Today we lost a true legend of professional wrestling as Bruno Sammartino passed away at age 82. Sammartino held the longest reign as WWE champion with his 2 reigns combining for a total of eleven years. Despite a falling out with Vincent K. McMahon that soured his relationship with the company for many years, Sammartino reconciled with McMahon and WWE a few years before his death and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.
Sammartino had a truly fascinating life, having been born in Italy under the rule of Mussolini. His family hid from the axis forces for some time, and several of his siblings died while in hiding. When his family was able to come to the United States, Bruno was a sickly child due to malnourishment from the years hiding from the axis forces, but began doing body building so as to protect himself from bullies who saw him as an easy target. He would eventually compete in strongman and bodybuilding competitions and set a world record for bench pressing before turning his eye to wrestling.
Bruno won over fans wherever he went, whether that be in the WWE or another territory like Toronto, where he teamed with Whipper Billy Watson. His most famous time in wrestling was of course with WWE where he held the world title twice, first from 1963-1971 and again from 1973-1977. The length of his first reign will never be beaten by another wrestler, let alone the length of his combined reigns. His legacy is far greater than just that detail though, as Sammartino was a true hero to so many in the New York area, he was involved in his community and wanted the best for everyone. His frustrations with WWE came because he was upset with the growing steroids and drug scandals that had been brewing, in addition to the Attitude Era of the 90’s, which he felt was going too far. When the WWE made changes and corrected many issues they had and began to take the health of their wrestlers very seriously, Sammartino was satisfied they had finally listened.
Bruno was a legitimate tough man and many found that out the hard way when they tried to pick fights with him. He didn’t seek out these fights but would not back down due to his upbringing and experiences, He rose from nothing to become not just a wrestling champion, but the people’s champion ( Sorry to the Rock but Bruno earned that title first). Bruno was wrestling, and its generally agreed that WWE would not be where it is now without him. He was the foundation that the modern industry has been built on and he was a one of a kind soul who cared about the industry and the people in it and wanted the best for everyone. A hero who won over fans all across the world and embodied the ideals of American dream, wrestling is lesser now for having lost him.