August 9, 2004 Observer Newsletter: Bruno Sammartino backstage at Raw, more
Bruno Sammartino was at the WWE Raw show in Pittsburgh on 7/26 for more than just to work on a documentary about his life, but also because he’s been offered a role as an announcer for the new 24/7 channel.
It would have been an incredible shock a few months ago for things to have gotten this far due to hard feelings. It is not clear where things stand right now, other than Sammartino had a cordial meeting with Vince McMahon at the show, which would have been the first time the two would have spoken since a public confrontation on the stage of the Phil Donahue show in 1992.
Sammartino, 69, and the company had been at odds since 1987, when Sammartino’s contract as a TV announcer expired and he left the company, unhappy with how wrestling had changed. In particular, Sammartino noted the drug culture, both steroids and recreational drugs, that had changed the business since his heyday as the company’s biggest star for most of the period from 1963 until his initial retirement in 1981.
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Dave Meltzer is the founder and lead writer on the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the weekly constant when it comes to news and reviews in pro wrestling and mixed martial arts for more than 40 years. Dave also co-hosts Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and had had bylines for The National, Yahoo Sports, MMA Fighting and others.