10 Superstars Who Burned WWE Bridges… But Still Returned

3. Bruno Sammartino

Bruno Sammartino
WWE.com/Pro Wrestling Illustrated

Bruno Sammartino is rightly always going to be in the conversation when it comes to the famed Mount Rushmore of professional wrestling. For the best part of two decades, Sammartino was professional wrestling.

Upon finally departing the then-WWF 'for good' in 1988, the two-time World Heavyweight Champion was quick to vent his anger at what Vince McMahon Jr. had done to the industry. Bruno took umbrage with the heavy presence of steroids in the business at that point in time, not to mention the more vulgar direction Sammartino felt that McMahon was taking his company.

Many felt that Bruno Sammartino was completely right in what he was saying, although this unsurprisingly burned bridges with the World Wrestling Federation. In fact, it was only when Triple H began to gain more power at an executive level that the animosity between The Living Legend and WWE slowly began to thaw.

Say what you want about Triple H and his political power plays over the years, one of the main reasons that Sammartino was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2013 was down to The Game reaching out an olive branch to the iconic Bruno.

Not only did Bruno Sammartino finally get a spot in the Hall of Fame, but WWE went one further and created a statue of The Italian Strongman - a move that's only been done for a handful of names.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

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.