|
|
Post by dlg3000 on Dec 27, 2009 12:02:31 GMT -5
Does anyone here know what is the underlying reason or reasons for the bad blood between Vince McMahon and Bruno Sammartino?
|
|
|
|
Post by Apricots And A Pear Tree on Dec 27, 2009 12:08:25 GMT -5
Bruno does not like the direction wrestling has gone in and does not like what Vince did to his fathers creation.In essence,Bruno is Old School.
|
|
|
|
Post by molson5 on Dec 27, 2009 12:17:11 GMT -5
I always thought there might be something else too it, and this is the "respectable" reason that Bruno puts out there.
Bruno took a paycheck from Vince during the height of the steroids/cartoon era in the 80s. He made lots of money with Billy Graham. Now suddenly Bruno thinks that Vince destroyed wrestling or whatever.
I think maybe there was some kind of financial dispute towards the end, or maybe Bruno wanted one more push on top that he didn't get.
|
|
Mozenrath
FANatic
Foppery and Whim
Speedy Speed Boy
Posts: 121,077
|
Post by Mozenrath on Dec 27, 2009 12:17:46 GMT -5
Bruno does not like the direction wrestling has gone in and does not like what Vince did to his fathers creation.In essence,Bruno is Old School. That's one reason, along with crap that stemmed with him and his son David Sammartino. Bruno is a man of pride and a stubborn man, so it's hard to say if he'll ever change his mind. |
|
SAJ Forth
Wade Wilson
Jamaican WCF Crazy!
Half Man-Half Amazing
Posts: 27,214
|
Post by SAJ Forth on Dec 27, 2009 13:59:59 GMT -5
I like Bruno, but he seems like the guy you know that The World has changed and he's slow to embrace that change.
|
|
|
|
Post by noleafclover1980 on Dec 27, 2009 14:02:31 GMT -5
The sad thing is, Vince WANTS to induct him. Bruno is just being stubborn about it, but tht shows to me Vince respects what he did for the company. Bruno is just a man who can't accept that the territories as he knew it are long gone.
|
|
|
|
Post by Slingshot Suplay on Dec 27, 2009 20:15:47 GMT -5
I'm listening to a shoot interview between Bruno, Joey Styles and Bill Aptner(sp?), and Bruno said he's not bitter about wrestling, but was against the wrongs that were happening in wrestling at the time.
To those who don't understand how big Bruno was back in the day, he was a sports hero to so many people, just like Joe Dimaggio and Rocky Marciano He tried to be a great ambassator and role model for wrestling and didn't want to do anything that would disappoint or give the wrong impression to his fans, to the point if he was in a resturant and there were kids eating with their parents, he wouldn't even drink a glass of wine, for fear of stumbling them. He said that he never took steroids and that he was a natural power lifter, bench pressing 565 lbs with a 2 second pause, 750 lb squat, 705lb dead lift all before he was 23 years old. He also said that if anyone used steroids in his era, it was so secret that you wouldn't know about it.
When he came back to the WWF as a commentator in the 80's, he said that he saw the open use of steroids and other drug use in the WWF. He said that he voiced his concerns about it and was told that "This is how it is today, things change, These guys are big boys, if they wanna do that, so be it." He was also distraught about the drug related death of "Quick Draw" Rick McGraw that he even wanted to get the State Athletic Commission or any sports commission to help control the drug situation in wrestling.
He became outspoken about the situation in hopes of helping to change the business regarding drug use and even went on Donahue, Larry King and Geraldo shows to draw attention to it, but he couldn't get the public support of his peers, so he was just a lonely voice that was being ignored.
After listening to his interview, I have a newfound respect for Bruno Sammartino.
|
|
|
|
Post by triplealbert on Dec 27, 2009 20:47:45 GMT -5
There's a great interview with Bruno over at Newsday's "The Steel Cage" blog.
Basically, it's -- surprise surprise -- money.
|
|
|
|
Post by kennerado on Dec 27, 2009 21:33:19 GMT -5
Is that the most recent one where he says he was bigger than any of the recent WWE main eventers like Austin, Rock etc?
I respect Bruno a hell of a lot but he came off as being really bitter in that interview.
|
|
|
|
Post by triplealbert on Dec 27, 2009 21:37:02 GMT -5
Is that the most recent one where he says he was bigger than any of the recent WWE main eventers like Austin, Rock etc? I respect Bruno a hell of a lot but he came off as being really bitter in that interview. Yeah. |
|
|
|
Post by squash on Dec 27, 2009 23:28:53 GMT -5
The thing with his son is ironic -- I've heard they were estranged for some time.
Bruno never really accepted wrestling's shift to the entertainment model. I've also heard that he had gripes about never getting a piece of the old WWF even though he was carrying the company on his back.
|
|
|
|
Post by corndog on Dec 28, 2009 2:11:57 GMT -5
I'm listening to a shoot interview between Bruno, Joey Styles and Bill Aptner(sp?), and Bruno said he's not bitter about wrestling, but was against the wrongs that were happening in wrestling at the time. To those who don't understand how big Bruno was back in the day, he was a sports hero to so many people, just like Joe Dimaggio and Rocky Marciano He tried to be a great ambassator and role model for wrestling and didn't want to do anything that would disappoint or give the wrong impression to his fans, to the point if he was in a resturant and there were kids eating with their parents, he wouldn't even drink a glass of wine, for fear of stumbling them. He said that he never took steroids and that he was a natural power lifter, bench pressing 565 lbs with a 2 second pause, 750 lb squat, 705lb dead lift all before he was 23 years old. He also said that if anyone used steroids in his era, it was so secret that you wouldn't know about it. When he came back to the WWF as a commentator in the 80's, he said that he saw the open use of steroids and other drug use in the WWF. He said that he voiced his concerns about it and was told that "This is how it is today, things change, These guys are big boys, if they wanna do that, so be it." He was also distraught about the drug related death of "Quick Draw" Rick McGraw that he even wanted to get the State Athletic Commission or any sports commission to help control the drug situation in wrestling. He became outspoken about the situation in hopes of helping to change the business regarding drug use and even went on Donahue, Larry King and Geraldo shows to draw attention to it, but he couldn't get the public support of his peers, so he was just a lonely voice that was being ignored. After listening to his interview, I have a newfound respect for Bruno Sammartino. He said in his second stint he didn't even hang out with the boys at all. I also found it interesting that on Donahue in the early 90s after the sexual harassment case with Patterson he said that certain people would sexually harass the ring boys and he told Vince about it and he basically shrugged it off, which is pretty messes up. In the 80s drugs such as cocaine, pain killers and steriods got out of control, but seriously he can't act like people didn't drink in his day. Andre was known for how much alcohol he could consume, Dusty Rhoades got his liver spot from hanging out with Dick Murdoch when they were tag partners in the 70s, Dick "the Bruiser" was known for his beer drinking and cigar smoking, Lou Albano was drunk most of the time, Harley Race liked to drink, and Ric Flair started his party days in wrestling in the 70s. Also if Bruno wants to complain about the days of the territories are gone, well he did work for the WWF which pretty much destroyed them. If he was a predominately NWA or territory wrestler such as Harley Race, I guess he could complain. |
|
|
|
Post by johnnyk9 on Dec 28, 2009 6:57:04 GMT -5
Bruno is bitter that Vince is sucessful like everyone else in the world that hates Vince
|
|
|
|
Post by boomhauer20055 on Dec 28, 2009 7:00:12 GMT -5
I believe it all started with a lawsuit with Vince Sr. and a small payoff
He is a man who never lets go of a grudge and never passes up a chance to talk bad about anybody.
I respect his ring career but he seems to be very bitter.
He has never even seen his own grandchildren.
|
|
|
|
Post by Slammywinner on Dec 28, 2009 14:38:41 GMT -5
I read an interview where he said he thinks Vince is disrespectful of the old shooters that built wrestling. When Dominic Denuci appears one night on TV, he makes a couple hundred, but when Pete Rose appears one night, he makes several thousand. Bruno wonders why celebrities have the red carpet rolled out and the coffers loosened when they appear even though they have nothing to do with supporting the business. But how guys that actually drew and lead wrestling to it's arena hey-day aren't regarded as anything to get excited about.
|
|
|
|
Post by hajimenoippo on Dec 28, 2009 15:10:34 GMT -5
Bruno's son not getting Hulk's spot
|
|
|
|
Post by Diamond Dallas Dom on Dec 28, 2009 18:38:25 GMT -5
I've always respected Bruno for this. He's a guy of great integrity that sticks to his guns and that's the way it is. He didn't like what the industry was turning into and you can't fault him for not wanting to be apart of it anymore. Steroids and and cartoony characters were not the reason he got into wrestling so why should he take part in it?
That being said I'd love it if they produced a DVD of his matches.
|
|
|
|
Post by triplealbert on Dec 28, 2009 18:44:34 GMT -5
I believe it all started with a lawsuit with Vince Sr. and a small payoff He is a man who never lets go of a grudge and never passes up a chance to talk bad about anybody. I respect his ring career but he seems to be very bitter. He has never even seen his own grandchildren. really? Source? I've never read that. I don't disbelieve you, but I want a source. |
|
|
|
Post by triplealbert on Dec 28, 2009 18:45:26 GMT -5
I read an interview where he said he thinks Vince is disrespectful of the old shooters that built wrestling. When Dominic Denuci appears one night on TV, he makes a couple hundred, but when Pete Rose appears one night, he makes several thousand. Bruno wonders why celebrities have the red carpet rolled out and the coffers loosened when they appear even though they have nothing to do with supporting the business. But how guys that actually drew and lead wrestling to it's arena hey-day aren't regarded as anything to get excited about. And on that, he's wrong. Celebrities and the business go hand in hand and I'm sure their payoffs being higher than lots of old-time wrestlers go back a ways, too, from Muhammed Ali to Andy Kaufman. Also: Vince takes care of legends he doesn't have to and has several times. |
|
MolotovMocktail
Grimlock
Home of the 5-time, 5-time, 5-time, 5-time 5-time Super Bowl Champion 49ers-and Wrestlemania 31
Posts: 13,965
|
Post by MolotovMocktail on Dec 28, 2009 21:34:52 GMT -5
I agree with Bruno as far as the steroids and the need to clean that up. However, I think he's way too much of a prude with no sense of humor when he criticized some of the racy angles and language of the Attitude Era. In watching shows from that time, most of the language was "ass", "damn," "hell", "bitch", and of course "Suck It". But he's trying to say there were F-bombs every other word, which just wasn't true.
In his last shoot, he tried to say his era of wrestling was family-friendly, and when the interviewer called him on that by bringing up Lou Albano taking a spike to someone's head, he tried to change the subject by saying wrestling is violent, and comparing it to football and hockey. I guess he's adopted the prevalent American view that television can be as violent as you want, but anything sexual is immediately immoral and wrong.
|
|
