The first Sammartino-Gorilla Monsoon match

In 1963, Bruno Sammartino was WWWF champion. A new monster heel, the 401
pound Gorilla Monsoon, was brought in by Bobby Davis, "Manager of Champions".

Monsoon demolished opponents on television weekly, finishing them off with a
giant swing, Manchurian Avalanche (big splash), and pin.

When Buddy Rogers retired prior to a big rematch set for Roosevelt Stadium, in Jersey City, a tournament was held on television in association with "Ring Wrestling" magazine. In the final match, Monsoon pinned another major heel, Killer Buddy Austin,
in less than a minute, to get the title shot.

Thus, the first meeting of Monsoon and Sammartino was now set for Friday, October 4th, 1963.

Little known trivia is that Gino Marella (Monsoon's real name) and Sammartino had previously fought in Canada -- however, this was the first time Bruno met "Gorilla
Monsoon", who Bobby Davis had discovered wading nude in a mountain stream in Manchuria.

Monsoon won the first meeting via disqualification, and they had a series of rematches at Madison Square Garden. Bruno finally vanquished his huge (billed at 401 pounds) opponent.