Bruno Sammartino

“We lived in the mountains for 14 months without much food. People were dying from starvation.”

“If I had only Inoki to meet, I could wrestle until I was 60 years old.”

“Wrestling isn't looked upon like the other sports of football, baseball, basketball and hockey.”

“In 1959 I had broken the bench press record by lifting 565 pounds, and I could lift 715 pounds from a squat.”

“There's nothing like wrestling in front of people you know.”

“There were promises made to me as far as if I became a professional wrestler, that I was going to be given every opportunity to be a headliner... and that's the only reason why I accepted.”

“I was in the business for almost a quarter of a century, and I'm very proud of my career.”

“Throughout the '60s and '70s, I saw many operas in New York and Philadelphia. When people found out about that, they were always shocked, because I was a professional wrestler. Why are athletes any different than any other profession? People have many other interests.”

“I'm very violent in the ring. I don't know if it's the Italian temper, I can get very nasty in there. But outside, I'm the easiest-going guy in the world.”

“In the old days wrestling had a certain showmanship. All those people paid their dues. They knew how to wrestle.”

“Franco Corelli is my favorite tenor.”

“I never had a gimmick. All I had was a pair of boots and a pair of tights.”

“In talking to Paul Levesque, I made it clear, I've had issues with WWE and wrestling in general, because there were other organizations. I didn't like the direction they had taken. It was bothersome to me.”

“With Paul Levesque and the conversations we have had I've found him to be a straight shooter and everything he said with me he kept his word 100%.”

“I would be a fool to tell you that there was no fixing. You ask if wrestling is for real? Well, I think my own body answers that question.”

“I only survived because of my mother's love and care.”

“I lost a brother and a sister, and I came down with rheumatic fever.”

“I'm an opera lover.”

“In Europe, I was just a little guy... the winters in the mountains were very nasty.”

“I didn't care for Steve Austin because of his mouth. He was a very, very vulgar individual and anybody who is like that I can never be a fan of. So, any of his positives were overshadowed by the negatives.”