10 Second Generation WWE Stars Who Totally Failed (1)

1. David Sammartino

                                                                                   

Father: Bruno Sammartino
Bruno Sammartino is one of the most popular wrestlers of all time. Some might say he is the most popular simply because of how long he was a top guy. He was the WWWF Champion for nearly 8 years from 1963 to 1971 and also for another three years starting in 1973. There will never be a champion that has reigns that last that long because it’s a much different era today. You think David had big shoes to fill? Of course he did. The biggest of them all.
In the mid 80s, Bruno was in his 50s and no longer a full time wrestler. However, Vince McMahon wanted to use him as much as possible since he was still a huge draw. They would involve him in feuds by either teaming him up with David or as David’s manager. When David was with his dad everything went well because of how big of a star his dad was, but when David was on his own things just didn’t work out for him.
While his mid-1980s run was pretty forgettable, it was even worse when he showed up in WCW to wrestle a few times in 1996. He actually received a Cruiserweight Title match against Dean Malenko on Nitro in December of 1996 which he lost and that was the only time he was on WCW TV.
A big reason for the strain in the relationship between Bruno and Vince McMahon had to do with how WWE didn’t use David in a productive way. Since David didn’t get over and was used as a jobber, Bruno felt it hurt his legacy. That’s why there was a lot of bitterness until things got patched up with Bruno getting inducted into WWE’s Hall of Fame in 2013.