3H is truly the savior of the WWE.
- Bruno Sammartino reportedly approached the WWE Hall of Fame offer from Triple H as purely a business decision, giving Triple H a price that he thought would be turned down. Bruno didn't think the deal would go through and eventually believed that Vince McMahon likely nixed the deal due to his asking price. The price is apparently in line with what WWE would pay one of their top stars for a WrestleMania pay off. Nobody going into the Hall had ever asked a deal anywhere near what Bruno asked. Sammartino ended up getting a significant deal.
Vince McMahon and Bruno still have not spoken as Triple H has handled the deal. Triple H is hoping to get Vince and Bruno together to talk in April. Regarding Triple H's talks with Bruno, he portrayed himself as a student and a fan of Sammartino's era. Triple H told Bruno from the start that WWE cleaned up their product and that when he gets more power, he wants to make WWE's product similar to the product that Sammartino headlined years ago.
One of the connections between Bruno and WWE is Pittsburgh neurosurgeon Dr. Joseph Maroon. Maroon had operated previously on Bruno and worked on WWE's medical team. Sammartino credits Maroon with keeping him out of a wheelchair after successful back surgery years ago. Sammartino viewed Maroon in high regard when he spoke of changes that had been made when it came to the health of WWE's performers and their strict drug testing.
Sammartino said during negotiations that if the deal didn't happen this year, he was not open to it any time in the future. The deal will see Sammartino be involved with WWE after his Hall of Fame induction. Sammartino was asked to be part of DVD's on his era. He will also do voice-overs for some of his matches and a straight Sammartino DVD release is likely. Sammartino will also appear on WWE's Legends Roundtable shows at times.
gonna be seeing a lot of Bruno brehs
I wonder how he'll come off on the Roundtables and who he won't like. Old dudes are there are usually entertaining
Thursday afternoon on Twitter, new WWE champion The Rock tweeted a message about Bruno Sammartino's 2013 WWE Hall of Fame inclusion."Congratulations Bruno Sammartino: 2013 #WWEHallOfFame You're the greatest WWE Champion of all time. Thank you for paving the way. #Hero," Rock tweeted.Rock headlines this year's WrestleMania 29 PPV on April 7, the night after Sammartino's HOF induction at Madison Square Garden.With Sammartino signed to a package deal that extends beyond a HOF induction, it will be interesting to see if Rock and Sammartino cross paths while part of WWE during WrestleMania season.