The Hart Foundation
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This article is about the Hart Foundation in professional wrestling. For the charity organization, see British Heart Foundation or National Heart Foundation of Australia.
| The Hart Foundation | |
|---|---|
 The Hart Foundation Jim Neidhart (left) & Bret Hart (right) |
|
| Stable | |
| Members | Bret Hart Jim Neidhart Jimmy Hart Owen Hart Davey Boy Smith Brian Pillman "Dangerous" Danny Davis |
| Name(s) | The Hart Foundation The New Foundation |
| Debuted | 1985 |
| Disbanded | 1997 |
| Promotions | WWF |
The Hart Foundation was a collective name used by various stables in the World Wrestling Federation. They are generally associated with the Hart wrestling family from Canada.
Contents |
[edit] The Hart Foundation
[edit] Career
Manager "The Mouth Of The South" Jimmy Hart had been using the name Hart Foundation to describe the stable of wrestlers that he managed before his arrival and did so early in his WWF stint. However, that usage was eclipsed by the tag team of Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart, managed by Jimmy Hart and originally a part of the larger Hart Foundation stable.
The Hart Foundation tag team began when Jim Neidhart, already managed by Jimmy Hart, joined up with Bret Hart (whose sister he later married) to form a heel tag team. The name Hart Foundation, already used by Jimmy Hart, derived from the fact that both wrestlers and manager had Hart in their family names.
According to Bret Hart,[1] the tag team originated after Bret turned down the "Cowboy" Bret Hart gimmick he was given, claiming that he didn't really take a liking to it. He then suggested to WWF management that he would much prefer to be tag-teamed with Jim Neidhart. Management first declined, claiming that Bret didn't have the heel look that was appropriate, but months later just as Bret was about to quit, he was given what he wanted: he was allowed to turn heel, and was partnered up with Neidhart and Jimmy to form the Hart Foundation.
The Hart Foundation are regarded as one of the best tag teams during wrestling's 1980s heyday. What set the Harts apart from their contemporaries was their respective wrestling styles - Jim Neidhart was more of a brawler/power wrestler, whereas Bret Hart on the other hand was a more agile, sound and polished technician who used ring psychology to his advantage. This characteristic and uniqueness in the Hart Foundation was at that time rare yet successful, leading to two reigns as WWF World Tag Team Champions.
The Hart Foundation were involved in perhaps some of wrestling's greatest tag-team matches of all time, and they were constantly involved in feuds with various other teams including the British Bulldogs, the Killer Bees and the Rougeau Brothers.
The Harts won their first WWF World Tag Team Championship when they defeated the British Bulldogs on 26 January 1987 in Tampa, Florida. At WrestleMania III they teamed up with referee-turned-wrestler, "Dangerous" Danny Davis (who had refereed with extreme predjudice during the Harts' title win) for a six-man contest against the British Bulldogs and Tito Santana. The Hart Foundation ermerged victorious, on October 27th they dropped their belts against the newly formed Strike Force of Rick Martel and Tito Santana.
Shortly after that, Jimmy Hart signed the Hart Foundation's rivals the Rougeau Brothers and claimed 25 percent of Bret Hart's pay (kayfabe). Jimmy Hart's betrayal would slowly turn the Hart Foundation as faces. Another factor of the Foundation's turn was fellow heel Bad News Brown, who sneak-attacked Bret Hart at the end of the WrestleMania IV battle royal.
After Jimmy Hart's betrayal of the team, and the loss of their tag-team championships, the Hart Foundation were pushed as faces, and really got over with the fans. They began performing smart, and at times, hilarious interviews (although they were always regarded as a "serious" tag team) and continued to have intense and memorable tag team matches. By this time, the Hart Foundation were feuding with the Rockers, Demolition, the Legion of Doom and others, all with the intention of re-gaining the tag-team championships once more.
The Hart Foundation continue to hold a WrestleMania record, as they defeated The Bolsheviks (Nikolai Volkoff and Boris Zhukov) in 17 seconds during WrestleMania VI in 1990. It was during this time, the Hart Foundation challenged Demolition for the Tag Team Championship at SummerSlam 1990 to a unique two-out-of-three falls match which the Hart Foundation won successfully (in part because of the Legion Of Doom's interference when they dealt with the third member of Demolition, who hid under the ring during the match and served as a replacement for a tired member). Their second WWF Tag Team reign lasted till WrestleMania VII when they were defeated by the Nasty Boys, when Brian Knobbs nailed Neidhart over the head with Jimmy Hart's helmet (Jimmy Hart was the then manager of the Nasty Boys).
The Hart Foundation split after WrestleMania VII, without a dramatic storyline explanation (compared with other teams). This was because WWF management saw Bret's potential in becoming a singles superstar. Bret then focused on his solo career, winning the WWF Intercontinental Championship and the WWF Championship.
[edit] Championships and accomplishments
World Wrestling Federation
-
- PWI ranked # 37 of "The 100 Best Tag Teams" of the PWI Years in 2003.
[edit] The New Foundation
After the Hart Foundation split both members focused on their singles careers, Bret challenged for and won the Intercontinental title while Jim Neidhart faced a much tougher road as a singles competitor. In late 1991 Neidhart had a match against Ric Flair, which Neidhart lost via submission to the Figure Four. The Figure Four leg lock incapacitated Neidhart so much that he had to be helped from the ring, as he exited the arena the Beverly Brothers made their entrance for a tag-team match. The arrogant brothers took an opportunity and jumped Neidhart further aggravating his injury (or so the storyline went). When Neidhart returned about a month later he was hell bent on revenge and he even had back up. Bret’s younger brother Owen Hart had been signed with the company and teamed up with the Anvil in the hopes of recreating the magic of the Hart Foundation, the duo was dubbed The New Foundation and Owen was nicknamed “The Rocket” and the duo became famous and instantly recognizable for their bizarre 'baggy pants' attire and bright jackets.
Their first feud was with the Beverly Brothers naturally but also had matches with the Nasty Boys and The Natural Disasters but with very little success. The team had their one and only PPV match at the 1992 Royal Rumble where they beat The Orient Express. Only weeks later Owen Hart would be on his own as Jim Neidhart left the federation.
Owen and Jim reunited in 1994, this time as heels and without the “New Foundation” moniker. Owen Hart had turned on his brother Bret in early 1994 and was deep in a feud with him. Jim Neidhart turned up at King of the Ring 1994 first to cheer on Bret Hart as he faced Diesel but then also made a surprise appearance at the end of the night to help Owen Hart become the King of Harts. The brothers in law would team regularly through out 94 feuding with Bret Hart and Davey Boy Smith until Neidhart left the WWF at the end of 1994.
[edit] In Wrestling
- Finishing moves
[edit] The (New) Hart Foundation
[edit] Career
The re-formed Hart Foundation was a pro-Canadian stable that was born after the events of 1997's WrestleMania 13, where Bret Hart defeated his then-nemesis Stone Cold Steve Austin in their I Quit match. The fans, in the context of one match, turned on Bret and began supporting Steve Austin, who was the rebellious anti-hero whom "flipped the bird", swore on television and did whatever he wanted, when he wanted to. Because of their new-found love for Austin, the fans began to turn on Bret Hart, thus causing a "North American war". Bret Hart in response turned on the fans and reunited himself with Jim Neidhart and recruited Owen Hart, The British Bulldog, and Brian Pillman to form the new Hart Foundation.
This stable opposed the United States, and even degraded the United States and its values whereas they would speak highly of Canada and Europe (where they were beloved). The New Hart Foundation usually brought the Canadian and British flags out to their matches, and in their promos would talk in disgust about the United States and its inhabitants in general, thus causing fan reactions and making the New Hart Foundation (and Bret Hart in particular) unpopular in the States.
One of the highlights of the Hart Foundation's 1997 run was the 10-man tag-team match that took place in Calgary, Alberta Canada on July 6, 1997 at WWF In Your House : Canadian Stampede. In the match, the entire Hart Foundation faced the team of Steve Austin, Road Warriors Hawk & Animal, Ken Shamrock, and Goldust. In the decision, Owen Hart pinned Steve Austin. The entire Hart family came into the ring to celebrate afterwards.
The stable was highly successful, garnering nearly every WWF Championship title they had to offer, including the WWF Championship, WWF Intercontinental Championship, WWF World Tag Team Championship and the WWF European Championship.
The new Hart Foundation eventually disbanded in late 1997. Pillman was found dead of an undetected heart condition on October 5, the day of In Your House: Badd Blood. The following pay-per-view, Survivor Series, Bret (who was leaving the WWF to join World Championship Wrestling) lost the WWF Championship in the infamous "Montréal Screwjob". Both Neidhart and Smith left over the incident, but Owen remained feeling that he may have been sued for breach of contract if he left.
[edit] Members
[edit] Championships and accomplishments
World Wrestling Federation
- WWF Championship: Bret Hart
- Intercontinental Championship: Owen Hart
- WWF Tag Team Championship: Owen Hart & Davey Boy Smith
- 1997 Feud of the Year – The Hart Foundation vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin
[edit] Legacy
[edit] Family ties
Many of the wrestlers involved in the various Hart Foundation groups came from Stu Hart's Calgary Stampede promotion and as such had a "behind-the-scenes" cohesiveness in the eyes of many "smart marks". With the exception of Brian Pillman (who was trained by Stu Hart) and Jimmy Hart, every member of the stable was related: Bret and Owen were brothers, with Neidhart married to their sister Ellie Hart, and Smith was married to their other sister Diana Hart.
Bret Hart, Jim Neidhart and Jimmy Hart (the original Hart Foundation) are the only surviving members of the faction. Brian Pillman died of an undetected heart condition 1997. Owen Hart died as the result of an accident at Over the Edge in 1999. Davey Boy Smith died of a heart attack in 2002.
[edit] The Hart Foundation 2.0
In 2002, Teddy Hart (the nephew of Bret and Owen Hart) formed "Hart Foundation 2.0" with his cousin Harry Smith (the son of Davey Boy Smith and Diana Hart), T.J. Wilson, Nattie Neidhart (daughter of Jim Neidhart) and Jack Evans in Stampede Wrestling.
[edit] Members
[edit] References
[edit] External links
| Incarnations of Team Canada | |
|---|---|
| The Hart Foundation | Team Canada (WCW) | The Un-Americans | Team Canada (TNA) | |
