Bruno Sammartino dies at 82

Bruno Sammartino, the charismatic pro wrestling champion and  famously known as “the living legend”, has died after being hospitalised for two months. He was 82. An Italian immigrant, who fled the country during the second World War and settled in US, was world heavy weight champion of  World Wide Wrestling Federation championship (now known as WWE) for a record 11 years (4,040 days) in the 1960s and 1970s. Christopher Cruise, his family friend, said the wrestler breathed his last on Wednesday morning at a hospital in Pittsburgh. Weighing 80 pounds, the wrestler came to US at the age of 14 and went on to set the world record in the bench press at 565 pounds in 1959. He made his pro wrestling debut later that year in Pittsburgh. Sammartino also showcased his wrestling skills in Australia, Spain, Mexico, Canada and Japan. On Wednesday, WWE issued a statement, saying Sammartino sold out Madison Square Garden, known as the mecca of professional wrestling.