WWE Hall of Famer Bruno Sammartino has died. He was 82.
“WWE is saddened to learn that WWE Hall of Famer Bruno Sammartino passed away at age 82,” WWE said. “WWE extends its condolences to Sammartino’s family, friends and fans.”
Nicknamed “The Italian Superman,” the powerful Sammartino was the second-ever WWE Champion, defeating Buddy Rogers at Madison Square Garden in 1963 for the title. Of course in those days, the pro-wrestling promotion was not called “WWE,” but it’s the same company — just with a very different look and reach.
Sammartino went on to hold the title for nearly eight years — by far the longest reign ever. The way wrestling storylines are written these days, that mark will never be eclipsed.
The brawler eventually lost the championship to Ivan Koloff in 1971, though he won it back in 1973, becoming the company’s first two-time champ. Sammartino’s reign that second time lasted three-and-a-half years.
Bruno retired from the ring in 1981, though returned to do commentary a few years later.
Sammartino was born on October 6, 1935 in Italy. When the Nazis occupied his hometown of Abruzzo, Sammartino and his mother hid in the Valla Rocca mountains. They eventually joined Bruno’s father in Pittsburgh in 1950.
In 1959, Sammartino set a world record by bench-pressing an incredible 565 lbs. That’s when Vince McMahon Sr. discovered his new talent.
Sammartino was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2013 by Arnold Schwarzenegger, who remembered his fellow weight-lifter on Wednesday:
Bruno Sammartino was a legend. He was the American Dream personified. From his childhood in Italy hiding from Nazis to selling out Madison Square Garden 188 times as the biggest star of professional wrestling, he was a hero in every stage of his life. pic.twitter.com/29KDwT3gcA
Every WWE Champion Ever, Ranked by Number of Reigns (Photos)
Pro-wrestling championship belts change hands like grapplers change ring gear these days, though it wasn't always that way. Brock Lesnar is again WWE Champion after some COVID caution shook up New Year's Day pay-per-view "WWE Day 1." Lesnar stripped the title off Big E in what became a Fatal 5-Way title match.
It wasn't a cheap win either, as Lesnar pinned the champ (a pin of any other opponent -- Bobby Lashley, Seth Rollins, and Kevin Owens -- would have also given Brock the belt). Lesnar was originally supposed to be in a Universal Championship match vs. Roman Reigns, but Reigns tested posted for COVID-19. The Big E match was intended to be on the same card -- just as a Fatal 4-Way.
Scroll through our gallery to see every WWE Champion ever, ranked by their number(s) of title wins. Remember: this is a list of those who won the WWWF Championship, the WWF Championship or the WWE Championship. So don't come after us, Universal Champions, et al.
WWE
Rank: 31 (tie)
Wrestler: Kofi Kingston
# of Reigns: 1
The power of positivity.
Rank: 31 (tie)
Wrestler: Jeff Hardy
# of Reigns: 1
The un-"Broken" half of the Hardy Boyz has had the more storied singles career.
Rank: 31 (tie)
Wrestler: Bray Wyatt
# of Reigns: 1
The Fiend used to go by "Husky Harris" -- we'd say this run is working out better for him.
Rank: 31 (tie)
Wrestler: Sgt. Slaughter
# of Reigns: 1
Camel Clutch, Cobra Clutch -- whatever "C"-animal it was, it hurt.
Rank: 31 (tie)
Wrestler: Dean Ambrose
# of Reigns: 1
And "The Lunatic Fringe" pulled this off while wearing jeans.
Rank: 31 (tie)
Wrestler: Chris Jericho
# of Reigns: 1
You're a "stupid idiot" if you didn't know this guy made "The List."
Rank: 31 (tie)
Wrestler: Eddie Guerrero
# of Reigns: 1
Generally considered one of the best ever to have done it held the big-boy belt for 133 days.
Rank: 31 (tie)
Wrestler: Jinder Mahal
# of Reigns: 1
The "Modern-Day Maharaja" dropped the title to A.J. Styles.
Rank: 31 (tie)
Wrestler: John "Bradshaw" Layfield
# of Reigns: 1
JBL has taken his heel persona from the ring to the announce table. Never without a cowboy hat, Layfield thankfully leaves his lariat clothesline at home.
Rank: 31 (tie)
Wrestler: The Ultimate Warrior
# of Reigns: 1
The muscle-bound maniac who handed Hulk Hogan his first-ever "WrestleMania" loss died after suffering a heart attack three days after being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.
Rank: 31 (tie)
Wrestler: "Superstar" Billy Graham
# of Reigns: 1
"Superstar" Billy Graham was a bodybuilder and buddy of Arnold Schwarzenegger. Yeah, blame Graham's body for Jinder Mahal's run.
Rank: 31 (tie)
Wrestler: Kevin Nash
# of Reigns: 1
You mean Tarzan from "Magic Mike"?!?!? Yes, yes we do.
Rank: 31 (tie)
Wrestler: Pedro Morales
# of Reigns: 1
History lesson: Back in the WWWF days, Morales became the first guy in wrestling history to win all three of the major men's titles -- the WWF Championship, the Intercontinental Championship and the WWF Tag Team Championship -- in the company.
Rank: 31 (tie)
Wrestler: André the Giant
# of Reigns: 1
The tales about André the Giant sometimes feel as tall as he was.
Rank: 31 (tie)
Wrestler: The Iron Sheik
# of Reigns: 1
This guy is as big a hit on Twitter as he was in the ring.
Rank: 31 (tie)
Wrestler: Kane
# of Reigns: 1
You wouldn't know it by looking at him, but Kane, now mayor of Knox County in Tennessee, is one of the smartest Superstars in WWE history.
Rank: 31 (tie)
Wrestler: Rey Mysterio
# of Reigns: 1
We're not going to talk about how ridiculous the setup to his finishing move, "The 6-1-9," became. This is a happy list.
Rank: 31 (tie)
Wrestler: Stan Stasiak
# of Reigns: 1
Unfortunately Stasiak only held the belt for nine days.
Rank: 31 (tie)
Wrestler: Rob Van Dam
# of Reigns: 1
One of the most popular ECW wrestlers of all-time, RVD has brought his three initials to seemingly every pro-wrestling promotion with three initials.
Rank: 31 (tie)
Wrestler: Ivan Koloff
# of Reigns: 1
The "Russian Bear" was actually Canadian.
Rank: 31 (tie)
Wrestler: Buddy Rogers
# of Reigns: 1
Rogers was kinda-sorta the first champion in the company. It's complicated -- ask Killer Kowalski and Bruno Sammartino.
Rank: 31 (tie)
Wrestler: Vince McMahon
# of Reigns: 1
Hell, Mr. McMahon runs the damn company -- of course he made this list.
Rank: 31 (tie)
Wrestler: Bobby Lashley
# of Reigns: 1
Lashley just looks like the guy who should be champion.
Rank: 31 (tie)
Wrestler: Big E
# of Reigns: 1
Big E has had a big career -- both as a singles performer and a member of The New Day.
Rank: 16 (tie)
Wrestler: The Miz
# of Reigns: 2
The kid from "The Real World" made good on his over-the-top MTV promos. One of the best on the mic, Miz has been holding down the Intercontinental Championship more than any other Superstar of the past few years.
Rank: 16 (tie)
Wrestler: Drew McIntyre
# of Reigns: 2
Scottish Psychopath joined the WWE Champions' and two-timers club all in 2020.
Rank: 16 (tie)
Wrestler: Batista
# of Reigns: 2
Guardian of the Galaxy, defender of WWE Championship.
Rank: 16 (tie)
Wrestler: The Big Show
# of Reigns: 2
You can't miss this two-time champ -- not even in a mega-arena.
Rank: 16 (tie)
Wrestler: A.J. Styles
# of Reigns: 2
"The Phenomenal One" held the belt for 371-straight days, which is a record for a "SmackDown" wrestler.
Rank: 16 (tie)
Wrestler: Alberto Del Rio
# of Reigns: 2
Si! Si! Si! Si! Si! Si! Si!
Rank: 16 (tie)
Wrestler: Sycho Sid
# of Reigns: 2
It was a long way down from Shawn Michaels' former bodyguard's power-bomb.
Rank: 16 (tie)
Wrestler: "Nature Boy" Ric Flair
# of Reigns: 2
If you haven't watched ESPN's "30 for 30: Nature Boy," do that. Oh, and look up Flair's ridiculous NWA runs too.
Rank: 16 (tie)
Wrestler: Sheamus
# of Reigns: 2
Master of the Brogue Kick, Rocksteady in the "Ninja Turtles" movies -- which is the greater accomplishment?
Rank: 16 (tie)
Wrestler: Seth Rollins
# of Reigns: 2
He's BURN(ed) IT DOWN more than once.
Rank: 16 (tie)
Wrestler: Yokozuna
# of Reigns: 2
That belt needed a few extenders to fit around the sumo.
Rank: 16 (tie)
Wrestler: CM Punk
# of Reigns: 2
Let's just say he was a little less successful in the UFC -- but maybe an AEW run?
Rank: 16 (tie)
Wrestler: Randy "Macho Man" Savage
# of Reigns: 2
Before he snapped into Slim Jims, the "Macho Man" was snapping dudes in half.
Rank: 16 (tie)
Wrestler: Bob Backlund
# of Reigns: 2
Backlund couldn't "Make Darren Young Great Again" -- or even keep the guy employed -- but the master of the cross-face chicken wing had a pretty incredible career of his own.
Rank: 16 (tie)
Wrestler: Bruno Sammartino
# of Reigns: 2
Google him, kids.
Rank: 13 (tie)
Wrestler: Mankind
# of Reigns: 3
Mick Foley nearly killed himself to raise these titles.
Rank: 13 (tie)
Wrestler: Roman Reigns
# of Reigns: 3
The Head of the Table may make the top of this list when all is said and done.
Rank: 13 (tie)
Wrestler: Shawn Michaels
# of Reigns: 3
Before he found God, the "Heartbreak Kid" found jaws with his foot, popularizing the Superkick.
Rank: 9 (tie)
Wrestler: Daniel Bryan
# of Reigns: 4
Fellow fan-favorite Superstar is now in AEW with CM Punk.
Rank: 9 (tie)
Wrestler: Edge
# of Reigns: 4
On this day, you can see clearly... that Edge is one of the best to ever lace up.
Rank: 9 (tie)
Wrestler: The Undertaker
# of Reigns: 4
The Dead Man is truly a living legend.
Rank: 9 (tie)
Wrestler: Kurt Angle
# of Reigns: 4
Top 10, it's true -- it's damn true.
Rank: 8
Wrestler: Bret "Hitman" Hart
# of Reigns: 5
The best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be.
Rank: 5 (tie)
Wrestler: Hulk Hogan
# of Reigns: 6
Hulkamania was real. Then again, so was Gawker at one point.
Rank: 5 (tie) Wrestler: Brock Lesnar # of Reigns: 6
Eat. Sleep. Win Titles. Repeat.
Rank: 5 (tie)
Wrestler: "Stone Cold" Steve Austin
# of Reigns: 6
On the Mt. Rushmore of all-time greats, and that's the bottom line.
Rank: 3 (tie)
Wrestler: The Rock
# of Reigns: 8
He may be Dwayne Johnson now, but he'll always be "The Rock" to us.
Rank: 3 (tie)
Wrestler: Triple H
# of Reigns: 8
Boss of The Authority and former DX member has two words for the other guys on this list. We can't reprint them.
Rank: 2
Wrestler: Randy Orton
# of Reigns: 10
The Viper has RKO'd a lot of dudes outta nowhere.
Rank: 1
Wrestler: John Cena
# of Reigns: 13
U Can't See Him.
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From Buddy Rogers to Brock Lesnar, here are all the guys from the old WWWF and WWF days — and beyond
Pro-wrestling championship belts change hands like grapplers change ring gear these days, though it wasn't always that way. Brock Lesnar is again WWE Champion after some COVID caution shook up New Year's Day pay-per-view "WWE Day 1." Lesnar stripped the title off Big E in what became a Fatal 5-Way title match.
It wasn't a cheap win either, as Lesnar pinned the champ (a pin of any other opponent -- Bobby Lashley, Seth Rollins, and Kevin Owens -- would have also given Brock the belt). Lesnar was originally supposed to be in a Universal Championship match vs. Roman Reigns, but Reigns tested posted for COVID-19. The Big E match was intended to be on the same card -- just as a Fatal 4-Way.
Scroll through our gallery to see every WWE Champion ever, ranked by their number(s) of title wins. Remember: this is a list of those who won the WWWF Championship, the WWF Championship or the WWE Championship. So don't come after us, Universal Champions, et al.
