . . 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 leaving the WWF, Sammartino became an outspoken critic of the path on which Vincent K. McMahon had taken professional wrestling. May 20 - USA Event: Bruno . By 1971, Bruno Sammartino was beaten up. An irate Sammartino attacked Savage during a TV interview, after Savage bragged about injuring Ricky Steamboat, by driving the timekeeper's bell into Steamboat's throat during a televised match. 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]. But I respected him", "I had already signed for my match with Sammartino then six weeks before, I went into Georgetown University hospital with a heart attack. [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). He returned to in-ring action soon after with his son, as they wrestled against Beefcake and Valiant at Madison Square Garden. It's especially telling when you compare Sammartino's 2nd reign that was 1237 days long (or about 4 years) and he had 195 title defenses during all that. 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! That match meant so much to me because that put me at the top. [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. This is the original on-site poster from the Maple Leaf Gardens World Title bout with the great Buddy "nature boy" Rogers, held on July 12, 1962. . Bruno chose a photo with his 1965 belt for the cover of his autobiography, Bruno Sammartino:The Autobiography of Wrestlings Living Legend, 8. wrestling champion, was personally selected by Vincent J. 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