WWE Hall of Famer Bruno Sammartino Dies At Age 82

Bruno Sammartino, who still holds the record as the longest reigning WWE Champion of all-time, died on Wednesday. He was 82.

Sammartino was the then-World Wide Wrestling Federation’s longest-reigning world champion for eight consecutive years beginning in 1963. He would finally drop the title to Ivan Koloff in 1971 after first beating Buddy Rogers for the belt in 1963. After his retirement, he finished up holding two of the five longest title reigns in company history.

“The Italian Superman” headlined more than 180 sold out shows at Madison Square Garden in New York and battled old school greats such as Superstar Billy Graham, Killer Kowalski, Gorilla Monsoon and George “The Animal” Steele, among many others.

He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2013 after a public falling out with the company that lasted more than two decades.