Larry Zbyszko on Bruno Sammartino Feud

Larry Zbyszko on Bruno Sammartino Feud
"WWE Hall of Famer," final AWA World Champion and former WCW Wrestler & commentator "The Living Legend" Larry Zbyszko discusses his historic feud with "WWE Hall of Famer" and multiple time World Champion Bruno Sammartino in detail.
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[@Thforklift126]

This is the value of these interviews. No over-sensationalized details, not agenda, just good old-fashioned stories about the history of pro wrestling.

[@mackdog832]

RIP Bruno thanks for all the great memories.....4/18/18.........we really did love you!

[@justinphy8941]

I remembered when Larry turned on Bruno! I literally cried that day! Still pissed off! Lol

[@adamsasso1]

Same!

[@SimonMinisterofChaos]

This angle was so hot that it crossed over into the real media. I read newspaper columns back them that were demanding that Larry be suspended by the State Athletic Commission for what he did. This was unheard of in those days - wrestling didn't court mainstream attention then.

[@grantorino2009]

Larry still has a glimmer in his eyes when he talks about this!!!!

[@beamdoctor5637]

Thank you Larry, I loved this story line back in 1979-1980 and love the details today in 2019

[@matthewcraig3837]

Larry was such an outstanding heel that it's hard to imagine him as a baby face

[@Letalone]

Such an underrated wrestler in my opinion, truly one of the all time greats!!!

[@MrAitraining]

Larry is right about Bruno. Fans loved Bruno. I was only 15 when this feud happened and it was very real to me. But even re-watching the feud develop today on video, it's still believable. They built up angles so well back then.

[@michaelrubin8091]

MrAitraining it was real bruno and him didnt get along

[@MrAitraining]

Wow man. You are a real "mark". Bruno and Larry were friends then and very close. They came up with this angle together.

[@paulknight5300]

Then he came to Georgia. He got so much heat back in superstation days

[@djbrunoboston4777]

I USED TO HATE ZBYSKO FOR WHAT HE DID TO BRUNO. IT WASN'T UNTIL I GOT OLDER THAT I UNDERSTOOD THE GAME.

[@47591dan]

Very interesting interview. Zbyszko is always entertaining.

[@kamala8883]

Great fued built up correctly.

[@bloodythinandfast]

I love hearing Larry Shoot!!!!! I love hearing all of them Shoot....

[@abelaldrich8015]

Larry was a great wrestler and RIP Bruno

[@jpayne3616]

I loved his run in 91 thru 92 in wcw. man those where the best of times

[@sainttrunks1982]

Larry Z. and Arn Anderson as Tag Champs vs such as Sting and Rick Steiner for the belts. THOSE WERE THE GOOD OL DAYS.

[@MrAitraining]

Larry in Georgia in 1983 was epic. You should check those shows out. Great feud with Tommy Rich and others.

[@JJJJ-lz1vv]

Greatest heel turn EVER

[@MrAitraining]

Yes, because it was slow and real. It wasn't just an attack. Larry became quiet first, refused interviews, then said he would retire if he couldn;t prove himself to bruno, then the "scientific" match and attack. Such a great program and it went for months. Shit, Larry got another 20 years out of it :)

[@DabblerHitman]

Yes it definitely will

[@detangojet]

Great interview. Larry was a great entertainer.

[@TheHannibalTV]

Indeed

[@BigBass-xf5yi]

I remember Backlund selling out the Garden quite regularly. There were a few times that we couldn’t get tickets back in the day.

[@creeksider248]

This was about the time I started watching wrestling. To see Larry attack Bruno with a triple chair shot was SHOCKING, to say the least! It's great to hear how this all came about, and it sure did boost Larry's career! Larry was very lucky that Bruno took him under his wing like he did. If one of today's stars had a fan come to their house asking for advice, the star not only would call the police, but slap the poor kid with a restraining order! Anyway, that feud is the first one I remember watching, and it hooked me for life on wrestling! Thumbs up & Subscribed!

[@keithpasculli7465]

And Bruno sold those chair shots perfectly. i remember him almost pleading with him as he was getting his head bashed in; like you said, total;l;y shocking at the time. Zbyszko is the real deal and not as appreciated as he should be.

[@GeorgeD1965]

Yeah, it really helped give Larry's single wrestler a huge boost. Larry was already part of the one of the best tag team champs.

[@Elvis68spec]

You are so right! Great comment! Looks like we started watching around the same time. I started watching WWWF Wrestling in 1978! I was 9 almost 10!

[@IggyStardust1967]

My family watched wrestling every Saturday evening. I am told that I started watching(as in, paying attention to it) at the age of 3, in 1970. I remember being absolutely STUNNED by Zbyszko's heel turn on Bruno. At that age, I didn't know it was scripted. I remember that huge red X with the word "CENSORED" on the screen, and seeing the pictures the following month in all the magazines.... it was shocking. Outright shocking. It was a defining moment to me, about the "sport" of wrestling. Looking back with perspective, it was perfectly done for the time. Larry got more legit heat than anyone since. Everyone LOVED Bruno. Seeing Larry "do that to our most beloved hero"... instant heat. Heart of the Sun level heat. To know that Bruno set Larry up like that, nothing but respect for him. That was really giving to his student, something many teachers wouldn't.

[@jamesconsiglio2709]

Yea this is one of my first time seeing a Babyface turn heel , Saturday night at midnight channel 9 never missed it👍👍👍👍👍

[@stevesmith9459]

I remember tuning in as a kid watching this angle.

[@Frankiarmz]

Great interview, back story from golden era of wrestling!

[@GlobalTubeTruth]

He should have been a character on The Sopranos show. He was a tough guy and a great wrestler. I was a fan of Zybysko and Graham. I liked the rule breakers because they were so much more exciting to me as a kid.

[@chriszenko3598]

It’s true what Larry said. I used to go to the Garden as a teen most of the crowd where adults and most thought wrestling was real lol.

[@philaman1972]

To elaborate further on what Larry said, there are full episodes of "WWF Championship Wrestling" on this site showcasing the evolution of the Bruno/Larry feud including the amazing TV match where Larry turned on Bruno and busted him open with the chair. Bruno bled a bucket of blood. Classic.

[@ronhaggerty6209]

was in shea stadium for his match with bruno great match

[@dirbrody]

Amazing Larry!

[@mackdog832]

Wow that was a great video!!!!!

[@nelsonporter8387]

The greatest heel turn and feud of all time!

[@joesphgallo5534]

I was at Shea stadium that day it was good

[@jamesconsiglio2709]

Love this interview

[@AndrewsOpinion15]

happy 66th birthday larry zbyszko !!!!

[@robbruno6713]

Welcome to Larryland!

[@chuckharris2]

I remember my Grandfather and I going to see Bruno and Larry in Johnstown ,Pennsylvania when I was a kid! 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@brodocbetty4856]

I remember that feud, My Mom and brother went to the match when it came to Philly, Sold out of course but I got tickets for them early and they enjoyed the event, I was away at school that weekend.

[@youarerightboss]

Larry is great.

[@bigroy38]

1980 was so magical.Not only Shea,but Mid-South sold out the Super Dome w/Junkyard Dog’s chain match w/Hayes.

[@bobbymadera3234]

ONE OF THE BEST WRESTLER EVER LARRY

[@johnfisher2595]

Living the life in florida it looks like . Good on Larry.

[@danielcorreard3746]

larry zbyszko just seems like the nices guy in the world you gotta give mcmahon credit larry was a great heel very good actor you would've thought he was really like that.

[@chrismemphis8062]

He always cut a great promo, and excellent work in the ring. Even his wcw stuff with Hall was very realistic

[@Elvis68spec]

I have to disagree with Larry on the Bob Backlund issue. People loved Bob Backlund. You are correct when you say that People were emotionally, invested in Bruno, God rest him, that's probably why in the beginning of Backlund's Title reign the People were slow to get on board. I'm almost 50 now, I've been to the Garden to see Bob Backlund several times and each time I went, I had to go very early to get tickets because they would sell out very quickly! Larry Zbyszko was a very good technical Wrestler but in my opinion, not to the level of Bob Backlund. Larry was smart to over to the AWA, he had much more success there being a singles World Champion.

[@Elvis68spec]

You tell'em Larry!

[@battlestarmarc]

Bruno larry feud was great.

[@Elvis68spec]

I've always wanted to know how this storyline took place!

[@tysman621]

Larry Zybysko class act , total pro. Love the Living Legend. He was a mentor to Scott Hall , they were great friends outside the business.

[@frankiebflat5728]

Bruno Sammartino was the greatest wrestler of all time

[@chaswickswhite5736]

FrankieBflat He was ONE of the GREATEST. The GREATEST OF ALL TIME IS SHAWN MICHAELS AND DON'T YOU FORGET IT!!!

[@chaswickswhite5736]

skirts365 Who the hell are they? They never won a World title. They couldn't lace Shawn Michaels' boots.

[@chaswickswhite5736]

skirts365 Whatever

[@mfbinc]

Without question, Bruno Sammartino was the greatest wrestling CHAMPION of all time. Being a great wrestler is one thing but being a great CHAMPION is a whole other league. There's no wrestler since Bruno who can claim to be a better CHAMPION. The fans who don't think so simply never experienced the Bruno phenomena first hand. The emotion the fans carried into the arenas for the Sammartino-Zbyszko feud had to be experienced live to fully understand. I"ve been to hundreds of matches from the early 70's to the present and that feud was like no other. What was in the air can't be explained to a fan who wasn't there.

[@nelsonporter8387]

He was!

[@whalemoth]

Wow. He turned into an adorable old man.

[@Peekay9]

I was a Larry Z. Fan back in the day. I understood the theater of it, and thought he was a great villain.

[@DrGargani]

anyone wants to read more about how they would set up these "feuds" to curry more business, check out Bob Backlund's book that goes into quite a bit of detail about this facet of the game....Larry sure pulled off a coup with this one, though, it worked better than they could ever have imagined!

[@Gators1216]

The voice of wcw ❤️

[@antiglobohomo2840]

The best thing ever was watching Larry get kicked by the NWO..

[@toddkurzbard]

That heel turn was SO big at the time, Larry remained a heel for nearly the rest of his career. It was only at the end, when the NWO came around, that Larry turned face again.

[@littlegp18]

I vividly remember the talk on the school bus that Monday morning was how Bruno got whacked with a chair by Zybsyzko

[@jumbomacaroni]

Whoever idea was to replace the superstar billy Graham with bob backlund was a Moron who really took away him from the spotlight at his brightest.

[@polopopolo2197]

The living legend still looks good

[@djpuplex]

BRUUHRNOO

[@elma2824]

I still wonder with all the set up (supposedly) you have to wonder if there was real heat between Sammartino and Zbyszko. The chair scene was hard to stage. What is the story with that.

[@petersansone7153]

Doubt it. In the MSG match you can hear Bruno telling Larry what to do. It's all fake. haha. Man they still got u

[@elma2824]

Peter, if you listen to Bruno. Fake or what have you, Bruno was not really into this angle

[@firstchoice4932]

IT WASNT FAKE THEY DIDNT GET ALONG

[@SimonMinisterofChaos]

That was Bruno not breaking kayfabe. Bruno plotted the whole angle out meticulously.

[@mikecozzi1040]

😳 Larry Zbysko you know deep down inside you love and never will forget your mentor, The Greatest Living Legend of all Times! Bruno Samartino! 😳 Larry Zbysko did you ever get the opportunity to take on the Greatest Wrestler of all Times and the Most Dangerous Wrestler of all Times! 😳Dr David Schultz!

[@randybarnett2308]

When I was a kid ,I used to think he was called Larry Nabisco !!😎😎😎😎

[@arvidlystnur4827]

Randy Barnett, I remember the rumor, no one else recalled, that Larry was Nick Bockwinkel’s son!

[@pd9971]

I'll never forget Bruno lying flat in his face in a pool of blood!

[@flashkaput]

Old school.

[@DateTwoRelate]

No one complained to the ref more and stepped out of the ring more than this guy did. No one else could do the "victim is really the perpetrator" gimmick better than him.

[@lonniec7603]

Zbyszko took Bruno to Larryland!

[@KaneRobot]

2:59 "Hogan puts himself over for doing everything"...as opposed to Larry, who is obsessed with Bruno to this day to such a disturbing degree that he puts *him* over for doing everything.

[@brianvratoric4134]

🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️ True story MY GRANDMA EDNA WOULD THROW HER 🍺 AT THE TV AFTER LARRY DESTROYED BRUNO

[@paulsonj72]

Never get in the way of little old ladies and pro wrestling. They were some of the most vehement fans of the “sport” and would do crazy things. Added to the flavor of house shows too.

[@user-wr6db6nw8t]

Bruno was kind of semi-retired during this feud, officially retired in 1981, when I started watching wrestling!

[@darrelltedder6889]

Bruno know it was time for Larry to move on his own. even flair was a idol of the real nature boy Buddy Roger. who took flair under his wings.

[@Elvis68spec]

I have to say, I was about 12 or 13 years old when the Bruno Sammartino, Larry Zbyszko feud erupted. When Larry whacked Bruno in the Head with that Chair on TV that Saturday Night, I was shocked! What a thing for a kid to see! In those days, that kind of thing just didn't happen on TV. We had a Black and White Set back in 1980 and that Blood still looked as grotesque as ever! That storyline was way over the top! Now that I look back on it, maybe the success of that terrible storyline, in my opinion, is what planted the seed for the ridiculousness of today! That's showbiz, I guess!

[@theRussianJiu]

Was this interview at some nut house in Florida?

[@jamesconsiglio2709]

But wasnt the cage match considered a win for bruno??

[@josephmiller4497]

Larry did he had the big chest just like burno well both of them had huge upper body

[@youngzeus87]

Bruno more popular in the Northeast than Rocky Marciano?

[@leifskjoldal8042]

Ok 2 things wrong with this interview first Bruno wasn't retired yet there matches were in 80 Bruno retired in 81 secondly people wernt having heart attacks and dyeing if they were they were doing cocaine that morning and dyeing cause of that reason

[@StannisHarlock]

Hey. Zbyszko ...

[@robertcolletti864]

What is your real name?

[@davidhayes5961]

" I retired Bockwinkel, I retired Sammartino, if you're not careful, I might retire Big Josh!". All expenses paid, one way ticket to Larryland ya Spudhead!

[@darrenbell3038]

I absolutely HATED Larry back in the day when I was a kid but when you get older you understand it was to get fans in the seats

[@DustinBlythe]

Larry looks so much thinner. Ill or just older, slimmer?

[@meatsauce3751]

Dustin Blythe I’m guessing older, probably can’t work out as much or as hard

[@Bryan8329]

I'd go with older and slimmer, and maybe relatively healthier than he was in the WCW days.

[@randybarnett2308]

He looks pretty good seems healthy too, long live Larry Z !!!👍💪😎

[@alberttropeano3909]

Some people can't spell feud! Bruno bloodied, he broke his neck. What? Pro wrestling is make believe. It is a put on. Bruno in the hospital with a neck brace. Good for laughs!

[@bulldogbrower6732]

Idiot, did you see the video with Hanson dropping him on his head.

[@alberttropeano3909]

@@bulldogbrower6732 I guess you believe everything you see. Dumb!

[@MrAitraining]

@@alberttropeano3909 Bruno broke his neck on a botched slam by Stan Hansen but finished the match and even took a lariat so it can be sold as intentional and create a big feud when Bruno came back. Bruno was out for months. The injury was real. Watch some of Stan Hansen's shoots. He felt terrible about it for years.

[@alberttropeano3909]

MAKE BELIEVE! Pro wrestling is for people with a low I.Q., such as Trump supporters!

[@arvidlystnur4827]

Albert Tropeano, Wrestling is highly risky semi-scripted entertainment, where people get injured and killed at times, then written into the script! By the way morons vote for Marxists thugs like Hillary!

[@Ricksonkimura]

Great hair transplant on Larry!

[@russellseville6068]

Bruno tk wrestling serious

[@philptheg7574]

Larry Larry Larry hehehe

[@joeygana8864]

LARRY LAND IS TEAM TRUMP4LIFE, Just about all of the Boys are, not all, You got your CORNETTEs, and Batista is hating, but everybody else, especially the Larry, Hogan, Piper, Flair era, mid 80s, late 80s, Real Men, TEAM TRUMP4LIFE HBK GOAT

[@ferox965]

And everyone found out that Trump was a bigger crook than all.

[@bibledoctor7623]

@@ferox965 Please name the 'everyone' of whom you speak? 🤔

[@ferox965]

@@bibledoctor7623 Hey...if you are a Trump sympathizer, you burned your bible.

[@alt7244]

@@bibledoctor7623 me. I grew up in ny not far from trump so he was in the local papers often with his shenanigans. The one that stuck out the most besides not allowing blacks in his coney island apartments was how he stiffed the contractors that built the taj mahal. Trump took loans backing them with junk bonds then defaulted on payments. In the end the contractor had to settle for 40 cents on the dollar. Scammed the working man. His life is filled with scams and cons. Every business he started went under other than real estate and some golf courses. He was barely afloat when Mark Burnett pegged him for the apprentice.

[@bibledoctor7623]

@@alt7244 References please?

[@norm2944]

Larry could bench press 500lbs. No easy easy task steroid free.

[@aarontooley570]

Why does someone who made a living at lying and conning people with fake wrestling think they can talk about real life or politics or even real people

[@mrbillyb1966]

Love ya Larry. BUT STOP WITH THE PASSIVE / AGGRESSIVE ATTITUDE about Backlund. He was apple pie and lame on the stick but he wrestled EVERYONE IN EVERY TERRITORY. Went to AWA TOOK on Gagne. These. NWA FLAIR. HANSON. RACE. FUNKS. JAPAN. EUROPE. ETC. Between Larry and Billy Graham all bitter backlund took the belt.

[@robpearson108]

he looks like a porcelain doll!

[@fjccommish]

LOL out loud, Larry is an anti Trumper. You have it backwards, Larry.

[@clarity7531]

Anti Trumper? HIs statements were (unfortunately) very pro-Trump. Got hit in the head a few too many times.

[@greedyd5524]

I had respect for Bruno before he went crawling back to V

[@cirenosnor5768]

when did Bruno go crawling back to Vince? Thought the story had always been Vince wouldn't let Bruno retire and kept having him come back to boost low ticket sales

[@phrasesinner]

Cire Nosnor Your right. KZbin: Why Bruno Sammartino hates Vince McMahon's guts. Came back after the Zbyszko program as a favor to his kid to try to get David over at the 1st Wrestlemania. According to Bruno he didn't want to come back after losing the title for the first time in 1971. Wanted to spend his time in Pittsburgh with his family. Vince Senior needed him back, then, cuz ticket sales had plummeted after Bruno had left the company. His comments about not wanting to come back again & again is somewhere on You Tube also. Vince Senior went from the Italian-American fans with Bruno to eventually going after the Hispanic-American fans by putting the strap on Pedro Morales. Then I guess after Superstar Graham's way too brief run as champion ( a bad mistake, since Billy was so over that even a little kid named Mike Tyson was a huge fan which he tells Billy at some fan fest & is also on KZbin) Vince Senior went after the Howdy Doody/Alfred E. Newman fans.

[@bulldogbrower6732]

No, Bruno came back to be indoctrinated into the Hall of Fame because we fans sent him thousands of letters asking him to do it for us. This is the only way Bruno's video library could be released without him bringing law suits on McMahon. The other reason is that he knew his heart was failing. Vince paid him 6 million to come in. That gave his wife security.

[@mr.c4p]

@@bulldogbrower6732 They gave Bruno 6 MILLION for the HOF? Bullshit

[@keithbperrin9633]

Lol to be fair trump is a crook celebrity politician as well lol...facts

[@Michael1966W]

True, but Hillary and Bill were crooks to. I’m no fan of Trumps and didn’t vote for him in 2020 but I lived in Arkansas when Clinton was Governor, everyone knew Hillary and Bill were crooked

[@michaelmccarthy2840]

Larry is way over Rated.