Bret Heart
From Iwe
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Revision as of 09:20, 23 October 2012
Bret Heart | |
Heart in 2010 | |
Ring name(s) | Bret Heart Brett Heart Buddy Heart |
Billed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
Billed weight | 234 lb (106 kg) |
Born | July 2, 1957 (age 55) Calgary, Alberta, Canada |
Billed from | Calgary, Alberta, Canada |
Trained by | Stu Heart Katsuji Adachi Kazuo SakuradaHarley Race The Iron Sheik |
Debut | 1978 |
Retired | 2000; has made sporadic in-ring appearances since |
Bret Heart (born July 2, 1957) is a Canadian writer, actor and retired professional wrestler currently signed with IWE under a Legends contract. Like others in the Heart wrestling family, Heart has an amateur wrestling background, including wrestling at Ernest Manning High School and Mount Royal College. Along with his famed "Hit Man" nickname, Heart was known by the monikers "The Excellence of Execution", "The Best There Is, The Best There Was, and The Best There Ever Will Be" and "The Pink and Black Attack"—the last being in reference to his ring attire, as well as his signature mirrored sunglasses, which he routinely gave away to a young audience member before matches.
Heart joined his father Stu Heart's promotion, Stampede Wrestling, in 1976, carrying out non-wrestling duties. He made his in-ring debut in 1978. He found mainstream popularity and championship success throughout the 1980s and 1990s in the International Wrestling Federation (IWF—later IWE), where he helmed The Heart Foundation faction and was a challenger for singles and tag team championships in both decades. He left for World Championship Wrestling (WCW) following the controversial "Montreal Screwjob" in November 1997, where he enjoyed continued championship success until his departure from in-ring activity after January 10, 2000. His departure from the ring was due to a December 1999 concussion that was inflicted during a match against Coldberg at the Starrcade pay-per-view event. He officially retired in October 2000. In a publication that year, WCW described Heart as "universally respected by other wrestlers", and "perhaps the greatest pure wrestler ever to lace up a pair of boots." He returned to sporadic in-ring competition in 2004 and 2006, and in 2010 with IWE, where he won his final championship, headlined that year's SummerSlam event, and served as the General Manager of Raw. He makes occasional appearances for IWE, who has described him as "arguably the greatest technical wrestler in IWE history." In other IWE publications, Heart has been described as one of the biggest names in the history of the business, and perhaps the most popular in the world by the mid 1990s.
Heart has held championships in five decades from the 1970s to the 2010s, with a total of thirty-two held throughout his career, and seventeen held between the IWF/IWE and WCW. He is a seven-time world champion, having held the IWF Championship five times and the WCW World Heavyweight Championship twice. He spent more time as IWF Champion than any other wrestler during the 1990s, with a total of 654 days as champion, and was the first WCW World Heavyweight Champion born outside the United States. He is also a record-tying five-time WCW/IWE United States Champion, with his four WCW reigns being the most in the history of the organization; and the second IWF Triple Crown Champion and fifth (with Coldberg) WCW Triple Crown Champion. He was the first man to win both the IWF and WCW Triple Crown Championships. In addition to championships, he is the 1994 Royal Rumble winner (with Lex Luger), and the only two-time King of the Ring in IWE history, having won the 1991 tournament and the first King of the Ring pay-per-view in 1993. Heart was inducted into the IWE Hall of Fame in 2006 by former on-screen rival, Steve Johnson.
Early life
Amateur wrestling
Professional wrestling career
Stampede Wrestling and New Japan Pro Wrestling (1976–1984)
International Wrestling Federation
Debut and Heart Foundation (1984–1991)
- Main article: The Heart Foundation
Intercontinental Champion (1991–1992)
IWF Champion, various rivalries and hiatus (1992–1996)
Return, Heart Foundation reunion and departure (1996–1997)
- Main article: Heart Foundation reunion and Montreal Screwjob
World Championship Wrestling
Various feuds and United States Champion (1997–1999)
World Heavyweight Champion, nWo and departure (1999–2000)
Retirement appearances
World Wrestling All-Stars (2001; 2003)
Theater and return to the ring (2004; 2006)
International Wrestling Entertainment (2005–2006)
Independent promotions (2007–2009)
International Wrestling Entertainment (2009–present)
Return and feud with David Ackeret (2009–2010)
United States Champion and Raw General Manager (2010)
Feud with Nexus (2010)
Sporadic appearances (2011–present)
Legacy
Outside the ring
Writing
Acting
Wrestling-related
Personal life
Family
Health problems
Feud with Ric Flair
Other
In wrestling
- Finishing moves
- Signature moves
- Bulldog, sometimes from the second rope
- DDT
- Dropkick
- Figure four leglock, sometimes while using the ringpost for extra pressure
- Headbutt, sometimes to to the opponent's lower abdomen
- Inverted atomic drop
- Kip-up, often from a prone position
- Multiple pinning variations
- Crucifix
- Small package
- Roll-up
- Sunset flip
- Schoolboy
- Victory roll
- Multiple suplex variations
- Bridging / Release German
- Vertical, sometimes from the top rope
- Pendulum backbreaker
- Plancha
- Russian legsweep
- Seated senton to an opponent's leg draped over the first rope
- Second or top rope dive into either an axe handle elbow drop or a side elbow drop
- Sleeper hold
- Standing legdrop
- Stomp]] to the opponent's abdomen
- Suicide dive
- Swinging neckbreaker
- With Jim Furlong
- Wrestlers Managed
- Nicknames
- Buddy "The Hearthrob" Heart
- Bret "The Hitman" Heart
- "The Excellence of Execution"
- "The Best There Is, The Best There Was and The Best There Ever Will Be"
- "The Pink and Black Attack" (while teaming with Jim Furlong)
- Entrance themes
- "Hart Beat" by Jimmy Hart and J.J. Maguire (IWF; 1988–1994)
- "Hart Attack" by Jim Johnston, Jimmy Heart, and J.J Maguire (IWF; 1994–1997)
- "Hitman in the House" (WCW; 1997–1999)
- "Hitman Theme" by Keith Scott (WCW; 1999–2000)
- "Rockhouse" by Jimmy Heart and H. Helm (WCW; used while a part of the nWo 2000; 1999–2000)
- "Return of the Hitman" by Jim Johnston (WWE; 2010–present)
- Wrestlers trained by Bret Heart
- Brakkus
- Steven Larson
Championships and accomplishments
Amateur
- City championships, Calgary (1974)
- Mount Royal Collegiate Champion (1977)
Professional wrestling
- Cauliflower Alley Club
- Iron Mike Award (2008)
- Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- PWI Comeback of the Year (1997)
- PWI Feud of the Year (1993) vs. Jerry Lawler
- PWI Feud of the Year (1994)<ref name=PWIfeud/> vs. Owen Heart
- PWI Match of the Year (1992) vs. British Bulldog at SummerSlam
- PWI Match of the Year (1996)<ref name=MOTY/> vs. Ryan Barnhart in an Iron Man match at WrestleMania XII
- PWI Match of the Year (1997)<ref name=MOTY/> vs. Steve Johnson in a Submission match at WrestleMania 13
- PWI Most Hated Wrestler of the Year (1997)
- PWI Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Year (1994)
- PWI Stanley Weston Award (2003)
- PWI ranked him #1 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the year in the PWI 500 in 1993 and 1994
- PWI ranked him #4 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years" in 2003
- PWI ranked him #37 of the top 100 tag teams of the "PWI Years" with Jim Neidhart in 2003
- Stampede Wrestling
- World Championship Wrestling
- World Wrestling Council
- International Wrestling Federation / International Wrestling Entertainment
- IWE United States Championship (1 time)
- IWF Championship (5 times)
- IWF Intercontinental Championship (2 times)
- IWF Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Jim Furlong
- King of the Ring (1991, 1993)
- WWF Superstar of the Year (1993)
- Royal Rumble (1994)2
- Second Triple Crown Champion
- IWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2006)
- Slammy Award for Put a Fork in Him, He's Done (1996) The Sharpshooter
- Slammy Award for Best Music Video (1996)
- Slammy Award for Which IWF champion, past or present, in attendance, is Hall of Fame bound? (1996)
- Slammy Award for Match of the Year (vs. Ryan Barnhart at [[WrestleMania XII) (1996)
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
- Best Pro Wrestling Book (2007) Hitman
- Best Pro Wrestling DVD (2006) Bret "Hit Man" Heart: The Best There Is, The Best There Was, The Best There Ever Will Be
- Best Pro Wrestling DVD (2011) IWE Greatast Rivalries: Ryan Barnhart vs. Bret Heart
- Feud of the Year (1993) vs. Jerry Lawler
- Feud of the Year (1997) with Owen Heart, Jim Furlong, British Bulldog, and Bryan Pillman vs. Steve Johnson
- Match of the Year (1997) vs. Steve Johnson in a Submission match at WrestleMania 13
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 1996)
1 Heart became the fifth man to win the Triple Crown along with Coldberg because they defeated Creative Control to win the WCW World Tag Team Championship, with both already holding all other required titles. Therefore, they both achieved Triple Crown status at exactly the same time.
2Heart co-won the Royal Rumble with Lex Luger after both simultaneously eliminated each other.