"One of the toughest competitors to ever step into the ring" - Triple H pays tribute to WWE icon on what would be his 87th birthday
Triple H greatly respects the legends who have paved the way before him, especially WWE Hall of Famer Bruno Sammartino, one of the greatest champions the company has ever had.
Bruno Sammartino passed away in 2018 and continues to hold the record for the longest WWE Championship reign of all time of 2,803 days.
Hunter took to social media this afternoon to praise the WWE Hall of Famer, who would have turned 87 years old today.
"Bruno Sammartino set the standard for what it means to be a @WWE Superstar. One of the toughest competitors to ever step into the ring, a legendary champion and a true friend... we remember Bruno today on what would have been his 87th birthday," Triple H said in a tweet.
Bruno Sammartino set the standard for what it means to be a @WWE Superstar. One of the toughest competitors to ever step into the ring, a legendary champion and a true friend… we remember Bruno today on what would have been his 87th birthday.
Triple H mended the fences between Bruno Sammartino and WWE
Bruno Sammartino took his rightful place in the WWE Hall of Fame during WrestleMania 29 weekend at the arena he made famous, Madison Square Garden.
At one point, fans believed this would never happen due to the fallout between Bruno Sammartino and Vince McMahon. But Hunter was able to mend those fences.
The two spoke to WWE.com back in 2013 regarding Sammartino's Hall of Fame induction, in which he gave full credit to The Game for making it happen.
"Well, I guess the main reason would be Triple H. He’s the one who contacted me months ago and we got acquainted with each other," Bruno Sammartino revealed. "Triple H contacted me and he started telling me everything that was going on with WWE. There had been issues and things that I was not happy with, but when I saw the changes, I was very, very impressed. Triple H was a very sincere guy and he was trained by someone who I had the most respect in the world for, and that was Walter “Killer” Kowalski. And then, of course, when he told me that it’s going to be in Madison Square Garden, that was huge for me, too, because of my history in the Garden."
Hunter spoke about how huge this was for him from a personal and business standpoint, calling Sammartino one of the most important figures in WWE history.
"For me, it was huge. From a business standpoint it was huge and from a personal standpoint it was huge," Triple H said. "I’ve always said I love the history of this business. Without the history, there is no today and there is no tomorrow. To look back on the history of WWE, one of the most important figures in the long story of where this all came from wasn’t recognized. And that was Bruno. (...) Arguably the biggest name ever in the history of the business is Bruno Sammartino."
Celebrating the iconic Bruno Sammartino on his birthday https://t.co/U4B8QnZGhn
Did you realize that today was Bruno Sammartino's birthday? Do you have any fond memories of the late, great WWE Hall of Famer? Let us know your thoughts by sounding off in the comments section below.