AEW's Jim Ross Reflects On WWE Hall Of Famer Bruno Sammartino

It's harder to find someone in wrestling who almost everyone respects. The late WWE Hall of Famer Bruno Sammartino is one of those, renowned for his longevity as WWE's top star during the 1960s and 70s, where he became the longest reigning WWE Champion in history. Even still, a falling out with WWE in the late 80s would delay his induction into the WWE Hall of Fame, with Sammartino finally getting the call in 2013 after a near miss between him and WWE in 2004.

While AEW's Jim Ross was still associated with WWE in 2013, he was far more involved in the weeds in 2004, when Sammartino was almost inducted the first time. Discussing the situation on "Grilling JR," Ross talked about some of his interactions with Bruno during those negotiations, and how it helped grow the admiration Ross already had for the legendary star.

"I had great respect and admiration for Bruno, and I got to know him better during this whole process," Ross said. "Him being from my late wife Jan's hometown of Pittsburgh, in the same basic neighborhood actually, he was a favorite of mine. And I'm glad it worked out for him, cause he was a super guy. And I noticed a lot of stuff on Facebook had introduced Bruno. 

"Bruno was a great interviewer. He was logical, he spoke well. So...I'll always have a lot of time for Bruno. And it was a sad day that he passed. I thought the son of a gun would live forever, because he was in great shape. He trained hard. He did cardio, which a lot of wrestlers don't do. And so he was...he was always one of my favorites. I thought he did a great job and we loved Bruno, without question."

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Grilling JR" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription