Even at the age of 81, Bruno Sammartino is a presence. Former world champion JBL interviewed him for the latest edition of his fairly entertaining series (yes we used ‘fairly entertaining’ and ‘JBL’ in the same sentence) entitled Legends.
We could tell that even a man such as John Bradshaw Layfield was in awe of the charisma that Sammartino commands at his age. Perhaps the most famous American wrestler of all time, Sammartino was the face of wrestling when WWE was called the WWWF or the World Wide Wrestling Federation.
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Through the insightful conversation, we found out many things that we’d only heard over the grapevine. Read on!
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#8 Sammartino is a World War II survivor
Bruno Sammartino may be known as the most renowned American wrestler of all time, but he is actually an Italian who traveled to America after World War II.
Born in Pizzaferrato, Italy in October, 1935; Sammartino’s town was attacked by the Nazi German troops. and Sammartino would hide in a mountain called Valla Rocca for 14 months. In this tranquil town of horses and buggies, the first automobile he heard would be the sound of a tank.
Bruno Sammartino lost more than one sibling to the war! A tragic beginning to what would become a legendary career, very soon.
#7 His mother was a great woman
While Bruno Sammartino didn’t know his father (who’d moved to the United States) until much later, his own mother Emilia was a great woman. A simple peasant woman, she would sneak down from the mountain they were holed up in to gather food and supplies from the Nazi-infested town they once used to live in.
This journey would take as long as 24 hours at times. She was even captured once. She eventually managed to escape. She was the only one of the escapees to survive the German onslaught. If not for Emilia, Sammartino wouldn’t have made it so far.
#6 Sammartino almost died twice before he was 15
While German troops would generally leave Sammartino and his group atop the mountain alone, they were once captured and lined up to be fired at. At which point Emilia Sammartino informed Bruno that it would be over soon, and they would all be in heaven.
Luckily, they survived. Only to realize that Bruno was severely ill, and were informed that he only had some time to live. Bruno was taken to a special kind of clinic where leeches ‘sucked out the poison from his body’. And what’s shocking is that this unconventional treatment worked, and Bruno Sammartino did survive.
#5 Bruno was badly bullied in school
Bruno Sammartino went from the frying pan into the fire. A sickly child because of the war and subsequent disease, he would relocate to Pittsburgh in America and go into a dark phase of his life. He would be tormented by bullies through his school days, because of his frail physique.
But this would inspire him to gain weight, and become a strong man to keep them at bay. Soon enough, Sammartino became a gym addict!
#4 To make money, Sammartino wrestled an orangutan
This is a story that is sometimes very hard to believe. But during his amateur days, when Bruno Sammartino was working in the construction business and needed money to survive; he was told he would be paid $50 to survive against a wrestling-monkey for 5 minutes.
Never one to back down from a challenge, Sammartino agreed. The monkey was revealed to be an orangutan, who put up a huge fight against the living legend. But Sammartino lasted a whole of 15 minutes, with some great submission moves.
Eventually, he was disqualified for throwing a punch at the monkey which was against the rules.
#3 We almost got Muhammad Ali vs Bruno Sammartino
In his prime, Bruno Sammartino was an absolute superstar. He was one of the richest sportsmen in America tied with Mickey Mantle at one point in time. So, the idea of the first ever boxing vs wrestling match was pitched with him wrestling against the boxer Muhammad Ali.
The idea never materialized, and Japan capitalized on the same. Antonio Inoki fought Ali in a bout that did really poor numbers. Maybe Sammartino would have fared better.
#2 Sammartino has a very poor opinion of Hulk Hogan
Hulkamania was the new rage after Bruno Sammartino’s era. But Bruno does not have a very high opinion of Hulk Hogan. Bruno went on to tell JBL that Hogan wasn’t a big draw in a lot of territories. Moreover, his work had a lot of holes, that wouldn’t be entertaining, night after night, in the same arena.
He’s also been critical of Ric Flair's work in other interviews. His own hero is Frank Gotch!
#1 Sammartino’s records will never be broken
In the modern era, where titles change hands very quickly, it is improbable if not impossible that Bruno Sammartino’s record of 2803 days as champion will ever be broken. The same holds true for selling out Madison Square Garden 186 times, a mammoth feat that is intimidating to even think of.
The number actually totals 187 if Sammartino’s Hall of Fame induction were to be counted. An absolute legend and a true superstar.
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