Tito Santana Talks Being Disappointed With WrestleMania 1 Match, Bruno, Working With Savage
WWE Hall of Famer Tito Santana joined Inside The Ropes this past Thursday. Here are s ome highlights:
On being in the opening bout at WrestleMania 1: "I was kinda disappointed you know, I thought I was pretty over in the WWF and to be in the opener of the card, in the first WrestleMania, it was almost like an insult. Why was I not wrestling Greg The Hammer Valentine when we had one of the hottest feuds around at the time? But before I went through the curtain, Vince told me, 'the reason you're here is because the first match it's a do or die situation for the WWF and I need somebody to go out there and get the people off their ass, I couldn't think of anybody better than you.' Then I realized how important I was to the territory."
On working with Randy Savage: "I just wish that we'd had a longer program, they cut our program short. Randy became big because of Miss Elizabeth. When he came into the WWF, he wasn't a polished wrestler then, but he came in and he learned like the rest of us. He learned quick. He brought his gimmick and the way he would treat Miss Elizabeth with the way Vince McMahon put it all together, Vince made Randy Savage. Randy had been around a couple of years before I even started (in 1977) and he hadn't gone far. He'd been putting time in at different territories but Vince McMahon then just knew what to do with him. He then became one of the best in the WWF."
On Bruno Sammartino going into The Hall of Fame this April: "It's been long overdue. Bruno was a great world champion for the WWF, so. It's definitely long overdue. I'm sure it's a business move for Bruno. He was very bitter towards Vince McMahon and somehow they've patched things up."
Tito also discussed his time in Georgia, AWA, WWF, beating The Undertaker and much more. You can check out the full interview by clicking here.