Bruno Sammartino was the grandfather of sports entertainment. Before Stone Cold and Hulk Hogan, there was Bruno Sammartino. WWE would not be what it is today without the star power that Sammartino brought with him every time he performed. Fans across the country would gather to watch him defend his prestigious WWWF Championship, and he did so in front of a sold-out crowd on nearly every occasion.

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After a hiatus from the company that lasted the better part of two decades, Sammartino was welcomed back with open arms and took his rightful place in the WWE Hall of Fame. The legend passed away in 2018 at the age of 82 in his American hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. For a wrestler who is regarded by many of his peers as the greatest champion of all time, Sammartino's name doesn't get brought up enough by fans when discussing the all-time greats of pro wrestling, so they don't always know a lot about the icon.

10 His Mother Saved His Young Life

Sammartino with a statue in his honor

Hailing from the small commune of Pizzoferrato, Abruzzo, Italy, Sammartino was born to his parents Alfonso and Emilia in October of 1935. As a young boy, Bruno's father immigrated to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the hopes of starting a new life for his family.

Before Sammartino and his family were able to reunite with his father in America, they would have to endure a harsh and dangerous life during World War II. During the war, his mother hid Bruno and his siblings from Nazi soldiers who had taken control of their small mountain town. She stole food to feed her children and even nursed young Bruno back to health with nothing but leeches after a fever threatened the young boy's life.

9 Sammartino Was A Record-Setting Strongman

Bruno was quite the weightlifter in his day

Before Bruno Sammartino was a wrestler, he was quite the bodybuilder and strongman. Sammartino decided to pick up weightlifting and wrestling as a hobby after he found himself an easy target for bullies in his new American home. While he was quite the amateur wrestler, Sammartino nearly qualified for the 1956 U.S. Olympic weightlifting team.

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Sammartino continued to work on his weightlifting and began to make a name for himself by performing strongman stunts in the Pittsburgh area. The highlight of Bruno's weightlifting career came in 1959 when he set a world record in the bench press with a lift of 565 pounds.

8 His Career Nearly Ended Before It Even Began

Sammartino in his younger days

Not long after his impressive bench press record, Bruno was discovered by local promoter Rudy Miller, who helped train the young Italian in the art of pro wrestling. Sammartino made his professional debut in Pittsburgh on December 17, 1959.

Sammartino's career started to take off as he became a regular performer for Vince McMahon Sr.'s Capitol Wrestling Corporation (a predecessor to the WWWF, which eventually became the modern WWE) After deciding he may be better off working in California, Sammartino gave his notice to McMahon Sr. Unfortunately for Sammartino, he was never able to work in California- he was suspended for missing two different bookings. The other state's suspensions carried over into California, leaving Sammartino out of work. In his autobiography, Sammartino states that he believed McMahon knew what the consequences would be and set him up by double-booking him for shows in Baltimore and Chicago.

7 Two Title Bouts Against Lou Thesz

Thesz vs Sammartino

The young pro eventually decided to try his hand at wrestling in Toronto and traveled north of the border in 1962. Toronto's large population of Italian immigrants made Sammartino an easy person to root for, and his ability to speak Italian only further helped to make him a fan favorite.

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While wrestling in Canada, Sammartino had the biggest matches of his young career when he challenged Lou Thesz for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. Thesz is considered to be one of the greatest pro wrestlers of all time and is the only man to hold a world title longer than Sammartino. He held the NWA World title three times for a combined total of ten years, three months, and nine days.

6 Sammartino's First World Championship Came By Chance

Sammartino poses in front of the ring

As Sammartino continued to work in Canada, eventually his relationship with Vince McMahon Sr. was reconciled. McMahon, who had a new promotion in the World Wide Wrestling Federation, found himself in dire need of The Italian Strongman when world champion Buddy Rodgers fell ill.

After being hospitalized three times in the span of a month, McMahon made the decision to pull the title off of Rodgers. In a time of dire need, Sammartino stepped up for McMahon and took on the responsibility of being champion. He defeated Rodgers in under a minute in an effort to protect the health of the ailing champion to earn his first world championship.

5 His First Reign Was The Longest In WWE History

Bruno squares off against longtime rival Ivan Koloff

After capturing the WWWF Championship from the original Nature Boy, Sammartino had no desire of letting it go. His personal philosophy was "if they can beat me for real, they are more than welcome to try." As such, the Italian Strongman defended his title time and time again in front of hundreds of sold-out Madison Square Garden crowds.

Sammartino was so successful at defending his championship that when his record-setting reign finally ended at the hands of Ivan Koloff, the onlooking crowd fell absolutely silent. When all was said and done, Sammartino's first reign lasted seven years, eight months, and one day, a record that will likely stand forever.

4 A Two-Time Tag Team Champion

Sammartino with his tag team championship belt

While his time as a world champion is well documented, it is still truly remarkable that a man was able to stay at the top of his game for the better part of a decade. What many fans may not know is that during his time as world champion, Sammartino captured tag team gold as well.

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On December 8, 1969, he teamed with Tony Marino to win the WWWF International Tag Team Championship by defeating the team of Tanaka and Mitsu Arakawa. Double champions were not allowed at the time, meaning Sammartino could not hold two championships simultaneously. He would be replaced by another performer but captured the tag team championships for a second time for a true reign of his own alongside Dominic DeNucci.

3 A True Role Model

Bruno Sammartino was a true legend

In an age where the bad guy is all the rage, Sammartino represents a completely different era. He is the prototypical babyface, the blueprint for a 'good-guy' champion. Much of this is due to the fact that he refused to turn heel throughout his career, as he believed in being a positive influence in a time where kayfabe was still alive and well.

Outside of the ring, Sammartino stayed true to his good-guy persona. There are stories of him refusing to ever drink in front of children, as to not set a bad example. He also stayed faithful to his wife Carol for nearly 60 years before his passing in 2018.

2 A Major Critic Of WWE

Bruno through the ages

Sammartino stayed with the WWF well past his time as champion, acting in various roles backstage and in front of the camera, serving as a ringside manager to his son David, and even wrestling on occasion. By the end of the 1980s, Sammartino's time in WWF had come to an end.

After serving as the WWF's best asset for across two decades, Sammartino quickly became one of its biggest threats. An outspoken critic of the Attitude Era storylines and the rampant steroid use by WWF performers, Sammartino's words as a former wrestler carried with them a sense of legitimacy that proved to further fuel outside speculation. His interviews with Phil Donahue and Geraldo were especially scathing and showed just how far he had come from being the face of wrestling.

1 50 Years Of Headlining

Sammartino at his HoF ceremony

After headlining his first match for WWE exactly 40 years prior in 1963, Bruno Sammartino was announced as the headlining induction for the 2013 WWE Hall of Fame Ceremony. Sammartino was brought back in large part due to the efforts of Triple H, who believed the longest-reigning champion in the company's history was entitled to a spot in the Hall of Fame.

Fittingly, Sammartino was inducted into the Hall of Fame in Madison Square Garden, an arena he helped make famous and one that is synonymous with his legendary career. According to the Wrestling Observer, Sammartino headlined MSG 160 times. Of those 160 matches, Sammartino was victorious in all but one.

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