#13. Bruno Sammartino
Achievements/Accolades:
- 2-time WWE World Heavyweight Champion
- 3-time WWE Tag Team Champion
- WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2013)
Opinions:
“My first memories of Bruno Sammartino was as a color commentator with Vince McMahon on WWE broadcasts in the mid 1980s. I remember not being able to understand his importance to wrestling, even though it was explained to me by my parents and grandparents. Growing up in New Jersey, everyone knew who Bruno Sammartino is. He drew an incredible amount of money & put on believable, real fight style matches which were appreciated back then and are a lost art today. I was lucky enough to be at Madison Square Garden for his WWE Hall of Fame induction on 2013 & it’s a moment I will never forget.” – Jay Alletto
“Coming from dark beginnings, the Living Legend Bruno Sammartino would bring his background in weightlifting to professional wrestling, becoming the first major box office draw of the WWE. To this day, he holds the record for the longest single World Title reign in the WWE with Madison Square Garden playing host to 221 headlining shows and 187 sell outs courtesy of Bruno. I have always said that the line of WWE headliners goes Bruno > Hogan > Austin > Cena…Bruno was the first of that illustrious line and without him; WWE probably wouldn’t have been able to establish themselves outside of the National Wrestling Alliance.” — Zak Fellows
