4. Bruno Sammartino's Title Loss To The Russian Bear
Ivan Koloff- The Russian Bear- joined WWWF in 1970, under the tutelage of Captain Lou Albano. Without an impressive record, physique, or audience reaction- minus the usual hate for any wrestler associated with the U.S.S.R. in the Cold War era- he was placed in title contention against the longest-reigning WWWF World Champion before or since, Bruno Sammartino. Much like Undertaker/Lesnar at WrestleMania XXX, a Sammartino victory seemed all but certain to the crowd at Madison Square Garden.For the fans of that era, I can't imagine a bigger shock. For the backstage politics, I get it: Sammartino was looking to retire- or at least drastically reduce his time in the ring- and couldn't with the title around his waist; "face vs. face" title matches were not common, and a transitional champion was needed to move the belt to fellow babyface Pedro Morales; Koloff was in the right place, at the right time. Really, if it had been any other heel scheduled to face Sammartino- Gorilla Monsoon, Killer Kowalski, Blackjack Mulligan, etc.- on that date, the title would have ended up on them. But it would have been just as shocking, and just as anti-climatic as Ivan "The Russian Bear" Koloff.