>>Eric Gargiulo: Bruno, how are you doing?
Are you still doing those morning runs?
>>Bruno Sammartino: Yes I still maintain six
days, three days a week I do road work and
three days a week I pump iron. Sundays are
my day of rest but not really, those are the
days I love to fuss around the house with
the grass, and the shrubberies, and all of
that kind of stuff.
>>Eric: I saw some pictures of you from last
year and it looked like you had lost some
weight.
>>Bruno: Right now I�m about 217, 218, somewhere
around there.
>>Eric comments that he doesn�t think there
is a man in this country in better shape at
Bruno�s age. (Bruno is 70)
>>Bruno: Well I don�t know, thank you. I
do work at it hard because as you know in
wrestling all of those years I did some things,
injuries to where I had back surgery, hip
surgery, knee surgeries so I have done a lot
of rehab on my own and I am a strong believer
that if you work out hard and work out well,
watch your diet to a certain degree, keep
your weight under control that the benefits
are going to be there for you.
>>Eric: Speaking of injuries, what was the
specific injury that you incurred back in
1968 that forced you to give up using the
back breaker as your finisher?
>>Bruno: Well I had a number of injuries one
was in my back that stopped me. Because remember
when I used that back breaker, for example
if you remember these names ; Bull Ramos he
was 365 pounds, Klondike Bill another 370
pounder, Jess Ortega was close to 400 pounds
and you know taking a lot of hard falls and
then picking these guys up like that. I did
some vertebrae damage on my back and I found
that I started having problems way back in
the sixties, late sixties, so I kind of got
away from those power moves because in all
honesty it took an awful lot of strength to
do those kind of things and it put an awful
lot of stress on your back.
>>Eric: Is it your back that over the years
has absorbed the most punishment and injuries?
>>Bruno: Yeah in my case no question because
when one of the world renowned neurosurgeons,
Doctor James Moroon who did the surgeries
on me, he told me that he could see how hard
I had trained and the kind of condition I
was in but he also the tremendous kind of
abuse that the back took and when he did the
couple of surgeries he had to remove a total
of sixteen spurs on my back and three vertebrae
he had to remove and I still have a lot of
problems that to this day I�m in much better
shape but to tell you that I am totally pain
free wouldn�t be accurate either, but thank
God I am feeling great and everything else.
>>Eric: Speaking of lifting heavy guys, is
it true that when you lifted Haystacks Calhoun
it really turned your career around?
>>Bruno: Well it certainly helped me tremendously
because up to that point I couldn�t get
any kind of a break, I just couldn�t get
a break, I mean no promoter wanted to take
a chance and put me as a headliners even though
they thought certain things about me were
impressive as far as my strength, my physical
appearance, and that. But in those days they
would rather continue on with established
names and it�s pretty hard to get established
if somebody doesn�t give you a break. So
when I picked up Haystacks Calhoun then it
got such a tremendous reaction that I became
known as the strong guy from Abruzzi, Italy
that picked up Haystacks Calhoun and no question
that did help me considerably from that time
forth.
>>Eric: How did you wind up meeting Vince
McMahon, SR. for the first time? Was it through
Frank Tunney?
>>Bruno: No, not at all. I was here in Pittsburgh,
I was competing, doing both amateur weightlifting
and amateur wrestling competitions, and I
had been in Oklahoma City where I became the
North American Weightlifting title I had won.
When I was in Pittsburgh I was on a television
show for a fellow that read in the paper that
I had won a contest and while I was on that
show a gentleman by the name of Rudy Miller
was in town from Washington D.C. because the
following day on a Saturday they would do
studio wrestling here in Pittsburgh and he
happened to be here the night before and he
saw on television while I was being interviewed
about this weightlifting contest that I won
and the gentleman asked me if I was still
working out with the wrestling part. So when
this Rudy Miller heard about me doing both
weightlifting and wrestling he inquired to
the studio if anybody knew who I was and it
happened that one of the guys by the name
of John Kurtzhonis went to high school with
me, he says, �Yeah, I live on the same street
as Bruno,� and this Rudy Miller asked him
if he would ask me to come down the following
week, the following Saturday because there
was a live tv show every Saturday here, and
the following week I went down there, he looked
me over real good and he asked me if I would
come to Washington he wanted to have somebody
meet me, which was Vince McMahon, SR. and
Toots Mondt, and they took me to an arena
with a couple of guys that I didn�t know,
they wanted to see what I could do, couldn�t
do, and I worked out in the ring with them,
and they seemed pretty impressed, and that�s
when they sat me down and they said, �How
would you like to become a professional wrestler?�
And that�s how it started.
>>Eric: During the heights of your career
did you ever wind up meeting Frank Sinatra
or any of the Rat Pack?
>>Bruno: Did I ever meet him? Oh my goodness
I knew them all, I became good friends with
Jilly Rizzo if you remember that name? That
was Sinatra�s right hand man he had the
night club in New York called Jilly�s. Through
him, yeah my goodness I was in Frank Sinatra�s
company at least a dozen times if not more,
so I got to know Frank, Dean Martin, Sammy
Davis, what�s his name, Lawford? I got to
know Richard Conte, I don�t know if you
remember him, the actor because he used to
hang out with Frank a good bit. After a Madison
Square Garden show whenever they would be
in town, Jilly would always make sure he�d
send a driver for me and I would join them
right at Jilly�s for the evening.
>>Eric: I know you worked a few times with
Ray Stevens for Roy Shire, what do you remember
about working with Ray?
>>Bruno: Yeah I not only wrestled Ray in California
several times but I wrestled him here, in
New York, in Boston, I forget all of the towns,
but I have wrestled Stevens a lot of times.
He�s another guy who I had a lot of respect
for. Stevens was very, very good in the ring.
>>Eric: Yes, I wanted to get your thoughts
on him since he is regarded as one of the
best workers of your era.
>>Bruno: Absolutely, without question, he
certainly was.
>>Eric: What happened to the big rematch scheduled
between you and Buddy Rogers at Roosevelt
Stadium in 1963? What was the story behind
it? Did he pull out of it?
>>Bruno: Who, Buddy Rogers?
>>Eric: Yes.
>>Bruno: No there was never a rematch scheduled
with Buddy Rogers, I don�t know if they
did publicity or something but no there wasn�t
because remember, a lot of people don�t
remember this but I wrestled Buddy in a non-title
match on television two weeks before that
Madison Square Garden match and it went the
same way. The match lasted, I don�t know
about thirty, forty seconds where I took a
back breaker then we went in the (Madison
Square) Garden, I heard your announcement
in the beginning (a clip of Bruno�s title
win was played during Bruno�s introduction
earlier in the program) where McMahon (Junior)
said it was in fifty-five seconds, it was
forty-eight seconds. No, that was the end
with Buddy, there was bad, there was always
bad feelings between me and Buddy Rogers,
I don�t know if you never knew that or not?
We just did not like each other, simple as
that, we just did not like each other. You
know a lot of people have no idea how that
match even came about but it was a story in
itself (Bruno went into more details of the
match and heat with Rogers on an earlier appearance
in 2003 on Pro Wrestling Radio Click here
to read that interview). But no after that
it was the end of Buddy Rogers as far as his
career.
>>Eric: Billy Graham has told a story that
you had advised him to work a knee injury
after your cage match with him in Philadelphia,
PA just days before his scheduled loss to
Backlund, so he would not have to drop the
belt. Is this true?
>>Bruno: Wow (laughs). That�s a pretty good
story I certainly have no recollection of
anything like that. That�s news to me. That�s
the first time I have ever heard that story.
>>Eric: Larry Zbysko has said in interviews
that the heat between you and he stems from
him going over your head to the office and
pressuring you to do the program with him.
Is that accurate?
>>Bruno: No that�s not accurate the reason
there was bad feelings was because we were
supposed to have a work out. The idea was
not to have a wrestling match, the idea was
a work out I don�t know if you remember
the work out? It was supposed to have been
just a work out and the idea was that he felt
at that stage of our lives that I was over
the hill and he was coming into his prime
and he felt that if we had a work out where
we were trying to out-maneuver each other
that people would have new respect for him
and not just look at him as a prot�g�
of Bruno Sammartino but perhaps my equal or
even better and he was honest, you know he
says, �You know Bruno, it�s not because
I am saying that I am better than you or anything,
but let�s face it. Age catches up with all
of us and it has caught up with you. You�re
not what you used to be but I�m coming into
my prime. It is only normal that I should
be able to out-maneuver you a little bit,�
and I told him, �If you can out-maneuver
me in this work out thing, fine. But don�t
think that I am going to help you with it
because I have a lot of pride and I am going
to look as good as I can look.� We agreed
with that but when he got a little frustrated
because people started getting him a little
bit, why I got mad because a lot of people
don�t know is, he really clobbered me with
that chair. I mean he hit me so damn hard
that I was really bleeding bad and I did.
I got very upset and angry with that and I
lost a lot of respect and after that I just
had a completely different feeling about Larry.
>>Eric: So a lot of that work out was a shoot?
>>Bruno: Oh yeah, he really wanted a, it was
just strictly a work out. It wasn�t like
we went out there with the idea of trying
to beat each other it was trying to out-maneuver
each other just so that he felt that people
could respect and appreciate his talents by
out-maneuvering me. I don�t know what he
said because I never heard any of his interviews
but I am just telling you what I know.
>>Eric: On a brighter note, what are some
memories you have of your program with Cowboy
Bill Watts?
>>Bruno: Oh boy that was early on in my career
that was in the sixties the middle sixties
I guess it was. You know he was a big guy,
he was a three hundred pounder, and a strong
guy, could move well for his size. I thought
we had some good matches but I have to be
real frank with you, to say that those matches
stick out in my head like some of the ones
that I had with Ivan Koloff, or (Killer) Kowalski,
it wouldn�t be truthful of me because again,
it was in the middle sixties, 1965 maybe,
I don�t know, I don�t remember the exact
years, but they were good matches, I am not
taking anything away from Bill for God�s
sakes because he was very good for a big guy.
My matches with Koloff, Kowalski, and even
(Toru) Tanaka, and even (Gorilla) Monsoon,
for a guy over four hundred pounds he could
move well and I had some pretty good matches
with him. Hans Mortier I enjoyed because we
used to do a lot of wrestling when I wrestled
him. It was a lot of good, clever, wrestling
moves and I loved that. In fact, what I don�t
like is when I see myself and I don�t see
myself too often now, some of these tapes
that are out there they are always like of
a blow-off match. When I mean a blow-off match
is like with Koloff let�s say. The first
match we ever did would have been great, a
lot of arm-dragging, a lot of drop toe holds,
scoop slams, and back drops and all, but by
the time the second or third match came it
would become a brawl, and it seems like I
see more of those kind of matches that they
put on tape rather than those ones that lead
up to that brawl, so to speak, and that bothers
me because I wish that people could see more
of those fast-moving, a lot of arm-drags,
a lot of great action like I did with Ray
Stevens in California. I wish that there were
a lot more of those (tapes of matches) out
there for people to see rather then the finale
match where there was a lot of brawling and
stuff.
>>Eric: The last time I had you on the show
you had just had an informal meeting with
the WWE in Pittsburgh, PA. Where do things
stand now between you and the WWE?
>>Bruno: Not good, I don�t want to have
anything to do with that organization or him
(Vince McMahon) and I�ll tell you what,
I appreciate some of the fans that have talked
to me and they said, �Don�t you belong
into the WWE Hall of Fame,� they�d like
to see me in the Hall of Fame, but I wish
that they would understand my side of it.
If you go far back enough, I�ve been appalled
by a lot of the stuff that McMahon has been
doing for many, many years. For example, I
was very appalled when I saw the widespread
of drugs and I�m not talking about just
steroids I�m talking about drugs and a lot
of steroids! I was very appalled by that and
I was very outspoken on that. If you remember
I went one on one with him (Vince McMahon)
on the Donahue Show, on the Larry King Show,
Geraldo Rivera, and then we started bringing
in the girls, beautiful ladies but always
with a g-string or something with access where
a breast would pop out, and the kids twelve,
thirteen years old were going to come to the
arena to see a strip-show is what it amounted
to, and then all of the vulgarity came in.
Well, the point is that I was so outspoken
about all of this stuff, so outspoken about
it, what kind of a hypocrite would I be now
if I went into their Hall of Fame? That is
to say that everything that I was talking
about, everything I knocked about and resented
about what he (McMahon, JR.) had done to the
business, now because I have an opportunity
to get into the Hall of Fame, it�s OK, everything
is fine now, it�s just that I am in the
Hall of Fame. By refusing it, it keeps me,
I believe in my heart, my stance stays straight
that I am appalled with everything that he
did and I want no part of any of it including
his Hall of Fame which is part of it.
>>Eric: During your last three appearances
on my radio show you have been very vocal
about steroids not only in pro wrestling but
in high school and college athletics. What
are your thoughts on the fact that during
recent congressional hearings about steroids,
professional wrestling was not investigated?
>>Bruno: That�s why I am very turned off
by people like McCain, and Waxman and all
of these people. I am very turned off with
these people and I will tell you why. For
example, all of the stuff that you are reading
now about baseball, and Steve Courson, I don�t
know if you remember his name, he�s from
here in Pittsburgh, who played for the Steelers?
He spoke about 95% of all of the football
players were on steroids. In baseball, we
know now about (Jose) Canseco, and others
who have been speaking about it and so forth,
and now they have these congressional hearings
or whatever, but there have been no deaths
(baseball) that we really know of. Twenty
something years ago when I was so outspoken
about the steroid problems and we were on
these shows that I just mentioned like the
Larry King Show, and Donahue, and all of that,
you mean to tell me that these guys, the McCains,
the Waxmans, and all of that never heard about
any of this stuff? No, it was because it was
professional wrestling and they didn�t care.
Wrestling wasn�t the glamor sport like baseball,
football, whatever. Now with baseball, all
of these congressional hearings and that,
there haven�t been any deaths where in wrestling
and I am sure you heard this yourself Eric,
there is supposed to have been over the last
twenty years over seventy guys that have died
from drug related things. My God, shouldn�t
that bring more attention than anything to
where there are that many deaths that have
occurred and young guys yet? In baseball there
have been no deaths that I know of, in football
they talk about Lyle Alzado, but the point
is that in wrestling there have been that
many deaths and yet they ignore it all of
the time, maybe if they have paid attention
twenty-five years ago or so when I was talking
so much about it, maybe then they would have
taken some action that maybe would have curbed
the baseball, football thing to get into those
kind of drugs! Maybe if they would have taken
action that much earlier, the leagues themselves
to try and prevent it from happening, but
no they never did. Now they are doing all
of this investigation of football, baseball,
basketball, but still you don�t hear the
name wrestling amongst them and this is where
the most deaths have occurred. Does that make
any sense? With all of the deaths, all of
the 
tragedies that we have had in this game, I
just don�t understand it but it appalls
me that these people aren�t doing something
about it.
>>Eric: Dusty Rhodes recently took some shots
at you 
in his new book. He tells a story that you
were jealous when he came into a nightclub
after a New York show where the two of you
were and steal the attention away from you.
What are your thoughts on those comments?
>>Bruno: First of all I have never been a
nightclub with Dusty Rhodes. I was not a nightclub
person, I didn�t go to nightclubs. I have
never been in one. I heard he also said that
whenever we had an autograph session that
people would all rush to him and leave me.
I don�t know if this guy is that egotistical
or he convinces himself of these ridiculous
lies, Dusty Rhodes was never a big deal in
the northeast. When did he ever headline Madison
Square Garden or any of the other big arenas
around here? Not during my era, and he was
certainly there during my era. You know somebody
else told me that he said that and I said
that all I have to say is that this guy is
as sick as he is fat because it never happened!
>>Eric comments that after Dusty Rhodes�
book came out a lot of people that know Bruno
disputed the story for the exact same reason,
saying Bruno never went to the nightclubs.
>>Bruno: And I never did! I never did, so
I don�t know why these people write this
kind of garbage in their books, is it to sell
books? I don�t understand why they fabricate
these ridiculous stories! I just don�t understand
it, I just don�t.
>>Eric plays the following clip from Terry
Funk�s appearance on Pro Wrestling Radio
the previous week in which Eric asked Terry
about Bruno. Terry said, �I love Bruno.
Let me tell you there is a very honorable
man. There is a guy that certainly protected
his profession and I don�t mean this bad
whenever I say this. I�m not knocking Dusty.
Bruno certainly protected his profession 
more than Dusty. Certainly protected his profession
more than Ric Flair. Certainly protected his
profession more than Hulk Hogan. But also
he certainly protected his profession more
than Terry Funk. I think that�s a wonderful
trait and I think that he�s one hell of
a man, and gosh I really mean that. I have
always admired him to no end. He dog-gone
almost split up with Vince McMahon, SR. Because
Shoei Baba, and he met him, and they became
friends. Whenever you become one of Bruno�s
friends, well he�ll never let you down,
he�ll never forget that. Vince, SR. went
with Inoki. Bruno says, �I�m not going
to do that Baba�s my friend,� he went
with the threat of Vince McMahon, SR. going
ahead and destroying his career. If he took
the belt from him he would have destroyed
his career but he went with that threat. He
went right over there to All-Japan, which
was Shoei Baba�s company and wrestled for
him because Baba was his friend and he would
not in any way perform or do anything to hurt
him and I know for a fact he went over there
for a pittance of what he could have gotten.
Just expenses because he wanted to help the
guy out, because he was his friend. How can
you knock a guy like that?�
>>Bruno: I appreciate very, very much what
he said. I don�t want to pat myself on the
back but you know, yeah, I love the business.
When I speak against the steroids and stuff
like that, and the deaths, and everything
else it is because pains me so deeply of what
they have done to this business, but I always
protected it, you�re darn right I did, because
I loved it, I loved the business, I respected
the fans who supported us, and I had so much
respect for so many of the wrestlers. If anybody
has read my book you don�t hear me speaking
of individuals like that, so I thank Terry
Funk for what he said, it�s very flattering
all of the kind words that he said, but it�s
the truth. For example, in Japan Vince McMahon
(Senior) and I had wars because he was making
a lot of money sending talent for the Inoki
organization and he said to me, �How does
it look for me for you going for Shoei Baba
when I�m dealing with Inoki?� I said,
�I�m sorry for how it looks for you but
I was going for Baba before you got involved
with Inoki and now I should change just because
it serves you?� I said, �Hey if you don�t
like it do what you want but I will only go
for that organization.� And I did until
the very end, and no McMahon or anybody else
was going to have me turn my back on a commitment
that I made with a person. And so Funk is
very aware of that because his father (Dory,
SR.) became the booker for Shoei Baba and
when Shoei Baba started that�s right, I
went there just for expenses, just to help
him out because I felt that he was an honorable
man. So, here�s a Ric Flair who knocks me
here�s a guy that has a lawsuit for exposing
himself on an airplane with airline stewardesses.
Here�s a guy who was known to get loaded,
go up on bars and moon everybody in the bar.
Here�s a guy who wouldn�t pay his income
taxes, where they almost threw him in jail
and Jim Crockett had to work out a deal with
the government to keep him out of jail and
make monthly payments for back taxes. Here�s
a guy who�s admitted using drugs for over
twenty years, and this guy should be criticizing
anybody?
>>Eric comments that after hearing some of
the negative things people have had to say
about Bruno, that he thought Bruno would appreciate
the kind words from Terry Funk.
>>Bruno: I do appreciate it very much, yes,
what can I tell you? That�s very nice of
Terry to think that way, to feel that way
about me. But he knows me for a long, long
time, you know? We go way, way back, not that
we have been great buddies or ever hung out,
or anything like that, no. But, I think there
has always been mutual respect because of
our careers, you know?
>>Caller (Ron from Levittown, PA): What is
your son David doing these days?
>>Bruno: David lives in Georgia, he�s got
a wife and a daughter, and he�s out of the
wrestling business obviously, and he lives
there, and he works there, and that�s his
life now.
>>Caller (Scott from Michigan): Why do you
think that so many wrestlers today are trying
to tarnish your legacy? You carried the WWWF
on your back for seven years and then another
four years. Why do you think guys like Ric
Flair and all of those guys want to tarnish
your legacy like that?
>>Bruno: I think guys like Ric Flair, I never
knew him too well. I was never around him
all that much. In the Garden when he first
came, Crockett sent him over to give him some
publicity, that�s the time when I was champion,
but he was preliminary, I think he wrestled
a guy by the name of Pete Sanchez. And whenever
I was in Japan with him he was in the preliminary
and I was the headliner. In Ric Flair�s
case I think it�s strictly jealousy, he�s
an ego maniac, he wants to put himself above
everybody in the whole world (laughs) of wrestling,
and I think that he thinks he can achieve
that by putting others that may have had a
better reputation by putting them down, I
don�t know any other way to explain it.
I don�t know what�s in the guy�s head,
but like I say. Whatever he thinks he has
done and the way he has conducted himself,
I think that speaks volumes for what Ric Flair
is all about.
>>Eric: Is it true that Vince, SR. came to
you when the Inoki-Ali match was tanking and
you came back for your match with Stan Hansen
way too early?
>>Bruno: I got the doctors on my back, my
family, because Vince McMahon (SR.) was calling
me at the hospital, after I was recuperating
from my broken neck, the thing was such a
disaster financially and if anybody remembers
or knows, it was the biggest bomb world-wide
as far as that match, every place it was seen.
And Vince McMahon, SR. told me that if he
didn�t make the match between me and (Stan)
Hansen, that he was going to go into bankruptcy
because he had committed so much money with
a fight manager named Bob Arum for the closed-circuit
that Vince McMahon had gotten into. They thought
that the fighter vs. wrestler would be a big
bonanza. It would have been if it had been
anybody but Inoki because Inoki was known
in Japan but he wasn�t looked upon that
big anywhere else. McMahon kept calling and
calling, and my doctors and everybody else
said, �You�re not ready, you�re not
ready.� Anyway, long story short, I came
back just to bail him out and we did bail
him out, because every place they showed the
match with me and Stan Hansen on the closed-circuit,
it was a big bonanza, and not only bailed
McMahon out but made him a lot of money at
the same time.
>>Caller (Joe from Philadelphia, PA): I hear
you are coming to Philadelphia in June for
the Italian Sons and Daughters of America?
>>Bruno: Yes I just came back from Washington
D.C. where they honored me there. The I.S.D.A.,
the Italian Sons and Daughters of America
and the 26 th of June I believe I will be
honored in Philadelphia, PA.
>>Caller (Joe from Philadelphia): What�s
this I hear about Larry Zbysko challenging
you to a match?
>>Bruno: Funny thing is because if you look
at the website, wrestlerunion.com, you will
see me there responding to him and then you�ll
even see me take my sweatshirt off and give
a pose to show everybody what I look like
at this stage of my life.
>>Eric: Is there anyone at that Wrestlereunion
convention that you are looking forward to
seeing?
>>Bruno: Well, look I went to Tampa and I
didn�t want to do it, I turned it down because
after these surgeries I took so much time
to recuperate, to train, to get back in shape,
and I just didn�t want to travel. Anyway
my good friend Sal Corrente said to me, �Bruno
please you got to make it, we are calling
it the legends,� and all kind of stuff like
that. I went and I was thrilled to death.
There were a lot of wrestlers there and unfortunately
I didn�t get to see half of them because
I was so busy with the fans, signing autographs,
having photo sessions, question and answer
thing, and that�s what I really loved. So
I devoted all of my time more to that than
trying to get together with some of the wrestlers.
Not that I don�t want to but I felt that
this was the fans day, this was for the fans,
and that�s where the time should be devoted
to and it�s going to be the same thing in
Valley Forge. Yeah it�ll be nice to see
some of the guys but more importantly this
is an opportunity to be able to meet with
the fans, to answer the questions, listen
to their comments, take a picture with them,
or whatever it is that is going to happen
and yeah, I am looking forward to it.
>>Caller (Larry from Rhode Island): Waldo
Von Erich, Spiros Arion, and Bobby Duncam,
who was the best wrestler? Who was the best
brawler?
>>Bruno: Bobby Duncam is a name that you don�t
hear too much about and he was great, I absolutely
loved wrestling him because he used to accomplish
with a lot of big wrestling moves, he was
a big guy who could move real, real well.
Von Erich I think probably more brawling,
not that he couldn�t wrestle because he
certainly could. And with Spiros Arion he
used a combination, some wrestling and some
brawling, but out of the three for me the
best match would be with Bobby Duncam.
>>Caller (Ted from Virginia): How is Vince,
JR different from his father and Toots Mondt,
and why didn�t you ever wrestle heel?
Bruno: As far as to compare Vince McMahon,
Jr. to Vince, Sr. and Toots Mondt, Toots Mondt
to those who may not know who he >>was, he
was truly one of the greatest wrestlers of
his era, he was a tough, tough guy, great
wrestler, was partners with Vince McMahon,
SR., a lot of people didn�t even know that.
Vince McMahon, SR., yeah I am not going to
tell you that it was a 100% smooth ride, we
had our differences but overall I respected
him too because he wanted the best for wrestling
and so on and so forth, he really was for
wrestling. His son, I cannot compare him.
If his father was alive and saw what his son
did, I don�t know what his father would
do because I knew darn well the way I knew
Vince McMahon, SR. he would never have approved
of what his son did. Heel (laughs)? Sometimes
I think I acted like one when I was wrestling
the Kowalskis and the, I think I was as much
of a heel with my actions in the ring as any
of them were.
>>Eric: Dusty Rhodes said on my show it was
common for other promoters to try and get
a champion to jump with a belt. Did either
the NWA or the AWA make you any offers to
jump with the belt?
>>Bruno: No, there was talk where they (NWA)
actually had meetings when (Lou) Thesz was
champion. He was getting old as we all got
old in time, and he wasn�t effective anymore
and they (NWA) felt that they wanted a unification
of the titles where I was 
going to be that but they could never get
together as far as what�s his name, Sam
Muchnick who was the head of the NWA, he needed
like 17, 18 dates a month on the champion
because of all of the commitments that he
had with NWA members around the country. Vince
McMahon who felt he had the biggest arenas
anywhere in the country and all of these major
cities and he needed 17, 18 dates, so they
were battling back and forth as to who was
going to get how many dates on me, and what
happened was when I found out about it, because
I was never in any of the meetings, I held
a meeting of my own with Vince McMahon, Toots
Mondt, and a guy named Willie Gilzinberg and
I said, �I don�t care how you people to
divide my time around the country but know
this; my parents are still living and they
are up there in age, I never get to see my
own wife and my son, Sundays have to got to
be mine. Wrestle me six days a week, put me
on the road, and I�ll go for it, but four
days a month are mine.� That really killed
it because now they had like 26, 27 dates
to work with in no way were they going to
get enough dates to please both. So that�s
when Toots Mondt told Vince McMahon, �Why
do you even care about that (NWA), we have
our own territory, we�ve become number one
world-wide as far as recognition. Let them
be them and let us be us,� and that�s
what happened.
>>Eric: Lou Albano was on my show a few years
back and credits you with suggesting that
he go from wrestler to manager. Is that true?
>>Bruno: Well, he wasn�t doing that good
as a wrestler. He wasn�t doing that well
and all but 
I noticed that 
he was a pretty good talker, he was always
talking and there was a certain style of his
that I felt that he could be very effective
because some wrestlers weren�t well in promoting
themselves. For example, they were going to
wrestle in Madison Square Garden, let�s
say against me when I was (WWWF) champion
and they couldn�t promote themselves on
interviews and I thought that Albano had such
a gift of gab and his wrestling skills were
really mediocre, I thought he�d be a better
manager and I one time suggested that they
should do that and even told Vince McMahon.
I said, �This guy ( Albano) would be a much
better manager than he would a wrestler.�
So they tried him out and as they say, the
rest is history.
>>Eric: Bruno, thank you so much for doing
the show. This is 
your fourth appearance and hopefully I can
have you back soon for a fifth?
>>Bruno: I hope so Eric, it�s always nice
doing the show with you and 
I truly, truly enjoyed talking to all of your
listeners. I really mean that. Anytime, just
let me know.
