10 Wrestlers Promoters Were Afraid Of

Though undoubtedly as rugged as all grapplers of his era came, Bruno Sammartino nevertheless possessed a reputation as one of the most warm-hearted men in the whole business.

With the obvious exception of Vince McMahon, with whom he shared a prolonged grudge for quarter of a century, it's hard to imagine the 'Living Legend' causing hassle for any promoter. Indeed, his enmity for McMahon Jr. stemmed from disgust over the WWE impresario's alleged dissemination of steroids, and latterly, his pivot to puerile content. How could a man as wholesome as a loaf of farmhouse bread ever provoke fear in his paymasters?

As gentle and generous as big Bruno was, he was still, at heart, a wrestler. Becoming the biggest star in the north east latterly imbued 'The Living Legend' with humility, but when he was starting out hungry, he was just as eager to protect himself as the next guy.

Like the man who eventually took his mantle as WWE's icon, Hulk Hogan, the budding Bruno hated the idea of losing - especially on the instruction of promoters. "I told them, 'if anybody can really beat me, fine. But that's the only way I'll go down'", he recalled in his retirement. Eventually, bookers became so afraid of being stiffed by Sammartino that they blackballed him all across the country. It was only when he proved himself a draw north of the border that those same bookers suddenly shirked their anxiety.