Bret 'The Hitman' Hart

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Bret Sergeant Hart (born July 2, 1957 in Calgary, Alberta) is a Canadian former professional wrestler, and part of the famous Hart wrestling family. In the course of his career, he was known by several monikers: Bret "Hit Man" Hart, (adopted from boxer Thomas Hearns), "The Excellence of Execution" (originally dubbed as such by Gorilla Monsoon) and perhaps the most resounding, "The best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be" (derived from the 1984 film The Natural, which starred Robert Redford). Hart justifies his claim to the latter title by citing three facts: that he never seriously injured an opponent through any fault of his own; that, in the course of his career with the World Wrestling Federation, he only ever missed two shows, both as a result of traffic and flight difficulties, and that he rarely refused to job. ------------------------------------------------------------- Professional wrestling Hart was born in Calgary, Alberta; the eighth child of wrestling patriarch, promoter Stu Hart. His seven brothers were either wrestlers or involved backstage with the wrestling business; his four sisters all married professional wrestlers. Two of his brothers-in-law, Davey Boy Smith, and Jim Neidhart, had very successful careers in the business. His youngest brother, Owen Hart, became a decorated wrestler in his own right before his death in 1999. Hart is regarded by many as one of the most technically sound professional wrestlers ever to grace a ring. Once labelled "the greatest storyteller in the history of the business" by Vince McMahon, he was adept at creating tense and entertaining matches. Mean Gene Okerlund has also placed him in the top five best technical wrestlers of all time. Hart's 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 athletics. Before school, Hart's father, also a wrestling promoter, would have him hand out flyers to local wrestling shows. At Ernest Manning High School, Hart would gain experience in the amateur wrestling division. Despite being "skin and bones," as Hart refers to his teenage physique, he won significant championships. This would later offer credibility to his career in professional wrestling as being legit. However, rather than directly following his father's foot steps, Hart pursued a college degree. ------------------------------------------------------------- Stampede Wrestling (1976-1984) Hart enrolled in Mount Royal College with aspirations of becoming a director. At the age of 19, however, Hart began working for his father's Stampede Wrestling 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 request his son stand in as a replacement, paving the way for Hart's very first match in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Before long, he became a regular contender. At this point, however, he was still unsure he wanted to make a career of professional wrestling and continually contemplated the idea. Hart would gain some of his most exceptional experience from Japanese combatants and, before long, was amazing crowds with his high-impact matches against The Dynamite Kid. 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 elder as other sons of promoters have. Hart faithfully jobbed as requested of him, taking pride in the believability of his performances. As he said himself, "no one could take a shitt kicking like Bret Hart."Although he dreaded doing 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 wrestling the famous Tiger Mask in New Japan Pro Wrestling 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. In an aside to Hart claiming to have never injured anyone during his career, Bad News Brown in his shoot interview debunks that myth by claiming Bret inflicted two concussions on him due to being overzealous with a chair in their matches. ------------------------------------------------------------- World Wrestling Federation (1984-1997) Hart rose to fame in the WWF in the late-1980s, winning the WWF World Tag Team Championship twice as one half of the Hart Foundation. Hart's technical style created an intriguing contrast with his partner Jim Neidhart's strength and brawling skills. The duo were originally a heel team managed by "The Mouth of the South" Jimmy Hart and actually wore blue and black, as opposed to the more recognizable pink and black color scheme which they later adopted. Eventually, they turned face, adopting the nickname "The Pink and Black Attack." Their most notable feuds were with the British Bulldogs and Demolition. Following a loss to The Nasty Boys at WrestleMania VII, the Foundation split and Hart went on to pursue a singles career. He won his first of two WWF Intercontinental Championship reigns by defeating Mr. Perfect with the Sharpshooter at SummerSlam 1991.Hart was then placed in a fued with the Mountie. This fued came about when the Mountie's manager, Jimmy Hart, threw water on Hart. Then the Mountie proceded to shock Hart with a cattle prod. When Hart lost the WWF Intercontinental Championship to The Mountie, he was supposedly suffering from a fever; however, this was a work to protect his character when he lost the title. In reality, Hart was booked to lose the title because his current contract was expiring. Following the loss, Roddy Piper (who is a friend of Bret himself) defeated Mountie with a sleeperhold at the 1992 Royal Rumble, and Bret would later pin "The Rowdy One" for the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania VIII later that same year. In July 1992, Hart defeated Shawn Michaels in what is believed to be the first ever ladder match 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 initially won the first match of this type. After dropping the Intercontinental Championship to his brother-in-law, Davey Boy Smith, in a classic match at SummerSlam 1992 held before over 80,000 fans at Wembley Stadium, Hart was elevated to main-event status. He won the WWF Championship from Ric Flair at Saskatchewan Place in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada (the hometown of his father, Stu Hart) in October of that year in an untelevised event. 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 became the sixteenth man to win the WWE Championship as well as only the second WWE Triple Crown winner. Hart lost the title to Yokozuna at WrestleMania IX after interference from Mr. Fuji, only to have Yokozuna immediately challenge Hulk Hogan and lose. Shortly after, however, Hart won the original televised King of the Ring tournament in 1993, defeating Razor Ramon, Mr. Perfect and Bam Bam Bigelow. After being crowned as the King of the Ring, Hart was attacked by announcer Jerry "The King" Lawler. 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 SummerSlam 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. It is widely recognized that the original intentions of Summerslam were to place World Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan against Bret Hart in a colossal passing of the torch. However, given the booking power of Hogan's contract, he refuse to put Hart over citing bad taste in a face-versus-face match. Some critics believe, however, that Hogan simply didn't want to drop the title to the new flagship of the company. Hogan favored a loss to Yokozuna before his departure from the WWF, leaving Hart to reclaim the World title under a different light. Hart was named the co-winner of the 1994 Royal Rumble when he and Lex Luger were eliminated simultaneously. As a result, both men received title shots at WrestleMania X. Bret pinned Yokozuna to reclaim the World title at WrestleMania X. It was at this time that Bret Hart entered into a feud with his younger brother, Owen Hart. For the family-friendly WWF of the early 1990s, a brother-versus-brother feud was edgy and the fans responded well to it. The storyline involved Owen becoming jealous of Bret. It began at Survivor Series 1993, when the Harts (four of the Hart Brothers including Bret and Owen) took on Shawn Michaels (sub for Lawler) and his knights. Bret and his two brothers Bruce and Keith survived the match, with Owen Hart being 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 do. In the storyline, Bret, along with his parents, worked over the Holidays to reunite the family. Owen came around and the two brothers decided to become a tag team and challenge for the tag team titles. Bret's goal was to help his younger brother win his first title in the WWF. At the Royal Rumble, The Hart Brothers took on tag team champions The Quebecers for the tag titles. The decision was called by the referee when Bret Hart was deemed too injured to continue the match. Owen again blamed Bret, this