Bret "Hitman" Hart

Bret Hart grew up in the most famous family in professional wrestling. Professional wrestling is encrypted in every Hart's blood. His father is one of the most famous names in professional wrestling, every one of his brothers is or was a professional wrestler, each one of his sisters is married to a professional wrestler. Bret Hart is one of the greatest, if not the greatest professional wrestlers to ever compete in the modern era of professional wrestling. I will document his long, drama-filled career in this biography.

As Bret grew up, along with each of his brothers, he was taught early the finer points of wrestling. A master technician, his father taught each of his boys just how to make your opponent scream for mercy. Stu Hart's dream was to have one of his boys be a champion ameteur wrestler. Bret Hart was on his way to carrying out that dream as he proved to be a very good ameteur. As the years went by though, Bret soured on the ameteur sport, he wanted to go into film. His father ran a promotion called Stampede Wrestling, it is a legendary Calgary based operation. His father was in need of guys, and he called on Bret. At the young age of sixteen, Bret made his professional debut.

Bret soon became one of the top draws in Canadian and Japanese professional wrestling, he held many championships on different occasions, including holding the Stampede Wrestling North American Championship on six occasions. Bret's professional career was taking off, but soon it would be a business move by his father that would launch perhaps the greatest career in professional wrestling.

The pro wrestling business was floundering and in order to make money, Stu Hart sold his promotion to new WWF owner Vince McMahon, Jr. Bret was now in the World Wrestling Federation. Bret was teamed with brother-in-law Jim Neidhart to form a tag team, soon the team was given Jimmy Hart as their manager. The team was called the Hart Foundation. They were heels and played the role well, Bret's skills were thought of very highly. Bret was the last man eliminated in the famous WWF-NFL battle royal at Wrestlemania II.
The Hart Foundation won their first tag team championship in 1987 from the British Bulldogs. The Hart's lost the titles in September of 1987, but got them back the next day. They were champions for nine months until they lost the titles to Strike Force. At Wrestlemania IV, Bret and Jim were in the opening battle royal, Bret was the last man eliminated when he was double-crossed by Bad News Brown, this was the beginning of a face turn that lasted almost ten years.

The Hart Foundation turned face, they dropped Jimmy Hart. This would spark many feuds with heel teams managed by "The mouth of the South." The next few years were slow years for the team, as their characters developed. At Summerslam 1990, the Hart Foundation defeated Demolition for the Tag Team Titles. They held the titles for seven months until they dropped it to the Jimmy Hart managed Nasty Boys.

After the loss of the tag titles, the Hart Foundation broke up. Bret was immediately given a push as he won the 1991 King of the Ring in September of that year, defeating IRS in the finals. At Summerslam 1991, Bret defeated Mr. Perfect for the Intercontinental Title, his first mainstream singles title. He took on many established names, including Ted DiBiase. As the 1992 Royal Rumble rolled around, Bret had a defense scheduled against The Mountie, but due to an illness he could not compete. The title was then given to Roddy Piper. Bret was given a rematch at Wrestlemania VIII, and he defeated Piper to regain the title.Bret defended against many in the second reign, but a classic match was in his future.

Summerslam 1992 was held at Wembley Stadium in England. Bret defended the Intercontinental Title versus the British Bulldog. The match will go down as one of the greatest matches in WWF history, and is often overlooked as a classic. The hometown hero Davey Boy Smith came out victorious, but Bret celebrated the great match afterwards with his sister Diana and his brother-in-law the Bulldog.

With Intercontinental Championship reigns behind him, the WWF began to push Bret towards the WWF Heavyweight Championship in late-1992. Bret won the title in the late-fall from Ric Flair and began to take on all comers. Shawn Michaels, Razor Ramon, Ted DiBiase, and Kamala.

Wrestlemania IX pitted Bret against the 500 pound phenomenon Yokozuna. Bret lost the belt when Yokozuna's manager Mr. Fuji interfered. Hulk Hogan then came down and won the title before the night was over. Many expected the WWF to pit Hogan and Hart up for the title, but the WWF passed over Bret and gave Yokozuna the title shot.

The 1993 King of the Ring was a special event, it was a new Pay Per View in the WWF. The Hogan-Yokozuna match took place, Yokozuna won as Hogan departed for WCW, leaving no hope for the Hart-Hogan match. Bret was showcased in the King of the Ring tournament at the event. He defeated Razor Ramon, Mr. Perfect, and Bam Bam Bigelow to win the event. This started one of Bret's more memorable feuds. The feud was with Jerry Lawler, who claimed to be the only "king" in the WWF.

A match was scheduled for the two at Summerslam 1993, but Jerry Lawler claimed injury and presented Doink as a substitution. When Bret had the match won, Lawler attacked Bret with crutches. A match was immediately booked between the two, Lawler won via D.Q. when he would not release his sharpshooter hold.
At Survivor Series 1993, Bret and his brothers Owen, Keith, and Bruce took on a Jerry Lawler captained "Knight" team, one of the members was Shawn Michaels. Owen Hart was the only Hart eliminated in the Survivor Series rules match, and was bitter over that fact. Bret and Owen were re-united, but in a swerve, at the 1994 Royal Rumble, when Bret was injured in a tag match, Owen turned on him, attacking him. This would begin a feud that is one of the most famous in WWF history, the Hart family feud.

The 1994 Royal Rumble was not over for Bret, though. Injury and all, he competed in the 30-man, over the top rope match. In the end, Bret and Lex Luger eliminated each other, and were both granted title shots at Yokozuna, in separate matches at Wrestlemania X.

The WWF booked Bret to take on Owen in the opening match of Wrestlemania X, and he would take on the Luger-Yokozuna winner for the title in the main event. The match between Bret and Owen was a classic, and Owen came out on top, spawning Owen's singles career. Yokozuna beat Luger earlier in the event, so Bret took on the 500 pounder in the main event. Bret won the match and the title, this would be Bret's second reign as champion.

Bret took on Diesel at the 1994 King of the Ring, and enlisted the services of his brother-in-law, Jim Neidhart to help him out. The match ended in a D.Q., and Neidhart soon turned on Bret and sided with Owen. Bret then sided with the British Bulldog, and Bret took on Owen for the title in a cage match at Summerslam 1994. It was a decient match. Bret won when Owen's ankles got caught in the cage. An after match scuffle between Owen and Neidhart and Bret and Bulldog spurred on some great tag team matches between the two teams.

At the 1994 Survivor Series, Bret lost the title to Bob Backlund in an "I Quit" match when Bret's mother quit for Bret at the urging of Owen. Bret and Backlund had a good match at Wrestlemania XI, with Bret using Backlund's chicken wing crossface for the win.

The feud between Bret and Lawler was re-hashed and at the 1995 King of the Ring, Bret won the now famous "Kiss my Feet" match, forcing Lawler to kiss the Hitman's feet. After stretching the Lawler feud a little, the WWF gave Bret a title match at the 1995 Survivor Series versus Diesel. Bret won the match and the title for the third time. Bret defended against The Undertaker at the 1996 Royal Rumble, but due to Diesel's interference, the match was a wash. Bret took on Diesel in the cage at In Your House that February, but Undertaker helped Bret grab the win. The stage was now set for what in my mind, is the greatest match in WWF history.

Bret took on Shawn Michaels at Wrestlemania XII in the Ironman match. If you have not seen the match, you must, it was the classic match. It went back and forth for an hour, and when time expired, there was no winner. A sudden death was ordered, and in the sudden death overtime, Shawn hit the superkick and won the title. Bret then took a needed rest from the world of professional wrestling.

When Bret was ready to return, the WWF had new-comer bad boy "Stone Cold" Steve Austin challenge Bret. The two locked up at the 1996 Survivor Series, with Bret coming out on top. At that time, Bret was offered a lucrative contract with WCW, but Bret chose to stay for less money, being loyal to Vince McMahon, and because he felt that "There were no role models in the WWF." This was in reference to Shawn Michaels.

At the 1997 Royal Rumble, Bret, Austin, Vader, and the Undertaker were the final four men remaining. Bret threw Austin over the ropes, but no refs saw it. Austin came back and eliminated all three men to win the match. The WWF then booked the four in a special four-way match at Final Four In Your House, Shawn Michaels then vacated the title, making it a title match. Bret came out on top, four-time WWF champion. At this time Vince McMahon approached Bret about turning heel, after being luke-warm to the idea, Bret finally agreed.

The night after Bret won the title, Steve Austin caused Bret to lose the title to Sid. A submission match was booked for the two at Wrestlemania XIII. It was another classic, referee Ken Shamrock awarded the match to Bret when Austin could no longer continue due to blood loss. In this match, Bret turned heel, and Austin turned face.

Over the next few weeks, Bret turned full-fledged heel, claiming he hated the morals of America. He formed an anti-American Hart Foundation with Owen, Bulldog, Neidhart, and Brian Pillman. The next few months were spent establishing Bret as a heel in America, but a face all over the world. At Canadian Stampede In Your House, the Hart Foundation took on Austin, the Legion of Doom, Shamrock, and Goldust. It was in my mind, a cool match.
At Summerslam 1997, Bret won the WWF Title for the fifth time from The Undertaker. Referee Shawn Michaels accidentley hit Taker with a chair giving Bret the win. Over the next few months, the WWF turned raunchy, in an effort to compete with the much more popular WCW for ratings. Soon, Vince McMahon would drop the biggest bombshell in pro wrestling history.
Vince told Bret that he could no longer afford Bret's contract and that Bret should pursue a contract with WCW. Bret was shocked, on one hand, he was growing unhappy with the WWF's new raunchy style, on the other hand, he could not imagine not working for the WWF. Bret finally agreed to leave, and faxed in his resignation. Bret's final match would be at the 1997 Survivor Series in Montreal versus Shawn.

Vince told Bret he had to lose to Shawn, because he could not have his WWF champion on WCW programming. Bret said that he did not want to lose the match in Canada, fearing it would kill his momentum as a Canadian hero as he entered WCW. The two finally agreed that the match would end in a D.Q. when Shawn's D-Generation-X stable would come down, followed by the Hart Foudation. Things did not go according to plan.

As the match entered its wrap-up stage, the script called for Shawn to put Bret in a sharpshooter, and for Bret to reverse it, and then for the two stables to attack. Vince McMahon sat at ringside. Shawn put Bret in the sharpshooter, but as Bret began to reverse it, Vince McMahon began to yell, "Ring the bell, ring the bell!" The bell was rung, and Shawn was awarded the title. Vince had double-crossed Bret.

Bret was in shock, he spat on McMahon, and began to destroy anything in sight. Vince entered Bret's locker room, and Bret did not hesitate to attack Vince, giving him a black eye. This was how Bret Hart's legendary WWF career ended.

The WWF and Bret went off in different ways, the WWF went full-shock, and Bret prepared for a career in WCW. Bret's first duty was to referee the match between Eric Bicshoff and Larry Zybysco at Starrcade 1997. Bret did this, and made sure Sting defeated Hollywood Hogan for the title, ensuring that Bret would not be in the nWo.

Bret then feuded with Ric Flair, it was a decent feud, culminating with a match at Souled Out 1998. As the months went on, Bret continued to rival the nWo. The WCW decided then, that Bret was not getting a good response as a face, and scripted him to join the nWo. Bret did so, and did get a better response as a heel. As the months progressed, he feuded with Sting, Chris Benoit, and Booker T. When Goldberg won the WCW title and vacated the United States strap, Bret won the vacated title.

Bret lost the title to Lex Luger, but won it back three nights later. Bret then began to turn face, trying to form a bond with Sting. In a tag match, Bret stopped his partner Hogan from beating on Sting and Luger. Bret continued this for about a month until he turned on Sting in a swerve. Bret beat Sting with a bat in their match at Halloween Havoc 1998, causing Sting to miss many months.

Bret then feuded over the US title with Diamond Dallas Page. The Giant, now known as Big Show, got involved in this feud, siding with Bret. A nagging groin injury started to get a hold of Bret, so in early 1999, Bret dropped the US title to Roddy Piper. Bret was ready to return in the spring, and feud with Goldberg when the most tragic event of Bret's life, and pro wrestling history occurred.

At the WWF's May 1999 pay per view event, Over The Edge, Bret's brother Owen tragically fell to his death in a bungee-cord accident. Bret was devastated, he took a much-needed sabbatical from professional wrestling to reflect on the loss of his brother.

Bret was ready to return in the fall of 1999, he returned as a face. He competed against Chris Benoit, a good friend, to provide closure in the matter of his brother.When new management arrived in WCW, they decided to push Bret towards the title. Bret captured the vacated WCW Heavyweight Title in a great match with Chris Benoit at Mayhem 1999. Bret then challenged Goldberg to a match at Starrcade 1999. The two had a short tag team title reign in the weeks before Starrcade, losing the straps to The Outsiders before the event.

The match was all right, but the ending was the story. It was a remake of the famous "Survivor Series Screwjob" ordeal Bret had gone through two years earlier. Bret played Shawn, Goldberg Bret, and Roddy Piper the referee. Bret then vacated the title the next night and challenged Goldberg to a title match. As Goldberg was about to win, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, and Jeff Jarrett came down and attacked Goldberg. Those three and Bret re-formed the nWo. Bret was once again a heel. The heel turn was short lived however, because Bret suffered a concussion and was stripped of the title.

Bret then took some months off, and meanwhile, WCW really went down the tubes as the new management was fired and some of the best WCW talent, including Benoit, left for the WWF. Bret made his return on April 10, 2000, when Eric Bischoff and Vince Russo took WCW over. WCW had been split into two groups, the New Blood, consisting of all young talent, and The Millionaires Club, consisting of the older wrestlers. As the April 10 Nitro went off the air, Bret appeared on the ramp, staring Bischoff and Russo down. The next week on Nitro, Bret stormed the ring as Bishoff was arguing with Hogan. That was where the show went off the air. It was later shown that Bret nailed Hogan with a chair, a surprise, many figuring Bret would join Hogan's Millionaires Club. On the next Thunder, Bret discussed his injuries, and a number of other topics.

After more time off, Bret began making more off and on appearances. He helped Lance Storm, who was playing a pro-Canada role, much like Bret's in the WWF. He prevented Goldberg from winning the WCW Title as well. Then, in an interview, Bret attacked Goldberg, blaming Goldberg for ruining his career, Goldberg giving him the concussion.

As people waited for Bret's return, the unexpected happened, on Saturday, October 21, 2000, WCW sent Bret release papers in the mail. Bret announced soon after the release, that he had retired from professional wrestling. After Bret's retirement, every once in a while, return rumors came up, but with McMahon owning basically everything as far as on-camera wrestling goes, it is very, very, unlikely.