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The Feud of the Decade: Bruno Sammartino and Larry Zbyszko

Posted: Jun 9th 2026 By: Robert Segedy - RingTheDamnBell.Wordpress.com

To love professional wrestling, one needs to have a certain mind frame; most fans by now understand that what they are watching is essentially a theatrical display that combines dramatic elements and a certain amount of athleticism. Now that Kayfabe is out in the open, most fans realize that they are watching a somewhat rehearsed drama with an agreed upon outcome, but for the sake of this essay, we need to turn back the hands of time to a simpler time. A time where good and evil were clearly defined and a wrestler’s role, be it as a heel or a babyface, was very apparent. The time that I am referencing was the beginning of the 1980’s and at that time there wasn’t any wrestler that was as over as Bruno Sammartino in the WWWF. This time was way before the Internet, Pay Per Views, and all the things that we take for granted now. If you wanted to see some grappling action, you needed to watch it on television or actually attend an event. Usually, the televised matches were glorified squash jobs with a well-known opponent wrestling, usually a babyface, and rarely anything over a ten-minute mark. And that was all you got. A couple of interview spots jammed in, but nothing like what we have come to expect now.

The date was January 22nd,1980, and what was advertised as a “scientific” match was going to set the stage for an event that would change the landscape of wrestling forever. Now to fill in some important backstory: the participants were going to be Bruno Sammartino, the long-standing former WWF World Heavyweight Champion (nearly 8 years total) and his protégé Larry Zbyzsko. Zbyszko had been trained by Sammartino and while the two men respected each other and had a long-standing friendship between them, there had been very subtle heat between the two, slowly building up to what eventually became a full-fledged heel turn. Zbyzsko was only 28 years old, but he had won Pro Wrestling Illustrated Rookie of the year in 1974 and had held the WWWF tag team title with fellow babyface Tony Garea in November 1978. Zbyzsko was cheered on by the crowd and was a full-on face; what started out as a mere exhibition match soon turned into a shocking event that the wrestling world still talks about today. Bruno agreed to wrestle his former pal but insisted that he would refuse to use any offensive moves out of their friendship.

Now, I want to reiterate that this was 1980 and the audience had no idea what was to occur. Back in the day Kayfabe was the name of the game and it was sacred. Wrestlers travelled in separate cars, there were separate dressing rooms, some wrestlers went to extreme lengths to maintain the illusion. Wrestlers such as the original Sheik refused to answer anything but that form of address and that included his immediate family. Such was the extent of Kayfabe.

At the time of the incident, Sammartino was semi-retired from active competition and had been hired by Vince McMahon to appear on television and to supply color commentary. Zbyzsko had been subtly rude to the former champ, insulting Bruno and this led up to the confrontation on the WWF’s Championship Wrestling show. Bruno was shocked and deeply hurt by Zbyszko’s behavior and he vowed that he would extract revenge on his former pupil. The two men met to have a “scientific” match with Bruno refusing to apply any defensive moves, however at the 9-minute mark, Zbyszko attacked Bruno as he was attempting to re-enter the ring. Battering the former champion with a wooden chair, Bruno juiced hard way and needed to be stretchered out of the ring. The audience could not believe what they had just witnessed. Subsequently Zbyszko immediately became the most hated man in wrestling. Several rematches were scheduled around the territory without a clear-cut winner.

On August 9, 1980, the two men had an official rematch to settle the score between them. As part of a super card titled “Showdown at the Shea” and in front of over 36,000 fans, the two former friends entered a steel cage determined to settle the score once and for all. Bruno immediately had the upper hand and Zbyszko was battered senseless. At 13:59 Bruno alone exited the steel cage and was determined the winner.

Now for the shocking revelation regarding this feud, Bruno gets all the credit for booking the entire angle and all the subsequent matches. Looking back at this historic angle now, one must marvel at the brilliance of this booking. Not only did it give Bruno a last chance to be in the spotlight, but it single-handedly propelled Zbyszko into the all-time greatest heels characters

Zbyszko went on to have an incredible career, ranging from being the last AWA World Heavyweight Champion to holding several tag team titles in WCW to being a successful color commentator and analyst. Here is a brief list of Zbyszko’s finishing moves:

Larry Land Dreamer (Guillotine Choke)

Piledriver

Standing Reverse Figure Four Leglock

Swinging Neck Breaker

Zbyszko was voted the Most Hated Wrestler of the Year in 1980 as well as Best Heel by Pro Wrestling Illustrated magazine.

With his explosive wrestling style, extremely sharp mic skills, and excellent ability to cut a promo Zbyszko receives my vote for former wrestling star.