10 Things You Didn't Know About Bruno Sammartino

3. Bruno Never Once Turned Heel

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.