Wrestling’s Best Ever…Heel

Obviously, Blassie was in retrospect the beneficiary of a more innocent time. But even back then, when fans were keener to react, drawing a reaction was an art. After TakeOver: New Orleans faded to black, most people weren’t overjoyed that Gargano had finally vanquished the demon; instead, respectful of the craft, they wondered aloud just how WrestleMania 34 was going to beat that main event.

When Freddie Blassie left the ring after his main events, the fans wanted him dead.

After a famous WWA Champion Vs. WWWF Champion clash with Bruno Sammartino (Blassie had in fact lost the title, but Bruno’s devout New Jersey fans were not to know), in 1964, Blassie defeated the unbeatable Living Legend—in the most disgusting manner imaginable at the time. He booted Bruno in the balls, just as Bruno had valiantly attempted to return the referee back into the ring. That referee subsequently counted Bruno out. The crowd was p*ssed enough to encroach on the ring, in which an inexperienced security guard had marooned Blassie. Eventually, the heel locker room spilled out to ringside, but, amid the chaos, returned him to the babyface locker room, in which a Bruno hanger-on—close associate of Frank Sinatra Jilly Rizzo—became the subject of a classic, non-televised Blassie promo. He had to maintain the inner workings of the game, even in the wrong place. “Typical Italian stunt!” recounted Blassie in his autobiography. “You hit him in the neck, and he grabs his balls!”

Rizzo, furious, reached for his gun and threatened to “kill the son-of-a-bitch”. Only the quick thinking of his opponent avoided a grisly crime scene. “I want him for myself the next time we step in the ring.”

Blassie was the proto-Dirtiest Player In The Game.

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