Bret Sergeant Hart (born July 2, 1957) is a retired
CanadianCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
professional wrestlerProfessional wrestling, or pro wrestling, is an athletic performing art where matches are prearranged by the promotion's booking staff. It is a non-competitive sport which contains strong elements of theatre, mock combat, and catch wrestling. Wrestling's origins date to 19th-century carnival...
,
amateur wrestlerAmateur wrestling is the most widespread form of sport wrestling. There are two international wrestling styles performed in the Olympic Games under the supervision of FILA : Greco-Roman and freestyle. Freestyle is possibly derived from the English Lancashire style...
,
authorAn author is defined both as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created...
, and
actorAn actor or actress is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, best known for his time in
World Wrestling FederationWorld Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is a publicly-traded, privately-controlled integrated media and sports entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
and
World Championship WrestlingWorld Championship Wrestling was an American professional wrestling promotion which existed from 1988 to 2001. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it began as a regional promotion affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance , named Jim Crockett Promotions until November 1988, when Ted Turner and his...
under the persona,
"The Hitman". A son of wrestling patriarch
Stu HartStewart Edward "Stu" Hart, CM was a Canadian amateur wrestler, professional wrestler, promoter and trainer. Stu also founded Stampede Wrestling, a promotion based in Calgary, Alberta, and was the father of famous wrestlers Bret and Owen Hart.-Early life:Hart played football for the Edmonton...
, he was born into the
Hart wrestling familyThe Hart wrestling family is a Canadian family with a long history associated with professional wrestling. The patriarch of the family is wrestling legend Stu Hart, amateur and professional wrestler, promoter, and trainer...
. His seven brothers were either wrestlers or involved backstage with the wrestling business; his four sisters all married professional wrestlers. Three of his brothers-in-law, the
Dynamite KidThomas "Tom" Billington , best known by the ring name Dynamite Kid, is a retired English professional wrestler who competed in the World Wrestling Federation, Stampede Wrestling, All Japan Pro Wrestling and New Japan Pro Wrestling in the mid- to late-1980s...
,
Davey Boy SmithDavid Boy Smith was a British professional wrestler, better known as The British Bulldog Davey Boy Smith, who was born in Golborne, Wigan. Smith is best known for his appearances in the United States of America with the World Wrestling Federation...
, and
Jim NeidhartJames Henry "Jim" Neidhart is an American professional wrestler, best known for his appearances in the 1980s and 1990s in the World Wrestling Federation as Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart, and is the father of WWE Diva Natalya...
, had successful careers in the business. His youngest brother,
Owen HartOwen James Hart was a Canadian professional wrestler who was widely known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation . Hart was born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada the youngest of 12 children to wrestling promoter Stu Hart and Helen Hart. He was the younger brother of professional wrestler Bret...
, became a decorated wrestler in his own right before his death in 1999, caused in a freak, real-life accident at the WWE pay-per-view
Over the EdgeOver the Edge was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation , which took place on May 23, 1999, at the Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri, USA...
.
Following success in amateur wrestling tournaments in high school and throughout Canada, Hart debuted in professional wrestling in 1976 with his father's promotion,
Stampede WrestlingStampede Wrestling is a Canadian professional wrestling promotion based in Calgary, Alberta and was for nearly 50 years one of the main promotions in western Canada and the Canadian Prairies...
. In 1984, he signed with the WWF and was, by the mid-1990s, arguably the most popular professional wrestler in the world. He signed with WCW in 1997, where he remained until his retirement in 2000. He competed as both a
villainIn professional wrestling, a heel is a villain character. In non-wrestling jargon, heels are the "bad guys" in professional wrestling storylines. They are typically opposed by a babyface or more simply, face . Some tweeners exhibit heel mannerisms...
and a
fan favouriteIn professional wrestling, a face or babyface is a character who is portrayed as a heroic relative to the heel wrestlers, who are analogous to villains. Not everything a face wrestler does must be heroic: faces need only to be cheered by the audience to be effective characters...
during his professional wrestling career and is regarded by many prominent industry figures as one of the greatest professional wrestlers in history. Several noted professional wrestlers have named Hart as one of their all-time favourite opponents. Hart himself frequently described himself as "The best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be" (derived from the
1984-Events:* The Walt Disney Company founds Touchstone Pictures to release movies with subject matter deemed inappropriate for the Disney name.*Tri-Star Pictures, a joint venture of Columbia Pictures, HBO, and CBS, releases its first film....
filmFilm encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the motion picture industry. Films are produced by recording images from the world with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects....
The NaturalThe Natural is a 1984 film adaptation of Bernard Malamud's 1952 baseball novel of the same name. The film was directed by Barry Levinson and stars Robert Redford...
), which he justifies through three claims: he never injured an opponent through any fault of his own; through the entire course of his career he missed only one show (as a result of flight difficulties); and that he only once refused to lose a match—his final WWF match with long-time adversary
Shawn MichaelsMichael Shawn Hickenbottom , better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American professional wrestler. He performs for World Wrestling Entertainment , formerly the World Wrestling Federation, on its Raw brand...
at the
Survivor SeriesSurvivor Series was the eleventh annual Survivor Series pay-per-view professional wrestling event produced by the World Wrestling Federation. It took place on November 9, 1997 at the Molson Centre in Montreal, Quebec...
event in 1997, which culminated in the now infamous
Montreal ScrewjobThe Montreal Screwjob was the real life double-crossing of defending WWF Champion Bret Hart by Vince McMahon, the owner of the World Wrestling Federation , during the main event match of the professional wrestling pay-per-view event Survivor Series held on November 9, 1997 at the Molson Centre in...
.
Among other accolades, Hart is recognised by WWE as a seven-time world heavyweight champion: a
five-time WWF ChampionThe World Wrestling Entertainment Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in World Wrestling Entertainment . It is the world title of the Raw brand and one of three in WWE, complementing the World Heavyweight Championship and ECW Championship. It was established...
, and
two-time WCW World Heavyweight ChampionThe World Championship Wrestling World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship and the top title contested for in World Championship Wrestling...
. He is the only two-time
King of the RingKing of the Ring is a professional wrestling single-elimination tournament held by World Wrestling Entertainment. The tournament was held annually from 1985 to 2002, with the exception of 1992, and from 1993 onward the tournament was produced as a pay-per-view event.The tournament endured a four...
in WWE history, having won the 1991 tournament and the first
King of the Ring pay-per-view in 1993King of the Ring was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . The event resulted from the WWF's decision to make its annual King of the Ring tournament into a televised event. It took place on June 13, 1993 at the Nutter Center in Dayton, Ohio...
. Hart was also the
1994 Royal RumbleRoyal Rumble was the seventh annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on January 22, 1994 at the Providence Civic Center in Providence, Rhode Island. The main event was the Royal Rumble match, a battle royal in which...
co-winner (with
Lex LugerLawrence Wendell Pfohl best known by his ring name Lex Luger, is an American former professional wrestler and football player. He is best known for his work with the National Wrestling Alliance, World Championship Wrestling, and the World Wrestling Federation...
). Hart is widely regarded as one of the most universally popular and gifted technical professional wrestlers of all time. He was inducted into the
WWE Hall of FameThe World Wrestling Entertainment Hall of Fame is a hall of fame for professional wrestlers maintained by WWE. It was officially created on the February 1, 1993 episode of the World Wrestling Federation's , the predecessor of WWE, Monday Night Raw television program...
in 2006 by
Stone Cold Steve AustinSteve Austin , better known by his ring name "Stone Cold" Steve Austin is an American film and television actor and retired professional wrestler...
.
Early life
Bret Hart was born in
Calgary, AlbertaCalgary is the largest city in the Province of Alberta, Canada.The Calgary census metropolitan area is the third most diverse in Canada in terms of visible minorities after Toronto and Vancouver when considering only CMAs with population greater than 200,000...
, the eighth child of wrestling patriarch
Stu HartStewart Edward "Stu" Hart, CM was a Canadian amateur wrestler, professional wrestler, promoter and trainer. Stu also founded Stampede Wrestling, a promotion based in Calgary, Alberta, and was the father of famous wrestlers Bret and Owen Hart.-Early life:Hart played football for the Edmonton...
. His introduction to professional wrestling came at an incredibly early age. As a child, he witnessed his father training with future wrestling stars like Billy Graham in the Dungeon, his household basement which served as possibly the most notorious training room in the world of wrestling. Before school, Hart's father, also a wrestling promoter, had him hand out fliers to local wrestling shows. In the 1998 documentary,
Hitman Hart: Wrestling with ShadowsHitman Hart: Wrestling with Shadows is a documentary film which follows World Wrestling Federation superstar Bret Hart during his last year in the WWF, from his WWF Championship victory at SummerSlam to his final match with the company at Survivor Series on November 9, 1997.-Between two...
, Hart reflected on his father's discipline, describing how Stu inflicted excruciating
submission holdsA grappling hold is a grappling, wrestling, judo or other martial arts term for a specific grip that is applied to an opponent. Holds are principally used to control the opponent, and to advance in points or positioning...
while uttering morbid words to his teenage son. The suffering endured in these sessions even left broken blood vessels in his eyes. Hart also, however, cited his father's otherwise pleasant demeanor and growing up in the professional wrestling atmosphere.
Amateur wrestling
At high school, Hart gained experience and success in the
amateur wrestlingScholastic wrestling is the style of amateur wrestling practiced at the high school and middle school level in the United States. The wrestling style is essentially collegiate wrestling, with some slight modifications...
division, despite being "skin and bones," as Hart refers to his teenage physique. He won significant championships in tournaments throughout Canada, including the 1973 Calgary City Championship. This later offered credibility to his career in professional wrestling as being "legit". Hart considered trying out for the
Commonwealth GamesThe Commonwealth Games is a multinational, multi-sport event. Held every four years, it involves the elite athletes of the Commonwealth of Nations. Attendance at the Commonwealth Games is typically around 5,000 athletes...
during the mid-1970s, but decided to pursue a college degree instead. He enrolled in
Mount Royal CollegeMount Royal University is a public undergraduate focused post-secondary institution in south-west Calgary, Alberta, Canada.Founded in 1910 as a primary and secondary school, Mount Royal became a post-secondary institution in 1931 as Mount Royal College offering transfer courses to the University...
.
Stampede Wrestling (1976–1984)
At the age of 19, Bret Hart began working for his father's
Stampede WrestlingStampede Wrestling is a Canadian professional wrestling promotion based in Calgary, Alberta and was for nearly 50 years one of the main promotions in western Canada and the Canadian Prairies...
promotion in Calgary, with his father serving as his manager for a time. Hart first began helping the promotion by refereeing matches, but at one fateful event, a wrestler was unable to perform his match. This forced Stu to ask his son to stand in as a replacement, paving the way for Hart's very first match in
SaskatoonSaskatoon is a city located in central Saskatchewan, Canada, on the South Saskatchewan River. Residents of the city of Saskatoon are called Saskatonians....
,
SaskatchewanSaskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of and a population of 1,023,810 , mostly living in the southern half of the province. Of these, 233,923 live in the province's largest city, Saskatoon, while 194,971 live in the provincial capital, Regina...
. Before long, he became a regular contender, eventually partnering with brother Keith to win the Tag Team Championship four times. Earlier on, however, he was still unsure he wanted to make a career of professional wrestling and continually contemplated the idea.
Hart gained some of his most prominent experience with
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese combatants and real-life trainers Mr. Hito and
Mr. Sakurada, better known as Mr. Sakurada and as the Japanese version of , is a retired Japanese professional wrestler. He is best known, under various monikers, for his work in Stampede Wrestling, National Wrestling Alliance, and World Championship Wrestling. Sakurada is also highly regarded by Bret Hart as...
, later praising them as his most significant teachers. Before long, Hart was amazing crowds with his high-impact matches against the
Dynamite KidThomas "Tom" Billington , best known by the ring name Dynamite Kid, is a retired English professional wrestler who competed in the World Wrestling Federation, Stampede Wrestling, All Japan Pro Wrestling and New Japan Pro Wrestling in the mid- to late-1980s...
. In the midst of wrestling alongside his brothers and even his aging father, Hart made a point not to
ride on the shoulders of his elderNepotism is favouritism granted to relatives or friends, without regard to their merit. The word nepotism is from the Latin word nepos .- Papal :...
as other sons of promoters have. Hart faithfully
jobbedIn professional wrestling slang, the term job describes a losing performance in a wrestling match. It is derived from the euphemism "doing one's job", which was employed to protect kayfabe. As professional wrestling is scripted, inevitably a wrestler will be required to lose to an opponent.The term...
as requested of him, taking pride in the believability of his performances. As he said himself, "no one could take a shit kicking like Bret Hart." Although he dreaded partaking in interviews and speaking in front of a crowd, Hart went on to win the promotion's top titles, including two British Commonwealth Mid-Heavyweight Championships, five International Tag Team Championships, and six North American Heavyweight Championships. Hart also wrestled the famous
Tiger Maskis a Japanese professional wrestler, best known as the original Tiger Mask. He's wrestled under his real name as well as the names Sammy Lee, and masked Super Tiger, Tiger King, Tiger Mask and The Mask of Tiger...
in
New Japan Pro Wrestlingis a major professional wrestling promotion in Japan, founded by Antonio Inoki in 1972 and owned by Yuke's. Owing to its TV program aired on TV Asahi, it is the largest wrestling promotion in Japan and one of the largest in the world....
and remained one of Stampede's most successful performers until the promotion, along with several wrestlers, was acquired by the World Wrestling Federation in August 1984.
Hart Foundation (1985–1991)
Hart was asked to start out in the WWF with a
cowboyA cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century became a figure of special significance and legend. A subtype, called a wrangler,...
gimmick but refused, citing that where he comes from "if you say you're a cowboy, you'd better be one". He instead requested to be paired with his brother-in-law
Jim "The Anvil" NeidhartJames Henry "Jim" Neidhart is an American professional wrestler, best known for his appearances in the 1980s and 1990s in the World Wrestling Federation as Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart, and is the father of WWE Diva Natalya...
who was being managed by
Jimmy HartJimmy Ray Hart is a professional wrestling manager, executive, composer, and musician best known for his work in the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling. He has managed many professional wrestlers, including Hulk Hogan, Bret Hart, Jerry "The King" Lawler, Ted DiBiase, and...
and asked to be called the Hart Foundation. He made his first televised WWF debut in August 1984, in a tag team match where he teamed with his brother-in-law,
The Dynamite KidThomas "Tom" Billington , best known by the ring name Dynamite Kid, is a retired English professional wrestler who competed in the World Wrestling Federation, Stampede Wrestling, All Japan Pro Wrestling and New Japan Pro Wrestling in the mid- to late-1980s...
. In 1985, he was eventually partnered up with another brother-in-law, Neidhart, to build the promotion's tag team division. Originally a heel team, they joined manager Jimmy Hart's Hart Foundation stable but soon the name stuck with the team of Bret and Anvil, due to the similar family names of both team members and their manager. At
WrestleMania 2WrestleMania 2 was the second annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation...
, they participated in a 20-man battle royal which was won by
André the GiantAndré René Roussimoff , best known as André the Giant, was a French professional wrestler and actor. His great size was a result of acromegaly, and led to him being dubbed "The Eighth Wonder of the World." In the World Wrestling Federation , Roussimoff briefly held the WWF Championship...
. Bret's agile, technical style—which earned him the moniker "The Excellence of Execution" (coined by
Gorilla MonsoonRobert James "Gino" Marella , better known by his ring name of Gorilla Monsoon, was an American professional wrestler, play-by-play announcer, and booker...
)—created an intriguing contrast with his partner Neidhart's strength and brawling skills.
Hart rose to fame in the WWF in the mid 1980s, and the Hart Foundation won the WWF Tag Team Championship twice. Their first reign started on the February 7, 1987 edition of
SuperstarsWWF Superstars of Wrestling was a professional wrestling program that debuted on September 6, 1986 and was aired until 2001. Superstars, as it would later be known, was the flagship of the World Wrestling Federation 's syndicated programming from its inception until being eclipsed by Monday Night...
when they defeated the British Bulldogs to win the title. They lost the title to
Strike ForceStrike Force was a tag team in the WWF composed of Tito Santana and Rick Martel.The team formed after Martel fought both Islanders alone in singles matches, until an attack took place on WWF Superstars of Wrestling in August 1987, in which the Islanders jumped Martel...
on the October 27 edition of
Superstars. Eventually, they turned
faceIn professional wrestling, a face or babyface is a character who is portrayed as a heroic relative to the heel wrestlers, who are analogous to villains. Not everything a face wrestler does must be heroic: faces need only to be cheered by the audience to be effective characters...
and adopted the nickname "The Pink and Black Attack."
At
SummerSlamSummerSlam was the third annual SummerSlam professional wrestling pay-per-view produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on August 27, 1990 in The Spectrum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.-Results:-Other on-screen talent:...
, the Hart Foundation began their second reign by defeating
DemolitionDemolition is a professional wrestling tag team most prominent during the late 1980s / early 1990s in the World Wrestling Federation made up of Ax , Smash , and later Crush . In WWF, Demolition were three-time Tag Team Champions, and hold the record for the single longest reign...
members
CrushBrian Keith Adams was an American professional wrestler. Adams gained fame in the 1990s while performing for the World Wrestling Federation , under the name Crush, and for World Championship Wrestling under his given name.Trained in Japan by Antonio Inoki, Adams was a two time WCW World Tag Team...
and
SmashBarry Darsow is a former American professional wrestler who is known as Smash, one half of the tag team Demolition, and as the Krusher Kruschev and The Repo Man...
in a
two out of three falls matchMany types of matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, can be found in the form of performing art that is professional wrestling....
with some help from the
Legion of DoomThe Road Warriors were a professional wrestling tag team originally composed of Michael "Hawk" Hegstrand and Joseph "Animal" Laurinaitis, though other members were added later...
. On October 30, the Hart Foundation lost the title to
The RockersThe Rockers were a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty that teamed from 1985 to 1992. The team worked for Central States Wrestling, the American Wrestling Association, Continental Wrestling Federation, Continental Wrestling Association and the World...
(
Marty JannettyFrederick Marty Jannetty is an American professional wrestler, best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation as part of tag team The Rockers with partner Shawn Michaels, and later as a singles competitor. While in the WWF, he became a one-time Intercontinental Champion and one-time Tag...
and
Shawn MichaelsMichael Shawn Hickenbottom , better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American professional wrestler. He performs for World Wrestling Entertainment , formerly the World Wrestling Federation, on its Raw brand...
), but a few days later, President
Jack TunneyJack Tunney was a Canadian wrestling promoter. Tunney was known worldwide for his appearances on World Wrestling Federation television as the promotion's figurehead president, suspending wrestlers, stripping them of titles, and ordering matches...
returned the title to the Hart Foundation because the decision had been reversed due to a rope coming off of the turnbuckle during the match and the win was never acknowledged on television. The Hart Foundation's reign lasted from August 27, 1990 to March 24, 1991.
During his time in the Hart Foundation, Hart also competed occasionally as a solo wrestler. At
WrestleMania IVWrestleMania IV was the fourth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on March 27, 1988 at the Trump Plaza in Atlantic City, New Jersey....
he was the last man eliminated in a
battle royalIn professional wrestling, a battle royal is a multi-competitor match type in which wrestlers are eliminated until one is left and declared winner...
, by the winner
Bad News BrownAllen James Coage was an American professional wrestler with the WWF and Stampede Wrestling among many other companies, better known by his ring names Bad News Brown and Bad News Allen. He was also the 1976 Olympic bronze medal winner in judo, in the heavyweight division...
. Brown also defeated Hart in a singles match at Wrestlefest 88. In May 1989 Hart won a 16-man battle royal in
Hamilton, OntarioHamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
.
Solo success (1991–1992)
Following a loss to
The Nasty BoysThe Nasty Boys were a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Brian Knobbs and Jerry Sags, active in the mid to late 1980s and throughout the 1990s. Their gimmick was that of anti-social punks who specialized in hardcore wrestling and brawling...
at
WrestleMania VIIWrestleMania VII was the seventh annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on March 24, 1991 at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena in Los Angeles, California...
, the Foundation split and Hart went on to pursue a singles career. He won his first
WWF Intercontinental ChampionshipThe World Wrestling Entertainment Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship in World Wrestling Entertainment. It is the original secondary title of WWE...
by defeating
Mr. PerfectCurtis Michael "Curt" Hennig also known by the ring name Mr. Perfect, was an American professional wrestler who wrestled for, among other promotions, the American Wrestling Association, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation...
with the
SharpshooterThe Sharpshooter, originally named Sasori-gatame, Scorpion Hold in English, is a professional wrestling submission hold. The move is also known several other names: cloverleaf leg-lace Boston crab, standing inverted figure four leglock, and, the most commonly-known alternative, Scorpion Deathlock...
at
SummerSlamSummerSlam was the fourth annual SummerSlam professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on August 26, 1991 at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York....
in 1991. Hart was then placed in a feud with
the MountieJacques Rougeau Jr. is a semi-retired French-Canadian professional wrestler from Saint-Sulpice, Quebec, best known for his appearances in the 1980s and 1990s with the World Wrestling Federation under his own name, and as The Mountie...
. This feud came about when the Mountie's manager, Jimmy Hart, threw water on Hart. Then, the Mountie proceeded to shock Hart with a
cattle prodA cattle prod, also called a stock prod, is a handheld device commonly used to make cattle or other livestock move by striking or poking them, or in the case of a Hot-Shot-type prod, through a relatively high-voltage, low-current electric shock...
. Following the loss,
Roddy PiperRoderick George Toombs ), better known by his ring name "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, is a semi-retired Canadian professional wrestler and film actor currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment...
defeated Mountie with a sleeper hold at the
1992 Royal RumbleRoyal Rumble was the fifth annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on January 19, 1992 at the Knickerbocker Arena in Albany, New York....
, and Bret would later pin Piper for his second Intercontinental Championship at
WrestleMania VIIIWrestleMania VIII was the eighth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on April 5, 1992 at the Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis, Indiana. This was the last WrestleMania to be held in a stadium until WrestleMania X-Seven...
later that year.
In July 1992, Hart defeated
Shawn MichaelsMichael Shawn Hickenbottom , better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American professional wrestler. He performs for World Wrestling Entertainment , formerly the World Wrestling Federation, on its Raw brand...
in the first ever
ladder matchA ladder match is a type of match in professional wrestling that is most commonly used to describe a match where an item is hung above the ring, and the winner is the contestant who climbs a ladder and retrieves the item...
in the World Wrestling Federation. While many remember Michaels as the main innovator of the ladder match due to his later success in those matches, it was actually Hart who introduced this match format to the WWF.
Rise to main event status (1992–1993)
Hart dropped the Intercontinental Championship to his brother-in-law,
Davey Boy SmithDavid Boy Smith was a British professional wrestler, better known as The British Bulldog Davey Boy Smith, who was born in Golborne, Wigan. Smith is best known for his appearances in the United States of America with the World Wrestling Federation...
, in the main event of
SummerSlamSummerSlam was the fifth annual SummerSlam professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on August 29, 1992 at Wembley Stadium, London, England but was aired in the United States on August 31...
in 1992 held before over 80,000 fans at Wembley Stadium. It was his first main event pay-per-view match, and he subsequently maintained main event status, being pushed as a contender to the
WWF ChampionshipThe World Wrestling Entertainment Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in World Wrestling Entertainment . It is the world title of the Raw brand and one of three in WWE, complementing the World Heavyweight Championship and ECW Championship. It was established...
. He won the WWF Championship from
Ric FlairRichard Morgan Fliehr better known by his ring name, Ric Flair, is an American professional wrestler. Also known as "The Nature Boy," Flair is one of the most well known professional wrestlers in the world....
at
Saskatchewan PlaceCredit Union Centre, formerly known as Saskatchewan Place or SaskPlace, is an arena located in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. Situated near the city's northern entrance, the facility opened in February, 1988 with a seating capacity of around 7,800. It was expanded to 11,330 for the World Junior...
in
SaskatoonSaskatoon is a city located in central Saskatchewan, Canada, on the South Saskatchewan River. Residents of the city of Saskatoon are called Saskatonians....
,
SaskatchewanSaskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of and a population of 1,023,810 , mostly living in the southern half of the province. Of these, 233,923 live in the province's largest city, Saskatoon, while 194,971 live in the provincial capital, Regina...
on October 12 of that year, in a match not originally broadcast on WWF television—the match was instead available on a Coliseum Video release. Hart dislocated one of the fingers on his right hand during the match and popped it back in himself so it would not affect the rest of the match.
Hart defended the title against contenders such as
Papa ShangoCharles Wright is an American businessman and retired professional wrestler. He is probably best known for his time spent with the World Wrestling Federation throughout the 1990s and early 2000s under the ring names Papa Shango, Kama, Kama Mustafa, The Godfather and The Goodfather...
,
Shawn MichaelsMichael Shawn Hickenbottom , better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American professional wrestler. He performs for World Wrestling Entertainment , formerly the World Wrestling Federation, on its Raw brand...
, and
Razor RamonScott Oliver Hall is an American professional wrestler. In the course of his career, which has spanned three decades, Hall has wrestled for the American Wrestling Association , the National Wrestling Alliance , Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , World Class Championship Wrestling , World...
before losing the title to
YokozunaRodney Agatupu Anoa'i was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his time with the World Wrestling Federation where he wrestled under the ring name Yokozuna. The term yokozuna refers to the highest rank in professional sumo wrestling in Japan...
at
WrestleMania IXWrestleMania IX was the ninth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation. The event took place at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada on April 4, 1993 and was the first WrestleMania event held outdoors...
after interference from
Mr. FujiHarry Fujiwara is an American former professional wrestler and manager, best known by his ring name Mr. Fuji. As a manager, he would often throw salt in the eyes of face wrestlers. Although he was billed as Japanese, he is a Japanese-American born in Hawaii...
. Mr. Fuji then challenged
Hulk HoganTerry Gene Bollea better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American actor and retired professional wrestler....
, who had come out to help Hart, to compete for the title; Hogan then won his fifth WWF Championship from Yokozuna. Shortly after, however, Hart won the first
pay-per-viewPay-per-view provides a service by which a television audience can purchase events to view via private telecast of that event to their homes. The broadcaster shows the event at the same time to everyone ordering it...
King of the Ring tournament in 1993, defeating Razor Ramon, Mr. Perfect, and Bam Bam Bigelow (prior King of the Ring tournaments were just house show events). After being crowned as the King of the Ring, Hart was attacked by announcer
Jerry "The King" LawlerJerry O'Neil Lawler is an American professional wrestler, wrestling commentator, musician, and film actor, known throughout the wrestling world as Jerry "The King" Lawler. He is currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment , working and wrestling on its Raw brand as the color commentator...
. Lawler claimed he was the rightful King and began a barrage against Hart and his family. The feud culminated in a match between the two at
SummerSlamSummerSlam was the sixth annual SummerSlam professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on August 30, 1993 at The Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Michigan....
in 1993, where Hart originally won the match by submission, via the Sharpshooter. Hart, however, would not let go of the hold and the decision was reversed to a Lawler victory by disqualification. According to Hart, the original plan for SummerSlam was to pit WWF Champion Hulk Hogan against Hart in a passing of the torch. Hart also claimed that promotional photos were even taken of the two playing
tug of warTug of war, also known as tug o' war, tug war or rope pulling, is a sport that directly puts two teams against each other in a test of strength. The term may also be used as a metaphor to describe a demonstration of brute strength by two opposing groups, such as a rivalry between two departments of...
with the belt before the plans were dropped. Instead, Hogan dropped the belt to Yokozuna in his last WWF appearance at the King of the Ring PPV, which inspired some genuine animosity between the two as Hart felt that Hogan didn't respect him enough to drop the belt and put Bret over as the leader of the "new WWF Generation."
Family problems (1993–1994)
It was at this point that Bret Hart entered into a feud with his younger brother,
Owen HartOwen James Hart was a Canadian professional wrestler who was widely known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation . Hart was born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada the youngest of 12 children to wrestling promoter Stu Hart and Helen Hart. He was the younger brother of professional wrestler Bret...
. The storyline involved Owen becoming jealous of Bret. It began at
Survivor SeriesSurvivor Series was the seventh annual Survivor Series pay-per-view professional wrestling event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on Thanksgiving Eve, November 24, 1993 at the Boston Garden in Boston, Massachusetts...
, when the Harts (Bret, Owen,
BruceBruce Ambrose Edwardious Hart is a Canadian professional wrestler. The second son of Stu Hart, Hart is a member of the large Hart wrestling family....
, and Keith) took on Shawn Michaels (a last-minute substitution for Lawler) and his knights. All of the brothers survived the match except for Owen, the only Hart family member eliminated. Owen blamed Bret for his elimination and in the weeks ahead, blamed Bret for holding him back. Owen demanded a one-on-one match with Bret, which Bret refused to accept. In the storyline, Bret, along with his parents, worked over the
ChristmasChristmas , also referred to as Christmas Day, is an annual holiday celebrated on December 25 that commemorates the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. The day marks the beginning of the larger season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days. The nativity of Jesus, which is the basis for the anno Domini...
holidays to reunite the family and to settle their rivalry.
At the
Royal RumbleRoyal Rumble was the seventh annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on January 22, 1994 at the Providence Civic Center in Providence, Rhode Island. The main event was the Royal Rumble match, a battle royal in which...
in January, Bret and Owen took on
The QuebecersThe Quebecers were a tag team in the World Wrestling Federation from mid-1993 to mid-1994 and again in 1998 that consisted of Jacques Rougeau and Pierre...
for the WWF Tag Team Championship.
RefereeA professional wrestling referee is the official figure that makes sure that wrestling matches move smoothly in an attempt to maintain kayfabe. The referee also has the ultimate power in the ring...
Tim WhiteThis article is about the American professional wrestling referee. For other individuals named Tim White, see Tim White .Timothy Rhys White is a former professional wrestling referee. He worked with World Wrestling Entertainment as a producer on the SmackDown! brand...
stopped the match after he considered Bret unable to continue after he sustained a
kayfabeIn professional wrestling, kayfabe is the portrayal of events within the industry as "real." That is, the portrayal of professional wrestling as being genuine or not worked...
knee injury during the match. After the match, Owen berated his brother for costing him a title opportunity and attacked the injured knee, setting the feud between the two. Later on, Hart managed to participate and win the 1994 Royal Rumble match amid controversy. Hart and
Lex LugerLawrence Wendell Pfohl best known by his ring name Lex Luger, is an American former professional wrestler and football player. He is best known for his work with the National Wrestling Alliance, World Championship Wrestling, and the World Wrestling Federation...
were the final two participants and the two were eliminated over the top rope at the same time. Therefore, both men were named co-winners of the 1994 Royal Rumble match and received title shots at
WrestleMania XWrestleMania X was the tenth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation. It took place at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York on March 20, 1994. The central focus of the pay-per-view was the WWF Championship, which was defended...
. Luger won the chance to face Yokozuna first, with Hart having to wrestle his brother Owen, who still demanded a match, before receiving his title shot. Owen won the match. Hart lost his match against Owen but went on to defeat Yokozuna for his second WWF Championship.
Hart continued to feud with his brother Owen while he also started feuding with
DieselKevin Scott Nash is an American professional wrestler and actor. Nash has wrestled under various ring names, but most notably by his own name, for World Championship Wrestling and wrestled by his own name and as Diesel in World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment...
. Hart's friend and former tag team partner Jim Neidhart returned to the WWF and reunited with Hart. At
King of the RingKing of the Ring was the second annual King of the Ring professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on June 19, 1994 at the Baltimore Arena in Baltimore, Maryland. "King of the Ring" is also the name of the tournament that was the focus of...
, Hart defended the WWF Championship against Diesel. When Hart was winning the match, Shawn Michaels interfered on Diesel's behalf. Diesel appeared close to victory after he delivered a Jackknife Powerbomb yet before he could pin Hart, Neidhart interfered. Diesel won by disqualification but Hart retained his title. Neidhart left when Diesel and Michaels attacked Hart following the match. Neidhart's motivation was made clear when he helped Owen win the tournament that night, so that he could receive a title shot against his brother. At
SummerSlamSummerSlam was the seventh annual SummerSlam professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on August 29, 1994 at the newly-opened United Center in Chicago, Illinois, which had opened eleven days earlier.The pay-per-view had two main events...
, Hart successfully retained the WWF Championship against Owen in a steel cage match. This match would get a 5-star rating from
Dave MeltzerDave Meltzer is the editor of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter . Sports Illustrated senior writer Frank Deford has praised Meltzer's work, saying that "Meltzer, I believe, is the most accomplished reporter in sports journalism." Meltzer has written for the Oakland Tribune, the Los Angeles Times,...
.
Hart eventually lost his WWF Championship at
Survivor SeriesSurvivor Series was the eighth annual Survivor Series pay-per-view professional wrestling event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on Thanksgiving Eve, November 23, 1994 at the Freeman Coliseum in San Antonio, Texas...
in a submission match against
Bob BacklundRobert Lee "Bob" Backlund , is an American professional wrestler and actor with an in ring career that spanned over 30 years...
where the manager of either competitor (Davey Boy Smith for Hart, Owen for Backlund) would have to 'throw in the towel' for the wrestler they were representing. When Hart was in Backlund's Crossface Chickenwing and Davey Boy was kayfabe knocked out, Owen persuaded his mother Helen to throw in the towel for Hart, giving Backlund the championship victory. Bret's feud with Backlund would continue at
WrestleMania XIWrestleMania XI was the eleventh annual WrestleMania pay-per-view event held by the World Wrestling Federation at the Hartford Civic Center in Hartford, Connecticut on April 2, 1995...
where he would defeat Backlund in another submission match.
Historic rivalries (1995–1997)
Bret would then go after Diesel's WWF Championship in 1995. After their match at the
Royal RumbleRoyal Rumble was the eighth annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on January 22, 1995, in the USF Sun Dome located in Tampa, Florida. The event featured five matches based on scripted storylines and the results...
was continually marred by outside interference, Bret won his third WWF Championship at
Survivor SeriesSurvivor Series was the ninth annual Survivor Series pay-per-view professional wrestling event produced by the World Wrestling Federation...
in a No DQ match against Diesel. After Hart's real-life rival Shawn Michaels won the
1996 Royal RumbleRoyal Rumble was the ninth annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on January 21, 1996 at the Selland Arena in Fresno, California. It was the first Royal Rumble to contain pyrotechnics.The main event was The...
, a 60 minute
Iron Man matchAn Iron Man match is a professional wrestling match type that is set to go a specific amount of time, usually 30 or 60 minutes, with the competitor with the most decisions at the end of that time named the victor...
was set up between the two at
WrestleMania XIIWrestleMania XII was the twelfth WrestleMania event produced by the World Wrestling Federation. It took place on March 31, 1996 at the Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim, California.-Background:...
. The wrestler with the most decisions during the 60 minutes would win the match and the WWF Championship. With less than a minute left on the clock and the score still 0–0, Michaels jumped from the middle rope; his legs were caught by Hart, and Hart locked in his Sharpshooter. However, Michaels did not submit in the last 30 seconds so the match ended in a tie. President
Gorilla MonsoonRobert James "Gino" Marella , better known by his ring name of Gorilla Monsoon, was an American professional wrestler, play-by-play announcer, and booker...
ruled that the match would continue in sudden death overtime. Michaels hit a superkick to win the gold.
Hart left the WWF in March 1996. He would consider offers of employment from both WCW and the WWF, but would ultimately re-sign with the WWF. Over the summer,
Steve AustinSteve Austin , better known by his ring name "Stone Cold" Steve Austin is an American film and television actor and retired professional wrestler...
, who was fresh from winning the 1996 King of the Ring, continually taunted Bret and challenged him to come back and have a match. After an eight-month absence, Bret returned and defeated Austin at
Survivor SeriesSurvivor Series was the tenth annual Survivor Series professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation...
. The feud continued at the
Royal RumbleRoyal Rumble was the tenth annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on January 19, 1997 from the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas....
, when Hart tossed Austin out of the ring, only for Austin (unbeknownst to the referees) to climb back into the ring and win the Rumble. In order to deal with this controversy, a Fatal Four-Way between Austin and the participants he eliminated after reentering the ring was set up for
In Your House 13: Final FourIn Your House 13: Final Four was the thirteenth In Your House Professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Federation...
, with the winner becoming the number one contender. After current champion Shawn Michaels relinquished the belt, though, the match officially became one for the WWF Championship. Hart defeated Austin, Vader, and The Undertaker in the Fatal Four-Way. However, Austin made sure Hart's reign was short-lived, costing him a match against
Sycho SidSidney Raymond "Sid" Eudy is an American professional wrestler, better known as Sid Vicious in World Championship Wrestling, and as Sid Justice and Sycho Sid in the World Wrestling Federation. He is a four time world champion, having won the WWF Championship and WCW World Heavyweight Championship...
the next night on
RawWWE Raw is a professional wrestling television program for World Wrestling Entertainment that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States. The show's name, which is sometimes stylized as RAW, is also used to refer to the Raw brand, in which WWE employees are assigned to work and perform...
. The two had a steel cage match shortly before
WrestleMania 13WrestleMania 13 was the thirteenth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation...
(Hart's twelfth consecutive and final WrestleMania), which saw Austin actually attempt to help Hart win, in order to make their match at WrestleMania 13 a title match. Concurrently, The Undertaker, who had a scheduled match with Sid at WrestleMania, attempted to help Sid win. Sid ultimately retained, leading to a pure grudge match for Hart and Austin.
At WrestleMania 13, Hart and Austin had their rematch in a Submission match that would later get a 5-star rating from
Dave MeltzerDave Meltzer is the editor of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter . Sports Illustrated senior writer Frank Deford has praised Meltzer's work, saying that "Meltzer, I believe, is the most accomplished reporter in sports journalism." Meltzer has written for the Oakland Tribune, the Los Angeles Times,...
. In the end, Hart locked the Sharpshooter on a bloody Austin, who refused to give up. In fact, Austin never quit, but passed out from the blood loss and pain.
Ken ShamrockKenneth Wayne Shamrock is an American mixed martial arts fighter and UFC Hall of Famer. He is best known for his participation in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Pancrase, and Pride Fighting Championships. He is also a part time professional wrestler, best known for his participation in WWE...
, the special guest referee, awarded Hart the match, after which he continued to assault Austin. This turned Austin face, and Hart became a
heelIn professional wrestling, a heel is a villain character. In non-wrestling jargon, heels are the "bad guys" in professional wrestling storylines. They are typically opposed by a babyface or more simply, face . Some tweeners exhibit heel mannerisms...
. The original plan for WrestleMania 13 was a Hart versus Michaels championship rematch in which Michaels was slated to drop the belt to Hart. However, Michaels injured his knee two weeks after the Royal Rumble. Rumors immediately began flying that Shawn did not want to drop the belt to Bret. Hart actually came out during the main event at WrestleMania 13 and challenged Michaels to step in the ring and stated (in a
shootA Shoot in professional wrestling is a term that refers to any unplanned, unscripted or real-life occurrence within a wrestling event. The name originates from a takedown, or shoot, in wrestling. This term has come to mean a legitimate attack or fight in professional wrestling and it's meaning has...
promo) that Michaels had a "pussy foot injury." McMahon, commentating at ringside alongside Michaels, immediately got up from his seat and tried to keep Michaels calm. Hart would face Austin once again in the main event of
In Your House 14In Your House 14: Revenge of the 'Taker was the fourteenth In Your House professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Federation...
, in which Austin was victorious via disqualification.
Hart Foundation reunion and Montreal Screwjob (1997)
In the ensuing weeks, Bret "The HitMan" Hart denounced American fans, because of their negative reaction to him in the recent weeks in contrast to his continued popularity through the rest of the world, and reunited with brother Owen and brothers-in-law Davey Boy Smith and
Jim NeidhartJames Henry "Jim" Neidhart is an American professional wrestler, best known for his appearances in the 1980s and 1990s in the World Wrestling Federation as Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart, and is the father of WWE Diva Natalya...
. The family members formed a
new Hart Foundation with
Brian PillmanBrian William Pillman was an American football player and professional wrestler best known for his appearances in the World Wrestling Federation, Extreme Championship Wrestling, and World Championship Wrestling....
; this incarnation was an
anti-AmericanAnti-Americanism, often anti-American sentiment, is opposition or hostility to the people or the government policies of the United States. In practice, a broad range of attitudes and actions critical of or opposed to the United States have been labeled anti-Americanism...
stable which was popular within
CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
. During an angle in which it appeared that the Hart Foundation had vandalized the locker room of the
African AmericanAfrican Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have origins in any of the black populations of Africa. In the United States, the terms are generally used for Americans with at least partial Sub-Saharan African ancestry...
stable, the
Nation of DominationThe Nation of Domination was a professional wrestling heel stable in World Wrestling Federation from November 18, 1996 to November 28, 1998. The Rock was a 1 time Intercontinental Champion and D'Lo Brown was a 2 time European Champion while in the group.-United States Wrestling Association :The...
(in the storyline, DX framed the Hart Foundation). As kayfabe retaliation, during a promo with DX, Hart called both
Triple HPaul Michael Levesque is an American professional wrestler and actor, better known by his ring name Triple H, an abbreviation of his former ring name, Hunter Hearst Helmsley...
and Shawn Michaels "
homosHomosexuality is the romantic or sexual attraction or behavior among members of the same sex, situationally or as an enduring disposition. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is considered to lie within the heterosexual-homosexual continuum of human sexuality, and refers to an individual’s...
". After leaving the WWF, Hart apologized for the angles and said that he had been pressured into going through with them. He said, "I am not in any shape or form a racist. And I don't believe it is anything to kid around about. I also want to apologize for any remarks I made about gay people. It was a stupid mistake on my part." Hart's reluctance to use such references was cited on
Wrestling with Shadows, where he points out that while Shawn Michaels wanted Bret to use these insults against him to further their on-air feud, Bret was extremely reluctant to do so.
Hart captured his fifth WWF Championship at
SummerSlamSummerSlam was the tenth annual SummerSlam professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on August 3, 1997 at the Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey.-Results:...
after spitting in guest referee Shawn Michaels' face; Michaels swung a steel chair in retaliation, which accidentally struck the Undertaker and allowed Hart to get the pin.
Around this time, Hart's on-air rivalry with "announcer"
Vince McMahonVincent Kennedy "Vince" McMahon is an American professional wrestler, promoter, in-ring announcer, play-by-play commentator and film producer. He currently serves as the chairman and chief executive officer of World Wrestling Entertainment and is the majority shareholder of WWE. He is the creator...
also escalated. A heated ringside altercation between the two led many fans to dislike McMahon, who at the time was being exposed as owner of the WWF more and more frequently on-air. Although Hart had signed a 20-year contract back in 1996, McMahon had asked him to talk to
World Championship WrestlingWorld Championship Wrestling was an American professional wrestling promotion which existed from 1988 to 2001. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it began as a regional promotion affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance , named Jim Crockett Promotions until November 1988, when Ted Turner and his...
(WCW) about possibly taking a second look at their original offer to him, as the WWF was in a rough financial position at the time and could not afford the contract. Hart's final match with the WWF would be a title match against his rival, Shawn Michaels at
Survivor SeriesSurvivor Series was the eleventh annual Survivor Series pay-per-view professional wrestling event produced by the World Wrestling Federation. It took place on November 9, 1997 at the Molson Centre in Montreal, Quebec...
in
MontrealMontreal is the second-largest city in Canada and the largest city in the province of Quebec. Originally called Ville-Marie , the city takes its present name from Mont-Royal, the triple-peaked hill located in the heart of the city, whose name was also initially given to the island on which the...
. Hart did not want to end his WWF career with a loss to Michaels in his home country; McMahon agreed to Hart's idea of forfeiting the championship the next night on
Raw or losing it a few weeks later.
Although Hart stated to McMahon he would not take the WWF Championship with him to WCW TV (and despite insistence from then-WCW President
Eric BischoffEric Aaron Bischoff is an American entrepreneur and former professional wrestling booker, producer, and on-screen personality, most known for serving as Executive Producer and later President of World Championship Wrestling and later, the General Manager of World Wrestling Entertainment's Raw brand...
, according to Hart's DVD biography, that Hart would join WCW with a "clean slate"), McMahon was still concerned; this led to him breaking his word in what eventually came to be known as the Montreal Screwjob. Even though Hart did not submit to the Sharpshooter, referee
Earl HebnerEarl William Hebner is a professional wrestling referee currently working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, and the twin brother of Dave Hebner...
called for the bell as if he had, on McMahon's orders. This resulted in Hart "losing" the WWF Championship to Michaels. The night ended with an irate Hart spitting in McMahon's face, destroying television equipment, and punching McMahon backstage in front of
Gerald BriscoFloyd Gerald "Jerry" Brisco is a former American professional wrestler, now working a lifetime employment as a road agent for World Wrestling Entertainment on its Raw brand....
, Pat Patterson, and McMahon's son
ShaneShane Brandon McMahon is an American executive and part-time professional wrestler for World Wrestling Entertainment , appearing primarily on the Raw brand. He is the son of the current WWE Chairman and CEO, Vince McMahon and Linda McMahon and brother of Stephanie McMahon, making him...
. Hart also confronted Michaels backstage about the match finish. Many behind-the-scenes events leading up to the Montreal Screwjob were filmed for the documentary
Hitman Hart: Wrestling with ShadowsHitman Hart: Wrestling with Shadows is a documentary film which follows World Wrestling Federation superstar Bret Hart during his last year in the WWF, from his WWF Championship victory at SummerSlam to his final match with the company at Survivor Series on November 9, 1997.-Between two...
, released in 1998.
Early WCW run (1997–1998)
A day after the Survivor Series pay-per-view,
Eric BischoffEric Aaron Bischoff is an American entrepreneur and former professional wrestling booker, producer, and on-screen personality, most known for serving as Executive Producer and later President of World Championship Wrestling and later, the General Manager of World Wrestling Entertainment's Raw brand...
, while with the
New World OrderThe New World Order was a professional wrestling stable that originally wrestled for World Championship Wrestling...
(nWo), announced that Hart was going to be coming to
World Championship WrestlingWorld Championship Wrestling was an American professional wrestling promotion which existed from 1988 to 2001. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it began as a regional promotion affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance , named Jim Crockett Promotions until November 1988, when Ted Turner and his...
(WCW), and joining the nWo. About a month after Survivor Series, Hart joined WCW, the WWF's main competitor. He made his debut on
WCW Monday NitroWCW Monday Nitro was a weekly professional wrestling telecast produced by World Championship Wrestling. The show aired Monday nights on TNT, going head-to-head with the World Wrestling Federation's Monday Night Raw from September 4, 1995 to March 26, 2001. Production ceased after WCW was purchased...
on December 15, 1997 when it was announced by WCW Chairman of the Board
J.J. DillonJames J. "J.J." Dillon is a former professional wrestler and manager.He is best known for being the strategic leader of the original Four Horsemen that consisted of Nature Boy Ric Flair, Tully Blanchard, Arn and Ole Anderson. He is most remembered as a manager in pro wrestling. He guided many...
that Hart would be the special guest referee for the match between Bischoff and
Larry ZbyszkoLawrence "Larry" Whistler is a professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Larry Zbyszko. Zbyszko is perhaps best known for his feud with his mentor, wrestling legend Bruno Sammartino during the early 1980s....
at
StarrcadeStarrcade was the fifteenth annual Starrcade professional wrestling pay-per-view event. It was the tenth Starrcade event produced by World Championship Wrestling , and it took place on December 28, 1997 from the MCI Center in Washington, D.C...
. Bret was involved in the Sting versus
Hulk HoganTerry Gene Bollea better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American actor and retired professional wrestler....
match at Starrcade, stepping in toward its conclusion as impromptu referee. He attacked referee
Nick PatrickJoseph Nicholas Patrick Hamilton Jr. , better known by his ring name Nick Patrick, is a professional wrestling referee. He is a former referee for World Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment, refereeing on its SmackDown brand...
, accusing him of making a fast count and shouting he would not let "it happen again" (a reference to the Montreal Screwjob). During Bischoff's period in control of the company, the goodwill towards Hart generated by the Montreal Screwjob resulted in his being pushed as a face; he defeated Ric Flair in his first WCW match at Souled Out in 1998, and beat
Curt HennigCurtis Michael "Curt" Hennig also known by the ring name Mr. Perfect, was an American professional wrestler who wrestled for, among other promotions, the American Wrestling Association, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation...
at Uncensored.
Heel turn (1998–1999)
However, Hart's WCW face run was short-lived, and in April 1998 he turned heel in a
Nitro main event involving Hogan and "Macho Man"
Randy SavageRandall Mario Poffo , better known by his ring name "Macho Man" Randy Savage, is a former American professional wrestler and actor who is best known for his time with the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling . Savage is a six-time world champion...
, unofficially joining the nWo. He defeated Savage in singles action at Slamboree, thanks to assistance from Hogan, and then again in a tag team match with Hogan at The Great American Bash in which Savage was partnered with
Roddy PiperRoderick George Toombs ), better known by his ring name "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, is a semi-retired Canadian professional wrestler and film actor currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment...
. At Bash at the Beach, Hart competed in his first championship match in WCW as he faced
Booker TBooker Tio Huffman , better known by his ring name Booker T, is an American professional wrestler. He is currently wrestling for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
for Booker's
WCW World Television ChampionshipThe World Championship Wrestling World Television Championship was a professional wrestling championship in World Championship Wrestling....
. He was disqualified after hitting Booker with a steel chair.
Although an established main event level star and five-time world champion in the WWF, Hart had entered WCW amid a struggle for the
WCW World Heavyweight ChampionshipThe World Championship Wrestling World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship and the top title contested for in World Championship Wrestling...
among the promotion's top stars. WCW management therefore decided to book Hart to win the promotion's second most prestigious title, the
WCW United States Heavyweight ChampionshipThe World Wrestling Entertainment United States Championship is a professional wrestling championship in World Wrestling Entertainment. It was originally a National Wrestling Alliance and World Championship Wrestling championship, and is currently the secondary championship of the Raw...
, instead. Although Hart would later become a two-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion, some wrestling critics saw WCW's failure to push Hart as a contender to the title for another year—despite previously being one of the WWF's top stars and having signed an estimated $3 million a year contract with WCW—as a mistake. Vince McMahon echoed this sentiment, claiming that WCW had "no idea" what to do with Hart, which McMahon said was "fortunate for me, in terms of my company; unfortunate for Bret personally." Hart himself has expressed the opinion that he was "poorly used" by the company.
On the July 20 edition of
Nitro, Hart defeated
Diamond Dallas PagePage Joseph Falkinburg, Jr. better known by his ring name "Diamond" Dallas Page is a semi-retired American professional wrestler and actor...
for the vacant WCW United States Heavyweight Championship, his first championship in WCW. Hart would go on to hold the United States Heavyweight Championship four times—the most reigns in WCW history. Though still not officially a member of the nWo, the faction did support him in the match, as
The GiantPaul Donald Wight, Jr. , better known by his ring name, Big Show, is an American professional wrestler and actor currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment on its Raw brand where he is one half of the Unified WWE Tag Team Champions with Chris Jericho.In professional wrestling, Show is a...
came out to the ring and
chokeslamA chokeslam, or in Japanese, a "nodowa otoshi", refers to a type of body slam in professional wrestling in which the wrestler grasps their opponent's neck, lifts them up, and slams them to the mat. It is common in televised wrestling because it is simple and relatively safe, yet looks powerful on...
med Page. A few days later, Hart lost the United States Heavyweight Championship to fellow WWF alumnus Lex Luger. Hart regained the title from Luger, the next night on
ThunderWCW Thunder was a professional wrestling show produced by World Championship Wrestling which aired on TBS from January 8, 1998 until March 21, 2001. The rights to the show now belong to World Wrestling Entertainment .-Creation:...
. At Fall Brawl, Hart and several other wrestlers lost to Diamond Dallas Page in a WarGames match. During the fall of 1998 Hart also had an intense feud with Sting which ended at Halloween Havoc with Hart controversially defending the title and (
kayfabeIn professional wrestling, kayfabe is the portrayal of events within the industry as "real." That is, the portrayal of professional wrestling as being genuine or not worked...
) injuring Sting. On the October 26 edition of
Nitro, Hart lost the United States Heavyweight Championship to Diamond Dallas Page. The two had a rematch at World War 3 for the title which Hart lost. Hart regained the title from Page on the November 30 edition of
Nitro in a No Disqualification match with help from nWo member
The GiantPaul Donald Wight, Jr. , better known by his ring name, Big Show, is an American professional wrestler and actor currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment on its Raw brand where he is one half of the Unified WWE Tag Team Champions with Chris Jericho.In professional wrestling, Show is a...
.
On the February 8 edition of
Nitro, Hart lost the United States Heavyweight Championship to family friend Roddy Piper. On a March 1999 edition of
Nitro, Hart appeared in street clothes and called out
Bill GoldbergWilliam Scott "Bill" Goldberg better known by his ring name Bill Goldberg , is an American professional wrestler and actor best known for his time in both World Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment...
, verbally coercing Goldberg into tackling him. Hart was wearing a metal
breastplateA breastplate is a device worn over the torso either to protect the torso from injury, or as an item of religious significance, or as an item of status. A breastplate was sometimes worn by mythological beings as a distinctive item of clothing.- Armour :...
under his
Toronto Maple LeafsThe Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
sweater, which resulted in Goldberg being knocked out. Hart then counted his own pinfall over Goldberg's unconscious body, although there was no match taking place, and left. The incident caused Hart to leave WCW for a short time. When Hart was about ready to return to WCW, his brother
Owen HartOwen James Hart was a Canadian professional wrestler who was widely known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation . Hart was born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada the youngest of 12 children to wrestling promoter Stu Hart and Helen Hart. He was the younger brother of professional wrestler Bret...
died in an accident during a
WWF pay-per-viewOver the Edge was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation , which took place on May 23, 1999, at the Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri, USA...
. As a result Hart took time off from WCW to be with his family.
World Heavyweight Champion (1999–2000)
Bret Hart returned to wrestling on the September 13, 1999 edition of
Nitro in a match with
Hulk HoganTerry Gene Bollea better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American actor and retired professional wrestler....
against Sting and Lex Luger. On the October 4, 1999 edition of
Nitro he wrestled in a tribute match for Owen against
Chris BenoitChristopher Michael Benoit was a Canadian professional wrestler who was found by investigators and authorities to have murdered his wife and son before committing suicide...
—this match took place in
Kemper ArenaKemper Arena American Royal Center is a 19,500 seat indoor arena in Kansas City, Missouri, USA, that has hosted NCAA Final Four basketball games, professional basketball and hockey teams, the 1976 Republican National Convention, a 1976 Paul McCartney & Wings concert, and is the ongoing host of the...
in
Kansas CityKansas City is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties. It is one of two county seats of Jackson County, the other being Independence, just to the city's east...
, where Owen had died months earlier. Around this same time, the WWF's top writer
Vince RussoVincent James "Vince" Russo is an American writer of Italian origin, known for working for American professional wrestling companies, most notably the World Wrestling Federation and later World Championship Wrestling, where he also had a stint as World Heavyweight Champion...
"jumped ship" to join WCW. Russo instigated an angle which involved a controversy over a series of
World Heavyweight ChampionshipThe World Championship Wrestling World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship and the top title contested for in World Championship Wrestling...
matches between Sting, Hogan, and Goldberg at Halloween Havoc, ultimately leading to the title being declared vacant. A tournament then took place over several episodes of
Nitro. Hart's first round match came against United States Champion Goldberg, with the match being both for a berth in the next round of the tournament and for the U.S. Title. Thanks to outside interference, Hart was able to defeat Goldberg, handing him his second official WCW loss and winning his fourth U.S. Championship.
On the November 8 edition of
Nitro, Hart lost the United States Heavyweight Championship to Scott Hall in a
ladder matchA ladder match is a type of match in professional wrestling that is most commonly used to describe a match where an item is hung above the ring, and the winner is the contestant who climbs a ladder and retrieves the item...
which also involved Sid Vicious and Goldberg. Hart went on to win the WCW World Heavyweight Championship tournament by defeating Perry Saturn, Billy Kidman, Sting, and Chris Benoit, giving him his first of two reigns in WCW and his sixth world title overall. On December 7, Hart and Goldberg won the
WCW World Tag Team ChampionshipThe World Championship Wrestling Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling world tag team championship in World Championship Wrestling...
from Creative Control but lost the titles to The Outsiders on the December 13 edition of
Nitro. At
StarrcadeStarrcade was the seventeenth annual Starrcade professional wrestling pay-per-view event. It was the twelfth Starrcade event produced by World Championship Wrestling , and it took place on December 19, 1999 from the MCI Center in Washington, D.C....
, Hart defended his WCW World Heavyweight Championship against Goldberg. During the match, Hart was struck with a mule kick to the head, resulting in a severe concussion. Hart later speculated that he may have suffered up to three additional concussions within matches over the course of that day along with the days immediately following Starrcade, having been unaware of the severity of his injuries. As a part of this, Hart placed Goldberg on the post in a figure-four leg lock which ended with Hart hitting his head on the concrete floor when Goldberg failed to receive the move correctly. The sum total of those injuries left Hart with
post-concussion syndromePost-concussion syndrome, also known as postconcussive syndrome or PCS, and historically called shell shock, is a set of symptoms that a person may experience for weeks, months, or occasionally years after a concussion–a mild form of traumatic brain injury . PCS may also occur in moderate and...
and ultimately forced his
retirementRetirement is the point where a person stops employment completely . A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours...
from professional wrestling. Hart wrote a
Calgary Sun column in which he said that Goldberg "had a tendency to injure everyone he worked with." As part of his DVD documentary, Hart expressed regret that "someone as good-hearted as Bill Goldberg" was responsible for hurting him.
Hart vacated the WCW World Heavyweight Championship on the December 20 edition of
Nitro as a result of controversies surrounding his Starrcade match, offering Goldberg a rematch for the title that evening. Hart defeated Goldberg to regain the title with interference from Jeff Jarrett, Scott Steiner, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, and Harris Brothers, thus marking the nWo reformation, billed as NWO 2000. Overall, Hart was 3-0 against Goldberg, who was noted for his undefeated streak. He successfully defended the WCW World Heavyweight Championship against
Kevin NashKevin Scott Nash is an American professional wrestler and actor. Nash has wrestled under various ring names, but most notably by his own name, for World Championship Wrestling and wrestled by his own name and as Diesel in World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment...
on the January 10, 2000 edition of
Nitro, which would turn out to be his last ever wrestling match. Hart never lost either WCW World Heavyweight Championship he held, but forfeited them instead. The second vacated title came about in late January 2000 when he was forced to withdraw from the main event of WCW's Souled Out due to his injuries. Hart continued to make sporadic appearances on WCW television, with his final WCW appearance occurring on the September 6, 2000 edition of
Thunder, where he confronted Bill Goldberg on the injury he sustained nine months prior. Hart was granted a release from his WCW contract in late 2000 and announced his retirement soon afterward.
Post-retirement appearances (2007-present)
On May 9, 2007, it was announced that Hart would make his first appearance for a
professional wrestlingProfessional wrestling, or pro wrestling, is an athletic performing art where matches are prearranged by the promotion's booking staff. It is a non-competitive sport which contains strong elements of theatre, mock combat, and catch wrestling. Wrestling's origins date to 19th-century carnival...
event since the 2006
WWE Hall of FameThe World Wrestling Entertainment Hall of Fame is a hall of fame for professional wrestlers maintained by WWE. It was officially created on the February 1, 1993 episode of the World Wrestling Federation's , the predecessor of WWE, Monday Night Raw television program...
. Hart signed autographs at "The Legends of Wrestling" show at the
Tropicana FieldTropicana Field is a domed stadium in St. Petersburg, Florida, which has been the home of Major League Baseball's Tampa Bay Rays since 1998. It has also served as the host stadium for the St. Petersburg Bowl, an NCAA-sanctioned college football bowl game since December 2008.-1980s:After Tampa was...
in
St. Petersburg, FloridaSt. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. The city is known as a vacation destination for North American and European vacationers. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 248,232. As of 2006, the population estimate by the U.S. Census Bureau is 248,098. The 2007...
. On June 11, 2007, Hart made his first appearance on
RawWWE Raw is a professional wrestling television program for World Wrestling Entertainment that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States. The show's name, which is sometimes stylized as RAW, is also used to refer to the Raw brand, in which WWE employees are assigned to work and perform...
since October 27, 1997 when he appeared in a pre-taped interview voicing his opinions on Vince McMahon as part of "Mr. McMahon Appreciation Night." On June 24, 2007, Bret Hart made his first appearance since the
Montreal ScrewjobThe Montreal Screwjob was the real life double-crossing of defending WWF Champion Bret Hart by Vince McMahon, the owner of the World Wrestling Federation , during the main event match of the professional wrestling pay-per-view event Survivor Series held on November 9, 1997 at the Molson Centre in...
at Unison Bar & Billiard in
MontrealMontreal is the second-largest city in Canada and the largest city in the province of Quebec. Originally called Ville-Marie , the city takes its present name from Mont-Royal, the triple-peaked hill located in the heart of the city, whose name was also initially given to the island on which the...
,
QuebecQuebec is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking identity and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
. During this appearance, he signed autographs and spent the evening with over 1,000 fans. During the months of October and November 2008, Bret went on tour with American Wrestling Rampage promotions, touring many places throughout the UK and Ireland, posing for photographs and signing autographs before the show. On the weekend of July 11, 2009, Bret made an appearance at 1pw in Sheffield, England, where he held a Q&A, and then entered the ring to address the fans at the show. On September 27, 2009, Hart appeared in New York City's Manhattan Center to sign autographs during a
Ring of HonorRing of Honor is an American professional wrestling promotion, founded in 2002 by Rob Feinstein, and owned by Cary Silkin. ROH usually holds several shows each month throughout the midwest and east coast of North America. It has also held shows on the west coast, in Great Britain, Japan and ...
event. He spoke to the crowd, reminiscing about some of his more memorable matches in New York. He said that if he ever does return to the ring, he'll make sure it happens in New York.
Rumors were abound that Hart may be planning a return to WWE programming however those rumors were dismissed by Hart himself in a interview with Adam Martin and Jose Marrero for Wrestleview.com.
Honors
In 2004, Hart was chosen as one of
the Greatest CanadianOfficially launched on April 5, 2004, The Greatest Canadian was a television program series by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation to determine who is considered to be the greatest Canadian of all time, at least among those who watched and participated in the program...
s, coming in at number thirty-nine. He was also the advocate for Don Cherry during the televised portion of the competition. Bret Hart said he's done with professional wrestling following his U.S. book tour. Hart believes his wrestling career will be complete after saying good-bye to his American fans on various book signing tours to promote its release in the States. Hart is content saying good-bye to wrestling through his book and not working for a promotion after spending seven years on the project. "I'd be happy being remembered for really brilliant storytelling in my matches, not for some last chance to snap up some money," Hart said. "I respectfully understand my light in wrestling is fading. I can live with that." Hart said he nearly gave up on the project while trying to fight with the illnesses he faced after suffering a stroke in 2002. However, Hart wanted to bring closure on his wrestling career. "A lot of times, I thought about giving up because it was hard reliving some of these events. But I couldn't say goodbye to my wrestling character until I finished."
On the February 16, 2006, episode of
RawWWE Raw is a professional wrestling television program for World Wrestling Entertainment that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States. The show's name, which is sometimes stylized as RAW, is also used to refer to the Raw brand, in which WWE employees are assigned to work and perform...
, it was announced that Hart would be a 2006 inductee into the
WWE Hall of FameThe World Wrestling Entertainment Hall of Fame is a hall of fame for professional wrestlers maintained by WWE. It was officially created on the February 1, 1993 episode of the World Wrestling Federation's , the predecessor of WWE, Monday Night Raw television program...
. Hart had also been approached by Vince McMahon for a potential match between the two at
WrestleMania 22WrestleMania 22 was the twenty-second annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . It took place on April 2, 2006 at the Allstate Arena in the Chicago suburb of Rosemont, Illinois....
but declined the offer. On April 1, 2006, Hart was inducted by "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. He thanked every wrestler he worked with (even thanking Vince McMahon) and said he's "in a good place in life."
On July 15, 2006, Bret Hart was inducted into the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame, at the International Wrestling Institute and Museum in
Newton, IowaNewton is a city in the county seat of Jasper County, Iowa, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 15,579. It is the home of Maytag Dairy Farms and was formerly home to the Maytag Corporation's corporate headquarters until the Whirlpool Corporation acquired it in 2006...
. The induction took place in an immensely crowded and humid display room showcasing one of Hart's ring entrance jackets. The honor is only awarded to those with both a professional and amateur wrestling background, making Hart one of the youngest inductees. During his acceptance, Hart compared this induction to his place in the WWE Hall of Fame, saying "This is a much bigger honor for me."
In June 2008, Hart returned to the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame ceremony, this time to induct his father
Stu HartStewart Edward "Stu" Hart, CM was a Canadian amateur wrestler, professional wrestler, promoter and trainer. Stu also founded Stampede Wrestling, a promotion based in Calgary, Alberta, and was the father of famous wrestlers Bret and Owen Hart.-Early life:Hart played football for the Edmonton...
. At the induction ceremony in
Waterloo, IowaWaterloo is in the county seat of Black Hawk County, Iowa, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 68,747, with an estimated population of 66,662 in 2008. It belongs to the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, and is the larger of the two cities, by...
, he ridiculed Slam Wrestling editor Greg Oliver, calling him a "
charlatanA charlatan is a person practicing quackery or some similar confidence trick in order to obtain money, fame or other advantages via some form of pretence or deception....
" and his books on wrestling "fiction" to the standing ovation of some wrestlers in attendance. At the end of the speech, Hart said
"Either you go or I go." After Oliver refused to leave, Hart walked out of the ceremony with other wrestlers to scattered applause.
Writing
Hart co-wrote an illustrated
autobiographyAn autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
, entitled
Hitman, with Perry Lefko in 2000. He also wrote a weekly column for the
Calgary SunThe Calgary Sun is a daily newspaper published in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It is a division of Sun Media, a Quebecor company.First published in 1980, the tabloid-format daily replaced the long-running broadsheet newspaper, The Albertan soon after it was acquired by the publishers of the Toronto...
from June 1991 until October 2004.
On October 16, 2007, Hart's second autobiography titled
Hitman: My Real Life in the Cartoon World of Wrestling, was released in Canada by Random House Canada, and released in fall 2008 in the United States by Grand Central Publishing, with a U.S. book signing tour. Hart began writing the book in July 1999 with Marcy Engelstein. They did not complete the book until eight years later in September 2007 due to Hart suffering his stroke in 2002, among numerous other tragedies that occurred during the writing. Hart's chronicle is based on an audio diary that he kept for all of his years on the road in professional wrestling.
Acting
From 1995 to 1996 Hart appeared in the
Lonesome DoveLonesome Dove, written by Larry McMurtry, is a Pulitzer Prize-winning western novel and the first published book of the Lonesome Dove series...
television series as
Luther Root. He has made numerous televised appearances since, including a guest spot on
The SimpsonsThe Simpsons is an American animated television sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its eponymous family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie...
in 1997 (as himself, in "
The Old Man and the Lisa"The Old Man and the Lisa" is the twenty-first episode of The Simpsons
' eighth season, first aired by the Fox network on April 20, 1997. In the episode, Mr. Burns becomes bankrupt and asks Lisa to help him become rich again. On the condition that he will lose his evil manners she...
") and a stint playing
The GenieIn Islam, a Djinn is a supernatural creature which occupies a parallel world to that of mankind, and together with humans and angels makes up the three sentient creations of Allah...
in a theatrical production of
AladdinAladdin is one of the tales of medieval Arabian origin in the The Book of One Thousand and One Nights , and one of the most famous, although it was actually added to the collection by Antoine Galland .-Synopsis:The original story of...
in 2004, a role which he reprised in the Canadian Touring production of
Aladdin in late 2006. Hart also appeared in episodes of the
Honey I Shrunk The Kids TV seriesHoney, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show is an American syndicated television show based on the 1989 film, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. It expands upon the original film's concept of a shrinking experiment gone wrong to include myriad experiments gone awry...
(along with his brother),
The Adventures of SinbadThe Adventures of Sinbad is a Canadian television series which aired from 1996 to 1998. It follows on the story from the pilot of the same name. It revolves around the series' protagonist, Sinbad. The series is a re-telling of the adventures of Sinbad from The Arabian Nights. Created by Ed Naha, it...
,
Big SoundBig Sound was a Canadian produced television programme which aired for a run of 22 episodes. The show was set in the offices of a fictional record label, concentrating on the interactions between characters therein. It starred Greg Evigan. As a satire, its aim was to poke fun at the superficial...
, and
The Immortal. Hart is also the voice of the Hooded Fang in
Jacob Two-Two (TV series)Jacob Two-Two is an Canadian animated TV series based on a trilogy of books written by Mordecai Richler that first aired on Canadian children's channel YTV and aired on the French Canadian VRAK.TV as Jacob Jacob and in Spanish on Telemundo as Jacobo Dos Dos. It was produced by Nelvana; before being...
Hart also guest starred on the
sketch comedySketch comedy consists of a series of short comedy scenes or vignettes, called "sketches," commonly between one and ten minutes long. Such sketches are performed by a group of comic actors, either on stage or through an audio and/or visual medium such as broadcasting...
series
MADtvMADtv is an American sketch comedy television series. It licenses the name and logo of Mad, but otherwise has no connection with the humor magazine outside of animated Spy vs. Spy and Don Martin cartoon shorts and images of Alfred E. Neuman that the show featured during the late 1990s. Its first TV...
in 1997 where he acted as
enforcerEnforcer is a professional wrestling term for one of two situations. An enforcer is either a bodyguard/powerhouse for a wrestler/faction, or can be a reference to a person who acts as a guest ringside referee during a match.-Powerhouse/Enforcer:...
at a fan's house, appearing with his WWF Championship belt. Hart later appeared again on
MADtv in 1999 and 2000 in an angle with actor
Will SassoWill Sasso is a Canadian comedian and actor. He is most notable for his membership in the recurring cast of comedians on the American sketch comedy series MADtv, spending five seasons on the show.- Early life :...
in which the two feuded on the set of
MADtv and in World Championship Wrestling; this culminated in a grudge match on
WCW Monday Nitro, where Hart decisively defeated Sasso.
Wrestling-related
Hart was the subject of 1998 documentary,
Hitman Hart: Wrestling with ShadowsHitman Hart: Wrestling with Shadows is a documentary film which follows World Wrestling Federation superstar Bret Hart during his last year in the WWF, from his WWF Championship victory at SummerSlam to his final match with the company at Survivor Series on November 9, 1997.-Between two...
, which chronicles the events leading up to his transition from WWF to WCW.
In mid-2005, WWE announced the release of a three disc
DVDDVD, also known as Digital Versatile Disc or Digital Video Disc,is an optical disc storage media format, and was founded in 1995. Its main uses are video and data storage...
originally named
Screwed: The Bret Hart Story, with the title a reference to the
Montreal ScrewjobThe Montreal Screwjob was the real life double-crossing of defending WWF Champion Bret Hart by Vince McMahon, the owner of the World Wrestling Federation , during the main event match of the professional wrestling pay-per-view event Survivor Series held on November 9, 1997 at the Molson Centre in...
. After he was approached about appearing in the DVD, Hart visited WWE Headquarters on August 3, 2005 and met with Vince McMahon. Hart filmed over seven hours of interview footage for the DVD, which was renamed
Bret "Hit Man" Hart: The Best There Is, The Best There Was, The Best There Ever Will Be. The DVD includes a compendium of Hart's favorite matches, including a match against his brother Owen held in
White Plains, New YorkThe City of White Plains is the county seat of Westchester County, New York, United States. It is located in south-central Westchester, about east of the Hudson River and northwest of Long Island Sound...
and his first match with
Ricky SteamboatRichard Henry Blood , better known by his ring name Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, is an American professional wrestler who became one of the most well-known professional wrestlers of the late 1980s and early 1990s. He is currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment working as a road agent...
. Before the DVD's release, the WWE released a special magazine covering Hart's career. The collection was released on November 15, 2005.
Hart appeared on many talk shows (
Larry King LiveLarry King Live is an American talk show hosted by Larry King on CNN. The show debuted in 1985, and is CNN's most watched program, with over one million viewers nightly.The show broadcasts from CNN's Los Angeles studios...
,
Nancy Grace,
Hannity & ColmesHannity & Colmes was an American television show on Fox News Channel, hosted by Sean Hannity and Alan Colmes, who respectively presented a conservative and liberal perspective. The series premiered on October 6, 1996, and the final episode aired on January 9, 2009...
,
On the Record w/ Greta Van Susteren, etc.) discussing the
Chris Benoit double murder and suicideOn June 25, 2007, professional wrestler Chris Benoit, his wife Nancy, and their seven-year-old son Daniel were found dead in their Fayetteville, Georgia, home at around 2:30 p.m. EDT. Former world champion Benoit had missed several shows , and police entered his home on a "welfare check", locating...
. Hart is shown putting his finishing hold, the Sharpshooter, on
Chris BenoitChristopher Michael Benoit was a Canadian professional wrestler who was found by investigators and authorities to have murdered his wife and son before committing suicide...
in the opening credits of
Malcolm in the MiddleMalcolm in the Middle is an American comedy television series created by Linwood Boomer for the Fox Network. The series was first broadcast on January 9, 2000, and ended its six-and-a-half-year run on May 14, 2006, after seven seasons and 151 episodes...
.
Family
Hart married Julie Smadu-Hart (born March 25, 1960) on July 8, 1982. Bret and Julie have four children: Jade Michelle Hart (born March 31, 1983); Dallas Jeffery Hart (born August 11, 1984); Alexandra Sabina Hart (born May 17, 1988), nicknamed "Beans"; and Blade Colton Hart (born June 5, 1990). The four hearts located on the right thigh of his tights symbolize his four children, as do the four dots following his signature. Bret and Julie separated in May 1998, and they eventually got divorced on June 24, 2002, just hours before Bret suffered his stroke. Hart married an
ItalianItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
woman named Cinzia Rota in 2004, but they got divorced in 2007 after failing to agree on where they should live.
When Hart began the controversial "Canada versus America" angle, he was criticized in public, accused of being
anti-AmericanAnti-Americanism, often anti-American sentiment, is opposition or hostility to the people or the government policies of the United States. In practice, a broad range of attitudes and actions critical of or opposed to the United States have been labeled anti-Americanism...
and often told by angry American fans to "go back where you came from". Hart responded in an interview with the
Calgary SunThe Calgary Sun is a daily newspaper published in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It is a division of Sun Media, a Quebecor company.First published in 1980, the tabloid-format daily replaced the long-running broadsheet newspaper, The Albertan soon after it was acquired by the publishers of the Toronto...
, stating that "[there is] a difference between a show and reality". In actuality, Hart holds dual citizenship with Canada and the United States, as his mother is originally from
Long IslandLong Island is an island located in southeastern New York, United States, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City, and two of which are mainly suburban...
,
New YorkNew York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
in the United States.
Hart is a huge
BeatlesThe Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960 who became one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed bands in the history of popular music...
fan, and fashioned his ring attire from the late 1980s till the mid 1990s after the band members' attire on the cover of the classic 1967 hit album
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club BandSgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is the eighth studio album by English rock band The Beatles. Released in the UK on 1 June 1967, it became a defining album in the emerging psychedelic rock style; it has since been recognised by prominent critics and publications as one of the most influential...
.
On June 24, 2002, Bret Hart suffered a stroke after hitting his head in a bicycle accident.
The Calgary Herald reported that Hart hit a pothole, flew over the handlebars of the bike, and landed on the back of his head. Hart suffered total paralysis on his left side, which required months of physical therapy. Hart has since recovered much of his mobility and is in good health, although he suffers from an emotional imbalance and other lasting effects common to stroke survivors. Hart wrote in detail about his stroke in his autobiography,
Hitman: My Real Life In The Cartoon World of Wrestling. Hart later became a spokesperson for
March of Dimes CanadaMarch of Dimes Canada , officially the Rehabilitation Foundation for Disabled Persons, Canada) is a registered national charity established in 2005 by Ontario March of Dimes, to provide community-based rehabilitation services and resources across the country to people with physical...
's Stroke Recovery Canada program.
The
Calgary HitmenThe Calgary Hitmen are a major junior ice hockey team based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The Hitmen play in the Western Hockey League . They play their home games at the Pengrowth Saddledome. Their name is derived from local-born professional wrestler Bret "The Hitman" Hart, a founding owner....
of the
Western Hockey LeagueThe Western Hockey League is a Major Junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Pacific Northwest of the United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitute the Canadian Hockey League as the highest level of junior hockey in Canada...
took their name from Hart, who was a founder and part-owner.
Feud with Ric Flair
In 2004, Hart engaged in an off-screen rivalry with
Ric FlairRichard Morgan Fliehr better known by his ring name, Ric Flair, is an American professional wrestler. Also known as "The Nature Boy," Flair is one of the most well known professional wrestlers in the world....
. In his autobiography, Flair criticizes Hart for over-exploiting the death of his brother,
Owen HartOwen James Hart was a Canadian professional wrestler who was widely known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation . Hart was born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada the youngest of 12 children to wrestling promoter Stu Hart and Helen Hart. He was the younger brother of professional wrestler Bret...
, and the controversy surrounding the
Montreal ScrewjobThe Montreal Screwjob was the real life double-crossing of defending WWF Champion Bret Hart by Vince McMahon, the owner of the World Wrestling Federation , during the main event match of the professional wrestling pay-per-view event Survivor Series held on November 9, 1997 at the Molson Centre in...
. Flair also claimed in his autobiography that, despite Hart's popularity throughout Canada and Europe, he was not a formidable money-making draw in the United States, a claim which Hart dismissed as
"plain ridiculous" in a column written for the
Calgary SunThe Calgary Sun is a daily newspaper published in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It is a division of Sun Media, a Quebecor company.First published in 1980, the tabloid-format daily replaced the long-running broadsheet newspaper, The Albertan soon after it was acquired by the publishers of the Toronto...
. Hart claimed that he drew greater revenue than Flair, citing his headlining performances on consistently sold-out United States tours throughout his WWE career. He also criticized Flair on what he perceived as insults to fellow wrestlers
Mick FoleyMichael Francis "Mick" Foley, Sr. is an American actor, author, comedian, voice over, and professional wrestler, currently signed with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , where he is the storyline "Executive Shareholder"...
and
Randy SavageRandall Mario Poffo , better known by his ring name "Macho Man" Randy Savage, is a former American professional wrestler and actor who is best known for his time with the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling . Savage is a six-time world champion...
. Hart did acknowledge a decline in the WWF's popularity during the mid 1990s, but he - and others felt that this was largely attributed to the WWF's well-publicised sex and steroid scandals, as well as WCW's acquisition of former top WWE stars.
In wrestling
-
- Sharpshooter
The Sharpshooter, originally named Sasori-gatame, Scorpion Hold in English, is a professional wrestling submission hold. The move is also known several other names: cloverleaf leg-lace Boston crab, standing inverted figure four leglock, and, the most commonly-known alternative, Scorpion Deathlock...
- Spike piledriver
- Signature moves
- Bulldog, sometimes from the second rope
- Diving crossbody
- Dropkick
A dropkick is an attacking maneuver in professional wrestling. It is defined as an attack where the wrestler jumps up and kicks the opponent with the soles of both feet, this sees the wrestler twist as they jump so that when the feet connect with the opponent one foot is raised higher than the...
- Enzuigiri
- Figure four leglock, sometimes while utilizing the ringpost for extra pressure
- Headbutt
- Inverted atomic drop
- Kip-up
Kip-up is one of several names for an acrobatic move in which a person transitions from a supine position directly to a squatting position by propelling the legs, and consequently the entire body, away from the floor. It is used in activities such as martial arts, acro dance, breakdancing,...
- Lariat takedown
- Leg drop
A leg drop or legdrop refers to an attack used in professional wrestling in which an attacking wrestler will jump and land his leg across a fallen opponent's chest, throat, face or head or in some cases, the groin/lower-abdominal area.-Discus leg drop:...
- Multiple pinning variations
- Backwards flip out of chokehold into cover using turnbuckle
- Crucifix
- Inside cradle
- Roll-up
- Sunset flip
- Victory roll
- Multiple suplex
A suplex is an offensive move used in professional sport wrestling. The move consists of one wrestler picking up his or her opponent off the ground and then using a large portion of his or her own body weight to drive the opponent down on the mat. Nearly all suplexes have the attacker going down...
variations
- Bridging / Release German
- Snap
- Super
- Pendulum backbreaker
- Russian legsweep
- Seated senton to an opponent's leg draped over the first rope
- Second or a top rope dive into either an axe handle elbow drop, a clothesline or a side elbow drop
- Sleeper hold
- Slingshot crossbody
- Stomp to the lower abdominal area
- Suicide dive
- Sunset flip
- Swinging neckbreaker
- With Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart
James Henry "Jim" Neidhart is an American professional wrestler, best known for his appearances in the 1980s and 1990s in the World Wrestling Federation as Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart, and is the father of WWE Diva Natalya...
- Managers
In professional wrestling, a manager is a secondary character paired with a wrestler for a variety of reasons. The manager is often either a non-wrestler, an occasional wrestler, an older wrestler who has retired or is nearing retirement or, in some cases, a new wrestler who is breaking into the...
- Jimmy Hart
Jimmy Ray Hart is a professional wrestling manager, executive, composer, and musician best known for his work in the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling. He has managed many professional wrestlers, including Hulk Hogan, Bret Hart, Jerry "The King" Lawler, Ted DiBiase, and...
- William Shatner
William Alan Shatner is a Canadian actor and novelist. He gained worldwide fame and became a cultural icon for his portrayal of Captain James T. Kirk, captain of the starship USS Enterprise, in the television series Star Trek from 1966 to 1969, Star Trek: The Animated Series and in seven of the...
- Debra Wilson
Debra Renee Wilson Skelton , also known as Debra Wilson, Debra Wilson Skelton, or Debra Skelton, is an American comedienne and actress. Wilson is notable for being the second longest-serving original cast member on the sketch comedy series MADtv, having appeared for the show's first eight seasons...
- Nickname
A nickname is a descriptive name given in place of or in addition to the official name of a person, place or thing. It can also be the familiar or truncated form of the proper name, which may sometimes be used simply for convenience A nickname (also spelled "nick name") is a descriptive name...
s
- "The Hitman"
- "The Best There Is, The Best There Was and The Best There Ever Will Be"
- "The Excellence of Execution"
- "The Pink and Black Attack" (while teaming with Jim Neidhart)
Championships and accomplishments
- Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
Pro Wrestling Illustrated is a professional wrestling magazine. PWI is currently based in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania and published by Kappa Publishing Group.-History:The first issue of Pro Wrestling Illustrated was released in 1979...
- PWI Comeback of the Year
The PWI Comeback of the Year Award, given yearly since 1992 by professional wrestling magazine Pro Wrestling Illustrated, recognizes the most impressive comeback by a professional wrestler during the year as voted by readers of the magazine. Hulk Hogan has won this award twice.-Award winners and...
(1997)
- PWI Feud of the Year
The PWI Feud of the Year Award, given yearly since 1986 by professional wrestling magazine Pro Wrestling Illustrated, recognizes the best feud of the year in professional wrestling as voted by readers of the magazine. Ric Flair vs. Lex Luger are tied with Vince McMahon vs. Steve Austin each winning...
(1993) vs. Jerry LawlerJerry O'Neil Lawler is an American professional wrestler, wrestling commentator, musician, and film actor, known throughout the wrestling world as Jerry "The King" Lawler. He is currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment , working and wrestling on its Raw brand as the color commentator...
- PWI Feud of the Year (1994) vs. Owen Hart
Owen James Hart was a Canadian professional wrestler who was widely known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation . Hart was born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada the youngest of 12 children to wrestling promoter Stu Hart and Helen Hart. He was the younger brother of professional wrestler Bret...
- PWI Match of the Year
The PWI Match of the Year Award, given yearly since 1972 by professional wrestling magazine Pro Wrestling Illustrated, recognizes the best match of the year as voted by readers of the magazine. Shawn Michaels has won the award a record 9 times; 4 in a row and has won the last five years in a...
(1992) vs. British BulldogDavid Boy Smith was a British professional wrestler, better known as The British Bulldog Davey Boy Smith, who was born in Golborne, Wigan. Smith is best known for his appearances in the United States of America with the World Wrestling Federation...
at SummerSlamSummerSlam was the fifth annual SummerSlam professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on August 29, 1992 at Wembley Stadium, London, England but was aired in the United States on August 31...
- PWI Match of the Year (1996) vs. Shawn Michaels
Michael Shawn Hickenbottom , better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American professional wrestler. He performs for World Wrestling Entertainment , formerly the World Wrestling Federation, on its Raw brand...
in an Iron Man matchAn Iron Man match is a professional wrestling match type that is set to go a specific amount of time, usually 30 or 60 minutes, with the competitor with the most decisions at the end of that time named the victor...
at WrestleMania XIIWrestleMania XII was the twelfth WrestleMania event produced by the World Wrestling Federation. It took place on March 31, 1996 at the Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim, California.-Background:...
- PWI Match of the Year (1997) vs. Steve Austin
Steve Austin , better known by his ring name "Stone Cold" Steve Austin is an American film and television actor and retired professional wrestler...
in a Submission match at WrestleMania 13WrestleMania 13 was the thirteenth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation...
- PWI Most Hated Wrestler of the Year
The PWI Most Hated Wrestler of the Year Award, given yearly since 1972 by professional wrestling magazine Pro Wrestling Illustrated, recognizes the best heel professional wrestler of the year as voted by readers of the magazine. Greg Valentine & Triple H have won this award a record 3 times.-Award...
(1997)
- PWI Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Year
The PWI Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Year Award, given yearly since 1972 by professional wrestling magazine Pro Wrestling Illustrated, recognizes the most inspirational professional wrestler of the year as voted by readers of the magazine. Bob Backlund, Hulk Hogan and Eddie Guerrero won this...
(1994)
- PWI Stanley Weston Award
The PWI Stanley Weston Award recognizes lifetime achievement by a professional wrestling personality. It has been given yearly since 1981 by professional wrestling magazine Pro Wrestling Illustrated, as decided by the editors of the magazine. The award was originally known as the PWI Editor's Award...
(2003)
- PWI ranked him #1 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the year in the PWI 500 in 1993 and 1994
- PWI ranked him #4 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years" in 2003
- PWI ranked him #37 of the top 500 tag teams of the "PWI Years" with Jim Neidhart in 2003
- Stampede Wrestling
Stampede Wrestling is a Canadian professional wrestling promotion based in Calgary, Alberta and was for nearly 50 years one of the main promotions in western Canada and the Canadian Prairies...
- NWA International Tag Team Championship (Calgary version)
The Stampede International Tag Team Championship is the main tag-team title Canadian professional wrestling promotion Stampede Wrestling. It was created in 1958 as the NWA International Tag-Team Championship . When promoter Stu Hart resigned from the National Wrestling Alliance in 1984 the title...
(5 times) – with Keith Hart (4) and Leo BurkeLeonce Cormier is a retired Canadian professional wrestler. He was born in Dorchester, New Brunswick. He competed across Canada, in several American promotions, and wrestled internationally for both Puerto Rico's World Wrestling Council and the National Wrestling Alliance in New Zealand...
(1)
- Stampede British Commonwealth Mid-Heavyweight Championship
The Stampede British Commonwealth Mid-Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling title for lighter wrestlers in the Canadian promotion, Stampede Wrestling. It has existed since 1978.-Title history:...
(3 times)
- Stampede North American Heavyweight Championship
The Stampede North American Heavyweight Championship is the major title in the Canadian professional wrestling promotion Stampede Wrestling. From its establishment in 1968 until 1972, it was Stampede's secondary singles championship, becoming the top title in 1972 after the previous top...
(6 times)
- Stampede Wrestling Hall of Fame
- World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling was an American professional wrestling promotion which existed from 1988 to 2001. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it began as a regional promotion affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance , named Jim Crockett Promotions until November 1988, when Ted Turner and his...
- WCW United States Heavyweight Championship
The World Wrestling Entertainment United States Championship is a professional wrestling championship in World Wrestling Entertainment. It was originally a National Wrestling Alliance and World Championship Wrestling championship, and is currently the secondary championship of the Raw...
(4 times)
- WCW World Heavyweight Championship
The World Championship Wrestling World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship and the top title contested for in World Championship Wrestling...
(2 times)
- WCW World Tag Team Championship
The World Championship Wrestling Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling world tag team championship in World Championship Wrestling...
(1 time) – with GoldbergWilliam Scott "Bill" Goldberg better known by his ring name Bill Goldberg , is an American professional wrestler and actor best known for his time in both World Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment...
- World Wrestling Council
The World Wrestling Council is one of Puerto Rico's two main professional wrestling promotions, the other one being the International Wrestling Association...
- WWC Caribbean Tag Team Championship
WWC Caribbean Tag Team Championship was a third-string Tag Team title that was defended in the World Wrestling Council.-Title history:...
(1 time) – with Smith HartSmith Stewart Hart is a former professional wrestler. He is the eldest child of Stu Hart.-Career:He wrestled in his father's Stampede Wrestling promotion and in Puerto Rico's World Wrestling Council in the 1970s...
- World Wrestling Federation
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is a publicly-traded, privately-controlled integrated media and sports entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
- WWE Championship
The World Wrestling Entertainment Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in World Wrestling Entertainment . It is the world title of the Raw brand and one of three in WWE, complementing the World Heavyweight Championship and ECW Championship. It was established...
(5 times)
- WWE Intercontinental Championship
The World Wrestling Entertainment Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship in World Wrestling Entertainment. It is the original secondary title of WWE...
(2 times)
- WWE Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Jim Neidhart
- King of the Ring
King of the Ring is a professional wrestling single-elimination tournament held by World Wrestling Entertainment. The tournament was held annually from 1985 to 2002, with the exception of 1992, and from 1993 onward the tournament was produced as a pay-per-view event.The tournament endured a four...
(1991, 1993King of the Ring was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . The event resulted from the WWF's decision to make its annual King of the Ring tournament into a televised event. It took place on June 13, 1993 at the Nutter Center in Dayton, Ohio...
)
- Royal Rumble
The Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling pay-per-view event, produced every January by professional wrestling promotion World Wrestling Entertainment . The event was created in 1988 with the inaugural event held on January 24, 1988 at the Copps Coliseum in Hamilton, Ontario...
(1994Royal Rumble was the seventh annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on January 22, 1994 at the Providence Civic Center in Providence, Rhode Island. The main event was the Royal Rumble match, a battle royal in which...
)1
- Second Triple Crown Champion
- Slammy Award for Put a Fork in Him, He's Done (1996)
- Slammy Award for Best Music Video (1996)
- Slammy Award for Which WWF champion, past or present, in attendance, is Hall of Fame bound? (1996)
- WWE Hall of Fame
The World Wrestling Entertainment Hall of Fame is a hall of fame for professional wrestlers maintained by WWE. It was officially created on the February 1, 1993 episode of the World Wrestling Federation's , the predecessor of WWE, Monday Night Raw television program...
(Class of 2006The World Wrestling Entertainment Hall of Fame is a hall of fame for professional wrestlers maintained by WWE. It was officially created on the February 1, 1993 episode of the World Wrestling Federation's , the predecessor of WWE, Monday Night Raw television program...
)
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
This is a list of both active and inactive Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards created by professional wrestling journalist, Dave Meltzer, with the first fourteen awards being created in 1980 with an increasing number of awards given out every year; these were created to recognize the individual...
- Best Pro Wrestling Book (2007)
- Best Pro Wrestling DVD (2006)
- Feud of the Year (1993)
- Feud of the Year (1997)
- Match of the Year (1997)
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame
The Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame is a professional wrestling hall of fame that recognizes people who make significant contributions to the sport. It was founded in 1996 by Dave Meltzer, editor of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter...
(Class of 1996)
1Hart co-won the Royal Rumble with Lex LugerLawrence Wendell Pfohl best known by his ring name Lex Luger, is an American former professional wrestler and football player. He is best known for his work with the National Wrestling Alliance, World Championship Wrestling, and the World Wrestling Federation...
after both simultaneously eliminated each other
Famous Quote: " I am the best there is, the best the was, and the best there ever will be."
External links