CONTACTABOUTFACEBOOKTWITTERPODCAST IPHONE APPANDROID APPAMAZON APPRSS
Pro Wrestling Torch
Pro Wrestling Torch Reaches The Most Wrestling Fans Every Week: #1 in iTunes • #1 on iPhone and iPad • #1 on Android • #1 on Kindle
GOT THE PWTORCH APP YET?
iPhone & iPad
Android
Amazon Kindle
Windows Phone
PWTorch Phone App
WWE News
WWE NEWS: More from Sammartino on why he accepted HOF invite, what crowd reaction is he expecting?, discusses Vince, Sr. begging him to save Inoki-Ali fight

Feb 6, 2013 - 1:18:53 PM
PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT TO BOOKMARK US & VISIT US DAILY


By James Caldwell, PWTorch assistant editor

Sammartino_2.jpg



Wednesday afternoon, WWE released a full-length interview with Bruno Sammartino discussing his decision to accept a WWE Hall of Fame induction this year. The stated reasons in the interview boil down to (1) believing WWE has changed for the better, (2) Triple H reaching out to him and Hunter being trained by Killer Kowalski, and (3) the Hall of Fame at Madison Square Garden.

"Triple H contacted me and he started telling me everything that was going on with WWE," Sammartino said. "There had been issues and things that I was not happy with, but when I saw the changes, I was very, very impressed. Triple H was a very sincere guy and he was trained by someone who I had the most respect in the world for, and that was Walter 'Killer' Kowalski. And then, of course, when he told me that it’s going to be in Madison Square Garden, that was huge for me, too, because of my history in the Garden."

Sammartino told the Torch exclusively in a Spring 2006 interview that one of the big changes he wanted to see from WWE was de-emphasizing "steroid bodies" and emphasizing strong, naturally-muscular wrestlers.

"You don't have to eliminate muscle guys if they're natural," Sammartino said in 2006. "Do away with all of the chemicals and do away with that garbage. Bring in guys who work hard in the gym, are athletic, and can go out there in the ring and provide the kind of action that people would be entertained by and respect without looking at it as a freak show. In my opinion, that's what it has become.

"I don't know why they (promotions) can't do honest-to-goodness legitimate testing on these guys and have them work out more at the gym to develop the bodies. It wouldn't be necessarily the same kind (of body) you would get by using steroids. But, then again, do people really care more about how freakish a guy looks or how his performance is in the ring?"

- Concerning the crowd reaction at this year's Hall of Fame, Sammartino told WWE's website, "I don’t know what to expect."

Sammartino continued, "As we mentioned, I won the title from Buddy Rogers 50 years ago. How many of those people that will be in the Garden were even around 50 years ago? [laughs] So I don’t know what to expect from the fans. But, for me, yeah, at this stage of my life, to have this opportunity to appear one more time in Madison Square Garden where I have such a history and have such fond memories of, it’s such a thrill. To be honored with the WWE Hall of Fame, I cannot put into words how big it is for me."

- Sammartino also talked about selling out MSG over the course of two decades, drawing huge audiences to Shea Stadium three times, and Vince McMahon, Sr. begging him to save the Antonio Inoki vs. Muhammad Ali fight after Stan Hansen broke Sammartino's neck in 1976.

"I spent a month in the hospital and for a while it was touch and go because the doctors told me I came within a millimeter of being paralyzed from the neck down," Sammartino said about the Hansen incident. "Vincent J. McMahon kept calling me at the hospital because he was very concerned. They had a match scheduled between Muhammad Ali and Antonio Inoki. The thing turned out to be a dud. They just weren’t selling tickets. But Vince had invested a lot of money with closed circuit, so he wanted to schedule a return match between me and Stan Hansen. I wasn’t in the best condition, but I came out of the hospital and started to train because there was not much time.

"I always used to get goosebumps in Madison Square Garden, because as soon as I started making my entrance, people would be chanting my name. “BRU-NO! BRU-NO!” But at Shea Stadium, when I made my entrance to the ring, those people gave me such an ovation; I never heard anything like it. That was quite an experience and they really ate up the match."

The following is an excerpt from PWTorch senior columnist Bruce Mitchell's Newsletter-exclusive column on Bruno Sammartino's Hall of Fame induction analyzing the Stan Hansen situation.

Vince McMahon learned his most important promotional lesson from his father – differentiate your biggest star, make sure he stands out from all the rest, and work him. Get every dollar you can out of him and when he breaks his neck because the big, green "Cowboy" Stan Hansen dumps him on his head on one of your Madison Square Garden shows, beg him to get up off that hospital bed and risk his life to save your ill-conceived Shea Stadium co-promotion with the Muhammad Ali vs. Antonio Inoki fight (the one that 40 years later retroactively started Mixed Martial Arts). Get him over, keep him over, and keep him on the road for as long and as deep as you can until something, his family, your family, the federal government, another broken neck, or the movies finally stop him.

To read Mitchell's full column on Sammartino's HOF induction, click here to find out how to become a Torch VIP member at PWTORCH.COM.

[Torch photo credit Wade Keller (c) PWTorch.com]


We suggest these recent related articles...
WWE NEWS: Superstars SPOILERS - Results from Chicago Raw
WWE NETWORK: Monday, Oct. 12 Schedule - Raw pre-show, Sting DVD preview
WWE NEWS: Lana & Rusev reportedly engaged - follow the interesting 2015 timeline
prowrestling.net
CLICK HERE FOR EVEN MORE PW.NET HEADLINES


CLICK TO EMAIL THIS ARTICLE
CLICK HERE TO RETURN TO MAIN LISTING

NEW! SIGN UP FOR FREE PWTORCH BREAKING NEWS EMAIL ALERTS
BECOME A PWTORCH VIP MEMBER
-FORMER MEMBERS LOGIN HERE TO RENEW
-NEW MEMBERS CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP
SELECT BY ARTICLES CATEGORY
SEARCH PWTORCH.COM



CLICK HERE FOR LIST OF UPCOMING PRO WRESTLING EVENTS
MORE HEADLINES AT AFFILIATE SITES
MMATorch
LATEST HEADLINES - CLICK TO READ CLICK HERE FOR MORE MMATORCH HEADLINES


PWTORCH POLL - VOTE NOW!
RAW POLL 10/12: Vote on Monday's show
 
pollcode.com free polls


RAW POLL 10/12: What was the Best Match on Raw?
 
pollcode.com free polls
MCNEILL LIVECAST POLL: TNA will have a 32-person tournament to determine a new Hvt. champion - your thoughts?
 
pollcode.com free polls
CENA POLL: If John Cena takes a year-end break, who should win the U.S. Title from Cena?
 
pollcode.com free polls
VOTE IN OR SEE RESULTS OF PREVIOUS POLLS



LATEST HEADLINES - CLICK TO READ CLICK HERE FOR EVEN MORE INC HEADLINES

_
LATEST FREE AUDIO SHOWS - CLICK TO LISTEN VIEW MORE PWTORCH LIVECAST EPISODES
DOWNLOAD PWTORCH LIVECAST APP
SUBSCRIBE TO PWTORCH LIVECAST IN ITUNES


ABOUT US

THE TORCH REACHES MORE COMBAT ENTERTAINMENT FANS THAN ANY OTHER SOURCE

PWTorch editor Wade Keller has covered pro wrestling full time since 1987 starting with the Pro Wrestling Torch print newsletter. PWTorch.com launched in 1999 and the PWTorch Apps launched in 2008.

He has conducted "Torch Talk" insider interviews with Hulk Hogan, The Rock, Steve Austin, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, Eric Bischoff, Jesse Ventura, Lou Thesz, Jerry Lawler, Mick Foley, Jim Ross, Paul Heyman, Bruno Sammartino, Goldberg, more.

He has interviewed big-name players in person incluiding Vince McMahon (at WWE Headquarters), Dana White (in Las Vegas), Eric Bischoff (at the first Nitro at Mall of America), Brock Lesnar (after his first UFC win).

He hosted the weekly Pro Wrestling Focus radio show on KFAN in the early 1990s and hosted the Ultimate Insiders DVD series distributed in retail stories internationally in the mid-2000s including interviews filmed in Los Angeles with Vince Russo & Ed Ferrara and Matt & Jeff Hardy. He currently hosts the most listened to pro wrestling audio show in the world, (the PWTorch Livecast, top ranked in iTunes)


REACHING 1 MILLION+ UNIQUE USERS PER MONTH
500 MILLION CLICKS & LISTENS PER YEAR
MILLIONS OF PWTORCH NEWSLETTERS SOLD
PWTORCH STAFF

EDITORS:
Wade Keller, editor
(kellerwade@gmail.com)

James Caldwell, assistant editor
(pwtorch@gmail.com)

STAFF COLUMNISTS:
Bruce Mitchell (since 1990)
Pat McNeill (since 2001)
Greg Parks (since 2007)
Sean Radican (since 2003)

We also have a great team of
TV Reporters
and Specialists and Artists.

PWTORCH VIP MEMBERSHIP

PWTorch offers a VIP membership for $10 a month (or less with an annual sub). It includes nearly 25 years worth of archives from our coverage of pro wrestling dating back to PWTorch Newsletters from the late-'80s filled with insider secrets from every era that are available to VIPers in digital PDF format and Keller's radio show from the early 1990s.

Also, new exclusive top-shelf content every day including a new VIP-exclusive weekly 16 page digital magazine-style (PC and iPad compatible) PDF newsletter packed with exclusive articles and news.

The following features come with a VIP membership which tens of thousands of fans worldwide have enjoyed for many years...

-New Digital PWTorch Newsletter every week
-3 New Digital PDF Back Issues from 5, 10, 20 years ago
-Over 60 new VIP Audio Shows each week
-Ad-free access to all PWTorch.com free articles
-VIP Forum access with daily interaction with PWTorch staff and well-informed fellow wrestling fans
-Tons of archived audio and text articles
-Decades of Torch Talk insider interviews in transcript and audio formats with big name stars.


**SIGN UP FOR VIP ACCESS HERE**

CONTACTABOUTFACEBOOKTWITTERPODCASTIPHONE APPANDROID APPAMAZON APPRSS
VIP SIGN-UP
VIP LOGIN
THE TORCH: #1 IN COMBAT ENTERTAINMENT COVERAGE | © 1999-2013 TDH Communications Inc. • All rights reserved -- PRIVACY POLICY