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Bruno Sammartino in the 2013 WWE Hall of Fame
On May 17th, 1963 he won the WWWF Championship from Nature Boy Buddy Rogers at Madison Square Garden. He and Rogers had a fierce rivalry in and out of the ring. After Rogers the first man that challenged Bruno was Gorilla Monsoon. Bruno fought some of the top bad guys in the business including Killer Kowalski, Giant Baba,Gene Kiniski, Dr. Jerry Graham, Johnny Valentine, The Sheik, Freddie Blassie, Curtis Iaukea, Bill Watts, Professor Toru Tanaka, and George "The Animal" Steele.
He held that title for nearly eight years until Ivan Koloff defeated him in January 1971. Shortly after Pedro Morales won the title and began a feud with Sammartino but Morales was not the one who Bruno took the title back from. On December 10th , 1973 he won back the title from Stan Stasiak. In his second run he took on all comers including John Tolos, Bruiser Brody, Ken Patera, Baron Von Raschke, "Superstar" Billy Graham, Angelo Mosca, Ernie Ladd, and Nikolai Volkoff. He lost the the title to Superstar Billy Graham in April of 1977 but he would continue to feud with Graham along with Blackjack Mulligan, Lord Alfred Hayes, Dick Murdoch, "Crippler" Ray Stevens, and his protege Larry Zbyszko
By the time the Rock N Wrestling Era started Sammartino's career began to wind down. He feuded with Roddy Piper, Randy Savage, Paul Orndorff, Adrian Adonis, Honky Tonk Man and The Hart Foundation. His last match in the WWF was when he teamed with Hulk Hogan to defeat King Kong Bundy. After his last match he briefly commentated with WWE and also making appearences in NWA, WCW, TNA, and ROH.
By the time the Rock N Wrestling Era started Sammartino's career began to wind down. He feuded with Roddy Piper, Randy Savage, Paul Orndorff, Adrian Adonis, Honky Tonk Man and The Hart Foundation. His last match in the WWF was when he teamed with Hulk Hogan to defeat King Kong Bundy. After his last match he briefly commentated with WWE and also making appearences in NWA, WCW, TNA, and ROH.
It is well known the Bruno does have a hatred for Vince McMahon and the use of the steroids in the WWE in the 70's through the 90's. Bruno is said to be a huge fan of Triple H which is why he is finally accepting hid invitation into the WWE Hall of Fame. He is a big fan and supporter of Kurt Angle as well. Bruno Sammartino belongs in the Hall of Fame. It is long overdue for Bruno Sammartino and it's ironic that Punk talked about long title reigns because two of the longest title reigns were held by Bob Backlund, and Bruno Sammartino who are now being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.
Congratulations to Bruno Sammartino on finally being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. Long Live Bruno
Sports History on Hollywood's Birthday
1932 - The first Winter Olympics in the USA opened at Lake Placid, NY. The games were opened by New York Gov. Franklin D. Roosevelt.
1952 -The late great Jackie Robinson was named Director of Communication for NBC. He was the first black executive of a major radio-TV network.
1969 - The Madden Era was born when John Madden was named the head coach of the NFL's Oakland Raiders. Now we see a Madden game every year.
1970 - The pair that split the Beatles John Lennon and Yoko Ono gave a Michael X a bag of their cut hair in return for a pair of genuine Muhammad Ali boxing shorts.
1973 - Surprisingly the New York Islanders and the Buffalo Sabres played an entire game with no penalties called.
1993 - The Boston Celtics retired Larry Bird's #33 jersey high in the rafters.
1997 -Justice was served in a way on this day when a civil jury in California found O.J. Simpson liable in the death of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman. Goldman's parents were awarded $8.5 million in compensatory damages.
1997 - Hockey Legend Mario Lemieux from the Pittsburgh Penguins scored his 600th National Hockey League (NHL) goal during his 719th game. Lemieux reached the milestone second fastest in history. Only Wayne Gretzky had reached the plateau during his 718th game.
2001 - Wasted away in Margritaville, Jimmy Buffet was ordered by NBA referee Joe Forte to give up his courtside seat due to the use of profanity. After a several-minute delay, the game between the Miami Heat and the visiting New York Knicks continued. Some people say that the Knicks are to blame but I know it's the Heat's fault.
2002 - The Twins almost lost their home but Minnesota's Supreme Court refused to consider an appeal by the Minnesota Twins of an injunction that would force the Twins to fulfill their lease at the Metrodome.
2003 - Jaromir Jagr from Washington Capitals scored his 500th career goal. He also got his 11th career hat trick in the game.
2002 - The Twins almost lost their home but Minnesota's Supreme Court refused to consider an appeal by the Minnesota Twins of an injunction that would force the Twins to fulfill their lease at the Metrodome.
2003 - Jaromir Jagr from Washington Capitals scored his 500th career goal. He also got his 11th career hat trick in the game.
So as you can see a lot of interesting things happened on February 4th in past years. Hopefully, I will see some more great sports moments on my birthday in years to come. What sports moments have happened on your birthday?
Road to Wrestlemania 29: Week 1
The Antonio Cesaro and Miz feud continued when Miz was a special guest referee in Cesaro's match with Orton. Obviously Orton won the match but Miz added insult to injury with a Skull Crushing Finale. I have a feeling The Miz and Cesaro will end at Wrestlemania but if it ends at Elimination Chamber then I see Miz winning back the United States Champion.
Newcomer Bo Dallas took on Intercontinetal Champion Wade Barrett and Bo Dallas continued to have Barrett's number as he defeated Barrett in his Raw debut. I have a feeling Bo Dallas is going to be heavily pushed on this Road to Wrestlemania. He's a third generation superstar with a great family lineage. Wade Barrett's bad luck would continue on Smackdown as he lost to Randy Orton. After he lost to Orton, he attacked Bo Dallas backstage.
John Cena announced that he would challenge for the WWE Championship at Wrestlemania and before he could say anymore The Shield came out and attacked Cena as well as Ryback and Sheamus. Speaking of championships Alberto Del Rio and Ricardo Rodriguez were victims of a brutal beatdown at then hands of the Big Show leaving both men lying.
Other things that happened on Raw included Tensai and Brodus Clay in a dance off. Also a karaoke contest, a tables match and The Rock accepting Punk's challenge at a rematch for the title at Elimination Chamber. At the end of the night Paul Heyman was about to get fired but before Vince uttered those famous word Brock Lesnar's music hit and before too long he gave the chairman the vicious F5 ending Raw with one question in mind. How will Triple H react to the attack of his father in law?
Main Event showcased two matches that included Ryback versus Antonio Cesaro and Titus O'Neill versus Tensai. I was actually surprised how long Titus and Tensai went on TV. It turned out to be a really decent match.
Smackdown kicked off with Booker T's Elimination Chamber announcement that Randy Orton, Sheamus, Great Khali, Daniel Bryan, and Kane would be in the Chamber to determine the number one contender for the World Heavyweight Championship. Ziggler was going to be in it but he backed out due to having the Money in the Bank briefcase. Jack Swagger made his return and asked to be in the match but was told he had to earn. Later in the night he defeated Kofi Kingston to prove his point. Speaking of the World Heavyweight Champion, Alberto Del Rio waited out in the parking lot all night for the Big Show. Once the Big Show arrived a parking lot brawl ensued but then Del Rio would have to go to the ring to face Dolph Ziggler. Del Rio beat Ziggler but Big Show appeared on the titantron and had taken Ricardo hostage and punished him to end Smackdown.
The match of the week had to be Team Hell No taking on Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara. This was a classic, fast pace tag team match that was a great way to kick of Smackdown. Sin Cara and Mysterio got the victory over the tag team champions which will probably result in a tag title shot for the mexican masked men. Speaking of tag teams, Team Rhodes Scholars decided to break up and pursue singles careers. So one can only wonder how the Road to Wrestlemania 29 will shape up for Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow?
The Road to Wrestlemania 29 kicked off in a huge way. So many question headed into Monday and I am sure many of them will be answered. Be sure to check back every Saturday for weekly coverage on the Road to Wrestlemania 29. Hollywood's World of Sports is dedicated to having in depth coverage leading up to Wrestlemania 29 on April 7th.
The Rock vs. CM Punk for the WWE Championship is the first official match made for the Elimination Chamber.
Schedule for Daytona Speedweeks 2013
It's almost here. In two weeks Daytona Speedweeks will begin. Here is the schedule for the fastest week of the year.
The Sprint Unlimited- February 16th at 8pm on FOX
Budweiser Duel 1- February 21st at 2pm on FOX/Speed
Budweiser Duel 2- February 21st at 3:30pm on FOX/Speed
Nextera Energy Resources 250- February 22nd at 8:30pm on Fox Sports/Speed
Drive4COPD 300- February 23rd at 1pm on ESPN
Daytona 500- February 24th at 1pm on FOX
This year is going to be a wild year with new cars, new teams and a few new drivers. This one of the best weeks of the year if you're a racing fan. This will be a lot of fun to watch. Keep staying tune for more updates on the Daytona 500.
