RIP

 

RIP

 

Another one from my childhood gone, RIP.

 

Exactly my feelings

 

One of my favs as a young boy when wrestling was great (Saturday night matches on B&W TV) and the guys would do local "small shows" unlike today’s arena shows. I remember back in the early 1960’s Bruno body slammed a wrestler and the guy immediately died in the ring. I saw Haystack Calhoun and Bruno Samartino at a Woodbridge, NJ diner back in 1972 and they were both BIG guys...... Not tall, just big and tough looking but I was too imitated to go to their table where they were both sitting and talk to them.

Bruno lived a good long life!........ RIP!

 

Bruno lived a good long life!........ RIP!

82's a GOOD run at it!...

 

RIP not many wrestlers live that long ,not the modern ones anyway.

 

That's because Bruno was wrestling before steroids were the norm. He was one bad ass Italian.

I can remember when he was the Heavy Weight Champion, and Pedro Morales was the Intercontinental Champion for years.

 

Our local hero growing up in Pittsburgh! R.I.P.

Dave

 

A woman I work with is Bruno's daughter- in- law, she is married to his son

 

RIP

 

Could he beat up Connor MacGreger?

 

Snap him like a twig!

 

RIP Bruno, he was the only Living legend of wrestling. was an idol to me growing up, got to meet him once in the 80's. he was from a town about 20 miles north of my fathers families town in Italy. bruno was sponsored into this country by a good family friend in philly when he first came over. the family friend said bruno's first job was working with him as a stone mason and a young bruno used to stack concrete blocks on bars and press them like he was lifting weights .
wrestling today is not what it was in the 60's-70's and early 80's, even back in the day you knew it was staged but the guys looked and acted like real wrestlers they sold the show to you. bruno was a true wrestler he didn't need all the costumes and music like they do today.
he was still lifting and in great shape even in his old age, great guy who publicly said he loved the USA,loved his Italian heritage and denounced drugs and steroids. they were trying to make a movie about his life and looking for money to produce it last year. they also put up a statue of him in his home town in Italy which he was present to unveil it last year or the year before. It really ruined my day to here this news, but everyone dies, thats life. and he had a good run at it.
http://wrestling-edge.com/bruno-sammartino-talks-bullying/

 

Nice tio see al lthe tributes he's getting on the internet,FB and twitter from all kinds of people, actors, bodybuilders, wrestlers, sprots commentators,boxers even ESPN has a tribute up for him. the guy was liked by a lot of people.

 

I remember the battles he had with Billy Graham back in the day. They were epic... that's of course before I learned wrestling was fake.

 

Sammartino set a world record in the bench press with a lift of 565 pounds in 1959.

RIP Sir.

 

Watched him every saturday with my dad,brother,and his friends. RIP

 

Bruno and Chilly Billy are having a good laugh tonight about the old days..

 

^ Chilly Billy, you must be from the Burgh

 

Bruno may have had a good life, but i do not call 82 a good run as others have said. I think that is pretty much average.

 

Really, how long do you want to live?

 

I met him when i was 12, the size of his hands was unreal to me as a kid.
RIP

 

From what I understand he lived a pretty hard life in his younger years. He and his family barely escaped the Nazi’s in WW2. Although pro wrasslin has always been a work, I’m pretty sure it was quite a bit more “real” back in Bruno’s heyday compared to present day.

 

RIP - I first saw Bruno wrestle 54 years ago Moose Hall, Trenton NJ. He pinned Killer Kolwalski, another legend.

 

Was Walter wearing a rug back then?