Ever since he ended his long association with the World Wrestling Federation (now WWE) in the late 80's, Bruno Sammartino, the face of the promotion in the 60's and early-to-mid-70's, had become disenchanted with what the company had become, such that he no longer wanted anything to do with Vince McMahon. At the end of his run, Sammartino was one of McMahon's broadcast partners (along with Jesse Ventura) on Superstars of Wrestling. Today, while Sammartino still can't stand McMahon, he joins Ventura and so many others in the WWE Hall of Fame, and will be inducted on April 6 at Madison Square Garden, where Sammartino drew sellout crowds seemingly forever during his career.
How was this all made possible?
That's easy. While McMahon, 67, isn't exactly the sharpest tool in the shed these days, changing his mind more often than parents change their babies' diapers, son-in-law Paul LeVesque, aka Triple H, was the point man in negotiations to bring Sammartino back into the WWE family. Triple H was trained by one of Sammartino's contemporaries and rivals, the late Walter "Killer" Kowalski, who was inducted into the Hall himself a few years ago. While "The Cerebral Assassin" essayed the role of a sinister mastermind or master prankster, depending on the situation, he also is an old school purist, and understands how older fans, like himself, would like to see their childhood heroes enshrined. LeVesque has also been campaigning to have an actual, physical Hall of Fame building constructed, so that fans will have a tourist attraction on a par with counterparts in baseball (Cooperstown), football (Canton, Ohio), & basketball (Springfield, MA). One can hope he gets that done, too.
Sammartino joins a 2013 Hall of Fame class that also includes two more former champions in Bob Backlund (1978-83 & 1994) & Mick Foley (1999-2000), and 7-time women's champion Trish Stratus, who won all 7 of her titles from 2001-6. With 2 months before Wrestlemania, and with the event set for Met Life Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ, this figures to be the biggest Hall of Fame class, fitting for the biggest city in the world.
As for McMahon, he now is recovering from hip surgery, which actually took place on Friday, and was present backstage at Monday Night Raw in Atlanta last night on crutches. While Sammartino has been reported as saying he doesn't want to interact with McMahon at the Hall of Fame, it may require Triple H pulling off another miracle, this time playing peacemaker in forging a burying of the hatchet between Sammartino & McMahon, kind of like Frank Sinatra surprising Jerry Lewis at the latter's MDA telethon one year by bringing in Dean Martin to stage a reunion of the former comedy team.
Whatever you might've thought of Triple H before as a wrestler, it has given way to a junior executive on the verge of virtual sainthood. He's delivered Sammartino to the Hall of Fame. He is trying to have a HOF building created. For someone who blasphemed God in promos a decade ago, he certainly is earning his penance.
It's just too bad that Vince McMahon couldn't have made it happen sooner.
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