So, what do you think? Does Bruno Sammartino belong in the Hall of Fame? Here's some food for thought:

Title History:

International Tag Team (Toronto) w/ Whipper Billy Watson

WWWA US Tag Team (Pittsburgh) w/ Argentina Apollo

WWWF World Heavyweight (2)

WWWF United States Tag Team w/ Spiros Arion

WWWF International Tag Team w/ Battman

WWWF International Tag Team w/ Dominic Denucci

Grand Prix Tag Team (Montreal) w/ Eduard Carpentier

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


Career Highlights:

1959: Bruno turned pro.
May 17, 1963: Bruno defeats Buddy Rogers with a bearhug to capture the WWWF World Heavyweight title..
~~~Bruno held the WWWF World title for an incredible EIGHT years straight!
January 18, 1971: Bruno was finally dethrowned by "The Russian Bear" Ivan Koloff..
September 30, 1972 - Shae Stadium: Bruno Sammartino vs. Pedro Morales went to a one hour and 15 minutes time limit draw..
December 10, 1973: Bruno defeated Stan Stasiak to recapture the WWWF World title..
~~~Bruno's second WWWF World title reign lasted just over three years, Bruno was the first to win the title twice..
November 17, 1973 - MSG: Bruno defeats Ivan Koloff with Gorilla Monsoon as special guest referee..
December 16, 1975 - MSG: Bruno defeats Koloff in a 15 ft. high steel cage match to retain in front of 30,000 fans..
February 2, 1976 - MSG: Bruno defeats Billy Graham by ref stoppage due to several cuts inflicted on Graham by Sammartino..
March 29, 1976 - MSG: Bruno Sammartino & Tony Parisi defeated Billy Graham & Ivan Koloff..
April 26, 1976 - MSG: Bruno is defeated by Stan Hansen by ref stoppage after Sammartino suffered a cut above his eye..
~~~Bruno also suffered a fractured vertebrae after receiving "The Lariat" before a stunned audience..
June 25, 1976 - Shae Stadium: Bruno Sammartino defeats Stan Hansen by COUNT OUT..
December 12, 1976 - MSG: Bruno Sammartino defeats Stan Stasiak in a "Sicilian Stretcher Match"..
March 7, 1977 - MSG: Bruno Sammartino defeats Ken Patera with Gorilla Monsoon as Special guest referee..
Bruno Sammartino trained and introduced Larry Zbyzsko into the wrestling business..
Bruno Sammartino & Larry Zbyzsko eventually became enemies and started a bitter fued..
~~~The fued would climax at Shea Stadium when Sammartino defeated Zbyszko in a classic steel cage match..
Bruno also fueded with his other protege, Spiros Arion, whose mind was tainted by the evil Fred Blassie!
May 1,1977: Bruno Sammartino is defeated by Superstar Billy Graham for the WWWF World title..
June 27, 1977 - MSG: Bruno Sammartino vs "Superstar" Billy Graham went to a TIME LIMIT DRAW..
1994: Bruno Sammartino officially becomes known as the Living Legend..
1985 - Madison Square Garden: Bruno Sammartino wrestles last match teaming with his son, David..
1985: Bruno Sammartino officially retires from in-ring action but stays on as a color commentator..
Bruno's claim to fame (one of them, I suppose) was that during his career he had never lost a steel cage match..
April 2003: The Madison Square Garden network is working on a documentary on Bruno Sammartino, and is scheduled to air in June..
February 19, 2004: Bruno Sammartino declines an offer by the WWE to attend a Hall of Fame ceremony the night before Wrestlemania..
May 18, 2004: Bruno Sammartino was honored in Pittsburgh for the 41st anniversary of his winning the WWWF title from Buddy Rogers..
~~~It was on May 17, 1963, in Madison Square Garden, when Sammartino made Rogers submit with a bearhug in 47 seconds..

THIS is why he turned the WWE Hall of Fame offer down, he knows where the real thing's at. Yes for Bruno.

:lol:

Damn right! He accepted to attend an induction ceremony until I accidently spent my funds on buying music this week.

Hahahahah. May be we could all chip in some change and may be get enough to buy him a box of fried chicken.

Three votes is a good start! I want at least 7-10 before closing the thread (every vote counts!).

Well DUH....

Hehe, I thought he would make a good first inductee.

Though over at FuckingStupidMarks.com there is a lot of Sammartino hate going down.

What's Fuckingstupidmarks.com? Some message board full of stupid fucking marks?

Oh by the way, Sammartino has said numerous times he hurt his neck in the match with Hansen when Hansen dropped him wrong on a slam. It wasn't the lariat.

TSM.

^--- I should've forseen this. (slaps self with a steel-plated dildo)

Right on :lol:

Perhaps this will do better in general wrestling...

Oooh... somebody voted no! Right now Sammartino is at 80% yes, which means he barely makes it in...

By the way, voting for this closes on friday. If Sammartino has 80% support, he's our first HOF inductee.

Of course Bruno would get in. Hell, he had a fucking 8 year reign with the WWWF Title. Not to mention his reputation for selling out MSG. He could have sold that place out if he was fighting a cheese sandwich.

If we are starting a HOF, (which I think is a cool idea) I don't think Sammartino should be our first induction. I'm saying a little smarkier choice would be nice. Maybe Hogan. (joking)

Not to mention that we need to have some sort of criteria for it as well. Otherwise it's pointless.....

HOGAN HOGAN! HOGAN! HOGAN! HOGAN!

So basically if we were starting a hall of fame I think I may be on the island by myself as far as the first inductee.....

My brief criteria of a HOF I started for fun.

Hogan's next. ;)

I think the best way to debate Bruno Sammartino in the DWB HOF is to first say why he shouldn't be. Um...nope, I think I'm good. :thumbs up:

I think Sammartino is before the modern era, and therefore doesn't relate to what most DWB'ers want in professional wrestling. Seriously, if you could watch matches from any retired wreslter, would it be Sammartino? I doubt it.

Here's a quick list of guys who should go before Bruno:

Steamboat
Bret
Austin
Dynamite Kid
Harley Race
Savage

That's just quick off the top of my head. We can't induct Bruno first. It says he is our pinnacle of pro-wrestling, and I don't think that holds true for anyone here.

Hulk Hogan is surprisingly absent, while RICKY STEAMBOAT is on your list? Outside of 1 extraordinary year in the NWA (1989), to common fans, his career has been quite forgetable. Remember, COMMON FAN, a.k.a people that like Hardcore Holly.

Are you implying that DWB is full of common fans? Is that who we should build our HOF for? Nah, I say we should build it for our tastes. I say most of us have more respect and enjoyment for Steamboats work than Sammartino's, thus he should be in before Sammartino. Hogan was absent because I hate him. However, he is much closer to what I think our Hall should have than Bruno.

And if you ever nominate Holly for the HOF.....

Holly will be nominated into the dickhead Hall of Fame, along with bruiser Brody and Paul Roma... or the Wrestlecrap HoF as Sparky Plugg, or Bombastic Bob.

Bruiser Brody wouldn't be a bad candidate for DWB HOF.

... Me and my big mouth. ;) If Bruiser is in, so should Sting.

While I wouldn't vote for Sting, I do think he is more relevant than Bruno.

Everyone is more relevent than Bruno. A Sammartino match was kick, punch, bearhug for 45 minutes, with an occasional slam.

So, someone defend Bruno. He's gonna be our first inductee it appears, so someone tell me why we , DWB, would want to present Bruno as our pinnacle of pro-wrestling?

If that's what you truly think, you know less about wrestling than most people here actually think you do.

Hey, at least most people were born to see Stings prime. Bruiser Brody died before I even started watching wrestling. Bruiser was a great brawler, but hey, if this is a popularity contest, I say Sting goes in too.

I say Sting, Brody, Sammartino, and Hogan should all be in. All for different reasons.

Anyone who reigns for eight years (and isn't screwing a McMahon) deserves to be in the HOF. Do you think wrestling would be where it is today if there were no Bruno Sammartino?

Yes. I don't see where he contributed to the modern landscape of professional wrestling at all.

This is a good read: http://members.aol.com/solie/bruno.html

Anways, the way I see it, wrestling (more specifically WWE) got to where it was today based on a cycle of three different men: Bruno Sammartino, Superstar Graham, and Hulk Hogan.

Sammartino was a main eventer for 14+ years and people were damn glad to pay money to see him. He boosted business and broke records at MSG. Today, WWE boasts about their MSG legacy and guess who they can thank for that! Sammartino has given WWE a proud and impressive history that makes them legitimate.

Superstar Graham then became the inspiration for the Hulk Hogan character and such, and showed how a heel could be an effective draw.

And finally, Hulk Hogan became (at the time) the biggest draw in the history of wrestling and put the WWF in the mainstream for years to follow.

So why should Bruno Sammartino be in the HOF? Because take him out of the equation and you rob WWE of it's tremendous history and legacy. Many fans consider the WWE Championship to be the most prestigious title in North American wrestling for a reason, because there was a man named Sammartino who dedicated the vast majority of his career to establishing it! He was the second man to hold that title and he was such a successful champion that future champs (Backlund, Morales) had trouble filling his shoes.

My Sting argument: When people think of WCW, they think of Sting... that's all I got. He's one of the most recognized names in WCW history, so that must count for something.

I concur.

Those are good arguments, but if you were building your personal HOF, would he be the first person you'd want to induct?