Johnny Rodz Remembers There Being ‘Tension’ Backstage Before Bruno Sammartino Won WWE Championship

Bruno Sammartino’s WWE Championship win came with some controversy, and Johnny Rodz recently recalled the mood backstage before the 1963 match. Sammartino beat Buddy Rogers in 48 seconds to win the title on May 17th, 1963 to become the second WWWF World Champion, a match that reportedly came about because Rogers had been suffering from chest pains which led to the decision to take the title off of him.

The rumor has always been that Rogers did not want to give up the title and that once they were in the ring, Sammartino told him, “We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” and Rodz recalled the tension backstage during an appearance on Stories With With Brisco And Bradshaw. You can check out a couple of highlights below, per Wrestling Inc:

On the tension backstage before the match: “I was in one room and they were in another room. I heard an argument, but there is no way I could tell you that I heard anything that I could explain what was going on. … I hear some kind of a rumble … I don’t know if it was one of the workers, or Arnold] Skaaland], or the referee, or Vince [McMahon Sr.] himself. I know they walked out. There was tension that’s all I know. … No more than 60 seconds. A minute, a minute and a half and it was over. I cannot tell you I was smart enough to tell you what was going on.”

Rodz originally said he didn’t know if the match was a shoot, but later agreed that it was. Rodz was asked if there was any commotion following the match.

On if there was anything that happened backstage after the match: “There was friction, but I stayed out in the hallway watching the rest of the matches. I cannot [say] that I heard anything or know anything, because if I say it, I am a liar.”