This is teacher versus student and with 2022 eyes, it’s still perfect how everything was set up. Sammartino was the living legend and Zbyszko wanted to prove himself. The promo Sammartino cuts saying that he’ll let Larry try to prove himself but Bruno isn’t going to go too rough on him is just the right level of patronizing. Bruno is absolutely right that he’s still on another level than Larry but, from Larry’s perspective, after finally getting the match he asked for and immediately (in his eyes) having Bruno making excuses for if Larry beats him, just continues to build his irritation.

They start with a lockup, but Bruno immediately breaks after pushing Larry into the ropes. He does it a second time just to really play into the promo’s assertion that he’s not going to try being too rough with Larry. Bruno hooks on a waist lock, lets Larry writhe a little, and then just lets go again so they can get back to a neutral position. Larry gets a hiptoss and a two count before Bruno kicks out.

Larry gets a shoulderblock, but Bruno counters another attempt into a drop toehold. Larry struggles toward the ropes and Bruno lets him up again rather than wrenching it in. Larry gets a slam and tries to get a cover; Bruno gets a slam and just lets Larry back up again. Larry then tries a waist lock and Bruno immediately powers out into a hammerlock which again, he just lets go of rather than working it and trying to hurt Larry.

In a nice contrast, Larry gets the abdominal stretch and just yanks as hard as he can. Bruno powers him off and, again, lets Larry back up and they circle. Larry gets another slam and another pin attempt. This time he follows up with a single leg crab. Bruno gets to his back and takes Larry down with a cool trip and again, they’re back to a neutral position.

Bruno ties up Larry with a wristlock and just holds Larry there for a little while before voluntarily breaking the hold. They crisscross, Bruno hits the hiptoss and Larry comes up frustrated and pounding the mat. Larry really gets running, hits a shoulder block but then gets caught in a bearhug. Bruno immediately lets him go and Larry is getting obviously frustrated and starts yelling at Bruno. Larry tries a hammerlock and Bruno shakes him off to the floor. Bruno holds the ropes and Larry just snaps on him.

He kicks out Bruno’s leg and just starts pounding on him. Larry bounces Bruno off the corner and goes for a chair. A quick referee throw to the side and there’s nobody to stop him from blasting Bruno a couple times with the chair. Bruno comes up from the last chair shot a bloody mess and he takes a stretcher ride out as elderly fans in the audience are appalled.

Final Thoughts: This is the textbook entry for a student turning on a teacher for a reason. Every part of it is perfectly executed, from the set up to the match itself to the big ending. Both wrestlers are justified in their actions; Bruno doesn’t want to hurt his student while Larry just gets more upset every time he feels that Bruno isn’t taking him seriously. What would normally be good, if overblown, sportsmanship in this match is a series of slights to Larry that keep getting under his skin until he explodes at the end. Bruno, meanwhile, comes across as a genuinely good guy who just wants to have a clean exhibition which makes the visual of him bleeding and confused at the end even more poignant because it feels like he never saw it coming. At the time, this was huge, and even known exactly what’s coming the match still plays out perfectly. ****- The rating is more for the angle than the match, but it all comes together so well and the crowd is left shocked but also waiting for Larry to get what’s coming to him. Two great characters bouncing off each other and a strong first chapter of a classic story.

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