20 Most Hated Heel Moves In Wrestling History
8. Laying Out The Legend
It’s difficult to overestimate how popular Bruno Sammartino was in the northeastern United States in the sixties and seventies. The longest reigning WWE world title holder in history (back when it was the World Wide Wrestling Federation, of course), the Legend was still over like clover in 1979 when his career was winding down and he’d passed the torch on to the next generation.
That’s evidenced by the visceral reaction the fans gave the grudge feud between Sammartino and his former protege Larry Zbyszko in 1980. Fuming in his mentor’s shadow, Zbyszko begged for a comeback bout, a showcase match between the two to prove himself Sammartino’s equal and step out on his own.
When that match finally occurred and Sammartino came out of retirement, he wouldn’t fight back. Seeing that the Legend was defending himself but not seeking to actually win the match, Zbyszko saw red, convinced the older man wasn’t taking him seriously and just snapped - attacking the man who’d been like a brother to him with a wooden folding chair, shedding blood.
Assaults like that are ten a penny these days. We see them every week, sometimes multiple times a week. In 1980, the use of an international object such as a chair was like the introduction of a steel cage - an indication of rare and powerful violence about to occur. It occasioned drama like you wouldn’t believe.
Zbyszko’s attack turned him into the most hated heel in America. The northeastern wrestling audience was a big one, and this mobilised pretty much every single one of them with a single, unifying force: hatred for Larry Zbyszko.
For the remainder of the feud, he was a marked man. Other heels back in these old school days were attacked by fans, even stabbed as he was; Zbyszko’s taxi was turned over by an angry mob with him inside it.
This vicious grudge culminated in - yes! - a steel cage in the main event at Shea Stadium later that year, which was the WWF’s massive supercard event at the time, taking place only once every four years. For every minute of every day until then, Larry Zbyszko practically lived in fear of his life.