Bret Sergeant Hart (born July 2, 1957) is a retired Canadian professional wrestler, amateur wrestler, author, and actor, best known for his time in World Wrestling Entertainment and World Championship Wrestling under the persona, "The Hitman." A son of wrestling patriarch Stu Hart, he was born into the Hart wrestling family. His seven brothers were either wrestlers or involved backstage with the wrestling business; his four sisters all married professional wrestlers. Three of his brothers-in-law, the Dynamite Kid, Davey Boy Smith, and Jim Neidhart, had successful careers in the business. His youngest brother, Owen Hart, became a decorated wrestler in his own right before his death in 1999.
Hart competed as both a villain and a fan favourite during his professional wrestling career. In terms of in-ring ability, he is regarded by many prominent industry figures as one of the greatest professional wrestlers in history.[3] Vince McMahon has described him as being "in a class by himself," with "unparalleled" storytelling and technical wrestling skills. Jim Ross has referred to his in-ring work as "art," while Gene Okerlund has asserted that Hart should appear in anyone's top ten wrestlers of all time.[3] Peers such as Stone Cold Steve Austin,[4] Chris Benoit,[5] Road Warrior Animal,[6] Steve Lombardi,[7] Shawn Michaels[8] and Roddy Piper[9] have named Hart as one of their all-time favourite opponents.[3] Hart himself frequently described himself as "The best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be" (derived from the 1984 film The Natural), which he justifies through three claims: he never injured an opponent through any fault of his own; through the entire course of his career he missed only one show (as a result of flight difficulties); and that he only once refused to lose a scripted match—his final WWF match with Shawn Michaels at the Survivor Series event in 1997, which culminated in the now infamous Montreal Screwjob.[10]
Among other accolades, Hart is recognised by WWE as a seven-time world heavyweight champion (five-time WWF Champion, and two-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion). He is the only two-time King of the Ring in WWE history, having won the 1991 tournament and the first King of the Ring pay-per-view in 1993. Hart was also the 1994 Royal Rumble co-winner (with Lex Luger). Hart is widely regarded as one of the most universally popular and gifted technical professional wrestlers of all time.[11] He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2006 by Steve Austin.
Hart competed as both a villain and a fan favourite during his professional wrestling career. In terms of in-ring ability, he is regarded by many prominent industry figures as one of the greatest professional wrestlers in history.[3] Vince McMahon has described him as being "in a class by himself," with "unparalleled" storytelling and technical wrestling skills. Jim Ross has referred to his in-ring work as "art," while Gene Okerlund has asserted that Hart should appear in anyone's top ten wrestlers of all time.[3] Peers such as Stone Cold Steve Austin,[4] Chris Benoit,[5] Road Warrior Animal,[6] Steve Lombardi,[7] Shawn Michaels[8] and Roddy Piper[9] have named Hart as one of their all-time favourite opponents.[3] Hart himself frequently described himself as "The best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be" (derived from the 1984 film The Natural), which he justifies through three claims: he never injured an opponent through any fault of his own; through the entire course of his career he missed only one show (as a result of flight difficulties); and that he only once refused to lose a scripted match—his final WWF match with Shawn Michaels at the Survivor Series event in 1997, which culminated in the now infamous Montreal Screwjob.[10]
Among other accolades, Hart is recognised by WWE as a seven-time world heavyweight champion (five-time WWF Champion, and two-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion). He is the only two-time King of the Ring in WWE history, having won the 1991 tournament and the first King of the Ring pay-per-view in 1993. Hart was also the 1994 Royal Rumble co-winner (with Lex Luger). Hart is widely regarded as one of the most universally popular and gifted technical professional wrestlers of all time.[11] He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2006 by Steve Austin.
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