Professional Wrestling Will Always Have Hart

Few professional wrestlers can actually be named by those that don't follow the sport. Sure, many have made the crossover into movies like Hulk Hogan and The Rock, but those who made their career solely on wrestling are less easily identifiable. In my opinion, despite the fact he has not had a movie career like his aforementioned colleagues, one wrestler that should be a household name is Bret "The Hitman" Hart. Bret was born into a wrestling family; in fact, his father (the late Stu Hart) was a major name across North America and went on to own his own promotion known as Stampede Wrestling. Bret was one of 12 children, most of which were in someway involved in professional wrestling. Tragically, his younger brother Owen fell to his death at a live wrestling pay - per - view event at the age of 34. The last name of Hart really means something in the professional wrestling world.

Photo Credit: Brethart.com

Bret has had his fair share of success, including being a multiple time World Champion, the first ever double triple crown winner in wrestling and has even been immortalized by appearing in an episode of "The Simpsons". Yet, despite these achievements, Bret has also faced many setbacks. Bret was involved in the infamous Montreal screw job, which truly blurred the lines of reality for fans and non fans alike. During a World Championship bout against long time nemesis Shawn Michaels, the owner of WWE, Vince McMahon, came to ringside and demanded that the bell was rung and that the bout end and the belt awarded to Michaels. This signaled one of the most difficult times in not only Bret's professional life, as he took his wrestling talents to the rival (but dysfunctional) wrestling company WCW, but also personally, as his support system and family would stay with the WWE. This included his baby brother Owen, brother in law Davey Boy Smith (who later joined WCW) and other close friends. During his time in WCW, Bret also suffered a career ending concussion in the ring. The thing is, during this entire time, Bret remained true to his family values and to the values which he represented to his enormous fan base. He showed up when he had to show up, he performed to the best of his ability every night (highlighted by an emotional bout against the late Chris Benoit in an empty arena), and always found time for his loyal fans. It was always a dream of mine to see Bret Hart live, and be the lucky person in the audience who Bret would signal out and present his own brand of glasses to. To this day, Bret is still passionate about a business that, the way it treated him, would have made a lesser man very bitter.

Eventually, after what could only be some deep soul searching and mediated discussions, Bret and the WWE reconciled, and Bret Hart was inducted in the WWE Hall of Fame in 2006. A truly well deserved honor. This meant that the Hart name would forever be linked with professional wrestling, yet it is said that a legacy is something that people have a tangible connection with, and even when Bret was no longer on TV wrestling for either WWE or WCW, the fans were able to connect with the Hart family through his family members such as Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart and "The British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith. The Hart legacy was there for all to see, yet in the wings there was a new generation of Harts ready to continue the legacy of Stu, Bret, and Owen.

Enter The Hart Dynasty, a trio consisting of Tyson Kidd (not a Hart but one who trained at the Hart Dungeon), David Hart Smith (son of the late British Bulldog Davey Boy Smith) and Nattie Neidhart (daughter of Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart). These three superstars spent the best part of a year representing the Hart name in tag team bouts (including mixed gender bouts) and single bouts, and were very successful winning tag team championships and for Nattie, the Divas championship.

Photo Credit: twintalkwrestling

As things stand right now, the three wrestlers have gone their own ways, with Tyson Kidd establishing himself in his own right and leaving the Hart connection behind him for now. DH Smith, was released by the WWE and is appearing all over the world on the independent scene. Nattie Neidhart is perhaps the most visible of the three currently, and much of this visibility has to do with the power of the Hart legacy. She is one of the most dominant divas in the WWE, and uses Bret's own Sharpshooter as one of her finishing moves. She also wears the pink and black colors that became synonymous with the Hart family (including of course her father).

In sport psychology, professional wrestling is rarely talked about (much to my own personal dismay), yet the issue of predisposed talent or hereditary traits is always a hot topic. It is said that there is evidence that genetic factors account for around 50% of variability in human physical performance. What this means in relation to this Sports Are Mental blog is that the Hart family may well of had a head start in their progression to becoming the royal family of wrestling, yet including an outlier such as Tyson Kidd, who has none of the same genes at Neidhart or Hart Smith goes someway to offering an alternative perspective, being that exposure to such traits has much to do with physical performance. The cream always rises, and the old adage that it is not what you know but WHO you know that will get you ahead in life come to mind, yet for Nattie Neidhart, it was not only the fact that she is the daughter of a former WWE tag team champion, and member of the Hart family, but also the fact the she has continually worked to hone and perfect her craft. You truly don't get anywhere in the world of wrestling without hard work.

I would be bereft not to answer the question that is on the lips of any non wrestling fan reading this, and that is about the legitimacy of professional wrestling. I will end with my answers to that question, followed by the answer that I can't lay claim to but have often used. My answers: It is far more real than you think and that I was brought up to never use 4 letter F words. The answer that is THE answer to this question: For those who believe, no explanation is required and for those who do not believe, no explanation will do.