Which Wrestler Do You Most Associate With Jimmy Hart?

[The Brain]

Last night I created a thread about which wrestler is most associated with Bobby Heenan. It quickly got a lot of responses so let’s go with the same topic but a different manager. This time we’ll focus on The Mouth of the South Jimmy Hart. Like Heenan, Hart managed many men over a ten year period in the WWF including many tag teams. For this poll I have included separate choices for a couple guys who Hart managed both as a singles and tag team competitor. In both cases Hart managed each man for a significant run as a singles and tag wrestler. I didn’t follow Hart that closely in WCW. I think most would agree his more successful days came in the WWF. If a WCW wrestler is your choice vote for other and tell us about it.

There are some great choices on this list but there is one man that instantly comes to mind when I think of Jimmy Hart. That man is The Honky Tonk Man. Honky was looked at as a low card wrestler but with Hart he became a star. I don’t need to tell you about the record 15 month IC title reign. You could argue that Honky would have been nothing without Hart. How many times did Hart bail HTM out of trouble? Hart even got his Colonel nickname by managing Honky. His success may have been brief but for a two year period HTM was as hot as any heel in the WWF and Jimmy Hart was a big reason why.

 

[ProWrestlingFan84]

Back in the mid 80's up to early 90's, WWF had these great managers who brought out the best of talent who otherwise wouldn't have been much of anything. A great example and person who I think of when I think Jimmy Hart is the Honkey Tonk Man. One of those heels who just kept on getting away by the skin of his teeth over and over, similar to what Daniel Bryan is doing but oh so much worse. I also when thinking about Jimmy Hart, always thought about all of the tag teams he managed or the tag teams he would drop so he could manage the new tag champs. He did this with the Natural Disasters and the Hart Foundation. And yes I have to agree when he turned face of sorts at Mania 9 managing Hogan/Beefcake, it just didn't seem right. I always thought he was going to do his classic manager turn and help Money Inc.

Another great thread and honestly you could keep this going with maybe Mr. Fuigi being next or "The Doctor of Style" Slick

 

[Big Sexy]

This one is a little tougher because Jimmy Hart has been both a face and a heel as a manager. He also managed multiple tag teams that feuded with each other while he was jumping from team to team.

I guess I'd go with Earthquake if I had to pick one. Earthquake was the first guy Hart managed who really made a run at Hogan and the world title. Even after the feud with Hogan, Hart and Earthquake were a formidable team. Hart also managed Earthquake along with Typhoon as the Natural Disasters when they first formed. The number of superstars Jimmy Hart managed probably isn't rivaled by too many managers, if anyone.

 

[Huey]

Hulk Hogan for me. The first thing that springs to mind when I think of Jimmy Hart is his stuff with Hogan when he went to WCW in the mid 90s. The jacket with the giant hogan face and all that, then turning on hogan with the dungeon of doom.

 

[danvandam]

This is pretty cool idea. Never put much thought into it until now. Probably the best manager to have. Jimmy would go way out of his way for the wrestlers he had in his stable (getting physically involved and his many different wardrobes to match the guy hes with). It's a toss up between Earthquake and Honky Tonk Man. He came the closest (before Yoko) into destroying Hulkamania and got his butt whooped all the time to help protect the championship with HTM. Brings back many memories.

 

[Scorpion Eye]

The first person that pops in head when i hear Jimmy "The Mouth of the South" Hart is Dino Bravo. Bravo might not of been the most successful wrestler he ever managed but if i remember correctly they were together forever. The pushup challenge vs Warrior with Earthquake? LOL.

 

[HBKperfect23]

Ill cop out like I did with the Hennan thread and start by throwing out there if I followed during the 80s my pick would probably be Honkey Tonk. I am going to go with Money Inc, I really thought he fit them well. Nastys is a close second. When he became Hogans manager I never thought he fit as a face manager. Great heel manager.

 

[Judah's Lion]

i've been waiting for this thread ever since the Brain thread last night. can't wait for the next managers to make the list.

as for Hart, there are two names that spring instantly to mind. the first being the Hart Foundation. when i saw these guys together, i thought they were related. wrestling was real and these guys used their real names, so obviously they had to be brothers or something. that was my 5-year-old mind thinking, anyway. so yeah, those are my first memories with Hart.

probably my strongest memory or emotion with Hart though is totally abstract and comes in the form of Alice Cooper. anyone remember that showdown at Mania? i don't know why this is such a fond memory for me, but i remember it crystal clear and whenever i think of Hart, i think of Alice Cooper.

honorable mentions have to go to Dino Bravo and Earthquake.

 

[michaelrr1]

What?? What about the Missing Link? King Kong Bundy may need to be on the list. He was with Jimmy, but the Mouth and the Brain pulled off a trade with the Brain sending the Missing Link to Jimmy for Bundy.

The answer to me is the Hart Foundation. They were just beginning their rise together when I first started watching. They had some classic battles with the British Bulldogs, and you never knew when the Mouth of the South would be the difference maker.

 

[bigbootydaddyV]

maybe it's the name, but first thing i think of with jimmy hart was the hart foundation... I even forget at times that he was associated with Hogan because that was just an awful pairing and I never got it (aside from the fact that they were friends in real life or something). His run with the Nastys and Money Inc were great but not defining, same with Honkey Tonk Man. I think part of the reason I can associate him with the Harts so easily is because he was the mouthpiece for the Hart Foundation and because they had the longest, most memorable run with him.

 

[Pedigree1]

Two come to mind for me the hart foundation and You cant forget Honky!! If memory recalls me correctly didnt the harts screw the british bulldogs when dangerous danny davis (those of you old enough to remember that)screwed the bulldogs to the heel tag team the harts!! Thats one memory that comes to mind!

Ahh the greatest IC champion of all time Honky Tonk Man!! Hell even poor jimmy got a haircut for his beloved champion when that chump brutus bullied poor Jimmy!! So its the hart foundation and Honky Tonk Man two immediately come to mind

 

[GameOver]

Singles - Honky Tonk Man. (no explanation needed)

Tag - The Hart Foundation. the name said it all, though they didn't last long and he had more exposure with other teams the Hart Foundation is what started it all.

Two come to mind for me the hart foundation and You cant forget Honky!! If memory recalls me correctly didnt the harts screw the british bulldogs when dangerous danny davis (those of you old enough to remember that)screwed the bulldogs to the heel tag team the harts!! Thats one memory that comes to mind!

Ahh the greatest IC champion of all time Honky Tonk Man!! Hell even poor jimmy got a haircut for his beloved champion when that chump brutus bullied poor Jimmy!! So its the hart foundation and Honky Tonk Man two immediately come to mind

Yes in between WrestleMania 2 and 3 he screwed the Bulldogs and Tito Santana out of the Tag Titles and the IC Title respectevly. Santana losing to Randy Savage and The Bulldogs losing to The Hart Foundationby the time WrestleMania 3 rolled around Jimmy Hart had taken Davis into his stable and he competed at WrestleMania 3 with the Hart Foundation against the British Bulldogs and Tito Santana and Davis got the pinfall after Bret nailed someone with the megaphone and draped Davis over the carcas. but it didn't last long they scrapped it and he went back to being a regular referee never to speak again of his evil ways. Good memory

 

[Mustang Sally]

Definitely Honky Tonk Man, because they were two of a kind. Honky Tonk played a rock n' roller, while Hart was a rock n' roller (lead singer of the Gentrys). To my 7-year-old mind, Honky Tonk really was a rocka-billy and watching Hart dancing and flitting all around him looked to me like a perfectly matched team.

Jimmy Hart was also interesting as a "gnat" to performers like Earthquake and The Natural Disasters, providing movement and excitement to their immobile presence. But it was as a counterpart to Honky Tonk Man that I most closely associate Hart.

 

[JackDanielsKickedMyAss]

I'm not dissing any of you guys (or gals) but you have TOTALLY missed the boat on this one!
The man that should be at the top of the list beyond a shadow of doubt is.....
JERRY "THE KING" LAWLER!!
Jerry brought Jimmy Hart into the business in the late 70'/early 80's....search them together on YouTube and the proof is in the pudding.
Longest running feud in wrestling history, no doubt! If you haven't read Jerry's book, do so. There's more there.

 

[DirtyD79]

For singles wrestlers the Honky Tonk Man, for tag teams I'd say The Nasty Boys. I especially remember that nasty boys motor cycle helmet that got used as a foreign object a couple times.

 

[Tree Of Woe]

I voted for the Hart Foundation, that was where I first learned of Jimmy Hart. I think an honorable mention should go to the Dungeon of Doom. Obviously its not what Hart is most known for managing, but I really liked that gimmick when it was in its prime.

 

[The Eighties]

For me it's Earthquake just ahead of Honky. That angle where Quake attacked Hogan and he was stretchered out with an oxygen mask on as Hart was yelling about Hulkamania being dead through his megaphone will always stay in my mind as a defining moment, especially since Hogan never beat Quake in a one on one PPV match, their feud ended at the Rumble in 91 when they were the last 2 in the match.

 

[D-Man]

The Hart Foundation. No doubt about it.

I have no many fond memories of Jimmy's run as a heel manager. But every time I think of him in a match, I think of Wrestlemania III - The British Bulldogs and Tito Santana w/Matilda versus The Hart Foundation and Danny Davis w/Jimmy Hart. The buildup was SO awesome... Danny Davis allowed the Hart Foundation to face the Bulldogs and use illegal double-team maneuvers to an injured Dynamite Kid, thus forcing the Bulldogs to lose the WWF Tag Team Titles. Jack Tunney (RIP) stripped Danny Davis of his referee powers and made him an active wrestler. It resulted in the WM3 six man tag team match that ended with the Hart Foundation being victorious but Jimmy Hart was mauled by Matilda. It was one of the funniest things I had ever seen.

Then, later on in the night, Jimmy was tied up by Jake Roberts and taunted by a snake-carrying Alice Cooper.

Man, I miss Jimmy Hart...

 

[HBsam31]

For me it has to be the Honky Tonk Man. The Hart Foundation was a very very close second, but when I think of Jimmy Hart I think coronal, and that nickname cam directly from managing Honky. I also think of jimmy Hart holding up the gold record for honka honka honky love lol. These manager threads are awesome by the way.

 

[Theo Mays]

It's all about Honky Tonk Man here. I compare this to the reason behind my Fuji/Demolition pick. With Jimmy Hart at his side Honky Tonk Man became the longest reigning IC champion in history, much like Demolition did with the tag titles. Honky was nothing more than a low card Elvis impersonator yet he managed to win the IC title and hang onto it for ages. Jimmy Hart was definitely a key player in that. Hart and Honky were a great tandem and throw in Valentine as well. It just worked and Honky's success pretty much banks on Hart and that is a big reason for my selection.