Bruno Sammartino laid to rest

PITTSBURGH — Wrestling icon and local Pittsburgh legend Bruno Sammartino was laid to rest Monday.

Sammartino died last week at the age of 82.

Bagpipes played in the background as hundreds of people gathered for a final farewell to the longtime wrestling champion who grew up in Oakland after immigrating from Italy as a child.

“He was one of the kindest guys I’ve ever met,” said Victor Randazzo of Las Vegas. “He took interest in people ... he treated them great.

“He was truly a good guy and he inspired people.”

Friends, family and some total strangers traveled to St. Sebastian Church in Ross Township from far and wide to pay their respects.

Those who knew and loved Sammartino say he was more than a wrestler -- he was a great person.

“The guy's immortal. They called him the living legend and he still lives on in everyone’s minds,” Dustin Getty of Pittsburgh said.

“What his family went through, what his mother went through, how he survived that to go on being bullied and growing up to becoming an important figure to everyone around Pittsburgh ... everyone around the world.”

Sammartino shot into the international spotlight with his work inside the wrestling ring and his work ethic outside of it.

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“I grew up with Bruno Sammartino,” said Gary Price of Pittsburgh. “I watched him wrestle every Saturday night. We used to watch studio wrestling at home.”

Sammartino reached icon status in the professional wrestling world. He was eventually inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.

Mayor Bill Peduto called him “one of the greatest ambassadors the city of Pittsburgh ever had.”

Cox Media Group