David Sammartino

David Sammartino
Ring name(s)	Bruno Sammartino, Jr. David Lugogo David Sammartino
Billed height	5 ft 8 in (173 cm)
Billed weight	245 lb (111 kg)
Born	September 29, 1960 (1960-09-29) (age 51) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Trained by	Bruno Sammartino
Debut	1980

David Lugogo Sammartino (born September 29, 1960 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for being the son of former World Wide Wrestling Federation Heavyweight Champion Bruno Sammartino.

Career

Sammartino was initially not trained by his father, because Bruno did not want his son to go into wrestling and experience all the horrors he did when he started. He wanted him to get a college education and pursue a different career. Not taking his father's advice, David headed south and began training and wrestling with a lot of little indy outfits. He debuted in 1980. Throughout 1981, Sammartino feuded with Larry Zbyszko (who had engaged in a bitter feud with Bruno Sammartino throughout 1980) on the independent circuit. David was only 5'6" and he weighed around 190 pounds. Like most wrestlers, his stats were fabricated.

Sammartino joined the World Wrestling Federation in September 1984, with his father as his manager. His most notable appearance with the WWF was at the inaugural WrestleMania event in Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York on March 31, 1985. Accompanied by Bruno, Sammartino wrestled Brutus Beefcake 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, 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.

However, it soon became clear that Vince McMahon was only using David's career as a lure to get his famous father to wrestle and draw huge crowds. When Bruno was involved, David was in the main event; when he wasn't, it was back to the prelims. Frustrated, David quit the WWF several times and was only brought back with the assistance of his famous father. Finally, Sammartino was fired from the WWF after he was arrested for punching a fan, who spat at him in New York. Bruno Sammartino later speculated that the fan was a plant hired by WWF owner Vince McMahon to provoke Sammartino in order to give the WWF an excuse to terminate his contract.

In one of his final WWF appearances, Sammartino was involved in a confusing and controversial finish at the Philadelphia Spectrum on November 22, 1985, quickly submitting to a bear hug by preliminary wrestler Ron Shaw in a match Sammartino is believed to have been booked to win. The alleged changing of the finish by Sammartino (Shaw and the referee apparently were caught by surprise) has caused this to be known as the "Phantom Submission Match."

In 1986, Sammartino joined the American Wrestling Association. On February 4, 1986 in Salt Lake City, Utah, Sammartino unsuccessfully challenged Stan Hansen for the AWA World Heavyweight Championship.

In 1990, Sammartino began wrestling for Herb Abrams Universal Wrestling Federation in California.

Sammartino re-emerged in the mid-1990s in World Championship Wrestling, competing in the promotion's cruiserweight division. On the December 16, 1996 episode of WCW Monday Night Nitro, Sammartino challenged Dean Malenko for the WCW Cruiserweight Championship, but was defeated.

In 2000, Sammartino defeated Jimmy Cicero to win the New York State Wrestling Federation Heavyweight Championship in New Rochelle, New York.

He is currently semi-retired, and has worked as a personal trainer since 1996.

In wrestling

• Finishing moves
  • Figure four leglock

• Signature moves
  • Backbreaker rack
  • Front facelock

Championships and accomplishments

• New York State Wrestling Federation
  • NYSWF Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

• North American Wrestling
  • NAW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^[1]

• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • PWI Rookie of the Year (1981)
  • PWI ranked him #480 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI Years in 2003

• Southern Championship Wrestling

• SCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^[1]

References

• American Wrestling Association results (1986)
• David Sammartino at Bodyslamming.com
• David Sammartino at Cagematch.net
• David Sammartino lets it all out in shoot
• Interview with Bruno Sammartino
• World Wrestling Federation Championship Wrestling results (1984)

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b} Royal Duncan & Gary Will (4th Edition 2000). Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4. 

1. The History of WWE, 1985 ring results. Retrieved Sept. 21, 2007.

External links

Professional wrestling portal

• David Sammartino at the Internet Movie Database

Persondata
Name	Sammartino, David
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	September 29, 1960
Place of birth	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Date of death
Place of death