8 WWE Hall Of Famers Who Couldn't Stay Retired

8. Bruno Sammartino

Bruno Sammartino and World Wrestling Entertainment have had a long and complicated history. The man holds the record for the longest single reign in the history of the WWE Championship; The Italian Stallion reigned for seven years, eight months and one day, a feat that quite frankly will never be even close to being beaten.

By the beginning of the 1980s however, Bruno was on the way out. He retired from active competition in 1991, pinning George 'The Animal' Steele in his final match. After rounding out commitments in Japan, Sammartino could put his feet up after a long and successful career.

Except Bruno found out that Vince McMahon Sr. had screwed him out of a whole heap of money, so Sammartino took the company to court. The case was settled out of court, and part of the settlement saw Bruno return to do colour commentary for an astronomical sum. This obviously led to Bruno returning to the ring.

After seconding his son David at the very first WrestleMania, Bruno Sammartino made his return to active competition soon after. He competed mostly in tag matches, but he hadn't missed a beat and was often in far better physical condition than his opponents. Sammartino also picked up a win over then-Intercontinental Champion 'Macho Man' Randy Savage, although this was by disqualification.

Bruno's final match came in 1987, as he teamed with Hulk Hogan to defeat One Man Gang and King Kong Bundy. He would have nothing more to do with the WWE until his Hall of Fame induction in 2013.