Bruno Sammartino On Who He Suggested To Be His Replacement, Complaint About WWE Statue Being Made
Recently on WWE Network's Table For 3 program, Bruno Sammartino, RIc Flair, and Randy Orton discussed a number of interesting topics. Specifically, Sammartino talked about suggesting Ivan Koloff as his replacement when he originally left WWE for medical reasons, and the process of having his WWE statue made.
According to Sammartino, he suggested Koloff as his replacement to Vince McMahon, Sr.
"Well, after eight years, I told the old man, as we called him, Vince McMahon [Sr.], I said, 'you'd better get somebody.' I said, 'my body is broke, man.' My body was hurting from head to toe. And eventually he did. And I felt bad because he got a guy that I respected very much as a performer. It was Ivan Koloff. I suggested to Vince, I thought Ivan Koloff would be great because we had done great business all over."
Sammartino said, "Koloff, he had done so well I told Vince, I said, 'I think he could carry [the title]' because the reason why it was hard for a heel to carry the championship for a really, really long, long period of time because a heel could get over on TV. All he had to do is go out there and beat the heck out of somebody maybe half his size and say, 'this is what I'm going to do to Bruno Sammartino when I meet him.' But it was very difficult to get a babyface over as quick."
Sammartino went on to express his disappointment, as Koloff was not given much of a chance in the top spot.
"I felt very, very bad that I even mentioned him because [after] three weeks, they took it off of him and gave it on Pedro Morales. Fine. Pedro is a good guy and a good performer. I just felt bad Ivan didn't get the break."
Also during the show, Sammartino complained about having his WWE statue made.
"Did you have to go to New York where they put the stuff [on your face]? Oh my God! That was terrible. Yeah, to make the mold and, you know me, I can't breathe out of my nose. I said, 'how long is this going to take?' because I can't breathe. They said, '10 minutes.' It was 30 minutes! You felt like you were suffocating. It's so hot in there. Then, when they take it off, it doesn't come out and they're trying to bust it. It's nasty."
Subscribe to WWE Network. If you use any of the quotes from this article, please credit WWE Networks' Table For 3 with an H/T to WrestlingINC for the transcription.