Bret Hart (born July 2, 1957) is a semi-retired Canadian professional wrestler, writer, and actor. He is a member of the well-known Hart wrestling family of Calgary, Alberta. His father was wrestling legend Stu Hart. He is considered to be one of the most technically sound wrestlers ever. His athletic ability and in-ring knowledge have also been highly praised.

Career 

Bret Hart had an amazing career in the WWF, having some of the greatest matches of all time. Some of his best matches were against Mr. Perfect, his one-time brother-in-law British Bulldog, his brother Owen Hart, Stone Cold Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels.

Hart said that he was going to leave the WWF for the companies then biggest competitor, World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and he refused to lose the title in front of his Canadian fans to Michaels. During Survivor Series 1997 in Montreal, Quebec, a real-life screwjob took place when Shawn Michaels put Hart in Hart's own finishing move, the Sharp Shooter. Vince McMahon ordered referee Earl Hebner to call for the bell even though Hart didn't submit. This made Michaels become the WWF Champion. This incident would later become known as the Montreal Screwjob.

Injury 
Hart retired after being kicked in the head by his opponent, Goldberg, in a match. Soon after he suffered a stroke. He has since partially recovered and has done some stage acting. He wrote a column for The Calgary Sun until 2004.

WWE Return 
On January 4 2010, Hart returned to the WWE to be a special guest host for Raw. This was the first time that Hart made a live appearance on Raw in over 12 years. During the night he and Shawn Michaels agreed to a truce, shook hands and hugged. Many fans didn't know if it was real or not but Hart and Michaels later said that their truce was real and not part of a storyline. He also shook hands with Vince but Vince later kicked Hart in the gut which was part of a storyline. Hart along with his family beat Vince McMahon at WrestleMania XXVI in a No Holds Barred Match.

In wrestling 
 Finishing moves
 Sharpshooter
 Spike piledriver

 Signature moves
 Bridging / Release German suplex
 Bulldog, sometimes from the second rope
 Dropkick
 Figure four leglock, sometimes while using the ringpost for extra pressure
 Headbutt
 Headbutt drop to the opponent's lower abdomen
 Inverted atomic drop
 Multiple pinning variations
 Backwards flip out of chokehold into cover using turnbuckle
 Crucifix
 Inside cradle
 Roll-up
 Sunset flip
 Victory roll
 Pendulum backbreaker
 Russian legsweep
 Seated senton to an opponent's leg draped over the first rope
 Second or a top rope dive into either an axe handle elbow drop or a side elbow drop
 Sleeper hold
 Snap suplex
 Stomp to the opponent's abdomen
 Suicide dive
 Superplex
 Swinging neckbreaker

 With Jim Neidhart
 Hart Attack

 Managers
 Jimmy Hart
 William Shatner
 Debra Wilson

 Nicknames
 "The Cowboy" Bret Hart
 Buddy "The Hearthrob" Hart
 Bret "The Hitman" Hart
 "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 Neidhart)

Championships and accomplishments 
 Cauliflower Alley Club
 Iron Mike Award (2008)

 Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum
 Class of 2008

 Pro Wrestling Illustrated
 PWI Comeback of the Year (1997)
 PWI Feud of the Year (1993) vs. Jerry Lawler
 PWI Feud of the Year (1994) vs. Owen Hart
 PWI Match of the Year (1992) vs. British Bulldog at SummerSlam
 PWI Match of the Year (1996) vs. Shawn Michaels in an Iron Man match at WrestleMania XII
 PWI Match of the Year (1997) vs. Steve Austin 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 500 tag teams of the "PWI Years" with Jim Neidhart in 2003

 Stampede Wrestling
 NWA International Tag Team Championship (Calgary version) (5 times) – with Keith Hart (4) and Leo Burke (1)
 Stampede British Commonwealth Mid-Heavyweight Championship (3 times)
 Stampede North American Heavyweight Championship
 Stampede Wrestling Hall of Fame
 World Championship Wrestling
 WCW United States Heavyweight Championship (4 times)
 WCW World Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
 WCW World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Goldberg

 World Wrestling Council
 WWC Caribbean Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Smith Hart
 World Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling Entertainment
 WWE United States Championship (1 time)
 WWF Championship (5 times)
 WWF Intercontinental Championship (2 times)
 WWF Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Jim Neidhart
 King of the Ring (1991, 1993)
 Royal Rumble (1994)1
 Second Triple Crown Champion
 WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2006)
 Slammy Award for Put a Fork in Him, He's Done (1996) 
 Slammy Award for Best Music Video (1996)
 Slammy Award for Which WWF champion, past or present, in attendance, is Hall of Fame bound? (1996)
 Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
 5 Star Match (1994) 
 5 Star Match (1997) 
 Best Pro Wrestling Book (2007) 
 Best Pro Wrestling
DVD (2006) 
 Feud of the Year (1993) 
 Feud of the Year (1997) 
 Match of the Year (1997) 
 Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 1996)

1Hart co-won the Royal Rumble with Lex Luger after both simultaneously
eliminated each other.

References

Other websites
Official website
WWE profile

Hart family members
1957 births
Living people
Canadian professional wrestlers
Canadian stage actors
Canadian television actors
Former WWE wrestlers
Sportspeople from Calgary
WWE Hall of Fame