Saito, The Executioners and The Moondogs were just of few of the other teams to become World Tag Team Champions under Captain Lou's guidance.Īfter 15 years of being one of the most hated men in sports-entertainment, however, Albano had a change of heart. Several of his championship duos featured Hall of Famers, including fellow 1996 Hall of Fame inductees The Valiant Brothers and 2007 inductees The Wild Samoans. In the span of 20 years, he managed 15 different teams to the World Tag Team Championship, earning the nickname "The Guiding Light" and a record that may never be broken. Having been a tag team star himself, though, it was in managing duos where Albano excelled. He would lead Don Muraco, Greg Valentine and Pat Patterson to the Intercontinental Championship but never again tasted a World title. Koloff's reign lasted only three weeks, and despite managing several other Hall of Famers, Koloff was the only World Champion Albano ever managed. This made him perhaps the most hated man in the promotion, but in 1971, he accomplished his goal when protégé Ivan Koloff defeated Sammartino in Madison Square Garden to end the Italian champion's reign of seven-plus years. Albano soon began teaming with Tony Altimore together they were known as "The Sicilians." After coming to WWE in the 1960s, they defeated the legendary Bruno Sammartino & Spiros Arion to win the WWE United States Tag Team Championship in 1967.Īfter the breakup of The Sicilians, Albano transformed himself into a manager, making it his sole mission to end the lengthy WWE Championship reign of Bruno Sammartino. After a stint in the United States Army, he began his sports-entertainment career in Canada in 1953. With his open Hawaiian shirts, outrageous facial hair and trademark rubber bands hanging from his cheek, Captain Lou may not have looked like much of a success, but his record speaks for itself.Īlbano was an excellent athlete as a youth, attending the University of Tennessee on a football scholarship. But now he's just some punk kid sipping on craft beer and learning the hottest TikTok dances.He was "often imitated, never duplicated." Rightfully so, because the legendary Captain Lou Albano will always be one of a kind. He was a common man who used his hands to fix toilets and punch walking mushrooms in the face. You could relate to Mario because you knew he had likely experienced the hardships of owning a small business and paying off a mortgage. He was an icon for those who were just about to enter into their own mid-life crisis. The great thing about Mario was the idea that a middle-aged man was capable of donning a raccoon tail or bunny ears and saving the day. How can you celebrate a 35th anniversary if you're only 26? What kind of rejuvenation process did he go through? Did the magic of the Mushroom Kingdom cause him to become younger? Has he undergone extensive plastic surgery? Did the real Mario die and Nintendo replaced him with a baby-faced doppelganger? RELATED: Mario Creator Reveals Advice He Would Give The Iconic Plumber If He Was 35 Years Old
So now we're left with this 26-year-old pipe-traversing hero, and I for one don't much care for it.
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