- Bob Jinkerson

Because of the nature of the wrestling business today, wrestling history is often ignored or overlooked. When it is acknowledged, it is usually done so only to suit the purposes of the promotion in its present form and then it is often revised or distorted beyond recognition. As a result, sometimes even some longtime fans forget what really happened years ago.

In this first of a series of articles, I will discuss the beginning of what is now the WWF (World Wrestling Federation). Before cable TV, before pay-per-view, before Wrestlemania, before Hulk Hogan, before Stone Cold or Mankind, before Chyna, Sable or Debra there was an organization called the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF). It controlled the wrestling business up and down the Eastern seaboard from the early 60s until the beginning of national expansion.

There are conflicting stories as to the formation of the World Wide Wrestling Federation, but this much is known: When the great Lou Thesz defeated Buddy Rogers in one fall in Toronto and was awarded the NWA title, certainly the most widely recognized version of the world title and the one with the most prestigious lineage, a group of Eastern promoters led by Vince McMahon, Senior refused to recognize Thesz, ostensibly giving the reason that Thesz had won the belt in a one fall match.

What is more likely the case, however, is that McMahon and the others knew they had a potential goldmine on their hands in the person of Bruno Sammartino, a wrestler and weightlifter from Pittsburgh who was of Italian descent. Antonino Rocca had been the top draw in the East for years, but his ego had caused him to break away from McMahon and try to promote his own cards and TV shows (which failed miserably).

Once the WWWF was formed and the refusal to recognize Thesz and the NWA was official, a tournament was supposedly held to determine the first champion of the WWWF. There is no documentation of the tournament matches (which leads many to suspect that it was a "phantom" tournament), but the record books indicate the final was won by Rogers over Rocca in Rio De Janeiro in April of 1963. This led to the legendary matchup between Rogers and Sammartino, held at Madison Square Garden on May 17, 1963 and won in 48 seconds by Sammartino after a series of dropkicks, a bearhug and an Italian backbreaker. (Interesting sidenote: one of the spectators at this match was the late Andy Kaufman. He talked about it in an interview on Tom Snyder’s old "Tomorrow" show several years before his death. Rogers had been his early inspiration as a wrestling personality).

Under most circumstances, a 48 second match might be seen as a screw job for the fans. But Rogers was arguably the most hated heel in the history of professional wrestling. He wasn’t even well liked by his peers. The pop created by such an impressive win was just what this new organization needed to put Sammartino over.

This victory began one of the most successful title reigns in the history of professional wrestling, in terms of both longevity and box office. Bruno defended the WWWF title in the Garden, Baltimore, Washington DC, Pittsburgh, Long Island and many other spots in the East. He worked programs with most of the top heels in the country and formed partnerships with other top babyfaces which almost always resulted in a turn against Bruno. The most legendary examples of this are "Cowboy" Bill Watts, Spiros Arion and Larry Zbysko.