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This was posted on the WWE website:
At long last, Bruno Sammartino will come home to Madison Square Garden on the night before WrestleMania 29 to take his rightful place as a WWE Hall of Famer.
The longest-reigning WWE Champion of all time was announced Monday as the fourth inductee for the Hall's star-studded 2013 class. Sammartino will join fellow former WWE Champions Mick Foley and Bob Backlund and former Women's Champion Trish Stratus in sports-entertainment's most hallowed hall on April 6, 2013.
Sammartino’s induction has long been anticipated by a generation of WWE fans who grew up idolizing the Italian strongman. In an exclusive interview, Bruno revealed to WWE.com why he felt 2013 was the right time to finally enter the WWE Hall of Fame.
"Triple H contacted me and started telling me all the things that had changed and everything that was going on with WWE," Bruno said. "I started watching it after talking to him and when I saw it, I was very, very impressed."
For Triple H, the hall was incomplete without The Living Legend.
"I love the history of this business," Triple H said. "Without the history, there is no tomorrow. To look back on the history of WWE, one of the most important figures in the long story of where this all came from wasn't recognized. And that was Bruno."
Born in a small mountain town in Italy, Sammartino immigrated to Pittsburgh at age 15. After breaking world weightlifting records as a teenager, Sammartino was noticed by Vincent J. McMahon, who encouraged the impressive athlete to pursue a career in professional wrestling. He became an overnight sensation and on May 17, 1963, defeated "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers in the old Madison Square Garden to become the second WWE Champion in history. Sammartino held the title for nearly eight years, by far the longest reign of all time — not just in WWE, but with regards to any sports-entertainment organization.
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