Bruno Sammartino, the 1960s champion of the World Wide Wrestling Federation — forerunner of today’s World Wrestling Entertainment — cites Irvin Muchnick’s book WRESTLING BABYLON in an article in today’s Philadelphia Daily News while discussing the Chris Benoit murder-suicide.
In the story, headlined “The World According to Bruno,” Sammartino — often referred to as “Wrestling’s Living Legend” — is asked about the Benoit case. Reporter Michael Smerconish writes: “Sammartino told me that steroids have ravaged the sport he loves. Citing data from Irvin Muchnick’s book, ‘Wrestling Babylon: Piledriving Tales of Drugs, Sex, Death and Scandal,’ Sammartino said there have been about 90 premature deaths in professional wrestling over the last generation.”
Sammartino adds, “And it blows my mind that there are all these investigations in baseball, football and what have you where there have been no reported deaths, and yet when it comes to wrestling, it just goes on like it doesn’t matter, it’s not important, it doesn’t exist.”
WRESTLING BABYLON is the country’s bestselling book about pro wrestling. The Philadelphia Daily News article can be viewed at http://www.philly.com/dailynews/opinion/20070705_Michael_Smerconish___THE_WORLD_ACCORDING_TO_BRUNO.html.