promoter2003
The Rowdy One 
Posts 2095
Registered 1-24-2003 Member Is Offline Mood: No Mood.
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| posted on 11-30-2009 at 06:57 PM |
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Bruno claims Hogan, Austin, & Rock couldn't draw like him
Interesting interview with Bruno Sammartino. Still has a chip on his shoulder and claims that Hogan and Austin weren't really draws. But the
interviewer is quite good and challenges him on a lot of his answers.
The whole interview can be read here http://www.newsday.com/sports/the-steel-cage-1.811995
but here is an excerpt.
Quote:
AC: Well, can I ask you, did he ever offer you a figure? Was there ever a figure floated for doing business with him?
BS: For the Hall of Fame he offered $5,000.
AC: Really?
BS: Yeah. That�s pretty awful.
AC: Wow. That is on the low end. Well, did they ever discuss anything with you � like a DVD or anything like that?
BS: Well, what I think he told my attorney was� Because I don�t trust him for nothing, I said, "If you want to do a DVD, if you want to do whatever,
fine. Let�s work out a deal that is satisfactory financially, and then go out and sell it to make all they money in the world. If you make tens times
more than me, fine." But, because I don�t trust them, "Give me the money up front and then you take the chance worldwide about selling that DVD."
Because, let me tell you something about what he did. He sold some of my merchandise, which he had to pay me for. He has copyrights, but he can�t just
use you. What we figured out, and I told him this when I saw him, he gave me less than one-tenth of one percent of the sales.
AC: Is that right?
BS: Yeah. And you know why I couldn�t do anything about it, the lawyers told me? Because when he gave me the first check when I was still there doing
some commentary, I cashed it. Once I cashed it, it was like a contract. I agreed to that. To this day, when they sell stuff and I look at the
breakdown, I don�t even get one-tenth of one percent of what they sell of me.
AC: I just can�t help but think that � and I don�t know Vince McMahon � but certainly I think it�s important enough to WWE and to the McMahon family
to legitimize their Hall of Fame that I would suspect that they would be able to go the extra mile, within reason, to get you into it. And I�m sure �
I mean, I could picture the day that you would be inducted � I think the place would absolutely explode. You�re one of the most important people in
the history of the business.
BS: You just don�t know McMahon. He has to win. And if he gives in by giving you what you�re asking for, then he will have lost in his own warped
mind. That�s how the guy works. And let me tell you about my achievements. You mentioned Hulk Hogan. There is the biggest myth in the history of
professional wrestling. This guy could never sell out arenas. Vince McMahon found out early when he tried to put him in back-to-back shows that the
gates always drop from the first show to the second show by about 30 percent, or whatever. He�s the luckiest guy that ever came in here, because if
you look at his record of the arenas he�s appeared in, he gets credits for stuff he had nothing to do with. Do you know that he even took credit for
selling out Shea Stadium when I wrestled Zbyszko?
AC: Right, and he wrestled Andre.
BS: And he was a nobody then.
AC: But you can�t say that Hulk Hogan was not a draw.
BS: No, he was not a draw.
AC: Oh, stop.
BS: Wait a minute. He was a draw for an appearance. Absolutely he was a draw. But he was not a guy that you could bring back show after show to the
same arena.
AC: I mean, the business has changed so much that drawing, I think as you said, means something different than when you were wrestling. Arenas are
only a small part of the business now. I don�t think there�s ever been a bigger arena draw than you. What was your record of Garden sell-outs?
BS: I headlined Madison Square Garden 211 times. When they did the "greatest sports legends," I was the only one they would do, because they did a
little investigating. I don�t know how many times I sold out Boston or all the other arenas because they don�t keep those records. These people
checked it out and they came back with the report that I headlined the Garden 211 times and had 187 sell-outs. And even in McMahon�s magazine they did
a big story � without my permission, but I don�t care about that. That�s their right to do � and they even quoted all these numbers. I remember when
the father said, "Hey, we have to take advantage of this, because it�s a tremendous feat." In Boston, for example, I wrestled about 200 time. Do you
know that Hulk Hogan never headlined Madison Square Garden more than 20 times in his whole career?
AC: Well, he wasn�t that full time, right? They�d have the B-shows and they�d have someone else headlining, and Hogan was sort of the special
attraction.
BS: No, no, no. They tried him. I told McMahon it wasn�t going to work, and I laughed at him. I said, "This guy is so limited. He will draw you a
crowd when he goes places he hasn�t been. But if you put him in the Garden this month, and then next month, and the next month, and the next month�
both he and the Garden will both die, because he is so limited as far as wrestling skills and talent that there�s no way he can carry any club." He
can�t. Look, he was the top guy with Time Warner (WCW), and that was the year that they lost $95 million.
AC: Is there anybody from the modern era that you would consider a draw to the point that you were a draw, like a Steve Austin?
BS: No, because I look at the arenas, not what they claim they did in merchandise.
AC: Well, even the arenas. I think Steve Austin sold out tons of arenas during his run.
BS: No, they may have sold out one time around, but they never could come back and sell out. The big draws were (Antonino) Rocca � if you remember
that name � before me. He was a draw. Verne Gagne throughout Minnesota always drew very, very well. You had guys like Ray Stevens out of California.
Kowalski was a draw. Dick the Bruiser was a draw. These were guys that continually came to the same arenas and did big business. That�s a draw. Not
somebody that you publicize like crazy and you bring him in for one show and it sells out. But then when you bring him back for the next show, it
drops 30 or 40 percent, and then you pull him out of there altogether and go to a different joint because you can�t keep going with this one. And
Steve Austin was like that. So was the Rock. None of them were consistent enough that McMahon could maintain the arena. That�s why they�re not at the
arenas.
AC: Again, I think part of the issue is how much the business model changed. But would you dispute that Steve Austin and the Rock in their time, and
Hulk Hogan in his time, were the anchors and the centerpieces of two of WWE�s biggest boon periods in its history?
BS: I call that the drug era, because that�s when all the freaks came in with the drugs and the vulgarity. Here�s � what�s his name � Austin. Here he
was in the ring. My kid calls me up. He says, "Hey dad, put on the TV." This was years ago. He was the world champion. He�s got a can of beer. He�s
standing in the ring. And on television they�re bleeping out every other word because he�s using the foulest of language. And they show the camera,
and I see in the audience � I call them stupid parents with their six and seven and eight year old children witnessing this. The Vince McMahon "kiss
my butt club." I�m sure you�ve heard of this. And they�re stupid parents were exposing their children to this. Boy, is that sending wonderful
messages. Because when you have young kids and you take them to these places and they do this kind of behavior, obviously these kids must think it
mustn�t be bad. It must be acceptable behavior, right? Well, this is what McMahon turned wrestling into. And excuse me if I don�t want any part of
that or would have anything to do with that. And you can credit Steve Austin or the Rock or whoever else you want to credit, but they were all part of
that garbage. Every one of them. And the drugs. Look at all the wrestlers that have died from drugs.
AC: No, I understand where you�re coming from. Would you say that your era of wrestling was more family-friendly?
BS: Mine? Absolutely. You never heard anything about�
AC: Well, not about drugs, but I remember lots of violence. I remember a lot of blood. I remember Lou Albano shoving a spike in somebody�s head.
BS: But don�t you see violence when you see football? Don�t you see violence when you see hockey?
AC: Well, you can make the same argument about the kind of stuff Steve Austin was doing. Beer drinking and that kind of thing. That�s all part of
popular culture.
BS: Do you they have to use the F-word and everything else and guzzle beer on television for everyone to see? That�s the same thing? Tell me what
other athletes you see doing interviews and using the words "F this" and "mother-F this" and all that kind of stuff.
[Edited on 11-30-2009 by promoter2003]
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Chris Is Good517
The Man 
Posts 7287
Registered 1-10-2002 Location Little Rock, AR Member Is Offline Mood: Woo Woo Woo!
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| posted on 11-30-2009 at 10:54 PM |
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I'm going to file this one under Bruno's a moron that has no idea what he's talking about.
(Adjusts webcam) Hey what up y'all. This y'all girl Lil' J and this lil' girl right here (pause) ain't scared of nobody
so if you got anything to say to me you can say it to my motherfuckin' face or send me a mother- (pause) or hit me up on my motherfuckin'
MySpace. I ain't scare and this little bitch right here will fuckin' kill yo ass. NICK-GAH. So if you have anything to say you can say it
to... (pause) me. (pause). And if you wanna bump let's go cause I ain't scared of yo motherfucking ass, aight, bitch, latah.
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