News

WWE Legend Bruno Sammartino Dies At Age 82; Tributes Pour In

Bruno Sammartino, a wrestling Hall of Famer, died early Wednesday at age 82, the WWE announced.

WWE Legend Bruno Sammartino Death, Tributes

Although the exact cause of death remains unknown, Sammartino had been hospitalized for two months, according to several reports.

Sammartino defeated Buddy Rogers at New York’s Madison Square Garden in May 1963 — competing in the then-World Wide Wrestling Federation — and from that point on began a record championship-win streak. His reign ended when he lost to Ivan Koloff in January 1971.

Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter!

A week of sports news in your in-box.
We find the sports news you need to know, so you don't have to.

Sammartino retook his belt in December 1973 and went on a three-year undefeated run, one of the five-longest world championship reigns in pro wrestling history.

SLIDESHOW: 30 Best Sports Instagrams!

Known as “the Italian Superman,” Sammartino immigrated from Pizzoferrato, a town in central Italy, to Pittsburgh when he was just 15 years old.

Vincent McMahonthe chairman and CEO of WWE, called Sammartino “one of the finest men I knew, in life and in business” in a tweet on Wednesday afternoon.

Sammartino was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2013. Before this, he told ESPN of the honor in an interview.

“Being inducted into the Hall of Fame at Madison Square Gardens is the biggest thing in my life,” Sammartino told ESPN. “Anytime that people feel that you accomplished enough to enter into a Hall of Fame, of course this is a tremendous, tremendous thrill for me. I had a lot of my success due to appearing at the Garden.”

Sammartino revealed in some interviews the harsh living conditions he endured — including starvation — in Italy both during and after World War II.

SLIDESHOW: 10 Highest-Paid Athletes

Here are more tributes to Sammartino:

“Nobody deserves to be recognized for being a big star and paving the way for the stars of today more than Bruno,” said WWE executive Paul “Triple H” Levesque, when the legend was inducted into the Hall of Fame. “Everything that we have today in the business, Bruno was a cornerstone of that foundation.”

Pablo Mena

Writer and assistant editor for usports.org. NY Giants and Rangers fan. Film and TV enthusiast (especially Harry Potter and The Office) and lover of foreign languages and cultures.

Recent Posts

Paul George Exits With Knee Injury As 76ers Fall To 2-12 In Loss To Grizzlies

With their big three finally back in action Wednesday, the Philadelphia 76ers suffered another setback…

5 hours ago

VIDEO: Nike Pays Tribute to Rafael Nadal With 30-Foot Projection In Front of Eiffel Tower

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/tny--EWynOQ Nike paid tribute to Spanish tennis legend Rafael Nadal with a 10-meter-tall animated display…

22 hours ago

VIDEO: Rafael Nadal Gets Emotional Tribute as He Retires From Tennis

https://youtu.be/dtJoJz9hC48 Tennis legend Rafael Nadal bid a heartfelt goodbye to his devoted Spanish fans as he brought…

23 hours ago

VIDEO EXCLUSIVE: U.S. Olympic Fencer Eli Dershwitz Explains The Art Of Fencing

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/DQ9Rxhnuer4 U.S. Olympic fencer Eli Dershwitz shed light on the critical skills necessary in fencing…

2 days ago

Two Bears Offensive Linemen Return To Practice, Caleb Williams Desperate For Blocking

Two offensive linemen for the Chicago Bears returned to practice, a massive step in the…

3 days ago

VIDEO: UFC Heavyweight Champion Performs Viral Trump Dance In New York

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/s2g9t_33Myw President-elect Donald Trump received a warm welcome from Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fighter Jon…

4 days ago