Bruno Sammartino vs. Larry Zbyszko

[7.0] "I think this is overall superior to the match that they had in Philadelphia at the start of the month. The match actually kinda takes the same basic structure, or at least the same ending. Bruno once again gets DQed by going after Larry too much, this time choking him after Larry's foot gets caught in the ropes, and refusing to stop until he is physically forced away from him (and even then, it takes a long time and a lot of choking to do so). You can see the two of them going a lot harder on each other than they did at the start of the feud, with Bruno's hesitation to really go hard on Larry completely vanished by this point. That's really probably the biggest appeal of this match, the mutual hatred of it all. The ending satisfies the fans somewhat, who wanted to see Bruno beat up Larry, but the feud isn't done yet, and this keeps them wanting more. I'm personally fine with it: some matches from this time period feel like they have inconclusive endings for the sake of doing so, but this is an example where it makes more sense and still feels like a solid conclusion to the match."

[6.0] "Too bad that ended on a disqualification because it was on its way to be a really good match. It is the first Bruno Sammartino's fight that I've seen and it's crazy how he looks like God on Earth. He just has to look at the crowd to make them literally explode. Huge atmosphere but the finish ruined it a little bit."

[9.0] "Actually my first time seeing Bruno vs. Larry and man, the energy is off the charts. Young Larry wants so much to take out his mentor but can't help but hesitate to commit, while an aging Bruno just wants to blast him apart with cannon shots before his stamina gives out. Crowd loved it, and me too."

[6.0] "If you want a hot crowd and heated/hate brawling then this is for you. They do an excellent job at getting heat for the feud. Larry is a great heel who can? t back up what he started and Bruno is super frustrated and just wants to pound on Zbyszko. ***"

[8.0] "This was an incredibly heated teacher versus student affair. Every time Bruno landed an offense on Larry, the crowd would erupt into massive cheers. Bruno might not be a full-time wrestler anymore, but he was still the most over guy in the company, dammit! Larry was able to take over by luring Bruno to the floor before sneak-attacking him, and the heat he drew for that alone was unfathomable. Larry is such a fantastic chickenshit. He was by far the hottest heel in the company at the time, and I'm surprised Vince Sr. never gave him a proper main event run after the Sammartino feud. Larry kept retreating to the floor like a coward, but he got his foot caught up in the ropes, allowing Bruno to beat the bejesus out of him until the referee had no choice but to call a DQ. I don't mind the finish at all, as it was perfectly justifiable on Bruno's part and smartly set up their later showdowns that drew some big money. [***3/4]"

[5.0] "A basic match considering the what led up to the match. Zbyszko turned on Bruno and left him bloody so I thought this would be more of a brawl. I know this was to lead up to bigger things but I still expected more."

[6.0] "I have to say, I can't be quite as favorable to this match. On the one hand, the energy is incredible and Bruno is here to work, slinging around Larry with some truly impressive arm drags and just hauling him off the ground by his shoulder in impressive fashion, and Larry - with truly majestic 80s hair - looks every bit the smarmy heel. But I hate a match with a deflating ending, and ending it on Bruno getting DQ'd because Larry's leg is stuck in the ropes? It's a sour note after a decently worked brawling encounter. Still, it's also elevated by the atmosphere and the story these two works, and really, the big take away? Find someone that loves you like MSG loves Bruno Sammartino."

[7.0] "Good match, continuing the historic rivalry between Sammartino and Zbyszko that began on All-Star Wrestling. Great crowd heat and fine wrestling throughout. Definitely worth your time, though you won't find it on the Network."

[8.0] "Historic match. Larry betrayed his mentor in the person of Bruno and this resulted in a series of violent matches that could not end with a "clean" victory for one of the men. Sammartino is stronger, so Zbyszko has to be a quirky beast to somehow fight back and turn situations in his favor. This is one of those matches where their work among themselves was brought to an ideal. Sammartino tries to punish the traitor, but not always his wishes coincide with the opportunity (****)."