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BRET "THE HITMAN" HART
The Hart Family:
Bret Hart was born on 7/2/57 in Calgary, Alberta
Canada. He is the son of Stu Hart and grandson
of US Olympic runner Harry Smith (on his
mother's side). He had 11 other brothers and
sisters growing up. His most famous relatives
are the late Owen Hart and his brother in laws
the late Davey Boy Smith and Jim Neidhart. He
was trained in the famed Stu Hart Dungeon by Mr.
Hito and Mr. Sukurada. He made his pro debut in
1976.
The Hart Foundation
version 1:
Bret went to the WWF in 1985 when his father
Stu sold his Stampede Wrestling promotion to
Vince McMahon. Bret was very bad at interviews
and was teamed up with Jim Neidhart and manager
Jimmy Hart (no relation) to form the Hart
Foundation. They went on to become one of the
most legendary tag teams of all time. They won
the tag team titles twice and their matches
against The British Bulldogs are still talked
about to this day.
Intercontinental
Champion:
Bret had a brief run as a singles wrestler
in 1988 before re-teaming with Jim Neidhart.
When the Hart Foundation broke up after
WrestleMania 7, it only took Bret a few months
before winning the I-C Title from Bret Hart. He
lost the title at a house show to the Mountie
but regained it from Roddy Piper a few months
later. He lost the title a few months later to
The British Bulldog in the main event of a card
that sold out Wembley Stadium.
World Champion:
In an untelevised match, Bret Hart won the
WWF title from Ric Flair. The WWF went in a new
direction due to the steroid scandal of the era
and left the era of the muscle bound wrestler.
Bret lost the title at WM 9 to Yokozuna and
regained it the following year. That title reign
is highlighted by an incredible series of
matches with his brother Owen. He lost the title
to Bob Backlund and regained it a year later
from Diesel.
Shawn Michaels and WCW
Calls:
Bret lost the WWF Title to Shawn Michael's
in an Iron Man Match at WM 11. After the match,
Bret took several months off and during that
time was approached by WCW. He turned down their
offer and was given a 20 year deal to stay with
the WWF. He returned at The Survivor Series and
started an incredible feud with Steve Austin. It
appeared Bret would fight Michael's at WM for
the title but Michael's gave up the title
claiming he "lost his smile".
Hart Foundation version
2 :
On the screen, Bret's feud with Austin took
a strange turn. The fans took a liking to the
foul mouth red neck and hated Bret's clean cut
image. Bret then reformed The Hart Foundation
with Neidhart and added his brother Owen, Davey
Boy Smith, and Brian Pillman. When they fought
in the US they were booed but were treated like
national heroes in Canada. Brian Pillman died in
September of 1997 and Bret's WWF career was
about to end in the most unusual way.
Survivor Series 97 -
The Montreal Screwjob:
Vince McMahon informed Bret that he would
his contract. Bret signed with WCW. Bret had a
clause in his WWF contract that gave him
reasonable creative control for the last 60 days
of his WWF tenure. Bret hated Shawn Michaels in
real life and refused to lose to him in Canada.
The match ended with Vince calling for the bell
when Bret was in the Sharpshooter. After the
match Bret went on a rampage and gave Vince a
black eye in a locker room fight.
WCW and Owen:
Bret's tenure in WCW was marked by wasting
his talent. He was a victim of the politics that
would eventually destroy the company. On
5/23/99, Bret's brother Owen died during a PPV
broadcast when he fell from the ceiling of the
arena in a stunt gone horribly wrong. Bret's
career ended soon after when he was kicked in
the head by Goldberg at Starrcade 99 and
suffered a career ending concussion.
Life After Wrestling:
On 6/24/02, Bret suffered a stroke while
riding his bike. Thankfully, he has made a
recovery from that. He is now on friendly terms
with Vince McMahon and has worked with the WWE
on a three disc DVD collection that honors his
legendary career.
WWF & WCW Title
History:
WWF
WWF World Title
10/12/92 – Ric Flair
3/20/94 WrestleMania X – Yokozuna
11/19/95 Survivor Series – Diesel
2/16/97 IYH Final Four – won vacant title in a
match against Vader, Steve Austin, & The
Undertaker
8/3/97 SummerSlam – Undertaker
Intercontinental Title
8/26/91 SummerSlam – Curt Henning
4/5/92 WrestleMania 8 – Roddy Piper
(Sources: Bret Hart
DVD, PWI Almanac, Obsessed With Wrestling.com)
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