Bruno Sammartino

Italian-born American professional wrestler (1935-2018)

Bruno Sammartino (October 6, 1935 – April 18, 2018) was an Italian-American professional wrestler. He was born on October 6, 1935 in Italy. He became a wrestler in 1959. He would often beat opponents with his bearhug.

Bruno Sammartino
Sammartino in 2005
Born(1935-10-06)October 6, 1935
Pizzoferrato, Kingdom of Italy
DiedApril 18, 2018(2018-04-18) (aged 82)
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Bruno Sammartino
Billed height1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Billed weight115 kg (254 lb)
Billed fromAbruzzo, Italy
Trained byAce Freeman
Debut1959
Retired1987

On May 17, 1963, Bruno beat Buddy Rogers to become the second World Wide Wrestling Federation champion. He held this title for over seven years, a record for professional wrestling world champions. He had his first match in Japan in 1967. He lost to Ivan Koloff on January 18, 1971. On December 10, 1973, Sammartino beat Stan Stasiak to once again be the champion. Billy Graham won the championship from Bruno on April 30, 1977[1] in Baltimore. World Wide Wrestling Federation became the World Wrestling Federation in March 1979. Sammartino wrestled less often after but he did have classic feud with Larry Zbyszko that ended in a steel cage match at Shea Stadium in 1980. He retired in 1987.[2] Sammartino was also a commentator with Vince McMahon.[3][4]

In 2013, he accepted an invitation for induction into the WWE Hall of Fame, after he declined many times in prior years.[5]

Sammartino died on April 18, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania of multiple organ failure caused by heart disease at the age of 82.[6][7]

References change

  1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4t5s9U-vKQI Bruno Sammartino versus Billy Graham
  2. "Wrestler Profiles: Bruno Sammartino". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 1 June 2012.
  3. "Bruno Sammartino As A Color Commentator - Pro Wrestling - Sports And Wrestling - WowBB Forums". sportsandwrestling.mywowbb.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-08. Retrieved 2012-06-01.
  4. "KM : Reading Topic : Bruno Sammartino the commentator". www.infinitecore.ca.
  5. "Bruno Sammartino announced as WWE Hall of Fame 2013 inductee". WWE. Retrieved 2013-02-05.
  6. ESPN.com Staff (April 18, 2018). "WWE Hall of Famer Bruno Sammartino dies at age 82". ESPN.com. United States: ESPN Inc. Retrieved April 18, 2018.
  7. KDKA-TV Staff (April 18, 2018). "WWE Hall Of Famer Bruno Sammartino Dies At 82". KDKA-TV. Pittsburgh: CBS Corporation. Retrieved April 18, 2018.

Other websites change

  Media related to Bruno Sammartino at Wikimedia Commons