10 Hall Of Famers Who Fell Out With The WWE

3. Bruno Sammartino

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Bruno Sammartino is one of the greatest names in wrestling history, placed on a truly elite level with few others.  Considering that Sammartino retired in 1981, it was an absolute travesty that it took until 2013 for the Italian Superman to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

It goes without saying that Bruno and the WWE weren't on the best of terms for the decades before his induction, but it has to be said that Vince McMahon's organisation extended a HOF offer to Sammartino at several points. 

The problem was that Bruno wasn't keen on any association with the WWE.

This initial beef began in the mid-'80s when Sammartino found out he'd been screwed out of money by Vince McMahon Snr., then came Bruno's disapproval at the WWF's steroid-driven and drug-fuelled years that followed. The excess and vulgarity of the Attitude Era only further turned Bruno off the wrestling product.

With the PG Era firmly established, and thanks to a lot of work from Triple H, Sammartino finally accepted his place in the Hall of Fame in 2013.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.