Biography:

Bret Sergeant Hart was born on July 2, 1957 in Calgary Alberta Canada. He is a former professional wrestler, and part of the famous Hart wrestling family. Bret has grappled with the greatest on the globe, proving himself as “The Excellence of Execution” in the squared circle.
His technical and athletic ability, punctuated by his patented Sharpshooter submission move, have earned him the right to proclaim himself: The best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be.

Bret’s parents are Helen Hart from America and his father is Stewart Edward (Stu) Hart from Canada. Stu was a Canadian amateur wrestler, professional wrestler, promoter and trainer. Stu owned and operated Stampede Wrestling, a circuit which had its base in Calgary but also extended throughout western Canada and occasionally forayed into distant places. He was training several wrestlers in the famous Dungeon, which became the most respected and infamous wrestling school in North America.

Bret grew up surrounded by seven brothers (Smith, Bruce, Keith, Wayne, Dean, Ross and Owen) and four sisters (Ellie, Georgia, Alison and Diana). All brothers became wrestlers and all sisters married wrestlers. But Bret had no intention of becoming a wrestler. He wanted a future as a film director. So after attending Ernest Manning High School in Calgary he went to The Mount Royal Collage. It was there he decided to give college wrestling a try and won his weights championship.
His principal occupation was refereeing in the evenings for Stu in small towns close to home. During that period Bret learned to wrestle professionally from two Japanese men, Mr. Hito and Mr. Sakurada, who worked for Stu.

These tutors put him through grueling sessions for about five hours a day, teaching him headlocks, body slams and hip tosses. After only a few weeks of training he developed great timing and ability and became a fine tuned machine.
Bret’s pro career began in 1978, working fulltime for Stu in Western Canada. He became Stu’s top draw from that point forward. His weight increased to 230lbs and his skills improved. In July 1984 Stu was approached by Vince McMahon jr. to take over Stampede Wrestling and Bret joined The World Wrestling Federation.

World Wrestling Federation

Bret rose to fame in the WWF in the late-1980s, winning the WWF World Tag Team Championships twice as one half of The Hart Foundation. Bret’s technical style created a intriguing contrast with his partner and brother in law Jim Neidhart's strength and brawling skills. The Hart Foundation started out as a heel team managed by "The Mouth of the South" Jimmy Hart. Bret adopted the name “Hitman”. Because of the diversity of Bret’s wrestling arsenal, announcer Gorilla Monsoon dubbed him “The Excellenlce of Execution”. It identified Bret as much as Hitman and helped develop his character and charisma. The added ingredient was the color pink. So they no longer used black and blue, it was to draw heat from the audience as heels. Eventually they turned face, adopting the nickname "The Pink and Black Attack."

In August 1991 Bret received a shot at the Intercontinantal championship belt held by Curt (Mr. Perfect) Henning. From that moment, he was going solo. He became an Intercontinantal Champion twice, and a five time World Wrestling Federation Champion. He was known as the best technical wrestler in the world, but in 1997 McMahon told Bret the company was in financial peril and could no longer afford to pay him what the contract stipulated. McMahon told Bret to explore his options in the WCW, Bret agreed to release the WWF of that contract and decided to sign with WCW. Bret was WWF champion at that time, and he wanted to leave with dignity and on his own terms, which contractually he had the right to do. He and McMahon reached a compromise, allowing Bret to drop the belt in Ottawa the day after the Survivor Series in Montreal. But as history will forever recall, Bret lost the belt (even though he never submitted) at Survivor Series 1997 (known by fans as the Montreal screwjob). This is how the 14-year relationship was ended by the WWF.

World Championship Wrestling

Immediately after Survivor Series, Hart left the WWF and joined World Championship Wrestling (WCW). Bret debuted at Starrcade in Washington, D.C. in December 1997 as a guest referee.
Bret interfered in the match and became a babyface in the process. Bret won the U.S. Heavyweight title four times before he won the World Heavyweight title. He became the World Heavyweight champion twice and a WCW tag champion with Goldberg. Bret became a heel in a WCW Monday Nitro main event and joined the nWo.

At the StarrCade pay-per-view event, Bret defended his WCW Championship against Goldberg. During the match Bret was struck with a stiff kick to the head, resulting in a severe concussion. Bret later speculated that he may have suffered up to three additional concussions within matches over the course of that day along with the days immediately following StarrCade '99, having been unaware of the severity of his injuries.
In one other instance during his match against Goldberg, Bret attempted to place Goldberg in the ringpost figure four leglock, but was not protected by Goldberg when initially applying the move, causing the back of Bret’s head to collide into the arena floor. The sum total of those injuries ultimately forced his retirement from professional wrestling.
Bret never lost either WCW Heavyweight Championship’s he held, but forfeited them instead. The second vacated title came about when he retired from wrestling. He wrestled his last matches in both the WWF and WCW as the World Heavyweight Champion of each respective promotion.

In June 2002, Hart suffered a stroke after a bicycle accident. He was riding his bike without a helmet, the chin strap was broke and was getting it fixed. Bike riding has long been one of his passions, especially in Calgary on the bike paths along the Bow River. He hit a pot hole in the grass and crash landed on his head. As best as can be determined he suffered a stroke on impact.
Unable to move the left side of his body he used his cell phone to call for help. Bret suffered partial paralysis after the stroke, which required months of physical therapy, but has since recovered his mobility and is in good health.

Personal life

Bret has four kids with his ex-wife Julie. (Jade, Dallas, Alexandrea (Beans) and Blade) He married an Italian woman named Cinzia on september 15, 2004.
The four hearts located on the right thigh of his tights symbolize his four children, so do the four dots following his signature.
Bret is a big Hockey fan and was a presenter at the Hockey awards in 1999. But that was not the only time he made a tv appearances other than the WWF and WCW. He has played in roles in several TV series and movies. He even received a Gemini nomination for his role as Luther Root in the Lonesome Dove series. He has also had a part in the musical Alladin as the genie.

TV/Film Appearances