The Hart Foundation
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- This article is about the Hart Foundation in professional wrestling. For the charity organization, see British Heart Foundation.
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.
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[edit] The Hart Foundation stable
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.
[edit] The Hart Foundation tag team
[edit] Origins
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 were, (and still are to this day) regarded as one of the best, if not the best tag team there 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.
[edit] As Heels
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 during the Harts' title win) for a six-man contest against the British Bulldogs and Tito Santana. The Hart Foundation ermerged victorious, but on 27 October 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.
[edit] As Faces
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/Accomplishments
- 2-time WWF World Tag Team Champions
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) ranked Bret Hart & Jim Neidhart at # 37 of the 100 best tag teams during the "PWI Years" in 2003.
[edit] The New Foundation
After the Hart Foundation's split, Jim Neidhart teamed with Bret's younger brother Owen Hart and was named as The New Foundation as an attempt to not only capitalize on the popularity of the Bret/Neidhart team, but to also gain Owen Hart some big time exposure since he was still "new" to the WWF and wasn't getting any career pushes. The New Foundation was a face team, but they weren't successful compared with The Hart Foundation of Bret and Neidhart, leading their quick break up. Neidhart and Owen would later team during 1994's "Brother vs. Brother" storyline where Owen turned on Bret and wished to "step out of Bret's shadow". Neidhart turned heel when he supported Owen in his quest to dethrone his brother from the WWF Championship.
[edit] The new Hart Foundation
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 during the aftermath of the 1997 Survivor Series. Pillman had died the month before, and the highly controversial "Montréal Screwjob" resulted in Neidhart and Smith leaving the WWF and following Bret to WCW, whereas Owen remained in the WWF, feeling that he may have been sued for breach of contract should he have left.
[edit] WCW
It was hinted that perhaps the Hart Foundation would reform in WCW, since Bret, Smith, and Neidhart were all in WCW, but that was not to be. Bret was put into a storyline with the nWo and was generally on the sidelines for much of his WCW tenure (although he did hold their World title near the end of his career), while Smith and Neidhart were used as lower mid-carders in WCW and eventually left (Smith left after sustaining a nearly career threatening back injury due to the Ultimate Warrior. Davey Boy eventually returned to WWE in 1999, but with limited success. Additionally, the trademark on the name "Hart Foundation" was owned by the WWF.
[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 smarks.
What was interesting about the New Hart Foundation was that, with the exception of Brian Pillman (who was trained by Stu Hart), every member of the stable were family members, with Bret and Owen being brothers, and Neidhart and Smith being their brothers-in-law.
Sadly, Bret Hart, Jim Neidhart and Jimmy Hart (the original Hart Foundation) are currently the only surviving members of the faction. Brian Pillman died in 1997, Owen Hart in 1999, and Davey Boy Smith in 2002.
[edit] Hart Foundation 2.0
In 2002, Teddy Hart formed "Hart Foundation 2.0" with his cousin Harry Smith, T.J. Wilson and Jack Evans in Calgary's Stampede Wrestling. Teddy is the son of Georgia Annis (Stu Hart's daughter) and Smith is the son of Davey Boy Smith & Diana Hart.
[edit] Members
Hart Foundation
New Foundation
New Hart Foundation
- Bret Hart
- Jim Neidhart
- Owen Hart
- Brian Pillman
- Davey Boy Smith aka The British Bulldog
Hart Foundation 2.0
[edit] References
[edit] External links
| Incarnations of Team Canada | |
|---|---|
| The Hart Foundation | Team Canada (WCW) | The Un-Americans | Team Canada (TNA) | |
