Early tenure and The Hart Foundation (1990–1991)
Main article:
The Hart Foundation
After participating at the
Royal Rumble in January 1990, The Hart Foundation defeated
The Bolsheviks in 19 seconds at
WrestleMania VI and began feuding with
Demolition, who had just won the WWF Tag Team Championship against
The Colossal Connection at WrestleMania VI. At
SummerSlam in 1990, The Hart Foundation began their second, and final, WWF Tag Team Championship reign by defeating Demolition members
Crush and
Smash in a
two out of three falls match with some help from
Legion of Doom.
[54][55] On October 30, the Hart Foundation lost the title to
The Rockers (
Marty Jannetty and Shawn Michaels), but a few days later, President
Jack Tunney reversed the decision and the win was never acknowledged on television. The Hart Foundation's reign lasted until
WrestleMania VII, where they lost to
The Nasty Boys, after which the team split.
[56]
Intercontinental Champion (1991–1992)
Hart won his first
WWF Intercontinental Championship by defeating Mr. Perfect with the
Sharpshooter at
SummerSlam in 1991,
[57][58] and subsequently won the
1991 King of the Ring tournament on September 7, 1991 at the
Providence Civic Center in
Providence, Rhode Island. Hart's first pay-per-view title defense occurred at
This Tuesday in Texas, where he beat the undefeated
Skinner.
[59]
In January 1992, Hart was placed in a feud with The Mountie. This feud came about when the Mountie's manager, Jimmy Hart, threw water on Hart, and The Mountie proceeded to shock Hart with a
cattle prod. On January 17, 1992, Hart dropped the Intercontinental Championship to The Mountie. Following the loss,
Roddy Piper defeated Mountie with a sleeper hold two days later at the
1992 Royal Rumble,
[60] and Bret later pinned Piper for his second Intercontinental Championship at
WrestleMania VIII later that year,
[61][62] making him the first wrestler in the WWF - and one of few wrestlers ever - to pin Piper's shoulders to the mat.
[27] At a
Wrestling Challenge taping on July 21, 1992, Hart defeated
Shawn Michaels, with the Intercontinental Championship belt suspended above the ring, in the WWF's first ever
ladder match.
[63] Hart dropped the Intercontinental Championship to his brother-in-law,
Davey Boy Smith, in Hart's first WWF pay-per-view main event at
SummerSlam in August 1992, held before over 80,000 fans at
Wembley Stadium.
[64] Pro Wrestling Illustrated readers voted it the "Match of the Year",
[65] and WWE named the match as the greatest in the history of SummerSlam.
[66] Upon induction into the
WWE Hall of Fame class of 2006, Hart cited the contest as his favourite match of his career.
[67]
WWF Champion (1992–1996)
Hart won the
WWF World Heavyweight Championship from
Ric Flair at a
Superstars taping at
Saskatchewan Place in
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan on October 12 of that year, in a match not originally broadcast on WWF television
[68] – the match was instead made available on a series of Coliseum/WWE Home Video releases.
[69] Hart dislocated one of the fingers on his left hand during the match and popped it back in himself so it would not affect the rest of the match.
[27] He made his first successful title defense against
Papa Shango on
Saturday Night's Main Event XXXI. He would headline his first pay-per-view as champion with a successful title defense against Shawn Michaels at the
1992 Survivor Series,
[70] and defeated
Razor Ramon at the
1993 Royal Rumble.
[71] He would also defend the title against contenders such as
Papa Shango[72] and former champion Ric Flair
[6] before losing the title to
Yokozuna in his first WrestleMania main event at
WrestleMania IX, after interference from
Mr. Fuji. Fuji then challenged
Hulk Hogan, who had come out to help Hart, to compete for the title; Hogan then won his fifth WWF World Heavyweight Title from Yokozuna.
[73] In June, Hart won the first
pay-per-view King of the Ring tournament, defeating Razor Ramon, Mr. Perfect, and
Bam Bam Bigelow, thus becoming the only two-time King of the Ring.
[74] According to Hart, he was scheduled to regain the WWF World Heavyweight Championship from Hulk Hogan at SummerSlam, but Hogan chose to drop the title to Yokozuna instead at King of the Ring.
[75] Hart instead entered a feud with
Jerry "The King" Lawler, who interrupted Hart's coronation, claimed he was the only king, attacked Hart and began a barrage against Hart and his family. The two met at
SummerSlam in 1993, to determine the "Undisputed King of the World Wrestling Federation".
[76] Hart originally won the match by submission, via the Sharpshooter, but as he would not let go of the hold, the decision was reversed to a Lawler victory by disqualification.
[77] Hart and his younger brother,
Owen Hart, would also feud with Lawler during 1993 in the
United States Wrestling Association (USWA), with Lawler notably defeating Owen for Owen's
USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship.
[78] Hart's feud with Lawler was named "
Feud of the Year" by
Wrestling Observer Newsletter, and voted "
Feud of the Year" by readers of
Pro Wrestling Illustrated.
[79]
After months of dealing with Lawler, Hart received a
WrestleMania IX rematch with WWF World Heavyweight Champion Yokozuna on the November 20 episode of
WWF Superstars. When Bret appeared to have the match won, with Yokozuna locked in the sharpshooter, Owen came to ringside to congratulate his brother. The referee began questioning Owen's motives, which allowed Fuji to assault Bret. Owen then involved himself in the match, resulting in a victory for Yokozuna via disqualification. On the
non-televised but now-
canon November 22 episode of
Monday Night Raw, Hart again challenged Yokozuna for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship, and again failed to regain the championship due to similar involvement from Owen.[
citation needed] The brothers' disagreements set the wheels in motion for a family feud that would span the entirety of 1994.
[80] At
Survivor Series, the Harts (Bret, Owen,
Bruce, and
Keith) took on Shawn Michaels (a substitution for Lawler, who was facing legal troubles)
[81] and his knights. The Harts won the match, with all of the brothers surviving except for Owen, the only Hart family member eliminated when he was rolled up by Michaels after inadvertently knocking Bret off the apron.
[82] Bitter about his elimination, Owen blamed Bret for this and in the weeks ahead, blamed Bret for holding him back. Owen demanded a one-on-one match with Bret, which Bret refused to accept. In the storyline, Bret, along with his parents, worked over the Christmas holidays to reunite the family and to settle their rivalry. Bret was voted "WWF Superstar of the Year" 1993 by fans,
[83] as well as the
greatest wrestler of the year by
Pro Wrestling Illustrated readers.
[84]
At the
Royal Rumble in January, Bret and Owen took on
The Quebecers (
Jacques and
Pierre) for the WWF Tag Team Championship.
Referee Tim White stopped the match after he considered Bret unable to continue after he sustained a
kayfabe knee injury during the match. After the match, Owen berated his brother for costing him a title opportunity and attacked the injured knee, setting the feud between the two.
[85] Later on, Hart managed to participate and win the 1994 Royal Rumble match amid controversy. Hart and
Lex Luger were the final two participants and the two were eliminated over the top rope at the same time. Therefore, both men were named co-winners of the 1994 Royal Rumble match and received title shots at
WrestleMania X.
[86] Luger won the chance to face Yokozuna first, with Hart having to wrestle his brother Owen, before receiving his title shot. Hart lost his match against Owen
[87] but went on to defeat Yokozuna for his second WWF World Heavyweight Championship.
[88][89]
Hart continued to feud with his brother Owen while he also started feuding with
Diesel. Hart's friend and former tag team partner Jim Neidhart returned to the WWF and reunited with Hart. At
King of the Ring, Hart defended the WWF World Heavyweight Championship against Diesel. When Hart was winning the match, Shawn Michaels interfered on Diesel's behalf; Diesel appeared close to victory after he delivered a
Jackknife Powerbomb yet before he could pin Hart, Neidhart interfered, therefore Diesel won by disqualification, but Hart retained his title. Neidhart left when Diesel and Michaels attacked Hart following the match. Neidhart's motivation was made clear when he helped Owen win the tournament that night, so that he could receive a title shot against his brother.
[90] At
SummerSlam, Hart successfully retained the WWF World Heavyweight Championship against Owen in a
steel cage match.
[91] This match received a five-star rating from
Dave Meltzer of
Wrestling Observer Newsletter, and the brothers' feud was voted "
Feud of the Year" by readers of
Pro Wrestling Illustrated.
[79]
Hart eventually lost his WWF World Heavyweight Championship at
Survivor Series in a submission match against
Bob Backlund where the manager of either competitor (Davey Boy Smith for Hart, Owen for Backlund) would have to "throw in the towel" for the wrestler they were representing. When Hart was in Backlund's
crossface chickenwing and Davey Boy was
kayfabe knocked out, Owen persuaded his mother Helen to throw in the towel for Hart, giving Backlund the championship victory.
[92] Bret's feud with Backlund would continue into the following year. He was voted the greatest wrestler of 1994 by
Pro Wrestling Illustrated readers, winning the vote for the second straight year.
[93]
Three days after Hart's title loss, Diesel defeated Backlund in eight seconds with a jackknife powerbomb to become the new WWF World Heavyweight Champion. By 1995, Hart was focusing on projects outwith the business, such as acting, and shifted to the number two face in the company, behind Diesel.
[94] Hart challenged for Diesel's WWF World Heavyweight Championship at the 1995
Royal Rumble, in a match that was continually marred by outside interference and ruled a draw. Both men embraced in a display of sportsmanship after the match. In a rematch from Survivor Series, Hart defeated
Bob Backlund in an
"I Quit" match at
WrestleMania XI.
[95] Hart was critical with the match against Backlund, claiming it was "probably my worst pay-per-view match I ever had".
[96] Hart would be the focal point of the first event in the
In Your House pay-per-view series, competing in two matches at
In Your House 1. He defeated
Hakushi in the very first match of the in Your House series. Hart's acclaimed feud with Jerry Lawler was reignited at the event when Lawler defeated Hart due to Hakushi's (now Lawler's protégé) interference.
[97] Hart beat Lawler in a "Kiss My Foot" match at
King of the Ring, and defeated Lawler's
kayfabe dentist,
Isaac Yankem, by disqualification at
SummerSlam 1995.
[98] Their King of the Ring match ended with Hart shoving his foot into Lawler's mouth, then forcing Lawler to kiss his own foot.
[99] Although Hart was victorious in their in-ring feud, Lawler remained strongly opposed to Hart as a commentator, and would routinely encourage Hart's opponents during matches; it would not be until
Over the Limit, sixteen years later, that both men would finally bury the hatchet. After disposing of Lawler, Hart engaged in a three-month feud with
Jean-Pierre Lafitte, who would be stealing the mirrored sunglasses from fans at ringside and his trademark leather jacket. At
In Your House 3, Hart defeated Lafitte, to end the feud. Hart shifted his focus back to the WWF World Heavyweight Championship, defeating Diesel in a
no disqualification match at
Survivor Series to commence his third reign.
[100][101]
In a rematch from their SummerSlam 1992 encounter, Hart successfully defended his title against the now
heel Davey Boy Smith at
In Your House 5: Seasons Beatings. He lost to
The Undertaker by disqualification at the
1996 Royal Rumble when Diesel interfered, ultimately retaining the WWF World Heavyweight Championship, and defeated The Undertaker by disqualification in a rematch on the February 5 episode of
Raw, again due to Diesel's interference.
[102] Hart retained his title once again against Diesel in a steel cage match at
In Your House 6, and defeated
Hunter Hearst Helmsley, who was undefeated on
Raw, on the March 4 episode of the show.
[103] WWF Commissioner Rowdy Roddy Piper ruled that Hart would face Shawn Michaels, who had earned a WWF World Heavyweight Championship match at
WrestleMania XII by winning the Royal Rumble,
[104] in a 60-minute
Iron Man match at the event. The wrestler with the most decisions during the 60 minutes would win the match and the WWF World Heavyweight Championship.
At WrestleMania, with less than a minute left on the clock and the score still 0–0, Michaels jumped from the middle rope; his legs were caught by Hart, and Hart locked in his Sharpshooter. However, Michaels did not submit in the last 30 seconds so the match ended in a tie. WWF President
Gorilla Monsoon ruled that the match would continue in
sudden death overtime. Michaels hit a superkick to win the championship.
[105] Pro Wrestling Illustrated readers voted it the "Match of the Year";
[65] in 2004, WWE fans voted the match as the greatest in the history of WrestleMania.
[106] After WrestleMania, Hart went on a European tour over the next two weeks, coming out victorious against
Stone Cold Steve Austin and Hunter Hearst Helmsley. The tour ended on April 22, and after this he took his hiatus from television. His final televised appearance was an interview taped while on the European tour in which he described his passion for wrestling was diminished, and stated that although there were offers from competing companies he might be finished with wrestling.
[107]
That fall, Hart would indeed receive competing offers of employment from both WWF and
World Championship Wrestling (WCW). WCW presented a 3-year, $9M contract offer to Hart,
[108] while the World Wrestling Federation responded with an unprecedented 20-year contract. Finishing up his original WWF deal, Hart returned to action on a tour of South Africa on September 8, 1996, defeating Davey Boy Smith in Durban.
[107] On October 21, Hart elected to re-sign with the World Wrestling Federation.
[109] He was inducted into the
Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame Class of 1996.
Feud with Stone Cold Steve Austin (1996–1997)
Main article:
Hart Foundation reunion
Over the summer,
Stone Cold Steve Austin, who was fresh from winning the
1996 King of the Ring,
[110] continually taunted Hart and challenged him to come back and have a match. After an eight-month hiatus from television, Hart returned and defeated Austin at
Survivor Series in a match for the number one contender spot to the WWF World Heavyweight Championship.
[111] Hart challenged champion
Sycho Sid at the following month's
In Your House 12: It's Time; Shawn Michaels, who was serving as a guest commentator at ringside, accidentally cost Hart the victory when he attempted to become involved in the match after being assaulted by Sid. The building tension between Hart and Michaels climaxed after the match when Hart assaulted Michaels. Hart's feud with Austin escalated at the
Royal Rumble (1997), when Hart tossed Austin out of the ring, only for Austin (unbeknownst to the referees) to climb back into the ring and win the Rumble, while the referees were distracted by
Mankind.
[112] Hart quit the WWF the next night on
Raw in protest. In order to deal with this controversy, a
Fatal Four-Way between Austin and the participants he eliminated after re-entering the ring (
Vader,
The Undertaker, and Hart) was set up for
In Your House 13: Final Four, with the winner becoming the number one contender. After then-champion Shawn Michaels relinquished the belt, though, the match officially became for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship. Hart defeated Austin, Vader, and The Undertaker in the Fatal Four-Way.
[113][114] However, Austin made sure Hart's fourth reign was short-lived, costing him a title match against Sid the next night on
Raw.
[115] Hart challenged for Sid's WWF World Heavyweight Championship in a steel cage match shortly before
WrestleMania 13, which saw Austin actually attempt to help Hart win, in order to make their scheduled match at WrestleMania 13 a title match. Concurrently, The Undertaker, who had a scheduled title match with Sid at WrestleMania, attempted to help Sid win. Sid ultimately retained, leading to a pure grudge match for Hart and Austin.
[116] Following his loss to Sid, Hart shoved "announcer"
Vince McMahon to the ground when he attempted to conduct a post-match interview, and engaged in a
worked shoot,
expletive-laden rant against McMahon and WWF management. This incident has been cited as one which helped lay the foundations of the WWF's
Attitude Era, as well as the starting point of McMahon's on-air character, the tyrannical WWF owner "Mr. McMahon".
[117]
At WrestleMania 13, Hart and Austin had their rematch in a
submission match that would later get a 5-star rating from
Dave Meltzer. In the end, Hart locked the Sharpshooter on a bloody Austin, who refused to give up. In fact, Austin never quit, but passed out from the blood loss and pain.
Ken Shamrock, the special guest referee, awarded Hart the match, after which he continued to assault Austin, thus turning heel for the first time since 1988.
[118] It was named "
Match of the Year" by
Wrestling Observer Newsletter and voted "
Match of the Year" by
Pro Wrestling Illustrated readers.
[65] Later that night, Hart confronted Sycho Sid and The Undertaker prior to their match for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship; Hart insulted Undertaker and told Shawn Michaels (who was a guest commentator for the match) not to interfere. Undertaker won the match, which ended with Hart hot shotting Sid on the ropes, therefore costing him the title.
Hart challenged
Rocky Maivia for the Intercontinental Championship in the main event of the March 31 episode of
Raw. Rocky Maivia won by disqualification when Hart refused to release a figure-four leglock applied around the ring post. He faced Austin again in the main event of
In Your House 14: Revenge of the 'Taker, to determine who would challenge the WWF World Heavyweight Champion in a title match at the following month's
In Your House 15: A Cold Day in Hell. Austin had Hart locked in his own finishing move, the
Sharpshooter, in the middle of the ring when
The British Bulldog interfered on Hart's behalf, resulting in disqualification and giving Austin the victory and title match. They met once again in a street fight on the April 21 episode of
Raw Is War, in which Austin injured Hart's ankle with a steel chair. The match was ruled a no-contest and Austin afterward continued to beat Hart while on a stretcher in the back of an ambulance.
In the ensuing weeks, Hart denounced American fans, because of their negative reaction to him in the recent weeks in contrast to his continued popularity through the rest of the world, and reunited with brother Owen and brothers-in-law Davey Boy Smith and
Jim Neidhart. The family members formed a
new Hart Foundation with
Brian Pillman; this incarnation was an
anti-American stable which was popular within Canada and Europe. As the leader of this stable, Hart routinely carried a
Canadian flag to the ring and engaged in promos where he declared the superiority of his home nation; he became so despised by U.S. audiences that they would often throw debris during his ring entrances, interviews, and matches.
[27] He was voted by
Pro Wrestling Illustrated readers as the "
Most Hated Wrestler of the Year" 1997.
[119] At
In Your House 16: Canadian Stampede, in Hart's home town of Calgary, the Hart Foundation defeated the team of Stone Cold Steve Austin, Ken Shamrock,
Goldust, and
The Legion of Doom, representing the United States, in a ten-man tag team match main event.
[120] The Canada vs. U.S. rivalry escalated on the July 21 episode of
Raw Is War in
Halifax, Nova Scotia, where Bret, Owen, and Davey Boy Smith, representing Canada and the Hart Foundation, defeated the team of
Dude Love, Austin, and The Undertaker, representing the U.S., in a
Flag match.
[121] The Hart Foundation's feud with Austin was named "
Feud of the Year" by
Wrestling Observer Newsletter and voted "
Feud of the Year" by readers of
Pro Wrestling Illustrated.
[79] Hart vowed that if he could not defeat The Undertaker for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship at
SummerSlam, he would never wrestle in the United States again. The Undertaker agreed to the match, and Hart won his fifth and last WWF World Heavyweight Championship after spitting in
guest referee Shawn Michaels' face; Michaels swung a steel chair in retaliation, which accidentally struck the Undertaker. Michaels, who, as part of another pre-match stipulation, would be banned from wrestling in the United States if he did not remain impartial as referee, had no option but to count the pinfall, giving his rival Hart the victory.
[122][123]
After SummerSlam, Michaels was pushed as the top heel in the company and negative fan reactions towards Hart in the United States softened somewhat, as he declared, "I'm not so much anti-American as I am just very, very pro-Canadian".
[27] In real life, Hart did not like the new Attitude Era, instead preferring traditional values. This was used as part of his character, as Hart would insult the U.S. fans because of the success of the Attitude Era.
[124] Hart successfully defended his title against
The Patriot, with whom Hart had become involved in a feud as part of the Canada vs. U.S. storyline, at
Ground Zero: In Your House,
[125] avenging a loss to him on the July 28
Raw.
[121] The Canada vs. U.S. feud would conclude at
Badd Blood: In Your House, where Hart and Davey Boy Smith, representing Canada and The Hart Foundation, defeated The Patriot and Vader, representing the U.S., in a Flag match.
[126] Erstwhile, in a rematch from SummerSlam, The Undertaker challenged Hart for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship at
One Night Only; after reversing a Tombstone Piledriver attempt from Hart, The Undertaker dumped Hart on the apron when he would not let go of the ropes. As a result, Hart's neck was caught in the ropes, and The Undertaker was disqualified.
[127] Hart later cited this as his favourite of all his matches with The Undertaker,
[27] and his last great match in the WWF.
[128]
During the Hart Foundation's feud with the Shawn Michaels-led
D-Generation X (DX), DX framed the Hart Foundation in vandalizing the locker room of the African American stable,
Nation of Domination with racist motifs. In retaliation, during a promo with D-Generation X, Hart called members Triple H (previously billed as "Hunter Hearst Helmsley") and Shawn Michaels "
homos". Hart later apologized for his participation in the storyline and said that he had been pressured into it, saying, "I am not in any shape or form a racist. And I don't believe it is anything to kid around about. I also want to apologize for any remarks I made about gay people. It was a stupid mistake on my part".
[128] Hart successfully defended his title against Nation of Domination leader,
Faarooq, on the October 20 episode of
Raw.
[121] In his penultimate title defense, Hart wrestled Ken Shamrock to a no-contest on the October 27 episode of
Raw Is War; while the referee was knocked out, Shamrock put Hart in an ankle lock; members of the Hart Foundation then attacked Shamrock until Shawn Michaels made the save for Shamrock and attacked Hart.
[121]
The Montreal Screwjob and departure (1997)
Main articles:
Montreal Screwjob and
Hitman Hart: Wrestling with Shadows
Around this time, Hart's on-air rivalry with Vince McMahon also escalated. A heated ringside altercation between the two led many fans to dislike McMahon, who at the time was being exposed as owner of the WWF more and more frequently on-air. Although Hart had signed a 20-year contract back in 1996, the WWF was in a rough financial position by late 1997 and could no longer afford to honor the contract. Although Hart was arguably the biggest wrestler in the world during the mid-1990s,
[129] McMahon also felt that the value of his character was beginning to wane,
[130] and he encouraged Hart to approach the
World Championship Wrestling (WCW) about a contract, hopefully one similar to their original offer. This was despite Hart's reluctance to leave the WWF and willingness to re-negotiate.
[27][131] Hart subsequently signed a three-year contract with WCW. His final match with the WWF would be a title match against his real-life rival Shawn Michaels at
Survivor Series in Montreal. Hart did not want to end his WWF career with a loss to Michaels in his home country particularly with the context of their nationality-fueled feud; and offered to lose, forfeit or otherwise give over the belt to Michaels in any other way that McMahon wanted. McMahon agreed to Hart's idea of forfeiting the championship the next night on
Raw Is War or losing it a few weeks later.
Although Hart stated to McMahon he would not take the WWF World Heavyweight Championship with him to WCW TV and despite insistence from then-WCW President
Eric Bischoff,
[27] that Hart would join WCW with a "clean slate", McMahon was still concerned and paranoid; this led to him breaking his word in what eventually came to be known as the
Montreal Screwjob. Even though Hart did not submit to the Sharpshooter, referee
Earl Hebner called for the bell as if he had, on McMahon's orders. This resulted in Hart "losing" the title to Michaels.
[132] The night ended with an irate Hart spitting in McMahon's face, destroying television equipment, and punching McMahon backstage in front of
Gerald Brisco,
Pat Patterson, and McMahon's son
Shane. Hart also confronted Michaels backstage about the match finish. Many behind-the-scenes events leading up to the Montreal Screwjob were filmed for the documentary
Hitman Hart: Wrestling with Shadows, released in 1998. WWE has described the Montreal Screwjob as "arguably the most controversial, most jarring moment in the annals of sports entertainment".
[133]
Hart's likeness would continue to be featured in WWF media into 1998, including the title video of
Raw (brawling in a ring within a warehouse),
[134] and the
WWF War Zone video game.
[135]
