Bret Hart

Bio
In 1976, Hart began working for his father's Stampede Wrestling promotion in Calgary. Hart first began helping the promotion by refereeing matches, but at one fateful event, a wrestler was unable to perform his match. This forced Stu to ask his son to stand in as a replacement, paving the way for Hart's very first match in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Before long, he became a regular contender, eventually partnering with brother Keith to win the Tag Team Championship four times. Earlier on, however, he was still unsure he wanted to make a career of professional wrestling and continually contemplated the idea. Before long, Hart was amazing crowds with his high-impact matches against the Dynamite Kid. In the midst of wrestling alongside his brothers and even his aging father, Hart made a point not to ride on the shoulders of his elders as other sons of promoters have.

Hart emerged from Calgary's Stampede Wrestling, coming to WWE as a tag team with his brother-in-law, Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart. Together, The Hart Foundation won the World Tag Team Titles twice, and became one of the most popular pairings in WWE. From there, The Hart Foundation separated, and Bret became and instant sensation as a singles star. He defeated Mr. Perfect for the Intercontinental Championship in August if 1991, and became a two-time holder of the title at WrestleMania VIII, where he defeated “Rowdy” Roddy Piper in a memorable match-up. Hart won his first WWE Championship in a non-televised live event in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, forcing Ric Flair to submit to the Sharpshooter. It began the first of five WWE Title reigns for the man who boldly declared, "I'm the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be."

The win began a stellar run for The Hit Man. He won King of the Ring in 1993, the Royal Rumble in 1994, and defeated Yokozuna for the WWE Title at WrestleMania X. At the time, he also began a well-documented rivalry with Shawn Michaels, which would ultimately lead to one of the biggest matches in WrestleMania history — WrestleMania XII’s Iron Man Match. It was the 1997 Survivor Series, and Hart was scheduled to leave WWE for rival WCW, while embroiled in a dispute with Mr. McMahon over the fate of the WWE Title. That evening, Shawn Michaels administered the champion’s own Sharpshooter, referee Earl Hebner called for the bell and HBK was awarded the WWE Championship. On the wrong end of a well-devised conspiracy, The Excellence of Execution was furious, and left WWE dejected.

Hart signed a contract with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in November 1997. during the Sting versus Hulk Hogan main event for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. e attacked referee Nick Patrick, accusing him of making a fast count and shouting he would not let "it happen again" (a reference to the Montreal Screwjob), and declaring Sting the winner and new champion by submission. In April 1998, Hart turned heel by interfering in a Nitro main event between Hogan and Randy Savage, helping Hogan recapture the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. He became an associate of the nWo, but did not officially join the group. Hart went on to win the WCW World Heavyweight Championship tournament by defeating Chris Benoit at Mayhem, held at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, giving him his first of two reigns in WCW and his sixth world title overall. At Starrcade, Hart defended his WCW World Heavyweight Championship against Goldberg. During the match, Hart suffered a concussion. In his final match in WCW, he defended the WCW World Heavyweight Championship against Kevin Nash on the January 10 edition of Nitro, which also ended in a no-contest. Hart vacated the title in late January 2000 when he was forced to withdraw from the main event of WCW's Souled Out due to his injuries.

Hart found beauty in the wrestling simplicity. Clad in pink and black tights, he strode to ring against the whirr of an electric guitar, pausing only to gift his trademark shades to a small child waiting ringside. Reverently described as The "Excellence of Execution" and trained in the storied Hart Family Dungeon, Bret Hart is arguably the greatest technical wrestler in wrestling history.