Posted in: TV, WWE | Tagged: "The British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith, "The Loose Cannon" Brian Pillman, Bret "The Hitman" Hart, David Hart Smith, Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart, jimmy hart, Natalya, owen hart, The Hart Foundation, tyson kidd, wwe hall of fame

The Hart Foundation Inducted to the 2019 WWE Hall of Fame

The contributions of the Hart family to professional wrestling are immeasurable and World Wrestling Entertainment looks to recognize their contributions again by inducting The Hart Foundation to the Hall of Fame class of 2019.

The original WWE, then WWF (World Wrestling Federation), incarnation of the team were Bret "The Hitman" Hart and brother-in-law, the late Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart. Jimmy Hart (no relation), who was their original manager from 1985-1988 and inducted himself in 2005, will not be included.

This marks the second time Bret gets to be inducted with his original induction in the class of 2006.

The duo originally paired together in 1985 as part of the stable managed by Jimmy Hart. Referee and heel wrestler, "Dangerous" Danny Davis joined them for a couple of years. The duo adopted the tag name after the stable disbanded where they would go on to two reigns as WWF Tag Team Champions before disbanding in 1991 when Bret decided to embark on a singles career.

Neidhart had much less success than Bret as he teamed up with Owen Hart, the youngest of the Hart siblings as the New Foundation for a three-year run from 1991 to 1994. The New Foundation had a brief run as faces before turning on Bret, who had a memorable feud with Owen.

The Hart Foundation returned to their heel roots as an Anti-American/Pro-Canadian stable in March 1997. The stable formed from Bret's frustration of the fans' embrace of "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. Following the double turn at WrestleMania 13, Bret assembled Jim, Owen, (Brother-in-law) "The British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith, and "The Loose Cannon" Brian Pillman (who also trained with family patriarch Stu Hart) . The group's feud with Austin and the newly-formed D-Generation X (DX) helped usher in the edgy and raunchy Attitude Era.

The group at one point captured all the major titles during their seventh-month run in WWF with Bret as the World Heavyweight Championship, Owen as Intercontinental Champion, Bulldog as European Champion, and Owen and Bulldog as Tag Champions. Their run concluded abruptly with the 1997 Survivor Series, infamously known as the Montreal Screwjob when WWE owner Vince McMahon ordered the main event match between Bret and Shawn Michaels abruptly ended with Michaels applying Bret's finishing maneuver, the Sharpshooter, and never surrendering.

The awkward ending broke wrestling's fourth wall as Bret agreed to drop the title to Michaels, but not during the pay per view. Instead, the impromptu ending caused Bret to destroy production equipment and his frustrations leveled backstage were on display in the wrestling documentary, Wrestling with Shadows. McMahon, who helped transition Bret's move to rival World Championship Wrestling (WCW), was afraid the incumbent would walk off with the title to his rival's flagship show, Monday Nitro.

McMahon ultimately won against WCW in the Monday Night Wars in 2001 and WWE Raw became the major wrestling program, which still runs to this day.

Bret eventually mended fences with McMahon five years after WCW folded despite the relationship further strained with the stunt accident-gone-wrong killing Owen during a 1999 WWF pay per view, Over the Edge.

Bret makes sporadic appearances for WWE as a stroke and cancer survivor. He's even gone as far as assisting the next generation of Harts with niece and daughter of Neidhart, Natalya; nephew and son of Bulldog, David Hart Smith; and nephew Teddy Hart. The younger group adopted the name, "The Hart Dynasty."

The Hart Foundation joins DX, Harlem Heat, Torrie Wilson, and The Honky Tonk Man, and Warrior Award winner, Sue Aitchison. In addition to Bret becoming a two-time inductee as an individual and as part of the Hart Foundation, he will share the distinction with Michaels of DX, Booker T of Harlem Heat and Ric Flair of The Four Horsemen.

What is your favorite Hart Foundation moment?

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