Bruno Sammartino is one of the defining legends from WWE history. Before Hulk Hogan could be the face of the company during its national expansion, before Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock could lead The Attitude Era, and before John Cena or Roman Reigns were even born, Sammartino was a two-time WWE Champion who had cumulatively held the strap for over 11 years (as a fun fact, Cena was born one week before The Living Legend’s second and final reign came to a close). Given Sammartino only wrestled very occasionally after Hulkamania took off and was on poor terms with WWE for decades to follow, his legacy was at the risk of being lost for years, and through the sheer passage of time, few fans remember its finer points. Nonetheless, Sammartino’s time as WWE Champion is a crucial piece of pro wrestling history.
The Longest Men’s World Championship Reign In WWE History
While Roman Reigns is currently enjoying a historically long reign as Universal Champion, he is only now broaching a reign half as long as Bruno Sammartino’s shorter world title reign. He held the title from December 10, 1973 to April 30, 1977 in that instance, the fourth longest reign behind Bob Backlund and Hulk Hogan’s first title reigns. However, Sammartino also had a reign that stretched from May 17, 1963 to January 18, 1971 that stands as the longest of all time—a record unlikely to ever be broken.
Indeed, Sammartino seven-and-a-half-year reign cemented him as the first true face of WWE. While Buddy Rogers was the original WWE Champion, he only held the title for about a month before Sammartino took it from him. From there, he played a key role in making WWE credible. Just as Hogan would become the superhero to make the company kid-friendly during the national expansion and Steve Austin made WWE cool again for the edgier 1990s, Sammartino came across as a man's man for the era, and a champion above reproach.
Bruno Sammartino Took On All Comers
After Bruno Sammartino beat Buddy Rogers to become the second-ever WWE Champion, he defended the title against a laundry list of challengers. While he rarely shows up in conversations about the greatest legends to never win a world title, Gorilla Monsoon’s work as a wrestler, broadcaster, and authority figure probably should place him in that conversation, and indeed he was Sammartino’s first marquee challenger.
Related: 9 Things Fans Didn't Know About Gorilla MonsoonNames like Killer Kowalski, Boris Malenko, Freddie Blassie, Gene Kiniski, George The Anmal Steele, and The Sheik are also on the list of challengers Sammartino overcame in that first title reign. While record-keeping for that era was less than stellar, it’s generally agreed Sammartino successfully defended the title approximately four hundred times in that initial reign—a more than respectable mark for any fighting champion, and all the while Sammartino remained a respected figure behind the scenes as well.
Establishing The Babyface World Champion Paradigm For WWE
More than Bruno Sammartino making himself a star, the man and how he was booked established a recurring pattern for how WWE would book for decades to follow. The traditional NWA Championship booking had a heel world champion in place most of the time—men like Harley Race and Ric Flair traveling to eke out narrow victories or work time-limit draws against the top babyfaces from around the country. Indeed, the philosophy was that the money was in the chase—in heroes coming close but hardly ever quite grasping the brass ring, so fans bought tickets to see them succeed the next time.
WWE had Sammartino as its champ for over seven of its first eight years of existence, and over eleven out of its first fourteen years. Sammartino’s time on top paved the way for Pedro Morales, Bob Backlund, Hulk Hogan, and John Cena, among others, to have their legacies defined by being the top babyface who fended off heels for long stretches to send crowds home happy. Indeed, instances like Triple H’s “Reign of Terror” or Roman Reigns’ current run are exceptions, not the rule in WWE lore for this babyface-driven company.
It’s difficult to compare Bruno Sammartino’s historic first world title reign with more contemporary reigns, given he didn't reign in a time of nationally broadcasted wrestling television or with pay-per-view events to book around. Nonetheless, for Sammartino’s sheer longevity remaining over with the fans, he certainly belongs in any conversation about the greatest world champions of all time, and his first reign in particular is like no other.
