Biggest Fan: Jane Picard "Bruno Sammartino made my list for being one of the first wrestlers I enjoyed watching during my childhood with my Dad. He was a Superstar in his day and probably had a lot to do with developing people's love for wrestling which would continue for generations."
If someone were to declare that Bruno Sammartino should be the #1 Superstar of Wrestling, their argument wouldn't have one leg to stand on... it would have two stout, powerful legs just like the man who held the WWWF Heavyweight Championship for a combined 4,040 days. Sammartino's total domination in the 1960s and 1970s, and his continued relevance deep into the 1980s, is a clear starting point for any debate about who deserves to be at the top of the list. Unfortunately, as time moves along and the big Italian's nearly thirty-year career fades further into the past, many of the younger experts on our panel fail to give Bruno the credit he truly deserves.
It's hard to put into perspective the scope of Sammartino's dominance. His first title reign began on May 17, 1963 when he defeated a bewildered "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers in a mere 48 seconds. Rogers hadn't intended to drop the belt that day, and bookers let Sammartino himself notify the champion that his title run was at an end. The legendary Rogers had no choice but to comply, faced with Bruno's ultimatum that they could do it "the easy way... or the hard way." That championship belt remained around Sammartino's waist for the rest of the decade.
Sammartino was without the WWWF title for almost three years before recapturing the gold in late 1973. This time he was champion for "only" three years, four months and twenty days; the third-longest reign in WWF history. After his championship days were done, Bruno continued to wrestle for many years, engaging in feuds with Roddy Piper and "Macho Man" Randy Savage.
It's important to understand, when reflecting on the magnitude of Bruno Sammartino's accomplishments, that his lengthy title reigns were a direct result of his immense popularity in the northeast United States. The eleven years as champion cannot be pooh-poohed on the basis of it being a different era or the competition being subpar. Sammartino was the biggest draw and the most successful commodity in the industry for almost the entirety of two decades leading up to the WrestleMania revolution of the 1980s. Has any superstar ever shone so bright, for so long, as #78 on this list, Bruno Sammartino? I guess we'll have to monitor the rest of this list and see...
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