Bruno Sammartino: I Never Thought I'd Step Foot In MSG Again

In the eyes of many, his induction will legitimise the entire WWE Hall of Fame concept. The longest reigning World Champion in WWE history, Bruno Sammartino recently spoke to Busted Open Radio about his memories of competing in the hallowed halls of Madison Square Garden, and the emotion he will feel upon being inducted there.

"I'm wondering myself (how I'll cope with the emotion). There is no question, that its going to be something for me and I hope I can handle it emotionally because I appeared in that building over 200 times. Fifty years ago I took the belt from Buddy Rogers. That's the place I picked up Haystacks Calhoun, when no one was able to budge him. It's a place where I also broke my neck. It's the place where I lost the title. It's a place where I regained the title. To be there as many times as I did, and the thing that I never forgotten and it still touches me and gives me goosebumps is that when I used to make my entrance from my dressing room towards the ring, that whole audience would explode and start chanting my name. Even though I was a fanatic about my training, but when I got in that ring I was even more energized. I wanted to give everything I had to give, to those fans because they treated me so great.

You know in this business you're a headliner if given the opportunity. But if those fans don't come out for you, you're not a headliner for long. I was a headliner for twenty something years because the fans came out and supported me. For the fans who wanted me to do this, I wanted to please them as well. Yes I have thought about what its going to be like when I appear there one more time because I never thought I would step into Madison Square Garden again. I'm sure everything is going to be flashing back to all the stuff that happened there. I hope I'm man enough to handle it without getting too emotional."