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43-453: The room was located in the Hart family mansion basement and had a very low ceiling. For most of the duration of the room being used as training hall there was a wrestling mat located on the floor without any ropes which would be used for training students. Hart acquired the former army hospital mansion in 1951 and transformed its basement into his personal training centre shortly thereafter. This

86-522: A few days later, after Bret Hart proved that he owned the rights to the footage of his matches. Stampede Wrestling was famous for "The Dungeon", a professional wrestling school located in the basement of the Calgary mansion Hart House , home of the Hart family. Stu Hart and Mr. Hito were the main trainers in the Dungeon. The school trained a number of ECW , WCW , WWE and NJPW stars, including

129-751: A lack of approval by the Calgary Wrestling & Boxing Commission to promote shows. The next attempt was around December 1991 by Abu Wizal, but only lasted a couple weeks. Between July 1995 and July 1997, Bruce Hart promoted one-off shows periodically at the Rockyford Rodeo in Rockyford, Alberta. On December 15, 1995, a special Stampede Wrestling tribute show was held at the Corral in Calgary, celebrating Stu Hart's life and career. It featured several Stampede alumni, as well as talent from both

172-646: A masked Hiroshi Hase ). In December 1987, they added a women's championship, the IWA World Women's Championship , with Monster Ripper as their champion, but by January 1989, that championship moved to Japan. Despite a valiant four years trying to resurrect the wrestling scene in Calgary to its former glory, Stampede officially shut down on December 18, 1989. The closure stemmed from long-standing problems between Bruce Hart and Ed Whalen, producer Fred May's constantly editing too much content off TV, and pay disputes within talent. Their final show before closing down

215-571: A match of the Smith Hart Memorial Tournament . He later got involved in a major storyline with Real Canadian Wrestling's top heel wrestler, Heavy Metal, after he destroyed Harts trophy for winning the Smith Hart Memorial Tournament and destroyed Smiths final letter to his children before Matt could read it. During RCWs collaboration with Impact Wrestling Hart had a feuded with Raj Singh ,

258-418: A pupil. Bret also discusses being trained by his father and having submission holds applied to himself, often with graphic descriptions from his father of the holds' impact. A bonus feature on Bret's DVD set also shows him discussing the Dungeon. Various activities took place in the Dungeon, ranging from weight lifting to Catch wrestling . Bret Hart has described the Dungeon in interviews as having holes in

301-656: A training camp in Texas named Texas Hart Dungeon from around 2012 to 2015. Smith Hart, Stu's oldest son founded a new wrestling school in 2015 named Dungeon Discipline Professional Wrestling School which is run out of Calgary and Berrie in Alberta, after Smith's passing in 2017 the training is mostly handled by Smith's son Matthew . Stampede Wrestling Stampede Wrestling was a Canadian professional wrestling promotion based in Calgary, Alberta . For nearly 50 years, it

344-744: Is a Canadian professional wrestler . He is a third generation wrestler member of the Hart family and the son of professional wrestler Smith Hart , oldest child of wrestler Stu Hart and promoter Helen Hart . Hart has wrestled extensively on the independent scene in Canada but also in the United Kingdom and the United States . He is the first member of his family to complete the Canadian Death Tour . Hart has regularly performed for

387-491: Is also a professional wrestler and three half-siblings on his father's side named Tobi, Tania and Chad, as well as a foster brother named Steven from his father. His middle name Dean is in honor of his uncle Dean Hart who died in 1990. He also shares his first name with his deceased cousin Matthew Annis . Herweg's mother and father separated before he was born but they shared custody, he and his father lived together in

430-656: The GFW Global Championship for Global Force Wrestling . In 2017 Hart headlined the tribute show for his father Smith Hart for the promotion, he wrestled with his cousins-in-law "Dynamite" Dan and "Pistol" Pete Wilson. Hart won the match with the Sharpshooter , a move which is deeply connected to his family's history. In 2016 Herweg and his father were the subject of the Telus original documentary Hart Still Beating which concerns his childhood,

473-614: The Hart Legacy Wrestling promotion with other members of his family. He was the subject of the 2016 documentary Hart Still Beating . Herweg was born to Liane Reiger-Herweg, who was of German and Native American descent, and Smith Hart in 1993. Herweg's father is part of a family of Ulster Scot and Irish heritage through Smith's father Stu Hart. Herweg also has Greek as well as more Irish ancestry through his paternal grandmother Helen Hart . He has an older half-brother named Michael on his mother's side who

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516-841: The Stampede North American Heavyweight Championship , which was won by Archie Gouldie (the future Mongolian Stomper). Four years later, they retired their version of the NWA Canadian Heavyweight Championship . In June 1978, they introduced the Stampede British Commonwealth Mid-Heavyweight Championship , with Dynamite Kid as their inaugural champion during his first tour in North America. In 1979, Stampede would bring back an old championship,

559-787: The Stampede World Mid-Heavyweight Championship (the title was first introduced in June 1959, before being quickly abandoned), with Dick Steinborn as champion. In 1982, Stampede withdrew from the NWA. On December 2, 1983, a riot broke out at the Victoria Pavilion in Calgary during a match between Bret Hart , Davey Boy Smith and Sonny Two Rivers against Bad News Allen , The Stomper and Stomper's kayfabe son Jeff Gouldie . Longtime Stampede announcer Ed Whalen reportedly became distraught during

602-458: The Vatican . —Chris Benoit, WWE Unscripted , p. 54 One of the first televised acknowledgements of the nickname "Dungeon" was by then WWF color commentator Jesse Ventura . Its first significant exposure was in the documentary Hitman Hart: Wrestling with Shadows . In it, the Dungeon was moderately filmed for the first time and Stu Hart is shown demonstrating wrestling holds on

645-531: The " Canadian Death Tour ", becoming the first Hart family member to do so. 2017 saw Hart traveling to the United Kingdom to wrestle . In May 2022 Hart performed for his cousin Dallas Hart 's promotion Dungeon Wrestling. Hart debuted on the 2012 sneak peek of the promotion but had to take a year off from all wrestling afterwards due to injury. He returned in January 2013 and was a regular performer for

688-422: The Dungeon. I take a lot of pride in being one of the last guys that had the hands-on training from Stu Hart when I went to the Hart family to train ... It was a good experience just to be there, to imagine all the people that had been through there, and all the blood, sweat, and tears that had been paid ... Going to the Hart family for training was kind of like, if you're a very religious person, going to

731-720: The Hart Brothers, Mark Henry , Chris Benoit , Chris Jericho , Ricky Fuji , Hiroshi Hase , Ken Shamrock , Justin Credible , Christian and Edge . The Stampede Wrestling Hall of Fame list professional wrestlers and others who have competed in Stampede Wrestling, from Stu Hart's Klondike Wrestling to the original Stampede Wrestling promotion which closed in 1990. General Specific Matt Hart (wrestler) Matthew Aryan Dean Herweg , (born January 28, 1993) better known by his ring name Matt Hart

774-851: The Spray Lakes Sawmill Sportsplex in Cochrane, Alberta, Nicholson would face Abdullah the Butcher after the scheduled main event between Lance Storm and Rhyno was canceled when Rhyno failed to appear. At that same event, longtime tag team partners TJ Wilson and Harry Smith faced each other in Smith's final match for the promotion before leaving for World Wrestling Entertainment. Bruce and Ross Hart sold Stampede Wrestling to Bill Bell in 2007. The promotion ceased operations again in April 2008. Stampede's weekly shows were held mostly at

817-554: The Victoria Pavilion in Calgary, with special events held at the Stampede Corral . Stampede Wrestling was the basis for a long-running weekly sports broadcast produced in Calgary showcasing many of the promotion's most popular wrestlers. Hosted by Ed Whalen most of its run, which went from 1957 to 1989, the series was syndicated around the world and reruns continue to be shown in some countries to this day. At

860-483: The WWF sold Stampede back to the Hart family, with Bruce Hart taking the reins, and by 1986, the Calgary territory was given a shot of adrenaline with new talent such as Owen Hart , Brian Pillman , Chris Benoit , Biff Wellington , and Johnny Smith coming in to tangle with Gama Singh and his Karachi Vice stable (which included Shinya Hashimoto , Gary Albright , and Mike Shaw ) and The Viet Cong Express (which included

903-698: The World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling. The main event saw Bret Hart successfully defend the WWF Championship against Davey Boy Smith. In early 1999, Bruce and Ross Hart reopened Stampede Wrestling, showcasing graduates from the Hart Dungeon training school. However, only weeks after their first event, the promotion once again became inactive following the death of Owen Hart in May. Although considering closing

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946-401: The World Wrestling Federation and other American promotions during the 1980s and 1990s, the promotion produced one of the earliest televised professional wrestling programs (today considered the forerunner of today's WWE ) that remained one of Calgary's most popular sports programs eventually airing in over 50 countries. Stampede Wrestling was formed in 1948 by Stu Hart and Al Oeming under

989-411: The attic of the famed Hart House in Calgary. In 2001 he and his father were among the Hart family members who attended WWF Monday Night RAW to commemorate his uncle Owen who had died two years earlier. Herweg's mother died on his thirteenth birthday on January 28, 2006 after which he was put into foster care due to Canadian authorities deeming his father's career too unstable. After some time Herweg

1032-487: The company was briefly run by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) before being sold back to the Hart family the following year. Run by Bruce Hart until January 1990, he and Ross Hart reopened the promotion in 1999 and began running events in the Alberta area. Along with its wrestling school known as " The Dungeon ", many of the promotion's former alumni becoming some of the most popular stars in

1075-647: The family after the death of his mother, Herweg reconnected to them through professional wrestling, deciding to join the industry as soon as he got the chance. Matthew was trained by his father and cousins Teddy Hart and Harry Smith. He debuted in 2012 for his family's promotion, which was known as Stampede Extreme Sports at the time, for the 100th anniversary of the Calgary Stampede . In his first match he wrestled with Teddy and Harry. At later events he would appear with his cousins Tory and Bruce Hart Jr. among other Stampede Wrestling alumni . By March Matt

1118-476: The love of the artform of professional wrestling. In modern-day being trained in the Dungeon carries a level of status and there have been many attempts to recreate and recapture its glory. In 2005 a documentary directed by Blake Norton (who trained at the school) named Surviving the Dungeon: The Legacy of Stu Hart was released. After their father's retirement some of the Hart brothers managed

1161-793: The name Klondike Wrestling , and held their first show on September 11, 1948, at the Sales Pavillion in Edmonton, Alberta. It also become the National Wrestling Alliance 's Calgary territory in Canada. In May 1951, they changed its name to Big Time Wrestling . In February 1958, they introduced their version of the NWA International Tag Team Championship to replace the Alberta Tag Team Championship that

1204-505: The promotion until 2019. Hart began wrestling for Real Canadian Wrestling in 2015. He wrestle for the promotions charity show in June that year. In 2017 Hart won his first championship, catching the RCW Tag Team Championship together with tag-team partner D. Dwight Davis as part of the group Hard To Kill. In 2018 Hart was given his uncle Dynamite Kid (Tom Billington)s ' robe by his aunt Michelle Billington in

1247-541: The promotion, the Hart family continued to promote events five months later and began touring western Canada. Although successful, the Harts were forced to cancel several tours in late 2001 and early 2002 due to the arrival of a rival promotion backed by a Calgary businessman. The promotion also lost much of its roster due to its rival hiring away top stars. In 2005, promoters Bill Bell and Devon Nicholson took over day-to-day operations for Stampede Wrestling. During an event at

1290-459: The riot, in which a woman was trampled, causing him to quit from the Stampede on air. Speaking of the events he remarked, "We're starting to scare the patrons with this violence outside the ring, and I will not be associated with it anymore." The event led to Stampede Wrestling being banned from Calgary for six months by the city's wrestling and boxing commission. In August 1984, Stampede Wrestling

1333-609: The school by themselves under the name Hart Brothers Training Camp which was also known by the nickname School of Hart Knocks . Leading up to the Hart House's sale in 2003, the Hart Brothers Training Camp run by Bruce, Keith and Ross was still running three times a week in the basement of the Hart mansion. A very similar training camp remains today at the family's gym, although none of the Hart brothers are involved. Teddy Hart, Stu Hart's oldest grandson ran

Hart Dungeon - Misplaced Pages Continue

1376-676: The son of a Gama Singh who wrestled for Harts grandfather, the feud was popular and heated up the promotion. In January 2020 Hart captured his first singles championship when he won the RCW British Commonwealth Championship. Hart lost the title on March 6, 2020 to his former tag-team partner Davis. Hart began working for the Canadian Wrestling's Elite by 2016. By September that year Hart wrestled his first world champion in Magnus who held

1419-464: The time Stampede was revived in 1999, a second Stampede Wrestling TV series was attempted, hosted by Bad News Allen and play by play commentator Mauro Ranallo , but it was short-lived and Whalen was not involved. WWE currently controls Stampede's extensive tape library . In December 2015, the WWE Network began adding Stampede Wrestling shows to its Vault section. However, it was all removed

1462-485: The walls and ceiling from bodies being driven into them. He also noted that practices could, at times, be as intense as MMA styled fighting. In July 1998, the WWF filmed a match between Owen Hart and Ken Shamrock in the Dungeon for the Fully Loaded pay-per-view. During the period when Stu Hart was regularly training individuals at the school, it held a reputation for being one of the harshest wrestling schools in

1505-517: The world. Graduating from it was considered very impressive and something which would be brought up on air on televised wrestling shows. Hart himself also garnered a reputation for being borderline sadistic in his training techniques, and was known to torture his pupils with legitimate submission wrestling holds he had learned as a sports wrestler. Buddy Roberts described the place as "like a torture chamber". In contrast to his descendants, Stu never took money for his training services and did it mostly for

1548-489: The wrestling world including Bret and Owen Hart . Other famous Dungeon graduates include Billy Graham , Greg Valentine , Allen Coage , Davey Boy Smith , Brian Pillman , Jushin Thunder Liger , Ricky Fuji , Chris Jericho , Lance Storm , Chris Benoit , Justin Credible , Edge , Christian and Mark Henry . Natalya , daughter of Jim Neidhart and granddaughter of Stu, was the first ever woman to graduate from

1591-429: Was done because Hart needed a training facility after the founding of his first wrestling promotion in 1948. Although, the nickname itself developed over time when Stampede Wrestling became world famous. Aside from professional wrestlers , the Dungeon provided training grounds for various athletes from strongmen to football players . The majority of Hart's sons trained in the Dungeon and went on to become involved in

1634-569: Was held in Edmonton on December 16, with Larry Cameron defeating Bob Emory in the main event to retain the North American Heavyweight Championship. Despite Stampede officially closing down in December 1989, there were several attempts to revive the promotion. The first attempt occurred around March 1990 by Bruce Hart, but it only lasted three months, running smaller towns outside Calgary and Edmonton, due to

1677-475: Was one of the main promotions in western Canada and the Canadian Prairies . Originally established by Stu Hart in 1948, the promotion competed with other promotions such as NWA All-Star Wrestling and Pacific Northwest Wrestling and regularly ran events in Calgary's Victoria Pavilion , Ogden Auditorium and the Stampede Corral between 1948 until 1984 when bought out by promoter Vince McMahon ,

1720-531: Was put in the care of Stacey Olaszak , his father's long time partner. Herweg studied to be a stonemason. As a member of the Hart family Herweg has many relatives in the industry, his cousins Natalie Neidhart , Harry Smith , Teddy Hart , Torrin Hart , and Bruce Hart Jr. are contemporaries in the ring while his cousin Lindsay Hart is an on screen personality for Elite Canadian Championship Wrestling . After being separated from his father's side of

1763-569: Was retired the year before, which was won by The Kalmikoffs . In 1959, Oeming retired and Hart took full control of the territory. Hart would also retire their version of the NWA Canadian Tag Team Championship . In 1965, he changed the name of the promotion to Wildcat Wrestling . Finally, in August 1967, he changed it to Stampede Wrestling , and the name stuck. In February 1968, they created their own singles title,

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1806-487: Was sold to the World Wrestling Federation . Of all the talent that WWF took upon their purchase of Stampede, they took only three wrestlers: Bret Hart, Davey Boy Smith, and Dynamite Kid. Their last show was held on November 5, 1984 in Vancouver, British Columbia, as a WWF/Stampede joint show. Bret Hart claims that Vince McMahon never actually paid for the territory, and “stiffed” his father, Stu Hart. On October 28, 1985,

1849-647: Was wrestling in Mecca Pro Wrestling in Ontario for several dates and by August he wrestled against a wrestling champion for the first time with KC Andrews who held the Big West Wrestling Television Championship. In September he worked as a tag team wrestler in a storyline for Thrash Wrestling where his partner betrayed him to become the inaugural Trash Wrestling Tag Team Champion. In 2016 Hart participated in

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