8 Wrestlers Who Quit On Top

After keeping an iron-clad grip on the WWWF Championship for 2,803 days during two reigns across an astonishing eleven years, it seemed as though Bruno Sammartino's irrepressible popularity would never wane. By this point, his legacy self-perpetuating his appeal, only the intervention of fate or time could dislodge him from the top.

And that's just what happened, as a legitimate neck fracture suffered in a 1977 MSG match against Stan Hansen finally heralded the end of Bruno's north-east hegemony. The crowds were as strong as ever, but the Living Legends' limbs weren't; a year later he told Vince McMahon Sr. he'd have to step down as champion.

Sammartino promptly dropped the strap to Superstar Billy Graham - bringing his current three and a half year reign to a close - but he continued to fill the house even as his career wound down. In 1980, he embarked on an unforgettable feud with mentee Larry Zbyszko; the culmination of their bad blood drew an astonishing 36,295 fans to New York's Shea Stadium. Despite the emergence of Hulk Hogan - who appeared on the same show against Andre the Giant - Bruno was still the most popular star in wrestling when he called time on his career within a year of the Showdown at Shea.