The WWE Universe has lost of of the greatest legends of all time today (Wed. April 18, 2018), as news has broken that Hall Of Famer Bruno Sammartino has passed away at age 82.

Sammartino is the second-ever WWE Champion in history after defeating Buddy Rodgers in only 48 seconds back in 1963 from Madison Square Garden in front of 20,000 fans.

He held the WWE Championship for eight years, the longest reign in company history that will likely never been topped.

Not only is Sammartino the longest reigning champion in WWE history, but he is the longest reigning champion of any other organization. Nobody in professional wrestling history has ever held a title longer than he has.

Over the years of his title reign, Sammartino defended his title against fellow legendary figures such as Killer Kowalski, Gorilla Monsoon and George “The Animal” Steele. 

After over 2,000 days as WWE Champion, Sammartino finally lost the WWE Title to Ivan Kolaf in 1971 form Madison Squared Garden.

The crowd was shocked to see him lose and some members of the audience were actually crying.

In fact, after Kolaf defeated Sammartino the belt wasn't awarded to Kolaf after the win in fear that a riot would break out. 

Sammartino wrestled his last match in WWE in the late 80s before doing some commentary work for the promotion. In 2013 Sammartino finally took his rightful place amongst his fellow legends, being inducted into the Hall Of Fame by Arnold Schwarzenegger (via ESPN):

"Being inducted into the Hall of Fame at Madison Square Gardens is the biggest thing in my life," Sammartino said in an interview with ESPN ahead of his 2013 WWE Hall of Fame induction.

"Anytime that people feel that you accomplished enough to enter into a Hall of Fame, of course this is a tremendous, tremendous thrill for me.

"I had a lot of my success due to appearing at the Garden."

Over the course of his professional wrestling career, Sammartino's star power truly shined through as he headlined and sold out Madison Square Garden 188 times. 

What are your thoughts on the passing of Sammartino? And where do you think he ranks amongst the all-time greats in professional wrestling history? Do you think WWE will honor him at any upcoming shows or pay-per-view (PPV) events? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!

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