WWE History Vol. 15: The greatest heel turns

#2 Larry Zybysko betrays his mentor, the great Bruno Sammartino

Larry Zybysko stands over his former mentor Bruno Sammartino in 1980.

For our number two spot on the countdown of top heel turns in WWE history, we go back--waaay back, to 1980 when the WWE was still known as the WWWF--World Wide Wrestling Federation.

You might be wondering why this heel turn lists so highly on our countdown, since neither of these men have wrestled in many years. The extreme fan reaction toward Larry Zybysko is the reason as much as the fact that no one seemed to see it coming.

Zybysko wasn't the Living Legend yet; he was a young upstart who was taken under the wing of long running WWWF Champion Bruno Sammartino. The two were allies for some time as Sammartino taught the youngster all his tricks.

But then jealousy turned their alliance sour. Zybysko claimed that Bruno was ducking him by not granting the youngster a title shot. Bruno eventually agreed, but Zybysko couldn't defeat his teacher. Bruno had Zybysko trapped in his bear hug finisher, but then let him go.

The battle spilled outside the ring, where a frustrated Zybysko grabbed a steel chair. He attacked his teacher, leaving him in a pool of his own blood. Fans were so angry at the heel turn that they set Zybysko's car on fire, started riots, and even attacked him physically.

This heel turn goes down in history for the extreme reaction it garnered, and for the fact that it marked the end of an era.