Wrestling Legend Bruno Sammartino to be Inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame

Professional wrestling's only true living legend, Bruno Sammartino, will finally be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, on April 6, at Madison Square Garden. Sammartino, who has been openly critical of the WWE and its chairman, Vince McMahon, has been offered the Hall of Fame honor before, but he has always refused because of the rampant drug use, especially steroids, that permeated the world of sports entertainment for so many years. WWE has taken steps in recent years, including implementing a wellness program, to end the drug culture that seemingly played a role in the deaths of many former wrestlers over the past two decades.

I have been a fan of Bruno Sammartino since I was a young child growing up in the 1970s. My family routinely watched the WWE (then known as WWWF and then WWF) and Sammartino, who resides in the Pittsburgh area, where my family lived, was always one of our favorite wrestlers. He was and remains a larger than life figure who held the world championship for eight consecutive years, longer than any other wrestler in history, and would go on to another four year reign as champion later in his career. Inducting Sammartino into the Hall of Fame at Madison Square Garden is appropriate, since he sold out that very same arena countless times during his storied career as one of the most beloved "good guys" in the world of professional wrestling.

With the upcoming induction of Sammartino, who is 77, the WWE Hall of Fame will finally be completely legitimate, since it was Bruno who helped the company achieve great success in the 1960s and 1970s. After "retiring," Sammartino provided color commentary, alongside Vince McMahon, during television tapings in the late 1970s and early 1980s and he would also make occasional in-ring appearances until the end of the decade. Bruno Sammartino is poised to make another triumphant return to Madison Square Garden and assume his rightful place as one of the greatest (perhaps the greatest) professional wrestler in history.

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