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Last week, we lost a WWE Legend in Bruno Sammartino. In light of this, I’d like to take a look back at his beginnings, memorable matches, and his legacy as we remember Bruno Sammartino.
Early Life
Bruno Sammartino was born in Pizzoferrato, Abruzzo, Italy on October 6, 1935. That’s right here:
He was the youngest of 7 children. When Bruno was 4, his father immigrated to Pittsburgh, PA, leaving his wife and children behind. During World War II, Bruno’s mother hid him and his siblings from German soldier in a mountain. The rest of the Sammartino’s later arrived in the US.
Starting into Wrestling
Because Bruno spoke no English and was sickly from the war years, he became a target for bullies at Schenley High School. In response, he turned to weightlifting and wrestling to bulk up. In 1956, he almost became a member of the US Olympic team, but it instead went to Paul Anderson, who won gold. In 1959, Sammartino set a world record in the bench press with a lift of 565 pounds without elbow or wrist straps. With this, he became known for doing strongman stunts around Pittsburgh. Eventually, he was spotted by a professional wrestling promoter, Rudy Miller.
Wresting Career
Matches
Interestingly, a number of Bruno’s matches were very short in duration but all were highly anticipated. His debut match was against Dmitri Grabowski on December 17, 1959 in Pittsburgh, PA. Bruno pinned his opponent in 19 seconds.
Another notable match was Bruno Sammartino v. Buddy “Nature Boy” Rogers (May 17, 1963 – Madison Square Garden). Let’s cover some background on the match before we get into it. Capitol Wrestling (a precursor to WWE) was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance. Their champion, Buddy Rogers had lost the title to Lou Thesz early in 1963 in a single fall match. At the time, Capitol Wrestling did not recognize the title change as their title matches were supposed to be two out of three falls. So, Capitol withdrew from the NWA and held a tournament to crown the first WWE Champion, which became Buddy Rogers. Sammartino had quite the following for matches, being known as the Italian Strongman. And so, the match was set for Madison Square Garden, the “preeminent venue” for matches.
In spite of all the anticipation, the match itself ended up consisting of only three moves: drop kick, bear hug, and then back-breaker. Rogers would submit in less than a minute, making Bruno the 2nd WWE Champion in history.
As a Champion
Sammartino would hold the title for seven years, eight months, and one day (a total of 2,803 days), making him the longest reigning WWE Champion in history, a record which he holds to this day. Years later, Bruno would also become the first ever repeat champion in WWE history. Sammartino also holds the record for longest combined reign at 4,040 days.
So, there is a little information on the “living legend” Bruno Sammartino. For more information on notable matches or general background, I’ll direct you to his Wikipedia page or WWE’s book 100 Greatest Matches.
