Bruno Sammartino to Enter WWE HOF in 2013

Following from WrestleZone... thoughts?

"WWE executive Triple H, real name Paul Levesque, spoke to ESPN about the announcement of Bruno Sammartino as the 2013 WWE Hall of Fame class headliner, and below are several quotes from the interview:

"From a legitimacy standpoint, it’s important for us to get Bruno in," Levesque said. “He’s one of the biggest names there has ever been in the business. So for us to not have him in there, for the legitimacy of the whole thing, it was a major issue. For me, the more important thing was that nobody deserves to be recognized for being a big star and paving the way for the stars of today more than Bruno. Everything that we have today in the business, Bruno was a cornerstone of that foundation. He truly is a living legend...

There has been this bad blood between Bruno and the WWE for years, and we’re not trying to hide any of it, but I just felt like we are at a point where a lot of it can be resolved. Our wellness program and the way our programming is now, a lot of people are unaware of it, so I felt like if I could get Bruno on the phone and I could run down a list of those things that he didn’t like, I could show him how we changed. We’re PG, family-friendly entertainment with a wellness program that is truly based on the wellness of our performers. We want them to be healthy and live long, productive lives. So I just felt that if Bruno knew about those things, he might feel differently, and eventually, that’s what came to be." "

good that they have solved their differences if there were any and he has agreed to go into the hall of fame..........i wasnt alive i dont think when he was in his prime but even i know his name so he must have had an impact on the industry for a 22 year old wrestling fan to know who he is.......unless im just a wrestling geek

It's about time. Every year there's always the names going around, "Macho Man should be there. Why isn't Jake Roberts in there yet?", and whilst they should certainly be in there, there are names ahead of them. Bruno Sammartino and Bob Backlund should've long been inducted. Surely they can squeeze in a posthumous induction for Lou Thesz?

It's a thoroughly deserved induction. Before Austin there was Hogan, and before Hogan there was Bruno. He's a huge part of WWE history.

I also think Foley and Backlund could each have headlined on their own. I don't think Jim Ross is exaggerating when he says the class of 2013 is the best ever to be inducted into the hall of fame.

I agree with you Crip T, it's a fantastic year for the Hall of Fame.
Good to see Bruno and WWE have sorted out some of their differences. I wonder if Billy Graham will change his stance again?

Bruno might make this schtick legitimate but he'll never make it....ULTIMATE

hypothetical question
if the Ultimate Warrior was inducted, who'd induct him?

The man who beat him for the WWF Title

Although with Vinces attempts at re-writing history I'd probably think it would need to be Vince with a big slice of Humble Pie, I love the fact Warrior tells him to urine off though

If WORYAH! ever gets inducted into the Hall of Fame it should be Triple H who inducts him.

They could re-enact their match at Wrestlemania 12.

The Tart tweeted this article about Bruno's induction:

http://concussioninc.net/?p=6665

Bruno Sammartino is a friend. There were few if any wrestling promoters more respected than my late uncle Sam Muchnick, who ran shows out of St. Louis and led a consortium (a cartel, really) called the National Wrestling Alliance throughout the fifties, sixties, and seventies. And there were few if any pro wrestlers who ever comported themselves, in or out of the ring, as well as Sammartino. In 1992, the day after he went mano a mano with Vince McMahon on Larry King Live, I called Bruno to tell him I thought it was his finest hour.

Through a much closer friend, I let Bruno know in advance that I would be writing this, more in sorrow than in anger. Like it not, he now owns the WWE wellness policy. In that capacity, I believe he is obliged to explain publicly — just for starters — what he knows about what, if anything, 40-year-old, chiseled, 265-pound movie star Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has peed into a cup in his return as the company’s champion, top star, and WrestleMania headliner.

Interesting read and Im sure some better brains than mine will understand it far better.

Quick browse and this guy seems to have made his name by writing a book about benoits death and weighing in on conucussion in professional sports.

He and wwe's people have been sniping at each other for years.

Wether he is right or wrong it's churlish to suggest a wealthy Movistar can't get or stay ripped without doping.

I very much misrepresented the article with my quote, its a fun tactic. It shows the positives and negatives in two paragraphs. He clearly has a lot of knowledge of the industry and a reason to question Bruno's decision, but then shows himself to be a bit of a knob at the end.

I want Crips to explain to me why he was so interested in this article, enough to send out about his fourth ever tweet. With a brain like his I am sure its for more than just its negative manner.

I read the whole article, he has long a long standing rivalry with wwe over how he came to prominence and really it appears he will criticise them no matter what.

Bruno is getting fame and money, just as Irv is when he could be tackling bodybuilding if he was so concerned with athletes health.

The author could be right about wwe and other things but really he's just out to make a name and some cash by mentioning the rock and suggesting he is doping.

Darn bitter fools. Irv screwed Irv

I guess it's quite a personal thing, but I am thankful that there are people like Irv around. Without him and his ilk, there would be no wellness policy, people would still be taking unprotected chairshots to the head, the schedule would be a lot tougher and nobody would be doing a thing to stop it.

I love wrestling, but I also care about wrestlers' welfare; I don't want to feel guilty for enjoying their work if I know that work is damaging their brains and taking them down the dark path of pain pill addiction. Thanks to Irv and others, I don't have to hate myself for loving wrestling. Thanks to his journalism, the current wave of wrestlers hopefully won't be literally dying at a young age in their dozens like the predecessing generation.

As for The Rock, I sincerely hope he's not on the gas. Not only because it would send such a bad message to those wrestlers who are unable to take such shortcuts due to the wellness policy, but also because he's so talented he just doesn't need to do it.

Like I said, it's my own personal feeling: you may not care, but I do.

Do you not think the wellness policy is more to do with Eddie's death and Linda's senate run than Irv?

Really WWE try to discredit everything the man says.

I wonder how much more damage chairshots to the head do compared to kicks. As long as they aren't constant. Foley's mind seems to have survived so far.

I was with you till the end Crips, then it all got a bit sanctimonious.

Mainly, he just seems to discredit his own article by making accusations.

I do wonder why Bruno has now said yes.

crippledtart wrote:As for The Rock, I sincerely hope he's not on the gas. Not only because it would send such a bad message to those wrestlers who are unable to take such shortcuts due to the wellness policy, but also because he's so talented he just doesn't need to do it.

Like I said, it's my own personal feeling: you may not care, but I do.

Crips, I have heard he is looking very muscular for a film role in the next few months. I would also suspect it would be easier to get very muscular not being on the road like the other full time guys.

I'm not saying he's on steroids, but I don't think we can confidently say he isn't using some form of artificial testosterone.

It could well be that he has more time to do weights, and I hope that's the case.

However, I would say his muscle definition is freakish at the moment. And you've got to remember, this is a 40 year old man who didn't look that freakish in his 20s when he suffered with gynechomastia (a condition commonly brought about by steroid use) and wrestled in the same promotion as somebody called Test, which is a slang term for steroids/testosterone.

Something doesn't add up...

I never noticed him getting moobs

chris.wilkerson13 wrote:I never noticed him getting moobs

He had surgery on his b*tch t!ts in late 1998 which is why he wrestled in a t-shirt for much of his corporation run and feud with Foley.

To be fair, we've seen guys like Tom Hardy and Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman get similar muscle mass as The Rock and Bale's case, over a much shorter period of time. Rock has been that size for quite a while now. Although it is of course possible that those three have also dabbled in steroids I guess.