David Lugogo Sammartino (born September 29, 1960) is an American personal trainer and retired

professional wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...

. He is the son of former WWWF/WWF World Heavyweight Champion,

Bruno Sammartino Bruno Leopoldo Francesco Sammartino (October 6, 1935 – April 18, 2018) was an Italian-American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is best known for his time with the WWE, World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). Sammartin ...

Professional wrestling career

Early career

Bruno was against David going into professional wrestling, as he did not want him to experience the various horrors he went through when he started. He wanted David to get a college education and pursue a different career. Going against his father's advice, David headed south and began training and wrestling with a few smaller independent wrestling companies, making his debut as a 20-year-old in 1980. In 1981, Sammartino wrestled for Georgia Championship Wrestling. Throughout 1981, Sammartino picked up where his father left off the year before, feuding with Bruno's former protégé,

Larry Zbyszko Lawrence Whistler (born December 5, 1951), better known by the ring name Larry Zbyszko, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is perhaps best known for his Feud (professional wrestling), feud with his mentor, Bruno Sammartino, during ...

, on the

independent circuit In professional wrestling, the independent circuit (often shortened to the indie circuit or the indies) is the collective name of independently owned promotions which are deemed to be smaller and more regionalized than major national promotions. ...

World Wrestling Federation (1984–1985)

David Sammartino gorilla press Ken Patera 1985

Sammartino joined the

World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...

(WWF) in September 1984, with his father as his

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

. He received a big push while teaming with his father, he was also pushed in singles matches. He appeared at the inaugural WrestleMania event in

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

on March 31, 1985. Accompanied by Bruno, Sammartino wrestled

Brutus Beefcake Edward Harrison Leslie (born April 21, 1957) is an American retired professional wrestler, best known for his work in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) under the ring name Brutus "the Barber" Beefcake. He later worked for World Champ ...

in the fourth match of the night. The match ended in a double disqualification after Sammartino was thrown out of the ring by Beefcake and slammed by Beefcake's manager

Johnny Valiant John L. Sullivan (born Thomas Sullivan; November 25, 1946 – April 4, 2018) was an American professional wrestler and manager, better known by his ring name, Johnny Valiant. He competed in the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF), which ...

, prompting Bruno Sammartino to assault Valiant. This led to a series of tag team matches that brought Bruno out of retirement in an effort to get David's career advanced. When Bruno was involved, David was often in the main event or in a high-profile match; when Bruno wasn't involved David would be wrestling preliminary matches. In one of his final WWF appearances, Sammartino was involved in a controversial finish at the Philadelphia Spectrum on November 22, 1985, quickly submitting to a bear hug by jobber Ron Shaw.

Various promotions

In 1986, Sammartino left the WWF and joined the

American Wrestling Association The American Wrestling Association (AWA) was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 until 1991. It was founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo. The promotion was born out of the Minneapolis ...

(AWA). He had three championship matches against AWA World Champion

Stan Hansen John Stanley Hansen II (born August 29, 1949), best known as Stan "the Lariat" Hansen, is an American retired professional wrestler. Hansen is known for his stiff wrestling style, which he attributed to his poor eyesight, and for his gimmick a ...

. On February 4, 1986 in

Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Salt ...

, Sammartino unsuccessfully challenged Hansen for the championship. Sammartino left the AWA after just a few months and returned to the WWF, where he was once again used as a preliminary wrestler. Sammartino's second run ended in 1988 when he was fired from the WWF after he was

arrest An arrest is the act of apprehending and taking a person into custody (legal protection or control), usually because the person has been suspected of or observed committing a crime. After being taken into custody, the person can be question ...

ed for punching a fan, who spat at him in Watertown, New York. In 1990, Sammartino began wrestling for

Herb Abrams Herbert Charles Abrams (July 9, 1955 – July 23, 1996), also known by the nickname Mr. Electricity, was an American professional wrestling promoter from Queens, New York, who founded the Universal Wrestling Federation (UWF) in 1990. Early life ...

' Universal Wrestling Federation in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. David also competed for

All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW/AJP) or simply All Japan is a Puroresu, Japanese professional wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion founded on October 21, 1972, by Giant Baba after he left the Japanese Wrestling Association to create his own promotion. Ma ...

(AJPW) in 1988, before leaving the company in 1990. Sammartino, occasionally teamed with

Joe Malenko Jody Simon (born June 4, 1956) is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Joe Malenko. He is the son of Boris Malenko and the older brother of Dean Malenko. Professional wrestling career Early career (1977–19 ...

in AJPW. Sammartino returned to wrestling in 1995 and competed for NWA New Jersey, where he unsuccessfully challenged Tommy Cairo for the NWA North American Championship twice. Sammartino left the promotion shortly thereafter. Sammartino re-emerged in 1996 in

World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of National W ...

(WCW), competing in the promotion's cruiserweight division. Sammartino was only used in two matches in WCW. On the December 16, 1996 episode of ''

WCW Monday Nitro ''WCW Monday Nitro'', also known as ''WCW Nitro'' or simply ''Nitro'', is an American professional wrestling television program that was produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and broadcast weekly every Monday night on TNT (American TV ...

'', Sammartino challenged

Dean Malenko Dean Shelly Simon (born August 4, 1960), better known by the ring name Dean Malenko, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is signed with All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a senior producer. He is best known for his time in the World Wres ...

for the

WCW Cruiserweight Championship World Championship Wrestling (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of National W ...

, but was defeated. The other match was a

dark match Professional wrestling has accrued a considerable amount of jargon throughout its existence. Much of it stems from the industry's origins in the days of carnival Carnival (known as Shrovetide in certain localities) is a festive season that o ...

, defeating preliminary wrestler, Rex King. In 2000, Sammartino defeated Jimmy Cicero to win the New York State Wrestling Federation Heavyweight Championship in

New Rochelle, New York New Rochelle ( ; in ) is a Political subdivisions of New York State#City, city in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County, New York (state), New York, United States. It is a suburb of New York City, located approximately from Midtow ...

. In 2010, Sammartino appeared at an International Wrestling Cartel event called "IWC Night of legends" defeating former rival

. In June 2010, Sammartino teamed with Zbyzsko, against

Frank Stalletto Frank Stalletto (born November 5) is an American professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He was a mainstay of the East Coast of the United States, East Coast and Mid-Atlantic states, Mid-Atlantic independent circuit for much of the 1990s ...

, and Lou Marconi at Deaf Wrestlefest 2010 in a winning effort.

Personal life

Sammartino has retired from wrestling and has worked as a

personal trainer A personal trainer is an individual who creates and delivers safe and effective exercise programs for healthy individuals and groups, or those with medical clearance to exercise. They motivate clients by collaborating to set goals, providing m ...

since 1996. He had a strained relationship with his father, Bruno.

Championships and accomplishments

* North American Wrestling ** NAW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) * ''

Pro Wrestling Illustrated ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publishing Group. The maga ...

'' **

PWI Rookie of the Year This is a list of both active and inactive ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' awards which are voted on by ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') readers every year from 1972 onwards, expanding to more categories in later years. Unlike other wrestling ...

(1981) ** PWI ranked him No. 480 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years" in 2003 * Southern Championship Wrestling ** SCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

References

External links

* *
''David Sammartino lets it all out in shoot''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sammartino, David 1960 births 20th-century male professional wrestlers 20th-century American professional wrestlers American male professional wrestlers American professional wrestlers of Italian descent Living people Professional wrestlers from Pennsylvania Professional wrestlers from Pittsburgh People of Abruzzese descent