History Wrestling / BrunoSammartino

* AllAmericanFace: Subverted - while he was one of the greatest faces of all time, and certainly loved America, a country that had allowed him to flourish despite his rough childhood, he never used this kind of jingoistic gimmick, and didnt particularly care if his opponents were a ForeignWrestlingHeel or not.

* BadassGrandpa: Just listen to an interview with him from 2013. The man had the look and air of a grizzled veteran of the mat. And just look at [[http://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/timesonline.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/e/71/e7100565-9167-54c3-a240-3d9aadb1effd/514e7daba3ac7.image.jpg those muscles]].

* NotWhatItLooksLike: One of the opponents he body slammed died on the spot, it was later reported the cause of death was a heart attack and that there was a good chance Bruno wasn't the cause of it.

!!! "Living Legend Tropes":

Bruno Leopoldo Francesco Sammartino was born on October 6, 1935 in Pizzoferrato, UsefulNotes/{{Italy}}. After overcoming near death as a child while fleeing from the Nazis, Bruno emigrated to the United States in 1950, and he began making an impact in the business of professional wrestling.

* DefeatingTheUndefeatable: Bruno losing was a rare sight during his main title run even if the title was not on the line. When IvanKoloff beat him for his title, the fans basically suffered a HeroicBSOD.

* AllAmericanFace: Subverted - while he was one of the greatest faces of all time, and certainly loved America, a country that had allowed him to flourish despite his rough childhood, he never used this kind of jingoistic gimmick, and didnt particularly care if his opponents were a ForeignHeel or not.

* RedBaron: "The Italian Superman [[note:Sampson in Canada]]," "The Living Legend"

Ultimately, WWE had shifted back to producing family-friendly content starting in 2008, and with [=McMahon=]'s son-in-law Wrestling/TripleH convincing him to do so in light of it, Bruno finally accepted induction into the WWE Hall of Fame in early 2013. He passed away on April 18th 2018 of natural causes.

* BaldOfAwesome: In more recent years.

* CharlesAtlasSuperpower: One of the reasons he was such a star attraction. In 1959, Bruno set a (unofficial) bench press record of 565 lbs, ''without wearing elbow or wrist wraps.'' Wrestling audiences would see this inordinate strength in action as he managed to pick up the 640-pound Wrestling/HaystacksCalhoun and slam him to the mat. And through this, his bearhugs could be devastating, as [[Wrestling/BuddyRogers "The Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers]] found out the hard way. Nowadays, even as he pushed 80 years old, he was still in excellent health, and can still outlift a lot of much younger men.

* CoolOldGuy: Fans see him in this light nowadays. Notably, he's one of a rare handful of wrestlers who havent tarnished their own legacy by turning out to be total pricks in private, i.e Wrestling/HulkHogan or Wrestling/UltimateWarrior. Not having cooked his brain with steroids or cocaine probably helped. While some people have complained that Bruno had a massive ego and often had no time for fans, the majority agree that [[AwesomeEgo he's genuinely earned that right]].

* RedBaron: "The Italian Superman(Sampson in Canada)," "The Living Legend"

* SquashMatch: When he finally did win the championship from Buddy Rodgers, this was the manner in which it happened.

* WorldsStrongestMan: While he never used that name per se, he had very impressive weight lifting credentials, and was usually promoted as this by the bookers he was working for.

Bruno Leopoldo Francesco Sammartino was born on October 6, 1935 in Pizzoferrato, UsefulNotes/{{Italy}}. After overcaming near death as a child while fleeing from the Nazis, Bruno emigrated to the United States in 1950, and he began making an impact in the business of professional wrestling.

Bruno Leopoldo Francesco Sammartino was born on October 6, 1935 in Pizzoferrato, UsefulNotes/{{Italy}}. Once emigrated to the United States in 1950, Bruno began making an impact in the business of professional wrestling.

* CharlesAtlasSuperpower: One of the reasons he was such a star attraction. In 1959, Bruno set a (unofficial) bench press record of 565 lbs, ''without wearing elbow or wrist wraps.'' Wrestling audiences would see this inordinate strength in action as he managed to pick up the 640-pound Wrestling/HaystacksCalhoun and slam him to the mat. And through this, his bearhugs could be devastating, as [[Wrestling/BuddyRogers "The Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers]] found out the hard way. Nowadays, even as he pushes 80 years old, he is still in excellent health, and can still outlift a lot of much younger men.

* BadassGrandpa: Just listen to an interview with him from 2013. The man has the look and air of a grizzled veteran of the mat. And just look at [[http://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/timesonline.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/e/71/e7100565-9167-54c3-a240-3d9aadb1effd/514e7daba3ac7.image.jpg those muscles]].

* CoolOldGuy: Fans see him in this light nowadays. Notably, he's one of a rare handful of wrestlers who havent tarnished their own legacy by turning out to be total pricks in private, i.e Wrestling/HulkHogan or Wrestling/UltimateWarrior. Not having cooked his brain with steroids or cocaine probably helped. While some people have complained that Bruno has a massive ego and often has no time for fans, the majority agree that [[AwesomeEgo he's genuinely earned that right]].

* GoodOldWays: In his era, {{Kayfabe}} was [[SeriousBusiness the law of the land]], attending a wrestling show was fun for the whole family, with any objectionable content kept at a bare minimum (bleeding was the extent of it, and sexual content was not used at all), and the wrestlers weren't all abusing drugs and steroids like they would as the years went by. Also, Bruno takes pride in his Herculean physique being forged naturally (that is, through years of hard work and smart nutrition), and has been outspoken about his contempt for the steroid and drug abuse that so plagued the wrestling industry in the 1980s and beyond. This was one of the biggest reasons why he estranged himself from [[Wrestling/VinceMcMahon Vincent K. McMahon's]] [[{{Wrestling/WWE}} WWF/E]], the other being the increasing amounts of family-unfriendly content being shown in the arenas and on TV. As wrestling has seen a disturbing number of wrestlers die barely into their 40's in recent decades, its hard to argue with the man.

* HappilyMarried: Bruno has been married to his wife Carol since 1959.

* HumbleHero: Even after becoming the highest paid wrestler in the 60s, he didn't spend his money for a more lavish lifestyle; for instance, he has lived in the same house since 1959. At the WWE Hall of Fame, during a 20 minute speech (which ''he'' said was too long), he took credit for nothing, claiming that all of his successes were due to sheer luck or the support of his fans.

* WrestlingFamily: His son [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Sammartino David]], from whom he has sadly been estranged for several years. After failing to get over in WWE in the mid-1980s, he would go on to compete around the world and win a few indy titles, but all long after he had fallen off of any kind of radar.

* {{Face}}: One of a ''very'' short list of wrestlers who spent almost their entire careers as good guys. Really, the only comparable one would probably be Wrestling/RickySteamboat.

Ultimately, WWE had shifted back to producing family-friendly content starting in 2008, and with [=McMahon=]'s son-in-law Wrestling/TripleH convincing him to do so in light of it, Bruno finally accepted induction into the WWE Hall of Fame in early 2013. He passed away April 18th 2018

Ultimately, WWE had shifted back to producing family-friendly content starting in 2008, and with [=McMahon=]'s son-in-law Wrestling/TripleH convincing him to do so in light of it, Bruno finally accepted induction into the WWE Hall of Fame in early 2013.

* {{Face}}: One of a ''very'' short list of wrestlers who spent almost their entire careers as good guys. Really, the only comparable one would probably be RickySteamboat.

* BadassGrandpa: Just listen to an interview with him from 2013. The main has the look and air of a grizzled veteran of the mat. And just look at [[http://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/timesonline.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/e/71/e7100565-9167-54c3-a240-3d9aadb1effd/514e7daba3ac7.image.jpg those muscles]].

* CoolOldGuy: Fans see him in this light nowadays. Notably, he's one of a rare handful of wrestlers who havent tarnished their own legacy by turning out to be total pricks in private, i.e Wrestling/HulkHogan or Wrestling/UltimateWarrior. Not having cooked his brain with steroids or cocaine probably helped.

Bruno Leopoldo Francesco Sammartino was born on October 6, f1935 in Pizzoferrato, UsefulNotes/{{Italy}}. Once emigrated to the United States in 1950, Bruno began making an impact in the business of professional wrestling.

'''Bruno Leopoldo Francesco Sammartino''' was born on October 6, f1935 in Pizzoferrato, UsefulNotes/{{Italy}}. Once emigrated to the United States in 1950, Bruno began making an impact in the business of professional wrestling.

'''Bruno Leopoldo Francesco Sammartino''' was born on October 6, 1935 in Pizzoferrato, UsefulNotes/{{Italy}}. Once emigrated to the United States in 1950, Bruno began making an impact in the business of professional wrestling.

* LighterAndSofter: In old time wrestling, the practice of hooking involved inviting suckers, {{ahem}}, contestants into the ring to beat or last a certain amount of time with a wrestler with a cash prize if they were successful. Rather than beating up and stretching out fools, Bruno just dared anyone to try and lower his flexed arm. [[CharlesAtlasSuperPower No one collected on the money]] and nobody got hurt.

* APupilOfMineUntilHeTurnedToEvil: Larry Zbyszko's heel turn made him this.

'''Bruno Leopoldo Francesco Sammartino''' was born on October 6, 1935 in Pizzoferrato, UsefulNotes/{{Italy}}. Once in the United States, Bruno began making an impact in the business of professional wrestling.

Climbing his way up to Vincent J. [=McMahon=]'s World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF, now Wrestling/{{WWE}}), Bruno won the [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/wwe-h.html WWWF World Heavyweight Title]], and held it across two reigns for a combined total of 4,040 days – the first being the longest single reign in wrestling history at 2,803 days – cementing two records that have yet to be broken. Bruno’s popularity saw him win dozens of matches in the northeast section of the country. Bruno had taken the territory by storm and fans filled arenas hoping to see Bruno take home another victory.

* CoolOldGuy: Fans see him in this light nowadays. Notably, he's one of a rare handful of wrestlers who havent tarnished their own legacy by turning out to be total pricks in private, i.e HulkHogan or UltimateWarrior. Not having cooked his brain with steroids or cocaine probably helped.