"The best chance you have if you want to rise to the top, is to give yourself up to loneliness. Fear nothing, and work hard. Life is based less than you think on what you've learned, and much more than you think on what you have inside you right from the beginning." -- Bret Hart
Personal Information:
Name: Bret Hart
Nicknames: The Hitman, Hitman, The Excellence of Execution
Favorite Quote: I am the best there is, the best there
was, and the best there ever will be!
Birthday: July 2nd, 1957
Height: 6'0"
Weight: 234 lbs.
Hometown: Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Official Website: www.BretHart.com
Professional Information:
Debut: 1976
Years of Professional Wrestling: 23 years
Promotions (wrestled in regularly): Stampede Wrestling,
WWF, and WCW
Finishing Maneuver: The Sharpshooter
Tag Teams: Teamed with Owen Hart in the WWF and with
Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart in the WWF as the Hart
Foundation
Major Championships Won:
- WWF World Tag Team Championship w/ Jim Neidhart (January 26th, 1987 to October 27th, 1987) Held Two Times
- WWF Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship (August 26th, 1991 to January 17th, 1992) Held Two Times
- WWF World Heavyweight Championship (October 12th, 1992 to April 4th, 1993) Held Five Times
- WCW United States Heavyweight Championship (July 20th, 1998 to August 10th, 1998) Held Four Times
- WCW World Heavyweight Championship (November 21st, 1999 to December 19th, 1999) Held Two Times
- WCW Tag Team Championship w/ Bill Goldberg (December 7th, 1999 to December 13th, 1999)
Famous Matches:
-WWF at Wrestlemania III in 1987 - Teamed with Neidhart and Danny Davis to defeated the British Bulldogs and Tito Santana.
-WWF at Wrestlemania V in 1989 - Teamed with Neidhart to defeat Rhythm and Blues.
-AJPW at the US/Japan Wrestling Summit on April 13th, 1990 - Drew with Tiger Mask (Misawa).
-WWF at Summerslam in 1990 - Teamed with Neidhart to defeat Demolition in a 2 out of 3 Falls Match.
-WWF at the King of the Ring Tournament in 1991 - Defeated Dougherty, Skinner, and Irwin R. Schyster to win the tournament.
- WWF at Summerslam 1991 - Defeated Mr. Perfect for the Intercontinental Title.
-WWF at Wrestlemania VIII in 1992 - Defeated "Rowdy" Roddy Piper.
-WWF Summerslam in 1991 - Lost the Intercontinental title to the British Bulldog Davey Boy Smith infront of 82,000 fans in the Wembley Stadium. *THIS IS BRET'S OWN FAVORITE MATCH OF ALL TIME*
-WWF House Show in Saskatoon, Sasketchewan Canada -Defeated Ric Flair to win the WWF World Title for the first time.
-WWF at Wrestlemania IX in 1993 - Lost to Yokozuna.
-WWF Royal Rumble in 1994 - Co-winner of the Royal Rumble with Lex Luger even though Hart had a "hurt" leg from Owen selling him out earlier the same night in a tag team match.
-WWF at Wrestlemania X in 1994 - Lost to Owen Hart and defeated Yokozuna to win the WWF World Title for the second time.
-WWF at Wrestlemania XII in 1996 - Lost to Shawn Michaels in an Ironman Match.
-WWF at Wrestlemania XIII in 1997 - Defeated "Stone Cold" Steve Austin in a Submission Match.
-WWF Summerslam in 1997 - Defeated the Undertaker to win the WWF World Title for the fifth time.
-WWF at Survivor Series in 1997 - Hart lost the WWF World Title to Shawn Michaels in the infamous Montreal ScrewJob.
-WCW at Halloween Havoc in 1998 - Defeated Sting.
-WCW Nitro on October 4th, 1999 - Defeated Chris Benoit in the Owen Hart Tribute match.
-WCW Starrcade in 1999 - Defeated Bill Goldberg.
Known as the Excellence of Execution, Bret Hart was one of the finest technical wrestlers ever. This submission specialist was known for systematically breaking down his opponents until he was ready to lock in the Sharpshooter, from which few escaped. Hart was also an innovator in the ring, executing strategies and applying holds (such as the ring-post figure-four leglock) that defied the expectations of opponents and fans alike. Hart also had an uncanny instinct for creating pinning predicaments out of opponents' holds when things looked their most bleak.
The Hit Man was trained with his brothers and other Calgary hopefuls in the infamous Stu Hart Dungeon. It was there that his father stressed technique over flair, and it was there that Bret mastered an arsenal of submission maneuvers the hardest way possible by having them applied to him.
Bret Hart emerged from Calgarys Stampede Wrestling into WWE as a tag-team specialist alongside Jim The Anvil Neidhart. Neidharts girth and force perfectly married with Brets skill and cerebral ring approach. Together they were the Hart Foundation, an up-and-coming duo of the 80s tag-team division.
The Hart Foundation got their chance at the World Tag Team Championship against the popular and firmly entrenched British Bulldogs on January 26, 1987. On that date, Bret and his partner shocked the sports-entertainment world by winning the championship with a tandem clothesline that would later be well known as the Hart Attack finisher. The whirlwind event sent the message early that despite his composed manner, Hart had a mean streak and an unparalleled will to win.
The Hart Foundation would go on to have many memorable bouts against the likes of the Nasty Boys, Demolition and Strike Force. After four years of competition and two lengthy reigns as World Tag Team Champion, Hart continued his ascendancy in WWE. As a young singles star, Hart defeated Mr. Perfect for the Intercontinental Championship in August 1991 in a classic battle of two talented mat wrestlers. Hart seemed well on his way to a dominant championship reign, but his cocky self-confidence and unbending ethics ultimately cost him the Intercontinental Championship against the Mountie in early 1992.
Against the advice of those attending to him backstage, Hart insisted on defending the Intercontinental Championship at a live event in Springfield, Mass., despite a raging fever that could have easily hospitalized Hart. He didnt want to disappoint the fans in attendance, and didnt want to back down. Still, he was in no condition to wrestle, and he lost that night. But in a way, that event set in motion one of Harts most memorable matches the night he won back the Intercontinental Championship by defeating old friend Rowdy Roddy Piper.
The night Hart lost the Intercontinental Championship for the second-and-final time must also be considered a career highlight in its own right. In an emotionally charged family affair, Hart batted his brother-in-law Davey Boy Smith before more than 80,000 fans in Londons Wembley Stadium. After the 25-minute match that will be long-remembered, Hart and Smith shook hands and then celebrated in the center of the ring along with Diana, Brets sister and Daveys wife.
In stark contrast to the majesty and fanfare of the Wembley Stadium match, Hart achieved arguably his greatest WWE milestone in relative obscurity in October 1992. In an non-televised live event in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, Hart forced the legendary world champion Ric Flair to submit to the Sharpshooter. It began the first of five WWE Championship reigns for the man who boldly and frequently declared, "I'm the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be."
After turning back such foes as former champion Flair, Razor Ramon, and Shawn Michaels, Hart faced his biggest challenge at WrestleMania IX in the 500-pound plus Yokozuna. While Hart had Yokozuna trapped in the Sharpshooter, Mr. Fuji tossed salt in Harts eyes, allowing Yokozuna to finish Bret and take the WWE Championship. Bret would rebound however, winning a one-night tournament to become the first WWE King of the Ring in June 1993, beginning a rivalry with Jerry Lawler over who was the true king of wrestling.
In 1994, Hart co-won the Royal Rumble, then won two matches in one night at WrestleMania X to capture the WWE Championship for the second time. The final WrestleMania match also afforded Hart revenge against the man who cheated to take the championship from him in the first place, Yokozuna.
That reign would last until Bret Hart met Bob Backlund in a Submission Match at the 1994 Survivor Series. Hart never submitted, but he still lost the championship because of the coercive tactics of his envious brother, Owen. When Backlund cinched in the Crossface Chicken Wing, Owen begged his mother Helen, who was sitting at ringside, to literally throw in the towel on Brets behalf. Their father, the legendary Stu Hart, tried to stop Helen, but she grabbed the white towel and threw it into the ring, officially ending the match and giving Backlund the championship. It was Backlunds first WWE Championship in almost 11 years, but it would last only three days before the imposing Diesel (Kevin Nash) would quickly dismiss him with a Jackknife powerbomb.
Hart's third world championship would come against Shawn Michaels 7-foot former bodyguard. After losing the WWE Championship to Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania XII in 60-Minute WWE Iron Man Match, Bret disappeared for a few months. In his absence, Stone Cold Steve Austin began challenging Bret every chance he got, goading him to return to the ring. Finally in late fall, Bret returned to WWE, announcing he would face Stone Cold at Survivor Series 1996. Bret would win that match, but the Stone Cold menace wouldnt go away.
They finally decided to settle their differences in a Submission Match at WrestleMania 13 in Chicago. After a grueling 30-minute encounter, Bret locked a bloody Austin in the Sharpshooter, providing one of the most famous visual moments in WWE history. Austin never gave up, but special referee Ken Shamrock awarded the match to Bret after Austin passed out from the pain and excessive blood loss. Bret continued his assault after the bell, turning the fans against him.
The rivalry escalated from there, with Hart recruiting former tag-team partner Neidhart, brother Owen Hart, brother-in-law British Bulldog and former Austin ally Brian Pillman to reform the Hart Foundation to battle Austin. After months of dealing with Austin, Hart shifted his focus back to the world championship he had held four times previous. During the rivalry, Stone Cold cost Bret his fourth WWE Championship as Austin helped Sycho Sid defeat Bret for the championship that the Hit Man had won only one night earlier.
Harts fifth reign again came against taller and larger opposition beating the 6-foot-10, 328 pound Phenom known as the Undertaker in August 1997. At SummerSlam, the Deadman defended his WWE Championship against Bret Hart with Shawn Michaels as the guest referee. A pre-match stipulation forced Michaels to call it down the middle. But amid the action, Hart started a heated confrontation with Michaels over the speed of the count even spitting on HBK. Michaels picked up a chair and swung at Hart, but he inadvertently connected with Undertaker. Michaels had no choice but to count the pin that gave the Hit Man victory. It would also set up the most controversial event in WWE history when Bret met The Showstopper at Survivor Series.
It is now known as the Montreal Incident. With Mr. McMahon and associates Gerald Brisco and Pat Patterson at ringside, Bret Hart launched a vicious assault against rival Shawn Michaels. Late in the back-and-forth contest, Michaels uncharacteristically chose to use Harts own move locking in the Sharpshooter on Bret. Immediately after the submission move was applied, referee Earl Hebner called for the bell and awarded Shawn Michaels the WWE Championship. Confusion engulfed the building and Hart went into a rage; it appeared as though he never actually submitted. Nonetheless, the decision stood. Michaels began his third reign as WWE Champion, and the attitude era of WWE was officially ushered in.
Hart left in disgust for WCW shortly thereafter, where hed accumulate even more championship accolades. During his time in WCW from 1997 through 2001, Hart would become a WCW Tag Team Champion, four-time United States Champion and two-time WCW Champion, defeating Goldberg for the final reign.
Despite the premature end of his wrestling career, Hart remains one of the biggest names in the world of sports-entertainment. A mere sighting of Hart at WWE Headquarters in August 2005, regarding the production of an upcoming DVD, sent WWE fans across the Internet into a frenzy.
