Bruce Hart (wrestler)
Bruce Hart | |
---|---|
![]() Hart in 1997 | |
Birth name | Bruce Edward Hart[1] |
Born | [2] Great Falls, Montana, U.S.[3][4] | January 13, 1950
Spouse(s) |
Andrea Reding
(m. 1987; div. 2004) |
Children | 5 |
Family | Calgary, Alberta, Canada |
Trained by | Stu Hart[2] |
Debut | 1972[5] |
Retired | 2012 |
Bruce Edward Hart
As a wrestler Hart carried a number of championships, including the
Early life
While his mother was pregnant with Hart she and her husband Stu suffered an automobile accident. This resulted in his older brother Smith being cared for by their maternal grandparents for almost two years while Helen recovered in the hospital.[8]
He is of Greek descent through his maternal grandmother and Irish through his maternal grandfather.[9][10][11][12] His father was mainly of Scots-Irish descent but also had Scottish and English ancestry.[13][14] Hart is a dual citizen of Canada and the United States.[15][16]
Professional wrestling career
Stampede Wrestling (1972-1990)
Headlining and injury (1972–1977)
Bruce Hart began his wrestling training in 1971, at the age of 21, in his father's training school "The Dungeon". Trained by Stu Hart, Bruce, like the rest of his family, was trained in and focused on a technically sound, amateur wrestling style.
He debuted in 1972, in his fathers Calgary promotion, Stampede Wrestling, tag teaming with Dan Kroffat in the main event, against North American Champion Kendo Nagasaki (the original masked British version) and his manager "Gorgeous" George Gillette (billed in Canada as "Lord Sloane of Kensington Gore".)[5] For the next six months he remained a headline performer for the promotion, working against the likes of John Quinn, Benny Ramirez, Frank Butcher, Tor Kamata, Chatti Yokuchi and Yasu Fuji. In June 1973, he suffered a serious shoulder injury which sidelined him for 9 months and nearly finished his career. He returned in the summer of 1974, and continued as performer in Western Canada. Hart kept wrestling on and off but had relatively few matches until after 1977.[17]
Time in England and Germany (1977–1978)
He traveled to the United Kingdom in 1977, where he wrestled under the name "Bronco" Bruce Hart for the
While there, he met a young
In 1978 Hart and Billington worked together as a tag team in the German promotion Catch Wrestling Association, they wrestled against Angel Grey and Michael Seitz. Hart also worked in singles matches against Seitz.[22]
While working in Germany, Hart observed the German system of yellow cards to signify formal warnings (as with "Public Warnings" in British wrestling and "Avertisements" in French wrestling) three of which resulted in a red card and disqualification. He would subsequently bring this system back to Stampede where it was also imposed.[23][19]
Booking and work in Japan (1979–1984)
From 1979 until 1984, Hart was in large part in charge of matchmaking and talent development, selling out regularly and producing a myriad of successful wrestlers, including:
In 1979 Hart won his first championship, the
In 1983 Hart worked for New Japan Pro Wrestling in their NJPW Bloody Fight Series. There he worked in singles matches against wrestlers such as Kengo Kimura, Kantaro Hoshino, Ryuma Go, Kuniaki Kobayashi and in tag team matches with wrestlers such as Bad News Allen and Tony St. Clair against Akira Maeda and Kengo Kimura with the former and against Isamu Teranishi and Rusher Kimura with the later as well as participating in three man tag matches with Dick Murdoch and Tony St. Clair against Antonio Inoki, Osamu Kido and Seiji Sakaguchi. Hart later in the year returned to Stampede.[26] In March 1984 while back in Stampede Hart became Stampede International Tag Team Champion together with Davey Boy Smith.[25]
Hart returned to New Japan in early April 1984 for the NJPW Big Fight Series where he primarily wrestled in singles matches, several of which were with Norio Honaga but also against other wrestlers such as Nobuhiko Takada, Tatsutoshi Goto, Masanobu Kurisu, Makoto Arakawa, Fumihiro Niikura, Isamu Teranishi. He also took part in one known tag match, partnering with Hercules Ayala against Haruka Eigen and Kantaro Hoshino.[26]
Near the end of 1984, Bruce's father, Stu, accepted an offer from WWF president, Vince McMahon, to sell the promotion for $1,000,000, plus 10% of all subsequent WWF gates in Western Canada to the WWF. As part of the deal, several Stampede superstars, including Bret Hart, Dynamite Kid, Davey Boy and Neidhart also joined the WWF. However, several months later, Bruce violated the terms of the agreement by assisting a rival promotion in the territory, leading McMahon to renege on the deal.[27]
Promoting (1985–1990)
As a result, near the end of 1985, Stu Hart decided to re-open the promotion with Bruce running most of it. Initially, the promotion, which had been hurt by the loss of most of its well-known wrestlers, struggled to remain afloat. As a consequence, Bruce chose to feature a new, edgier and more hard core style of wrestling - featuring villains: the Karachi Vice (Makhan and Vokhan Singh and the Great Gama), the Viet Cong Express (Hiroshi Hase and Nubohiko Niikura)
During this period Hart won five titles, the
World Wrestling Federation (1992–1994)
Hart has made several appearances with his brothers
Owen's failure ignited a lengthy feud between Bret and Owen that would last for several years. The Owen and Bret feud was originally conceived as a feud between Bret and Bruce but Bret proposed to make it between him and Owen instead as he believed the dynamic for them would be superior.[31] At the 1994 SummerSlam, the two brothers competed in a Steel Cage match for the WWF Championship.[32] Bruce and several Hart brothers interfered in the match by climbing the cage. Bruce also appeared on an episode of Monday Night Raw in the summer of 1994.[33]
Ultimate Championship Wrestling (1996–1997)
In 1996 Bruce Hart made a comeback to the ring with the independent New York based promotion Ultimate Championship Wrestling (UCW), where he wrestled with the likes of
In UCW Hart was involved in and developed an nWo type storyline in which he and former WWE wrestlers portrayed greedy lazy fat-cat type villains who looked down on and used the younger rookie talent at the shows to make money and gain power in the promotion.[21]
Hart was instrumental in the development of the young talent of the UCW.[35][36]
Return to World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (1997, 2010)
Bruce's next WWF appearance was at
Bruce's next and most recent appearance in the
Promoting Stampede Wrestling (1999–2005)
Hart has attempted to revive Stampede Wrestling numerous times. In the late 90s Hart collaborated with his brother
In 2001 Hart won the Stampede North American Heavyweight Championship for the first time. In 2002 he won four titles, the Stampede International Tag Team Titles a fifth time with his nephew Teddy Hart, the Stampede British Commonwealth Mid-Heavyweight Championship for the eight and last time, the Stampede North American Heavyweight Championship as well as the Stampede International Tag Team Championships for the last time with TJ Wilson.[25]
One of Hart's last matches for his and Ross's incarnation of Stampede Wrestling was in June 2003 in a match for the Stampede British Commonwealth Mid-Heavyweight Title against Duke Durrango which Hart lost, leaving over the title to Durrango.[41]
Teaching and miscellaneous work (1990–present)
In 2011 Hart wrestled in a Four-On-Three-Handicap-Match for Stampede Next Generation Stampede Wrestling together with his nephew Teddy Hart and Hal Eagletail against Big Jess, DerRic Super Starlight, The Inuit Warrior and Wyatt Beaver.[41]
In 2012 Hart wrestled his last match for Real Canadian Wrestlings 9th Anniversary Show in a Six-Man-Tag-Team-No-Disqualiication where he wrestled against Andrew Hawks, Kid Kash and nephew Teddy Hart together with Heavy Metal and Tommy Lee Curtis.[42]
He was a trainer at the original Hart Brothers University wrestling school during the 1990s. In June 2013, Hart resurrected the wrestling school. He continues to train wrestlers at the school together with his sons Torrin and Bruce Jr. in his hometown of Calgary, AB. Some of the wrestlers he has trained include
Since 2014 Hart has a weekly column and runs a podcast for the multimedia website PWP Nation formerly co hosted by wrestler and journalist Jordan Garber and Jay Alletto.[44]
Other media
Hart has appeared on several wrestling documentaries, including the 2010 documentary
He was also present on the stage when his father Stu Hart was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.[47]
Personal life
In 2011 Hart published an autobiography entitled Straight from the Hart.
Family
He has five children with his ex-wife, Andrea Hart: daughters Brit and Lara and sons Torrin, Bruce Jr. and Rhettger Hart. Rhett was born three months premature and suffers from cerebral palsy.[48] Two of Bruce Hart's sons, Bruce Jr and Torrin, have been involved in pro wrestling.[49]
Hart and his wife Andrea separated for a period from 2000 and Andrea started a relationship with Hart's former brother-in-law Davey Boy Smith until Smith's death in 2002. Andrea and Hart later reconciled but separated again after a time.[50][51] Andrea died on December 27, 2019, at the age of 52.
Championships and accomplishments
- Canadian Wrestling Hall of Fame
- Polynesian Pacific Wrestling
- NWA Polynesian Pacific Tag Team Title (1 time)[54] – with Keith Hart
- Prairie Wrestling Alliance
- Prairie Wrestling Alliance Hall of Fame (Class of 2010)[55]
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- Stampede Wrestling
- 2 times)[60] – with Davey Boy Smith
- 8 times)[61]
- 2 times)[62]
- Stampede Wrestling Hall of Fame (Class of 1995)[64][65]
Luchas de Apuestas record
Winner (wager) | Loser (wager) | Location | Event | Date | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bruce Hart (mask) | Ted Allen (mask) | Calgary, Alberta | Stampede Calgary | March 4, 1983 | [66][67] |
Bruce Hart (hair) | Dynamite Kid (hair) | Calgary, Alberta | Stampede | 1988 | [b] |
Notes
- ^ TJ Wilson replaced Teddy Hart after Hart suffered an injury.
- ^ The loss resulted in Dynamite Kid's manager J.R. Foley having his head shaved since Dynamite's hair was already so short cut.[68]
References
- ^ ISBN 1-55168-256-7.
- ^ a b c d "Bruce Hart Profile". Online World of Wrestling. Archived from the original on August 7, 2012. Retrieved February 5, 2008.
- ^ Surviving The Dungeon Extra: Ross Hart on The Hart Siblings (1 of 2)
- ^ "Smith Hart on The Hart Family's ties to Long Island, the city of Long Beach, and more". noplacelikelongisland.com. No Place Likelong Island. May 19, 2016. Archived from the original on May 26, 2016. Retrieved May 31, 2015.
- ^ a b Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Bruce Hart Matches – 10". Cagematch – The Internet Wrestling Database. Archived from the original on February 13, 2023. Retrieved February 13, 2023.
01.12.1972 – Bruce Hart & Dan Kroffat vs. Kendo Nagasaki & Lord Sloane
- ISBN 978-0-8108-7926-3.
- ISBN 978-1-55022-787-1.
- ISBN 978-1-55022-787-1.
- ISBN 9780091932862.
- ^ Letawsky, Craig (May 7, 2002). "Ask 411 - 5.07.02". 411wrestling.com. Archived from the original on November 17, 2007.
- ISBN 1-55168-256-7.
- ISBN 978-1-55022-787-1.
- ISBN 1-4116-5329-7.
- ISBN 978-1-55022-787-1.
- ISBN 978-1-59077-036-8.
- ^ "An open letter to Shawn Michaels". http: canoe. May 17, 1997. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016.
- ^ "Bruce Hart: Years". WrestlingData.com.
- ISBN 978-1-55022-787-1.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-55366-084-2.
- ISBN 978-1-55366-084-2.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-55022-939-4.
- ^ "Bruce Hart: Matches, 9". CageMatch.net.
- ^ From The Desk Of Stuart Saks, Pro Wrestling Illustrated June 1988 - editorial column on the yellow/red card system in Stampede Wrestling
- ^ a b "Stampede Wrestling World Mid-Heavyweight Title". Wrestling-Titles.com.
- ^ a b c d "Bruce Hart: Titles". CageMatch.net.
- ^ a b "Bruce Hart: Matches, 6". CageMatch.net.
- ISBN 9780091932862.
- ISBN 978-1-55022-787-1.
- ISBN 978-1-55022-787-1.
- ^ "1992". thehistoryofwwe.com. January 16, 2023.
- ^ a b Giri, Raj (March 27, 2014). "Bret Hart On Who Was Supposed To Be In Owen Hart's Place For Their Feud". Wrestlinginc.com. Retrieved May 2, 2015.
- ^ Droste, Ryan (July 3, 2015). "WWE news: ex-wife of British Bulldog petitioning for his induction into WWE Hall Of Fame". Inquisitr. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
- ASIN B00RWUNSRS.
- ISBN 978-1888580068.
- ISBN 978-1-55022-939-4.
- Canadian Online Explorer. Archived from the originalon January 12, 2016. Retrieved May 2, 2015.
- ISBN 978-0-446-53972-2.
- ISBN 978-1-55022-939-4.
- ^ "Bret Hart def. Mr. McMahon in a No Holds Barred Match". WWE. March 28, 2010. Retrieved December 23, 2012.
- ISBN 978-1-55022-787-1.
- ^ a b "Bruce Hart: Matches, 1". CageMatch.net.
- ^ "RCW 9th Anniversary Show". CageMatch.net.
- ^ "Bruce Hart: Entourage". Cagematch. Retrieved May 27, 2016.
- ^ "DAILY UPDATE: AAA MEGA TITLE TOURNAMENT, WWE STAR TO APPEAR ON ESPN". f4wonline.com. Wrestling Observer Newsletter. November 10, 2015.
- ^ "Bret Hart Documentary To Air For Free, $5 Wrestling, Atlas". wrestlinginc.com. December 2, 2020.
- Pro Wrestling Torch.
- ^ Bret Hart and the Hart family speak on behalf of Stu Hart
- ISBN 978-1-55022-787-1.
- ^ "hartbrosuniversity: our trainers". Hartbros university.
- ISBN 978-1-55022-787-1.
- ISBN 978-1-59077-036-8.
- Canadian Online Explorer. April 3, 2016. Archived from the originalon April 29, 2015.
- )
- ^ "NWA Polynesian Pacific Tag Team Title". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved June 2, 2016.
- SLAM! Wrestling. Canoe.com. Archived from the originalon January 16, 2018. Retrieved January 16, 2018.
- ^ "The PWI 500". Pro Wrestling Illustrated. 17 (13). London Publishing Co.: 52. 1997.
- ^ "Bruce Hart: Awards". CageMatch.net.
- ^ "PWI Ratings for Bruce Hart". profightdb.com. The Internet Wrestling Database.
- ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated's Top 500 Wrestlers of the PWI Years, 2003". willywrestlefest.fr. Pro Wrestling Illustrated.
- ^ a b "Stampede Wrestling International Tag Team Title". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved June 2, 2016.
- ^ "Stampede Wrestling British Commonwealth Mid-Heavyweight Title". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved June 2, 2016.
- ^ "Stampede Wrestling North American Heavyweight Title". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved June 2, 2016.
- ^ "Stampede World Mid-Heavyweight Title". Puroresu Dojo. 2003.
- ^ Whalen, Ed (host) (December 15, 1995). "Stampede Wrestling Hall of Fame: 1948-1990". Showdown at the Corral: A Tribute to Stu Hart. Event occurs at 27:55. Shaw Cable. Calgary 7.
- ^ "Stampede Wrestling Hall of Fame (1948–1990)". Puroresu Dojo. 2003.
- ^ "Bruce Hart". WrestlingData.com.
- ^ "Stampede Calgary". WrestlingData.com.
- ^ Keith, Scott (March 9, 2002). "The SmarK Retro Rant For Stampede Classics Vol. 4: Bizarre & Unusual!". Insidepulse.com.
Further reading
- Book
- Billington, Tom; Coleman, Alison (2001). Pure Dynamite: The Price you Pay for Wrestling Stardom. Winding Stair Press. ISBN 1-55366-084-6.
- Marsha Erb (2002). Stu Hart: Lord of the ring. ECW Press. ISBN 1-55022-508-1.
- Hart, Julie (2013). Hart Strings. Tightrope Books. ISBN 978-1926639635.
External links
- Bruce Hart's profile at Cagematch.net , Wrestlingdata.com , Internet Wrestling Database
Media related to Bruce Hart at Wikimedia Commons