"The Hitman." "The Excellence of Execution." "The Best There Is, The Best There Was, and The Best There Ever Will Be." Just three of the nicknames used in conjunction with the latest inductee into the Wrestlezone Hall of Fame. When discussing the greatest technical and submission-hold wrestlers of the modern Era, any list would be incomplete without Bret Hart sitting near or at the top of it. Already a member of the Professional Wrestling, Wrestling Observer, and WWE Halls of Fame, Wrestlezone is proud to welcome Bret into its Hall of Fame as well!
Born into the famous Hart wrestling family in Calgary, Alberta(Canada), Bret was the eighth child of Stu and Helen Hart, the former the patriarch of the Hart wrestling dynasty and founder of the Hart Dunegon, one of the most influential training grounds in the history of professional wrestling. Hart was exposed to wrestling at an early age, both through watching his father put students in excruciating wrestling holds, then, as a teenager, was trained there himself.
Hart was an outstanding amateur wrestler, where he won local and district tournaments in high school, and InterUniversity tournaments while in college. Originally desiring to be a filmmaker after tiring of amateur wrestling despite his success, Hart felt the only way to avoid disappointing his father was to become a professional wrestler. Initially, he began working as a referee on weekends for his father's Stampede Wrestling. However, in 1976 and at 19 years of age, he was put into his first match by his father after a performer dropped out of the show due to an illness. It was only then that Bret stopped working as an amateur wrestler and left college to begin wrestling full-time.
Bret found success early as a tag team wrestler, teaming with his brother Keith to win 4 of the 5 Tag Team Championships he would win during his 8 years in Stampede Wrestling. Before Stampede was bought by the WWF and Vince McMahon in 1984, Bret won 6 North American Heavyweight Championships, the promotion's highest honor. Bret also spent some time in New Japan Pro Wrestling in the early 80's as well.
When Bret was to debut in the WWF, original plans called for him to be booked and pushed as a single's wrestler with a cowboy gimmick, which Hart refused. He was instead booked as part of Jimmy Hart's "Hart Foundation", where he frequently teamed with his brother-in-law Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart. The pair won two WWF Tag Team Championships together, and due to their ring attire, became known as the "Pink and Black Attack." The Hart Foundation often feuded with The British Bulldogs, comprised of another of Bret's brother in law's, Davey Boy Smith, and Tom "Dynamite Kid" Billington.
Although Bret wrestled in a Battle Royal at Wrestlemania 2, it wasn't until Wrestlemania 7 that the Hart Foundation broke up and Bret embarked on a single's career. Shortly after this, Bret began to wrestle further up the card and in higher-profile matches, which culminated in Bret winning the Intercontinental Title from Mr. Perfect at the 1991 edition of Summerslam. This is widely considered to be one of the greatest Intercontinental Title matches of all-time, with Bret countering the Perfect Plex into the Sharpshooter for the submission victory in one of the most amazing counters of all-time. After losing the title to the Mountie, Hart remained in the IC Title picture, where he defeated fellow WWE Hall of Famer Roddy Piper for his second Intercontinental Title. At the 1992 Summerslam, Hart fittingly dropped the Intercontinental title to brother-in-law Davey Boy Smith, in another match considered among the best IC Title matches of all-time. This was a year from when Hart won the title for the first time.
Although it didn't air on television or PPV at the time, Hart won the WWF Title from Ric Flair just two short months later in October 1992. He went on to have successful title defenses against Flair, Shawn Michaels, Razor Ramon and others, before losing the title to Yokozuna at Wrestlemania IX. Before leaving for WCW in 1997, Bret won the Royal Rumble in 1994, with his feet touching the floor at the same time as Lex Luger's. He also won the King Of The Ring Tournament twice, in 1991 and '93. Alongside those accomplishments, Bret won four more WWF Championships.
In his final match in the WWF/E for 13 years, Bret Hart squared off with Shawn Michaels for the WWF Chmpionship in Montreal, Canada, in one of the most controversial stories in wrestling history. Articles and even books have been written about "The Montreal Screwjob", where Shawn put Bret in the sharpshooter and was awarded the title by referee Earl Hebner, although Bret never submitted. Due to real life animosity between the two, and seeing himself as a hero to the Canadien people, Bret didn't want to lose the title to Shawn in Canada(or anywhere else). With his contract up the next day, Vince didn't want Bret leaving for WCW without losing the title. So he arranged to have the bell rung while Bret was in his own submission hold, the sharpshooter, which was the most controversial finish to a match in WWF/E history.
Bret's time in WCW was short-lived, however, as less then 3 years in, he was kicked in the head by Goldberg and suffered a concussion so severe that he retired from wrestling. Still, Hart had great success there, as he was a two-time World Champion, four-time United States Champion, and a one-time Tag Champion with the man who injured him, Goldberg. Nine months after being kicked in the head by Goldberg at Starrcade 1999, Bret Hart announced his retirement from professional wrestling.
Bret had several tragedies in the years to come. While still working for WCW, his brother Owen, working for the WWF on their Over the Edge 1999 PPV, fell from the harness he was fastened to as he descended to the ring, dying on Impact. Bret himself suffered a stroke three years later in a biking accident, and needed months of physical therapy to regain some movement from the paralysis on the left side of his face.
Bret has since made peace with Vince McMahon, Shawn Michaels, and the WWE. He collaborated with the WWE with interviews and personally selecting matches selecting matches for the WWE release, Bret "Hit Man" Hart: The Best There Is, the Best There Was, the Best There Ever Will Be. Along with being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2006, Hart won the United States Championship from the Miz in 2010 when Miz submitted to the Sharpshooter after the Hart Dynasty(Tyson Kidd, D.H. Smith) hit a modified version of he and Jim Neidhart's old finisher, the Hart Attack, on Miz. Although he's competed in several tag matches since, that was Hart's final single's match in WWE.
In all, Bret has left a lasting mark on the business as one of the greatest technicians of all-time. He's the only man to have won the Triple Crown(U.S., Tag Team, World Title) in both the WWE/F and WCW. He's a seven-time World Champion in all, and is well-respected by his peers as one of, if not the, greatest wrestler they've ever been in the ring with. We here at Wrestlezone are proud to induct him into our Hall of Fame.
Did you know?
- Bret had a recurring role on the TV Show Lonesome Dove: The Outlaw Years.
- Bret is the only wrestler to win the King Of The Ring tournament more than once.
- Bret owns a share of the minor league hockey team the Calgary Hitmen, who took their name from Hart's 'Hitman' gimmick.
- Along with his autobiography, Hart wrote an article for the Calgary Star for 14 years from 1991-2004.
- Bret wore his famous sunglasses initially because he was painfully shy and terrified of doing promos.