Bret Hart
Bret Hart (born July 2, 1957) is a semi-retired Canadian professional wrestler, writer, and actor. He is a member of the well-known Hart wrestling family of Calgary, Alberta. His father was wrestling legend Stu Hart. He is considered to be one of the most technically sound wrestlers ever.[1][2] His athletic ability and in-ring knowledge have also been highly praised.[2]
| Bret Hart | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Ring name(s) | Bret Hart Buddy Hart |
| Billed height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
| Billed weight | 234 lb (106 kg) |
| Born | July 2, 1957 Calgary, Alberta, Canada |
| Billed from | Calgary, Alberta, Canada |
| Trained by | Stu Hart Katsuji Adachi Kazuo Sakurada Harley Race The Iron Sheik |
| Debut | 1978 |
| Retired | 2010 |
Career
Bret Hart had an amazing career in the WWF, having some of the greatest matches of all time.[3] Some of his best matches were against Mr. Perfect, his one-time brother-in-law British Bulldog, his brother Owen Hart, Stone Cold Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels.[4]
Hart said that he was going to leave the WWF for the companies then biggest competitor, World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and he refused to lose the title in front of his Canadian fans to Michaels. During Survivor Series 1997 in Montreal, Quebec, a real-life screwjob took place when Shawn Michaels put Hart in Hart's own finishing move, the Sharp Shooter. Vince McMahon ordered referee Earl Hebner to call for the bell even though Hart didn't submit. This made Michaels become the WWF Champion.[5] This incident would later become known as the Montreal Screwjob.
Injury
Hart retired after being kicked in the head by his opponent, Goldberg, in a match. Soon after he suffered a stroke. He has since partially recovered and has done some stage acting. He wrote a column for The Calgary Sun until 2004.
WWE Return
On January 4 2010, Hart returned to the WWE to be a special guest host for Raw. This was the first time that Hart made a live appearance on Raw in over 12 years. During the night he and Shawn Michaels agreed to a truce, shook hands and hugged. Many fans didn't know if it was real or not but Hart and Michaels later said that their truce was real and not part of a storyline.[6] He also shook hands with Vince but Vince later kicked Hart in the gut which was part of a storyline. Hart along with his family beat Vince McMahon at WrestleMania XXVI in a No Holds Barred Match.
In wrestling
- Finishing moves
- Signature moves
- Bridging / Release German suplex
- Bulldog, sometimes from the second rope
- Dropkick
- Figure four leglock, sometimes while using the ringpost for extra pressure
- Headbutt
- Headbutt drop to the opponent's lower abdomen
- Inverted atomic drop
- Multiple pinning variations
- Pendulum backbreaker
- Russian legsweep
- Seated senton to an opponent's leg draped over the first rope
- Second or a top rope dive into either an axe handle elbow drop or a side elbow drop
- Sleeper hold
- Snap suplex
- Stomp to the opponent's abdomen
- Suicide dive
- Superplex
- Swinging neckbreaker
- With Jim Neidhart
- Managers
- Nicknames
- "The Cowboy" Bret Hart
- Buddy "The Hearthrob" Hart
- Bret "The Hitman" Hart
- "The Excellence of Execution"
- "The Best There Is, The Best There Was and The Best There Ever Will Be"
- "The Pink and Black Attack" (while teaming with Jim Neidhart)
Championships and accomplishments
- Cauliflower Alley Club
- Iron Mike Award (2008)
- Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- PWI Comeback of the Year (1997)
- PWI Feud of the Year (1993) vs. Jerry Lawler
- PWI Feud of the Year (1994) vs. Owen Hart
- PWI Match of the Year (1992) vs. British Bulldog at SummerSlam
- PWI Match of the Year (1996) vs. Shawn Michaels in an Iron Man match at WrestleMania XII
- PWI Match of the Year (1997) vs. Steve Austin in a Submission match at WrestleMania 13
- PWI Most Hated Wrestler of the Year (1997)
- PWI Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Year (1994)
- PWI Stanley Weston Award (2003)
- PWI ranked him #1 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the year in the PWI 500 in 1993 and 1994.
- PWI ranked him #4 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years" in 2003
- PWI ranked him #37 of the top 500 tag teams of the "PWI Years" with Jim Neidhart in 2003
- Stampede Wrestling
- World Championship Wrestling
- World Wrestling Council
- World Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling Entertainment
- WWE United States Championship (1 time)
- WWF Championship (5 times)
- WWF Intercontinental Championship (2 times)
- WWF Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Jim Neidhart
- King of the Ring (1991, 1993)
- Royal Rumble (1994)1
- Second Triple Crown Champion
- WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2006)
- Slammy Award for Put a Fork in Him, He's Done (1996) The Sharpshooter
- Slammy Award for Best Music Video (1996)
- Slammy Award for Which WWF champion, past or present, in attendance, is Hall of Fame bound? (1996)
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
- 5 Star Match (1994) vs. Owen Hart in a cage match at SummerSlam
- 5 Star Match (1997) vs. Steve Austin in a Submission match at WrestleMania 13
- Best Pro Wrestling Book (2007) Hitman
- Best Pro Wrestling DVD (2006) Bret "Hit Man" Hart: The Best There Is, The Best There Was, The Best There Ever Will Be
- Feud of the Year (1993) vs. Jerry Lawler
- Feud of the Year (1997) with Owen Hart, Jim Neidhart, British Bulldog, and Brian Pillman vs. Steve Austin
- Match of the Year (1997) vs. Steve Austin in a Submission match at WrestleMania 13
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 1996)
1Hart co-won the Royal Rumble with Lex Luger after both simultaneously eliminated each other.
Bret Hart Media
- Hart Foundation, 1986.jpg
Bret Hart (left) and Jim Neidhart (right), with Jimmy Hart in the back row, in 1986
For his entrances, Hart often wore a leather jacket with shoulder tassels (epaulets), Mylar wrap-around (originally silver, later pink) sunglasses and bright pink attire
Hart with his WWF Championship belt underneath his jacket
Bret's rivalry with his brother Owen won them Pro Wrestling Illustrated's Feud of the Year award and featured a highly rated steel cage match at SummerSlam
Bret Hart at a WWF event in 1995
Hart posing for the crowd with his arms open
In 1997, Hart became a tweener: generally cheered for by Canadian and international fans, and booed by American fans, while remaining largely consistent in character
Hart (along with Hulk Hogan) held the record for most WWF Championship reigns until The Rock's sixth reign in 2001
Hart confronts Michaels on January 4, 2010
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References
- ↑ underwood, ryan. "Bret Hart: Why He's The Best". Bleacher Report.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Columns - Online World of Wrestling". www.onlineworldofwrestling.com.
- ↑ "Yahoo". Yahoo.
- ↑ Hall, Alex. "Bret Hart: The Hitman's Top 10 Matches of All-Time". Bleacher Report.
- ↑ "Survivor Series 1997 main event (Montreal Screwjob)".
- ↑ "Q&A with Shawn Michaels". Archived from the original on 2010-03-30. Retrieved 2012-11-12.