WWE: 10 Famous Wrestling Streaks That Had A Botched Ending
4. Bruno Sammartino's Title Loss To The Russian Bear
Ivan Koloff- The Russian Bear- joined WWWF in 1970, under the tutelage of Captain Lou Albano. Without an impressive record, physique, or audience reaction- minus the usual hate for any wrestler associated with the U.S.S.R. in the Cold War era- he was placed in title contention against the longest-reigning WWWF World Champion before or since, Bruno Sammartino. Much like Undertaker/Lesnar at WrestleMania XXX, a Sammartino victory seemed all but certain to the crowd at Madison Square Garden. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNngXluEkRk For the fans of that era, I can't imagine a bigger shock. For the backstage politics, I get it: Sammartino was looking to retire- or at least drastically reduce his time in the ring- and couldn't with the title around his waist; "face vs. face" title matches were not common, and a transitional champion was needed to move the belt to fellow babyface Pedro Morales; Koloff was in the right place, at the right time. Really, if it had been any other heel scheduled to face Sammartino- Gorilla Monsoon, Killer Kowalski, Blackjack Mulligan, etc.- on that date, the title would have ended up on them. But it would have been just as shocking, and just as anti-climatic as Ivan "The Russian Bear" Koloff.
The 'House is a father of two and husband of one in Minnesota. He is an improv comedian, and in his spare time follows WWE, MLB, The Simpsons, and Bob's Burgers. Growing up he was a huge fan of He-Man, and refuses to believe that it was in fact terrible.
