10 Things You Didn't Know About Bruno Sammartino

3. Bruno Never Once Turned Heel

Bruno Sammartino
WWE.com/Pro Wrestling Illustrated

We may never know if Vince Sr had any plans to ever turn Bruno Sammartino heel. It might have been possible once he dropped the title in 1971 or a second time in 1977, but Sammartino's love of the hero role may have made it a difficult sell.

As it turned out, whether he was working hard to build his name, revelling in fan support on top as World Champion, stiffly appearing in the WWF as an announcer in the 1980s or backing up his son David, Bruno never once worked as a villain.

That's a foreign concept to the industry now. Almost everyone apart from John Cena has turned to the dark side at some point in WWE, and even Cena started his career as a heel.

Bruno didn't, and he'd never turn his back on the fans. That was something he was constantly mindful about, because he wanted to give people someone to believe in.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.