Pro- Wrestling- World.com

Bud Carson owner of  Pro Wrestling World

VISIT THE MERCHANTS SQUARE MALL WEBSITE   www.merchantssquaremall.com

This portion of my website is dedicated to the Living Legend Bruno Sammartino. I’ve been friends with Bruno for some time now , collecting Bruno memorbilia has always been a passion of mine. My first signing with Bruno was in January 2000. A very gracious man , humble and polite , Acknowledging every fan with respect and friendship , I knew that this was the way I wanted to run my business and patterned myself after the great living legend. In the coming months I will be posting some very rare and  interesting memorbilia pertaining to Bruno. Along with some very interesting facts about the wrestling career of the great Bruno Sammartino.
 

 Bruno Sammartino
Real Name: Bruno Laopardo Franceso Sammartino
Birthday: October 6, 1935
Hometown: Born in Pizzoferrato, Italy
Moved to Abruzzi, Italy
Moved to  Pittsburg Pennsylvania
Marital Status:   Married  to wife Carol
Height & Weight: 6'1" - 260 lbs
Debut:  October 23, 1959  vs Miguel Torres

Finishing Move: The Bearhug and
The Backbreaker
 

Bruno’s title history

(Toronto) International Tag Team w/Whipper Billy Watson;

WWWA (Pittsburgh) United States Tag Team titles w/Argentina Apollo;

WWWF World Heavyweight title defeating Buddy Rogers (May 17, 1963);
WWWF United States Tag Team titles w/Spiros Arion (July 24, 1967);

WWWF International Tag Team titles w/Dominic DeNucci (June 18, 1971);

WWWF World Heavyweight title defeating Stan “The Man” Stasiak (December 10, 1973);

(Montreal) Grand Prix Tag Team titles w/Eduard Carpentier;

WWA (Indianapolis) World Tag Team titles w/Dick the Bruiser;
 

BRUNO SAMMARTINO’S FIRST PROFESSIONAL MATCH WAS IN WHITE PLAINS NEW YORK ON OCTOBER 23RD 1959  , HE WRESTLED MIGUEL TORRES AND WON.   LESS THAN A MONTH LATER ON NOVEMBER  19TH HE WRESTLED ARNOLD SKAALAND IN WASHINGTON DC AND WON AGAIN , ARNOLD AND BRUNO BECAME FRIENDS , ARNOLD WENT ON TO MANAGE BRUNO THROUGHOUT HIS  TWO CHAMPIONSHIP REIGNS.

HERE IS A LIST OF  FAMOUS OPPONETS THAT BRUNO WRESTLED IN HIS ROOKIE YEAR :  , SWEDE HANSON ,  TONY ALTIMORE , ABE JACOBS ,  THE ZEBRA KID , SKULL MURPHY ,  , ANGELO SAVOLDI , BULL CURRY ,  JERRY GRAHAM , FRITZ VON ERICH , THE SHEIK , CHET WALLICK , GEORGOUS GEORGE , EDDIE GRAHAM , JACKIE FARGO , KILLER KOWALSKI , JOHNNY VALENTINE , KARL VON HESS , PEDRO GODOY , PAMPERO FIRPO , HAYSTACKS CALHOUN , LOU ALBANO , THE TOLOS BROTHERS ,

 AND ON APRIL 27TH IN MONTREAL QUEBEC CANADA BRUNO TEAMED WITH THE GREAT ANTONINO ROCCA  TO WRESTLE KILLER KOWALSKI AND NATURE BOY BUDDY ROGERS , IT WAS A DRAW

BRUNO LIFTS THE 600 POUND HAYSTACKS CALHOUN

BRUNO’S EARLY TAGTEAM PARTNERS CONSISTED OF A WHO’S WHO IN WRESTLINGS ALL TIME GREATS INCLUDING ANTONINO ROCCA , TONY MARINO , ILIO DI PAULO , YUKON ERIC , HAYSTACKS CALHOUN , RIKI STARR ,  AND BRUNO EVEN GOT TO TAG UP WITH HIS BOYHOOD IDOL EX BOXING CHAMP PRIMO CARNERA IN A FEW MATCHES.

BRUNO’S FIRST ENCOUNTER WITH KILLER KOWALSKI WAS ON FEB 22 1960 IN MADISON SQUARE GARDEN (ALSO HIS ROOKIE YEAR) THEY WRESTLED TO A BLOODY DRAW , BRUNO AND THE KILLER WENT ON TO WRESTLE OVER 75 TIMES DURING THEIR CAREERS INCLUDING TAGTEAM MATCHES AND SPECIALTY MATCHES ,  WHILE ON TOUR IN JAPAN IN THE WINTER OF 1973 BRUNO AND THE KILLER TEAMED UP  TO TAKE ON SHOHEI BABA AND JUMBO TSURUTA IN A SERIES OF MATCHES.

BRUNO AND LONG TIME FRIEND THEN CHAMPION PEDRO MORALES WRESTLED TO A  1 HOUR 16 MINUTE DRAW AT SHEA STADIUM ON   SEPTEMBER 30TH 1972 , THIS WAS INDEED THE MATCH OF THE CENTURY !

BRUNO LOST THE WWWF TITLE TO THE RUSSIAN BEAR IVAN KOLOFF ON JAN 18TH 1971 AT MADISON SQUARE GARDEN A FEW WEEKS LATER LONGTIME FRIEND PEDRO MORALES CAPTURED THE TITLE FROM KOLOFF, BRUNO PRESENTED THE TITLE TO THE NEW CHAMPION.

ON JUNE 15TH 1970 AT MADISON SQUARE GARDEN THE MATCH BETWEEN BRUNO AND CRUSHER VERDUE DREW 20,819 FANS ONLY TO SEE BRUNO LOSE AFTER 22:43 BECAUSE OF A CUT OVER HIS EYE.

MOST OF THE INFORMATION ON THIS SITE WAS OBTAINED IN THE BRUNO SAMMARTINO RECORD BOOK , COMPILED BY MY LATE FRIEND GEORGIE  MAKROPOULAS

BRUNO WRESTLED  AND DEFEATED THE DREADED GERMAN FRITZ VON ERICH IN PHILADELPHIA ON JANUARY 16TH 1960 , THAT SAME EVENING  IN WEST HEMSTEAD NEW YORK HE  WRESTLED THE SHEIK AND WON BY DQ.

BRUNO  OUTWRESTLED JOHNNY VALENTINE IN THE AFTERNOON IN JERSEY CITY NEW JERSEY AND MADE MINCEMEAT OUT OF SKULL MURPHY THAT NIGHT IN COMMACK NY , THIS HAPPENED ON  MARCH 12TH 1960

THE GREAT EDDIE AND JERRY GRAHAM AND BRUNO STARTED THEIR FEUD ON JANUARY 9TH 1960. THE FEUD WITH THE GRAHAM BROTHERS WAS SO INTENSE THAT IT TOOK THE YOUNGEST GRAHAM BROTHER BILLY TO WREST AWAY BRUNOS TITLE SOME 17 YEARS LATER

BRUNO WRESTLED LOU ALBANO FOR THE FIRST TIME ON JUNE 2ND 1960 IN WASHINGTON DC THERE FEUD LASTED OVER 20 YEARS.

BRUNO WRESTLED THE GREAT ANTONINO ROCCA ON OCTOBER 24TH 1960  AT MADISON SQUARE GARDEN AND LOST BY DQ. THE REMATCH THE FOLLOWING MONTH AT THE GARDEN WAS A DRAW BRUNO NEVER FACED ROCCA AGAIN SO THE GREAT ARGENTINEAN , NATURE BOY BUDDY ROGERS AND THE GREAT LOU THESZ ARE THE ONLY WRESTLERS TO HOLD THAT WIN DISTINCTION OVER BRUNO.

BRUNO WRESTLED STAN “THE MAN’ STASIAK FOR THE FIRST TIME ON JANURARY 3RD 1963 IN TORONTO , CANADA WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT THAT OVER TEN YEARS LATER BRUNO WOULD DEFEAT THE HEART PUNCH SPECIALIST FOR THE WWWF TITLE.

BRUNOS FIRST ENCOUNTER WITH GORILLA MONSOON WAS AS TAGTEAM PARTNERS AGAINST  DICK THE BULLDOG BROWER AND TARU SUKURA ON FEB 7TH 1963  IN TORONTO CANADA UNFORTUNATLY THEY LOST.

BRUNO WRESTLED  “ GEORGOUS GEORGE”  WAGNER ONE OF THE  MOST FAMOUS WRESTLERS OF ALL TIME , FOR THE FIRST TIME ON FEB. 6TH 1960 IN PATTERSON NEW JERSEY HE WON OF COURSE.