WWE Raw: Results, Highlights, Analysis, and Grades for April 23

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Classy Tribute for a Classy Guy

Bruno Sammartino passed away last week at the age of 82. To call the man a legend would be a disservice. He was synonymous with professional wrestling in the northeastern United States for decades. Bruno was a megastar, selling out Madison Square Garden with regularity. When Bruno lost the world title after an unprecedented seven-plus years, the crowd was stunned. There was no concept of a World Wrestling Federation without Bruno at the top.

A ten bell salute with the entire Raw roster assembled on the stage kicked off this week’s show. I don’t think it’s too much of a stretch to say that if it weren’t for Bruno, and the impact he had on building the WWF stronghold on the Northeast, the wrestling industry would be a lot different. If the McMahon-run promotion hadn’t succeeded in the territory days, chances are we wouldn’t be watching Raw right now. And Bruno Sammartino was a huge part of that early success.

No Bruno means no WrestleMania, even if he only appeared in non-wrestling roles in the few Manias he appeared at. His refusal to enter the WWE Hall of Fame of concerns of the content of the programming quite possibly shaped current content — sure, sponsors and going public helped, too, but how do you have a Hall of Fame without possibly the greatest professional wrestler of all time being enshrined?

Bruno finally entered the Hall in 2013, fittingly when WrestleMania was in the New York/New Jersey area. He really was the Living Legend, and now he’ll live on forever in the memories of everyone who has a hand in the wrestling business.