Larry Zbyszko on his heel turn against Bruno Sammartino

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[@ericfellner3524]

One of the best heels ever in the WWF and AWA.

[@mayormc]

I saw Larry Z. at a house show in 1980 and the heat was unreal. The crowd was drunk and riotous throwing beers and a woman tried to jump into the ring and attack him and had to be dragged away by three cops likely off to the nuthouse. It was hilarious. People went ape.

[@jsneller1985able]

This is SUCH an amazing interview. I grew up watching in the mid 90s to 2000s, but the heat he took from this and the chemistry for these matches is unbelievable. Sammartino, a grizzled vet, would rather hold a choke longer and inflict punishment on Zbyszko than to win the wrestling match. And the crowd could sympathize with Bruno and understand why he did it, making Larry hated even more for making Bruno stoop that low. Amazing.

[@rex788]

Greatest HEEL turn ever. So good.

[@raider7782]

Yes it was.

[@Stagetwothroatcancer]

Mark, the greatest heel turn of all time is when hogan formed the nwo with hall and nash

[@raider7782]

@@Stagetwothroatcancer fact

[@bloodlegion4874]

@@Stagetwothroatcancer It was a great heel turn no doubt but Hogan wasn’t as beloved as Bruno and plus Larry was “trained” by Bruno was like a “brother” to Bruno. Hogan gave his longtime enemy Randy Savage a legdrop which was not so big as Larry hitting his best friend his brother Bruno over the head with a chair. I say Larry’s heel turn was definitely the biggest of all time. Again Hogan was big too I respect that

[@davidmeichner8346]

Along with Hogan

[@Davepool-hs7vr]

People having heart attacks watching wrestling back then. That was when wrestling was believable.

[@philaman1972]

I was 8 in 1980, but remember the classic Larry heel turn! Wrestling back then was about subtlety coupled with psychology. Of course, society was a lot different back then as well .Also, today we talk about the "Mr. McMahon" character but back then, Vince was a really good announcer!

[@Dac54]

I was at Shea Stadium on August 9th, 1980; the steel cage match between Bruno and Larry was the last match of the evening. The place went nuts numerous times that evening, but that steel cage match was something special. Earlier, during and after the fifth match on the card, Lou Albano, as only he could do, managed to whip the crowd into a near-riot (at least in my section, which was near field level between home plate and first base) with his antics after the Wild Samoans were defeated by Bob Backlund and Pedro Morales, thereby losing the tag team championship belts.

[@robertpeacock894]

Larry was also recently found to be the guy who named the NWO, and told Scott Hall to come out the crowd! He is a wrestling genius!

[@abelaldrich7831]

Bruno was so over at not just being a wrestling hero but icon as a person just a true great man RIP Bruno

[@aaajimmyb7472]

The living legend Larry zabisco was so over as a heal he should had won the wwf championship from Bob backland and it would have seen even bigger than hulk hogan beating the iron shek. Larry was fantastic in and out of the ring he was a promo machine. Thank you for post this

[@jackjd8106]

Yes. Beating Backland after the Bruno heal turn would have been the best heal champion ever.

[@stanr2574]

Larry Zybysko was one my favorite old school wrestlers. I remember watching him hitting Bruno with the chair and then went to the Pittsburgh Civic Arena to watch them fight in a Steel Cage Match. They were the best days of wrestling .

[@sharps6]

I loved Larry and the AWA back in the 80’s. The feud with Bruno was always talked about and I had to rent a VHS tape to get up to speed. All the blood on Bruno freaked me out as a kid! That chair Larry used was larger than normal. I’ll never forget that and Zbyszko’s nunchucks!

[@trapperdan]

@@sharps6 find the video of Larry just destroying Bockwinkle in St Paul....BRUTAL

[@sharps6]

@@trapperdan Thanks I’ll look for it!

[@sharps6]

@@trapperdan Yeouch! I’m sure Ledoux and Bockwinkel needed some aspirin after that nunchuck beatdown!

[@josemontano7767]

I never understand why Larry didn’t come back to the WWF after his run with Bruno.

[@robertpeacock894]

He would’ve made a good interim champ during Bob Backlund’s reign. Someone to knock Bob down and make him come back for a big match.

[@jlmartinez8482]

He burned bridges with the McMahons. Larry screwed himself with too many demands. He didn't want to lose to Pedro Morales cuz Bruno didn't pin him. That's ridiculous ! Pedro was a WWWF champ. Bruno wrestled Morales to a draw so I don't understand Larry's logic. Guess he thought he was elite.

[@gregorykrug8034]

I never understood why they did not have Zbyszko feud with Backlund, and win the strap after his feud with Bruno. Larry had so much heat!

[@josephvitielo1693]

Think it was good he left He was getting real threats for his safety

[@raygordonteacheschess5501]

I saw the actual chair smash on Channel 9! Then saw the cage match at Shea in 1980. Epic!

[@briankregg6329]

Larry had that attitude that just made you want to hate him, it was exactly what a heel should be, Tully Blanchard the same

[@GhostManBrandonDDpre]

That really was the greatest heel turn of all time. The heat was scary. Larry could have set Tony Garea's house on fire or set Strongbow on fire, and it would not have been as much white heat as stabbing Bruno in the back. People would have cheered the Sheik against him. Years later, when Larry was in the AWA, I saw him wrestle David Sammartino and Bob Backlund in matches on the East Coast and the crowd still hated his guts, just like 1980.

[@liljo911xxx]

Love him or hate him... Larry is a master entertainer..

[@JustinTyme33]

I was 9 years old and had just started watching wrestling when this classless protege betrayed his mentor.

[@gothchicksbongrips5712]

What was it like as a young fan from that era

[@JustinTyme33]

@@gothchicksbongrips5712 good for my vocabulary. I learned two new words right away, protege and mentor. Lol. It was great back then. In 1980 I saw Bruno fight Larry Zbysko in a Texas death match at the Boston Garden. I saw Hulk Hogan body slam Andre The Giant. Every month we went to the matches at the Boston Garden and it really all began for me because of the betrayal of Bruno by Larry. I was hooked instantly.

[@GOTTAMIKE]

I remember this episode on the weekly wrestling show and then we went to the cage match at the Capital Center where Bruno got his revenge. It was as wild as he says.

[@Ken-uo7iw]

The 1st & maybe only Capital Center wrestling show that sold out. WWWF had previously averaged 4-5,000.

[@jasonfaber1463]

I was in the Spectrum with the Cage Match between Bruno and Superstar Billy Graham. That match George Steele talked about in an interview recently. That match was around 1977. The Animal said how close Bruno and Graham were going to change the outcome of the match to prevent Backlund from winning the belt the following Monday in MSG. I too felt all that emotion in the audience. The audience was so into the match.

[@candyb357]

Graham wanted to fake a leg injury so Bruno could walk out as the winner and champion and Bruno begged him not to do it. Bruno didn’t want to be champion again. He wanted to ease into retirement and not take on a full schedule again.

[@murdiesel]

Larry you are and were a genius! You guys worked that angle and then ran with it!

[@markbrodie2784]

Luv the heel turn of Zbyscko--one of the best! And love the general Jim Cornette.....I drove him in a limo back in the mid 1990's--a really cool guy!

[@RBoskey1967]

Thanks for the memories

[@lance690]

What happened to that video of Larry speaking about Frank Sinatra and the mob guy that was a great one great one please put that up I can't find it and thank you very much for all your videos

[@chriszenko6355]

I was traumatizes as a kid when Larry turned on his mentor Bruno it was the talk of the town

[@jrupp8853]

As Cornette said, the horse has left the barn and is never coming back. Meaning, nobody will ever take pro wrestling this serious ever again.

[@swmita]

@n\a wait Larry Z said what?

[@swmita]

@n\a I was being sarcastic to whom I though made the comments you mentioned. Apparently it was Corney who was mocking Trump supporters.

[@arochelle9074]

Larry Zabyszko was a really good wrestler….i remember his heel turn like it was yesterday

[@odinquincannon4237]

I was at Shea Stadium. If I ever doubted my Dad loved me, the proof is that he took me to Shea, not for the Mets (we loved the Mets) but for wrestling which he always made fun of and didn’t have any time for. Dealt with three hours of it for me anyway.

[@ginamunroe1898]

Love Larry! I remember this happening when I was a kid. :)

[@robbiemiller5800]

Me too

[@thomasredmond5793]

i must ask if you have the historic knowledge of it, do you know what the storyline that involved the reason behind Zbysko's heel turn on bruno?

[@ginamunroe1898]

Hi, I read Larry's book and he said he wanted a storyline that he was frustrated being Bruno's protege and wanted to do his own thing, and that's why he turned on him. Of course, they were still friends in real life

[@cirenosnor5768]

Thomas Redmond - Can verify that Gina is correct. I watched the storyline play out week after week on tv. I was round 14 years old, lived in Nyc (still do, Native New Yorker) Larry was frustrated with being in Bruno’s shadow and identified as being Bruno’s protégée. Think he was even often called “Little Bruno” If I remember correctly, leading up to the heel turn, the commentators played up Larry being Bruno’s protégé whenever he was in the ring. Would also introduce him as being Bruno’s protégé when being interviewed and Larry would act annoyed by it to help build the storyline Like so many, Bruno was my favorite. I sat and watched the heel turn on tv and was distraught. Couldn’t sleep hoping he was ok and couldn’t wait till the next tv show after the heel turn to hear Larry explain his actions and get a update on Bruno. Think Bruno wasn’t interviewed the next week to help build the suspense. All we got was a rant from Larry justifying turning on his mentor. Great storyline and my vote for vest heel turn based on the fact that kayfabe wasn’t dead yet. We believed it

[@GeorgeD1965]

Not surprised that people were shocked, back then, chair shots were very rare

[@brodocbetty4856]

I clearly remember this match, My Mom and brother went to the match when it came to Phila I think it sold out in a day. It was hot as fire at the time.

[@rugger104]

In the old days, these guy’s were real masters of psychology.

[@brianconnelly1238]

Larry Zbysko, when he tuned on Bruno Sammartino (CORRECT ME IF I'M WONG) But, it might have been ONE of the first swerves, if not, THE very first swerve ever in the professional wrestling industry.... (AT THE MAIN EVENT LEVEL anyway... After that happened, when Zbysko turned on Bruno, it sparked the entire territory, all the fans, all the publications, they were talking Bruno Sammartino/Larry Zbysko

[@josephvitielo1693]

Spirios Arion Turner on Bruno also but less heat than Larrys turn

[@larry3064]

I always felt that Larry was one of the greatest technical wrestlers of all time.

[@grahamkilpatrick4862]

Just watched the Cage Match from Shea! Love Larry!

[@peterrevilla6957]

The best heel turn ever !!!! Great feud

[@JohnDoe-wb4iv]

Larry should have been world champ cause every arena anywhere he wrestled would have been filled for capacity for years Larry would have. been rich n McMahon super rich not from loving fans like for Bruno but from hated fans that wanted to see Larry get his

[@robertbishop5357]

I think the 3 greatest heel tur b s are 1.) Zybysko on Bruno.........2.) Ole Anderson on Dusty........3.) Hogan's NWO turn.

[@joeyanoschik721]

To think Larry Zbyszko, with his multiple titles around the world, deep martial arts studies and volcanic heat, may not have been the greatest wrestling Zbyszko of all.

[@desmondcastro3679]

I believe that when this created a ticket selling phenomenal idea, Ole Anderson has to do what he did to Dusty Rhodes later that summer.

[@brendanoneill1466]

I remember that match like yesterday. My mother watched it with me because I was so worked up about it. She had a great take on it. Bruno stayed the face, but he never followed through with anything. In retrospect it looks like he has next to no respect for Larry.

[@voxpox1850]

The WWF needed this feud to draw attendance. Champ Backlund couldn't draw on his own.

[@MrAitraining]

Fake news. Bob drew well in 1980. The heels had the real heat then. No one was a better worker than Bob Backlund. By the last 2 yrs of his reign, the opponents were shit.

[@voxpox1850]

@@MrAitraining So Backlund gets credit for Bruno vs. Zbyszko, The Samoans and the return of Pedro Morales? Fairly typical Backlund fan response.

[@briankregg6329]

Backlund drew because it was so perfect, he was good but there was always the believably that he could lose tonight especially to the larger than life heels he faced

[@briankregg6329]

When he hit Bockwinkle with numb chucks it’s was insane also

[@JoeMamaLlama1234]

There are some people who just don't age and Larry looks the same here as he did in wcw in the late 90s

[@nate978x]

Larry the legend can pass for Steamboat twin

[@azapro911]

Heel turns hit differently in those days.

[@eugenemalush9284]

Best!!!!

[@davidmeichner8346]

Larry Legend

[@koffinradio]

LARRY LAND!!!

[@TheStikapos]

Nobody like Larry. I remember the day vividly.

[@jackjd8106]

They should have have had him beat Buckland for the title after the Bruno fude.

[@raygordonteacheschess5501]

The Showdown at Shea (1980) occurred because the Democratic National Convention had MSG for their normal dates.

[@johnsawh8459]

too bad Larry never got a run with the WWF title

[@RonSegan]

I loved that match because Saartino was not a wrestler he could do no wrong

[@xsqrewfacex4926]

I am 43 and missed the heel turn but I remember hating him. He was the most arrogant sob I had ever seen at 6😂😂😂😂

[@mikecozzi1040]

😲 I have one question to ask Larry Zbyszko ? 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! 🇺🇲 I bet you didn't cause you would have had the greatest Ass Kicking of your life and you would be talking about the Greatest! 😲 Dr David Schultz! 🇺🇲

[@sleazyfellow]

You got that wrong. The greatest is Glacier, the cryonic kick was a devastating kick, a fatality but not as fatal. If that smelly hick Dr d got hit with it, he'd be loopy af, and probably go to San Francisco where alot of men dress like women, and REALLY become known as the real Dr D.

[@mikecozzi1040]

@@sleazyfellow 😳 Don't you trash talk! Dr David Schultz! is a family kind of guy! 😲I agree with what you say about San Francisco! A lot of peculiar and queer people, that are not dressed for church! 😲 You may want to stay OUT of San Francisco! and Thanks for Sharing!

[@robertrodriguez787]

What do you have you Lips on David ass. Go Back To Playing With Your Wrestling Dolls .(OOPS ) I'm sorry I meant Your Action Figures and Leave The Grown Talk To Grown Folks. Mikey

[@patrickkelley6212]

Probably, the most hated wrestler of all-time!

[@JohnDoe-wb4iv]

Larry I hated u too but wrestling would have even Superbowl capacity

[@richardphillips6205]

And Brittany Russian criminal the wnba basketball player was crying people were calling her names.

[@jameskelly5672]

Larry beat Bruno like a dog

[@madbrowniac7871]

Stanislaus! He gets so forgotten about. And in his prime he was as renowned and as impressive as Thesz, Sammartino, or Gagne. 😂🤔😉🎤💪🤼‍♂️B.W.

[@bb-gc2tx]

one of the best of the timeline series by kayfabe comm. nash 1995 timeline is the best id put this second