![]() He's just going to be a preliminary guy barely making a living. As a wrestler he ain't going nowhere, especially now that The Sicilians are over with. At one of those meetings I said, "Vince, you have to take Albano and try to make him a manager. He would take me sometimes in a private room and ask me what I though about certain talents who wanted to come in. The Sicilians eventually had to break up because somebody didn't think it them being The Sicilians was too funny, and they got a threatening little message, and it was decided they better quit that.Įvery Thursday we had live TV out of Washington, D.C., and Vince McMahon Sr. ![]() But I took notice of Lou every time he had a chance to do an interview – he was more the spokesperson rather than Tony Altimore. They were just at a certain plateau and that was it. They got some main events, not in a major arena like Madison Square Garden, Boston Garden or Baltimore Civic Center, but in what we called the secondary clubs. I'm not going to tell you they became the hottest tag team in the world, because they did not, but they made a bit of an impact with the Mafia-style outfits that they wore. Later, he and Tony Altimore became The Sicilians. He was just a regular preliminary guy on the card. Lou was not the best by any means and he wasn't making much of an impact. I was the one responsible for him becoming a manager. And I say that sincerely he was absolutely the best. ![]() An angry mob of fans chased Albano, his wife, and a family friend from the Garden to a nearby bar, causing damage to the tune of $171,472 in 2019 money.As a manager, I don't know anybody who could argue the fact that he was the best. Albano and Koloff had to be escorted out of the arena by security, without the championship belt, as a riot broke out. Legend has it that the crowd was so silent from shock after Sammartino lost that he thought he had gone deaf. He ultimately succeeded, when Ivan Koloff ended Sammartino's seven-year run with the title. Albano's promos on Sammartino, in support of new heel "Crusher" Verdu, led to a sellout for the then Sammartino credited the fan's desire to see him make a liar out of Albano for the success of the feud, saying Albano got "the kind of heat no one else could."Īs the top manager in the territory, Albano tried to unseat Sammartino as the champion. He transitioned from wrestling to managing at the suggestion of the legendary Bruno Sammartino, who saw potential in the undercard wrestler's "gift of gab."Īlbano proved Sammartino right in 1970. Express for the World Tag Team Titles at the inaugural installment of the show.īefore his face turn in the build-up to the first WrestleMania, Captain Lou Albano spent 32 years of his career as a heel. Blassie would also manage the Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff to the first title change at WrestleMania when they defeated The U.S. The Sheik would go on to lose the title to Blassie's old client Hogan less than a month later, kicking off the Rock' n' Wrestling Era. He helped end one of the longest title reigns in WWE history when he led the Iron Sheik to victory over Bob Backlund on December 26th, 1983. He and his trusty cane were never far from ringside.īlassie played a part in the birth of the '80s wrestling boom. wrestler match against New Japan Pro Wrestling founder Antonio Inoki. Blassie managed everyone from a young Hulk Hogan to Muhammad Ali, whom he seconded in his boxer vs. He also made himself infamous in Japan, where fans were so shocked by him bloodying national hero Rikidozan that it caused heart attacks.Īs a manager, Blassie was one of "the Three Wise Men of the East," the top managers in the New York territory that would eventually become WWE. During his time in Los Angeles, Blassie was so hated by fans that he received a police escort to and from the ring. He even had acid thrown on his back during a match. He was famous for filing his teeth down and biting his opponents to draw blood. Blassie actually toned his act as a manager down from his days as an active competitor.
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