10 Greatest WWE Summertime Feuds

3. Bruno Sammartino Vs. Larry Zbyszko (1980)

Randy Orton Christian SummerSlam 2011
WWE.com/PWI

The story of mentor vs. student engulfed the first two-thirds of 1980, culminating with a "friendly" match that January, in which a frustrated Zbyszko beat the legendary Sammartino bloody with a wooden chair.

Zbyszko became the most hated heel in the New York region, and while he would periodically wrestle the semi-retired "Living Legend" several times in the late spring/early summer at shows in New York and Pittsburgh, the spotlight was cast on Shea Stadium in Queens.

After hyping up a battle all throughout the summer, Sammartino and Zbyszko squared off inside of a steel cage before over 36,000 fans on a muggy Saturday night, with Sammartino battering his former protege into oblivion. The feud elevated Zbyszko's profile as a capable villain, and proved that Sammartino was a treasure at any age.

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Justin has been a wrestling fan since 1989, and has been writing about it since 2009. Since 2014, Justin has been a features writer and interviewer for Fighting Spirit Magazine. Justin also writes for History of Wrestling, and is a contributing author to James Dixon's Titan series.