Bret Sergeant Hart was born on July 2,1957 and is a Canadian-American retired professional wrestler.
188 Facts About Bret Hart
2.
Bret Hart is widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time; Sky Sports noted that his legacy is that of "one of, if not the greatest, to have ever graced the squared circle".
3.
Bret Hart joined his father Stu Bret Hart's promotion Stampede Wrestling in 1976 as a referee and made his in-ring debut in 1978.
4.
Bret Hart gained championship success during the 1980s and 1990s in the World Wrestling Federation, where he helmed The Hart Foundation stable.
5.
Bret Hart left for World Championship Wrestling following the controversial "Montreal Screwjob" in November 1997, where he remained until October 2000.
6.
Bret Hart returned to sporadic in-ring competition from 2010 to 2011 with WWE, where he won his final championship, headlined the 2010 SummerSlam event, and served as the general manager of Raw.
7.
Bret Hart was inducted into the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame upon its inception in 1996, while still an active performer.
8.
Bret Hart has most combined days as WWF Champion during the 1990s and was the first WCW World Heavyweight Champion born outside the United States.
9.
Bret Hart is the second WWF Triple Crown Champion and fifth WCW Triple Crown Champion, and the first man to win both the WWF and WCW Triple Crown Championships.
10.
Bret Hart is the 1994 Royal Rumble match winner, and the only two-time King of the Ring, winning the 1991 tournament and the first King of the Ring pay-per-view in 1993.
11.
Stone Cold Steve Austin, with whom Bret Hart headlined multiple pay-per-view events as part of an acclaimed rivalry from 1996 to 1997, inducted him into the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2006.
12.
In 2019, Bret Hart became one of seven people to enter the WWE Hall of Fame twice, when he was inducted again as a member of The Bret Hart Foundation, with brother-in-law Jim Neidhart.
13.
Outside of wrestling, Bret Hart has appeared in numerous films and television shows such as The Simpsons as well as featuring in several documentaries, both about himself specifically and others about his family or the wrestling industry in general.
14.
Bret Hart helped found and lent his name to the major junior ice hockey team the Calgary Hitmen and has written two biographies along with a weekly column for the Calgary Sun for over a decade.
15.
The eighth child of wrestling patriarch Stu Hart and his wife Helen, Bret Hart was born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada into the Hart wrestling family.
16.
Bret Hart is of Greek descent through his maternal grandmother and of Irish descent through his maternal grandfather.
17.
Bret Hart's father was mainly of Ulster Scot descent but had Scottish and English ancestry.
18.
Bret Hart is a dual citizen of Canada and the United States since his mother Helen was born in New York.
19.
Bret Hart has stated that he considers himself to be North American and that he is equally proud of his US and Canadian nationality.
20.
Bret Hart grew up in a household with eleven siblings, seven brothers Smith, Bruce, Keith, Wayne, Dean, Ross and Owen, as well as four sisters, Ellie, Georgia, Alison and Diana.
21.
Bret Hart's family were non-denominational Christians, but he and all of his siblings were baptized by a local Catholic priest.
22.
Bret Hart spent the vast majority of his childhood in the Bret Hart family mansion which was owned by his father.
23.
At Ernest Manning High School, Bret Hart became a standout student in the amateur wrestling division.
24.
Bret Hart was beginning to find amateur wrestling unrewarding amid injuries and fluctuating weight.
25.
Bret Hart has expressed that he believed that even if he became an exceptionally successful sports wrestler it would not have led to a career afterwards which he was interested in, stating that he thought that he would end up as a wrestling coach or phys-ed teacher at a high-school if he pursued the olympic route.
26.
Bret Hart felt that the only way to give up amateur wrestling without disappointing his father was to become a professional wrestler.
27.
Bret Hart has spoken of how helpful his amateur background was in his professional wrestling career, and of what a positive effect amateur wrestling has on junior high school and high school-aged boys in terms of building self-confidence.
28.
In 1976, Bret Hart began working for his father's Stampede Wrestling promotion in Calgary.
29.
Bret Hart gained some of his most prominent experience with Japanese combatants and real-life trainers Mr Hito and Mr Sakurada.
30.
Bret Hart had high-impact matches against Tom Billington, who was better known by his in-ring name as the Dynamite Kid.
31.
Bret Hart faithfully jobbed as requested of him, taking pride in the believability of his performances.
32.
Bret Hart wrestled Tiger Mask in New Japan Pro-Wrestling, a promotion for whom he often wrestled during the early to mid-1980s.
33.
Bret Hart remained one of Stampede's most successful performers until the promotion, along with several wrestlers, was acquired by the World Wrestling Federation in August 1984.
34.
Bret Hart considers his microphone work to have been a weakness throughout his early career.
35.
In 1986, Bret Hart began his first singles program with Ricky Steamboat, and in a singles match originally planned for WrestleMania 2, he lost to Steamboat at the Boston Garden on March 8,1986, which would be included on Bret Hart's 2005 DVD as one of his all-time favourite matches.
36.
At WrestleMania 2, Bret Hart instead participated in a 20-man battle royal which was eventually won by Andre the Giant.
37.
Bret Hart lost to Steamboat again on the July 28,1986 episode of Prime Time Wrestling.
38.
Bret Hart headlined his first televised WWF card when he beat Ray Rougeau, of The Fabulous Rougeau Brothers, in the main event of the November 3,1986 episode of Prime Time Wrestling.
39.
The Bret Hart Foundation won their first of two WWF Tag Team Championship on the February 7,1987 episode of Superstars of Wrestling when they defeated The British Bulldogs.
40.
The Bret Hart Foundation adopted the nickname, "The Pink and Black Attack", which Bret Hart continued to use after the tag team's disbandment.
41.
Bret Hart subsequently competed in his most high-profile singles contest to date on the November 28,1987, episode of Saturday Night's Main Event XIII, when he faced "Macho Man" Randy Savage in a losing effort.
42.
Bret Hart began 1988 with a decisive victory over Paul Roma of The Young Stallions on the January 11 episode of Prime Time Wrestling, and, at the Royal Rumble in January 1988, was the first man to enter the Royal Rumble match.
43.
Bret Hart lasted 25 minutes and 42 seconds before being eliminated by Don Muraco.
44.
At the Royal Rumble in January 1989, The Bret Hart Foundation teamed with Jim Duggan to defeat the Rougeaus and Dino Bravo.
45.
At SummerSlam in August 1989, The Bret Hart Foundation lost a non-title match against then WWF Tag Team Champions The Brain Busters.
46.
At SummerSlam in 1990, The Bret 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.
47.
Bret Hart won his first WWF Intercontinental Championship by defeating Mr Perfect with the Sharpshooter at SummerSlam in 1991, and subsequently won the 1991 King of the Ring tournament on September 7,1991, at the Providence Civic Center in Providence, Rhode Island.
48.
In January 1992, Bret Hart was placed in a feud with Jacques Rougeau, who by now was wrestling as "The Mountie" and using the gimmick of a power-hungry, corrupt member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
49.
On January 17,1992, Bret Hart dropped the Intercontinental Championship to The Mountie.
50.
At a Wrestling Challenge taping on July 21,1992, Bret Hart defeated Shawn Michaels, with the Intercontinental Championship belt suspended above the ring, in the WWF's first ever ladder match.
51.
Bret Hart dropped the Intercontinental Championship to his brother-in-law, Davey Boy Smith, in Bret Hart's first WWF pay-per-view main event at SummerSlam in August 1992, held before over 80,000 fans at Wembley Stadium.
52.
Bret 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.
53.
Bret Hart made successful title defenses against Kamala, The Berzerker and Papa Shango.
54.
Bret Hart would defend the title against contenders such as Papa Shango and former champion Ric Flair before losing the title to Yokozuna in his first WrestleMania main event at WrestleMania IX, after interference from Mr Fuji.
55.
Fuji then challenged Hulk Hogan, who had come out to help Bret Hart, to compete for the title; Hogan then won his fifth WWF Championship from Yokozuna.
56.
Bret 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.
57.
When Bret Hart appeared to have the match won, with Yokozuna locked in the sharpshooter, Owen came to ringside to congratulate his brother.
58.
Bret Hart was voted "WWF Superstar of the Year" 1993 by fans, as well as the greatest wrestler of the year by Pro Wrestling Illustrated readers.
59.
Later on, Bret Hart managed to participate and win the 1994 Royal Rumble match amid controversy.
60.
Therefore, both men were named co-winners of the 1994 Royal Rumble match and received title shots at WrestleMania X Luger won the chance to face Yokozuna first, with Hart having to wrestle his brother Owen, before receiving his title shot.
61.
Bret Hart lost his match against Owen but went on to defeat Yokozuna for his second WWF Championship.
62.
Bret Hart continued to feud with his brother Owen while he started feuding with Diesel.
63.
At King of the Ring, Bret Hart defended the WWF Championship against Diesel.
64.
Neidhart left when Diesel and Michaels attacked Bret Hart following the match.
65.
At SummerSlam, Bret Hart successfully retained the WWF Championship against Owen in a steel cage match.
66.
Bret Hart eventually lost his WWF Championship at Survivor Series in a submission match against Bob Backlund where the manager of either competitor would have to "throw in the towel" for the wrestler they were representing.
67.
When Bret 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 Bret Hart, giving Backlund the championship victory.
68.
Bret Hart was voted the greatest wrestler of 1994 by Pro Wrestling Illustrated readers, winning the vote for the second straight year.
69.
Bret Hart challenged for Diesel's WWF Championship at the 1995 Royal Rumble, in a match that was continually marred by outside interference and ruled a draw.
70.
Bret Hart was critical with the match against Backlund, claiming it was "probably my worst pay-per-view match I ever had".
71.
Bret 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.
72.
Bret Hart defeated Hakushi in the very first match of the in Your House series.
73.
Bret Hart's acclaimed feud with Jerry Lawler was reignited at the event when Lawler defeated Bret Hart due to Hakushi's interference.
74.
Bret 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.
75.
At In Your House 3, Bret Hart defeated Lafitte, to end the feud.
76.
Bret Hart shifted his focus back to the WWF Championship, defeating Diesel in a no disqualification match at Survivor Series to commence his third reign.
77.
Bret Hart lost to The Undertaker by disqualification at the 1996 Royal Rumble when Diesel interfered, ultimately retaining the WWF Championship, and defeated The Undertaker by disqualification in a rematch on the February 5 episode of Raw, again due to Diesel's interference.
78.
Bret Hart was inducted into the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame Class of 1996.
79.
Bret 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 Bret Hart the victory when he attempted to become involved in the match after being assaulted by Sid.
80.
Bret Hart quit the WWF the next night on Raw in protest.
81.
Bret Hart defeated Austin, Vader, and The Undertaker in the Fatal Four-Way.
82.
Bret Hart challenged for Sid's WWF Championship in a steel cage match shortly before WrestleMania 13, which saw Austin actually attempt to help Bret Hart win, in order to make their scheduled match at WrestleMania 13 a title match.
83.
Later that night, Bret Hart confronted Sycho Sid and The Undertaker prior to their match for the WWF Championship; Bret Hart insulted Undertaker and told Shawn Michaels not to interfere.
84.
Undertaker won the match, which ended with Bret Hart hot shotting Sid on the ropes, therefore costing him the title.
85.
Rocky Maivia won by disqualification when Bret Hart refused to release a figure-four leglock applied around the ring post.
86.
Bret Hart faced Austin again in the main event of In Your House 14: Revenge of the 'Taker, to determine who would challenge the WWF Champion Undertaker in a title match at the following month's In Your House 15: A Cold Day in Hell.
87.
Austin had Bret Hart locked in his own finishing move, the Sharpshooter, in the middle of the ring when The British Bulldog interfered on Bret Hart's behalf, resulting in disqualification and giving Austin the victory and title match.
88.
The family members formed a new Bret Hart Foundation with Brian Pillman; this incarnation was an anti-American stable which was popular within Canada and Europe.
89.
Bret Hart was voted by Pro Wrestling Illustrated readers as the "Most Hated Wrestler of the Year" in 1997.
90.
Bret Hart vowed that if he could not defeat The Undertaker for the WWF Championship at SummerSlam, he would never wrestle in the United States again.
91.
The Undertaker agreed to the match, and Bret Hart won his fifth and last WWF Championship after spitting in guest referee Shawn Michaels' face; Michaels swung a steel chair in retaliation, which accidentally struck the Undertaker.
92.
In real life, Bret Hart did not like the new Attitude Era, instead preferring traditional values.
93.
Bret Hart later cited this as his favourite of all his matches with The Undertaker, and his last great match in the WWF.
94.
In September 1997, Bret Hart faced Terry Funk at Terry Funk's WrestleFest in what was billed as Funk's retirement match.
95.
In retaliation, during a promo with DX, Bret Hart called members Triple H and Shawn Michaels "homos".
96.
Bret 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.
97.
The night ended with an irate Bret 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.
98.
Many behind-the-scenes events leading up to the Montreal Screwjob were filmed for the documentary Hitman Bret Hart: Wrestling with Shadows, released in 1998.
99.
Bret Hart was heavily involved in that month's Starrcade pay-per-view.
100.
Bret Hart defeated Flair at Souled Out in his first WCW match.
101.
Bret Hart became an associate of the nWo, but did not officially join the group.
102.
At Bash at the Beach, Bret Hart competed in his first championship match in WCW when he faced Booker T for the WCW World Television Championship.
103.
Bret Hart was disqualified after hitting Booker with a steel chair.
104.
Bret Hart regained it from Luger the next night on Thunder.
105.
Bret Hart subsequently asked the fans for forgiveness, turning his back on Hogan and the nWo.
106.
Bret Hart turned on Sting, delivering a DDT, and this bout was ruled a no-contest.
107.
Bret Hart was wearing a metal breastplate under his Toronto Maple Leafs jersey, which resulted in Goldberg being knocked out.
108.
On May 23,1999, the night before Bret Hart was scheduled to make an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno to hype his imminent WCW return, his brother Owen Bret Hart died in an accident during a WWF pay-per-view.
109.
Bret Hart took a further four months off from WCW to be with his family.
110.
Bret Hart returned to wrestling on the September 13,1999 episode of Nitro in a tag team match with Hulk Hogan against Sting and Lex Luger, reestablishing himself as a face in the process.
111.
Thanks to outside interference by Sid Vicious and The Outsiders, Bret Hart defeated Goldberg and won the US Heavyweight Championship for the fourth time.
112.
At Starrcade, Bret Hart defended his WCW World Heavyweight Championship against Goldberg.
113.
For example, Bret Hart placed Goldberg on the post in a figure four leglock which ended with Bret Hart hitting his head on the concrete floor when Goldberg failed to receive the move correctly.
114.
Referee Roddy Piper rang the bell when Bret Hart held Goldberg in the Sharpshooter, although Goldberg did not submit.
115.
Bret Hart convinced them to stop, then hit Goldberg with one of the bats, turning heel .
116.
Bret Hart regained the championship, even though it was Roddy Piper who was covering Goldberg when the three count was made.
117.
Bret Hart vacated the title in late January 2000 when he was forced to withdraw from the main event of WCW's Souled Out due to his injuries.
118.
Bret Hart continued to make appearances on WCW television, generally cutting promos.
119.
Bret Hart cited his "steel plate" segment with Goldberg and his tribute match to Owen, against Chris Benoit, as his two worthwhile moments with the company.
120.
Bret Hart said he was "proud" to have been WCW World Heavyweight Champion for a short time prior to his injury.
121.
In 2001, Bret Hart became the on-screen commissioner of World Wrestling All-Stars, a role that ended prematurely due to a 2002 stroke, which temporarily required him to use a wheelchair.
122.
In 2007, Bret Hart signed autographs at "The Legends of Wrestling" show at the Tropicana Field in St Petersburg, Florida.
123.
On September 27,2009, Bret Hart appeared in New York City's Manhattan Center to sign autographs during a Ring of Honor event.
124.
Bret Hart spoke to the crowd, reminiscing about some of his more memorable matches in New York.
125.
In mid-2005, Hart worked with the renamed World Wrestling Entertainment for the first time since 1997, contributing hours of interview footage and selecting matches for his WWE Home Video release, Bret "Hit Man" Hart: The Best There Is, the Best There Was, the Best There Ever Will Be.
126.
Bret Hart did not appear alongside his fellow inductees at WrestleMania 22 the following night.
127.
Bret Hart thanked the fans for their continued support, jokingly teased announcer Jerry Lawler about their long-running 1990s feud, and confronted Shawn Michaels and McMahon regarding the Montreal Screwjob at Survivor Series in 1997.
128.
The match was later changed to a No Holds Barred match as Bret Hart revealed the staging of his injury.
129.
The next week, Bret Hart declared a Viewer's Choice episode of Raw.
130.
Bret Hart returned five weeks later, where it was announced by John Cena that he, The Great Khali, R-Truth, Edge, Chris Jericho, John Morrison and Bret Hart would face the NXT rookies, now known as The Nexus, at SummerSlam.
131.
Later on in the night during The Nexus vs Raw challenge, Bret Hart was scheduled to face Justin Gabriel, but was unable to compete after the Anonymous Raw General Manager, citing his disdain for Bret Hart, removed him from the match and replaced him with Randy Orton.
132.
At Over the Limit, Bret Hart came to the support of his long-running 1990s rival, Jerry Lawler, forcing Michael Cole to kiss Lawler's foot.
133.
Bret Hart has made infrequent appearances in minor roles, appearing on the April 25,2011 episode of Tough Enough.
134.
Bret Hart participated in backstage segments at the 2013 Royal Rumble and WrestleMania 31.
135.
Bret Hart has served as an expert on panels, including the March 25,2013 episode of Raw and at the NXT Arrival pre-show.
136.
Bret Hart was in the corner of his niece Natalya on the March 27,2014 episode of NXT, at the second NXT TakeOver event and at the 2016 Payback event.
137.
In September 2022, Bret Hart appeared at ringside for WWE's first UK stadium show in 30 years, WWE Clash at the Castle.
138.
On May 25,2019, Bret Hart made a surprise special appearance at All Elite Wrestling's inaugural pay-per-view, Double or Nothing, to unveil the AEW World Championship.
139.
On October 24,2020, Bret Hart was among those who appeared at Impact Wrestling's 2020 Bound for Glory via video message to congratulate Ken Shamrock for his induction into the Impact Hall of Fame.
140.
Bret Hart is nicknamed "The Hitman", and often dubbed "The Best There Is, the Best There Was, and the Best There Ever Will Be".
141.
BBC and Entertainment Tonight writers noted that Bret Hart is "widely regarded" as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time.
142.
Similarly, former opponent Harley Race described Bret Hart as being "as good as they got".
143.
WWE chairman Vince McMahon described Bret Hart as having "unparalleled" technical wrestling and storytelling skills, and retrospectively characterized the late 1990s Bret Hart as a performer "who you know is going to give you the best match of the night every time he goes out there".
144.
Benoit added that his matches against Bret Hart were "up on a pedestal".
145.
Koji Nakagawa modelled his character and entire career on Bret Hart by adopting Hart's pink and black attire, an entrance theme identical to Hart's theme song, while adopting his moveset.
146.
Bret Hart was voted "WWF Superstar of the Year" 1993 by fans.
147.
Hart's rise to singles success was seen to revolutionize the business; IGN wrote: "After Bret beat Ric Flair for the WWE Championship in 1992, it changed the entire industry, re-setting the WWF back to the days of technical wizardry and reshaping all our notions of what a great wrestling match should actually look and feel like".
148.
Bret Hart was the [WWF's] biggest star, arguably its biggest live gate draw globally.
149.
Bret Hart had been approached by Vince McMahon for a potential match between the two at WrestleMania 22 but declined the offer.
150.
In 2021, Bret Hart would be inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame by Chris Jericho and the Rock.
151.
Bret Hart wrote a weekly column for the Calgary Sun from June 1991 until October 2004.
152.
Bret Hart used his poetry skills to win over Gord Kirke to act as his legal counsel.
153.
On October 16,2007, Bret Hart's autobiography titled Hitman: My Real Life in the Cartoon World of Wrestling, was released in Canada by Random House Canada, and released in fall 2008 in the United States by Grand Central Publishing, with a US book signing tour.
154.
Bret Hart began writing the book in July 1999 with Marcy Engelstein, his longtime close friend and business associate.
155.
Bret Hart's chronicle is based on an audio diary that he kept for all of his years on the road in professional wrestling.
156.
Bret Hart provided the forewords to Roddy Piper's autobiography, In the Pit with Piper, Harley Race's autobiography King of the Ring and Dave Meltzer's book Tributes II: Remembering More of the Worlds Greatest Wrestlers.
157.
In 1994, Bret Hart played a prison inmate in Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers; however, the scene he appeared in was cut from the final film.
158.
From 1994 to 1995 Bret Hart appeared in Lonesome Dove: The Series television show playing "Luther Root".
159.
Bret Hart has made numerous televised appearances since, including a guest spot on The Simpsons in 1997 and episodes of the Honey I Shrunk The Kids TV series, The Adventures of Sinbad, Big Sound, and The Immortal.
160.
Bret Hart provides the voice of pro wrestler character "The Hooded Fang" in Jacob Two-Two.
161.
Bret Hart guest starred on the sketch comedy series MADtv in 1997 where he acted as enforcer at a fan's house, appearing with his WWF Championship belt.
162.
Bret Hart later appeared again on MADtv in 1999 and 2000 in an angle with actor Will Sasso in which the two feuded on the set of MADtv and in World Championship Wrestling; this culminated in a grudge match on WCW Monday Nitro, where Bret Hart decisively defeated Sasso.
163.
Bret Hart donned his "Hit Man" singlet, along with additional costume, and executed wrestling maneuvers on villain characters, as part of his performance as the Genie in a 2004 stage production of Aladdin.
164.
Hart filmed over seven hours of interview footage for the DVD, which was renamed Bret "Hit Man" Hart: The Best There Is, The Best There Was, The Best There Ever Will Be.
165.
Bret Hart appeared on many talk shows discussing the Chris Benoit double murder and suicide.
166.
In 2016, Bret Hart starred in the documentary film Nine Legends.
167.
Early that year, Bret Hart launched a podcast named The Sharpshooter Show.
168.
In 2021, Bret Hart appeared on a song with rapper Magneto Dayo titled "Limitless".
169.
Bret Hart lent his nickname to the Calgary Hitmen of the Western Hockey League; he was a founder and part-owner.
170.
Bret Hart is the commissioner of Sharpshooter Funding, a business loan company.
171.
Bret and Julie separated in May 1998, and after several brief reunions over the next 4 years, eventually divorced on June 24,2002, just hours before Hart had his stroke.
172.
Bret Hart married an Italian woman named Cinzia Rota on September 15,2004, but they divorced in 2007 after failing to agree on where they should live.
173.
Bret Hart married Stephanie Washington, an African-American woman several decades his junior, in 2010; although at first his children were wary of their new stepmother, they have since embraced her as they realized that despite their differences in age, the love between her and their father is deep and genuine.
174.
Bret Hart has stated that Piper was the only wrestler to visit him in the hospital after his stroke.
175.
On June 24,2002, Bret Hart had a stroke after hitting his head in a bicycle accident.
176.
The Calgary Herald reported that Bret Hart hit a pothole, flew over the handlebars of the bike, and landed on the back of his head.
177.
Bret Hart developed total paralysis on his left side, which required months of physical therapy.
178.
Bret Hart has since recovered much of his mobility and is in good health, although he has had other lasting effects common to stroke survivors.
179.
Bret Hart wrote in detail about his stroke in his autobiography, Hitman: My Real Life In The Cartoon World of Wrestling.
180.
On February 1,2016, Bret Hart announced through a Facebook post that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer.
181.
Jim Ross claimed on March 2,2016, that Bret Hart had beaten the disease following successful surgery and that it appeared not to have spread to other areas of his body.
182.
Bret Hart responded to Jim Ross' comments through Facebook saying that although the surgery was a success and that he and his doctors were optimistic, he would continue to be monitored every three months by doctors until he can actually be cancer free.
183.
In October 1993, Bret Hart gave a radio interview in which he said Ric Flair "sucks", and described his workplace, WCW, as "minor league".
184.
Bret Hart claimed that he drew greater revenue than Flair, citing his headlining performances on consistently sold-out tours throughout his WWF career, while Flair wrestled to allegedly near-empty arenas.
185.
Bret Hart criticized Flair on what he perceived as insults to fellow wrestlers Mick Foley and Randy Savage.
186.
Bret Hart took aim at Flair in his autobiography, criticizing his in-ring talents and what Bret Hart perceived as Flair's unsubtle blading.
187.
Flair and Bret Hart have since reconciled and are now friends.
188.
Bret Hart comes from a very famous wrestling family, but at that time, he was world champion, and there were a lot of guys in that world at that time in '96 that didn't necessarily embrace me, just when I was a rookie coming in, because everyone is hungry for their spots, and he'll tell you, there's a lot of sharks in the water.