WrestleMania XII was the 12th annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It took place on March 31, 1996, at the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim in Anaheim, California in the United States. Eight matches were held at the event, including two on the Free for All pre-show.
168-633: In the main event, Bret Hart lost the WWF Championship to Shawn Michaels in the first televised Iron Man match in company history, lasting over 60 minutes. In his return to the company after a four-year hiatus, The Ultimate Warrior defeated Hunter Hearst Helmsley . Roddy Piper had his first match since 1994. WrestleMania is considered the World Wrestling Federation 's (WWF, now WWE) flagship pay-per-view (PPV) event, having first been held in 1985 . It has become
336-428: A Mortal Kombat -style cinematic match that saw The Karate Man "kill" Page in what would be Page's last appearance with Impact before leaving for AEW. Some matches have a container stationed in or near the ring, with the object of the match being to trap the opposing wrestler in it. All of these matches are fought under hardcore rules, and many of these matches take the name of the container, such as Ambulance match and
504-499: A Canadian Interuniversity Sport national champion, winning "Outstanding Wrestler of the Year 1980–1981" – en route to the championship. He described his display of the medal to Stu as a "powerful moment", and said his relationship with his father "took a different direction from that point on". Hart considered the medals to be one of his most prized possessions. By 1977, Hart was collegiate champion at Mount Royal College , where he
672-436: A DDT , only for Vader to knock Roberts down and pin him following a Vader Bomb . The fourth bout was a " Hollywood Backlot Brawl " between Goldust and Roddy Piper . The match began in a parking lot, with the men brawling and using weapons. After Goldust fled in a golden Cadillac , Piper pursued him in a white Ford Bronco . The fifth bout was a singles match between Savio Vega and Stone Cold Steve Austin . Austin won
840-510: A no disqualification match at Survivor Series to commence his third reign. In a rematch from their SummerSlam 1992 encounter, Hart successfully defended his title against the now heel Davey Boy Smith at In Your House 5: Seasons Beatings . He 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
1008-419: A storyline . Throughout professional wrestling's decades-long history , some gimmick matches have spawned many variations of the core concept. The singles match is the most common of all professional wrestling matches, which involves only two competitors competing for one fall . A victory is obtained by pinfall , submission , knockout , countout , or disqualification . One of the most common variations on
1176-478: A " Boiler Room Brawl " that was largely pre-taped, incorporating props and unorthodox camera angles. In 2016, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA, now Impact Wrestling) held a match entitled the "Final Deletion" between brothers Matt Hardy and Jeff Hardy for the July 5 episode of Impact Wrestling , which was filmed at Matt Hardy's compound. It was a hardcore wrestling match with falls count anywhere. The sequel
1344-524: A "Kiss My Foot" match at King of the Ring , and defeated Lawler's kayfabe dentist, Isaac Yankem , by disqualification at SummerSlam 1995 . Their King of the Ring match ended with Hart shoving his foot into Lawler's mouth, then forcing Lawler to kiss his own foot. Although Hart was victorious in their in-ring feud, Lawler remained strongly opposed to Hart as a commentator, and would routinely encourage Hart's opponents during matches; it would not be until Over
1512-832: A "clean slate", McMahon was still concerned and paranoid; this led to him breaking his word in what eventually came to be known as the Montreal Screwjob . Even though Hart did not submit to the Sharpshooter, referee Earl Hebner called for the bell as if he had, on McMahon's orders. This resulted in Hart "losing" the WWF Championship to Michaels. The night ended with an irate 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 . Hart also confronted Michaels backstage about
1680-678: A House of Horrors match between Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt. Similar to the "Final Deletion" match in TNA, this one was held at an abandoned house, but instead of falls count anywhere, this match had to end in the ring in the arena that the event was held in (the House of Horrors scenes were pre-taped, while the in-ring portion was live). The next cinematic match would occur on the March 19, 2018 episode of Raw , which featured Matt Hardy, who had returned to WWE and became "Woken" Matt Hardy, against Bray Wyatt and
1848-426: A bout between The Undertaker and Bret Hart at the 1996 Royal Rumble. In an episode of Monday Night Raw that aired on March 18, 1996, Diesel was battling Barry Horowitz when he caught a glimpse of Paul Bearer pushing a casket up the entrance ramp. Believing it to be The Undertaker's casket, Diesel armed himself with a wrench before opening the casket's lid and seeing his own "corpse" lying in repose inside (which
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#17328011593062016-477: A brawl between Helmsley and Mero. The seventh bout was a singles match between Diesel and The Undertaker . The Undertaker won the match by pinfall following a chokeslam and Tombstone Piledriver , marking his fifth consecutive win at WrestleMania. Following the seventh bout, Goldust and Piper arrived at the Arrowhead Pond, with Piper crashing his car into Goldust's car. Piper then chased Goldust to
2184-569: A cinematically produced singles match between Edge and Randy Orton at Backlash (billed as "The Greatest Wrestling Match Ever") also in June, and a Wyatt Swamp Fight between Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman at The Horror Show at Extreme Rules in July. Following the introduction of the WWE ThunderDome and Capitol Wrestling Center (CWC) staging arenas in August and October, respectively,
2352-538: A contract, hopefully one similar to their original offer. This was despite Hart's reluctance to leave the WWF and willingness to re-negotiate. Hart subsequently signed a three-year contract with WCW. His final match with the WWF would be a title match against his real-life rival Shawn Michaels at Survivor Series in Montreal. Hart did not want to end his WWF career with a loss to Michaels in his home country particularly with
2520-431: A double-deep, double-wide casket, sometimes specially designed for specific opponents The Undertaker takes on), ambulances , dumpsters , hearses (known as a "Last Ride match", also connected to The Undertaker gimmick), and stretchers . An Ambulance match is fought under hardcore rules, no pinfalls, no submissions, no disqualifications, no countouts and the only way to win is for one wrestler to force their opponent into
2688-766: A feel of classic Shoot-style wrestling fights. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic wrestling promotions were forced to hold events behind closed doors from March 2020 onwards. WWE introduced Raw Underground in August that year. It was hosted and commentated by Shane McMahon in Raw's third hour and didn't take place in the arena, but rather in a warehouse environment, with only wrestlers and dancers present. The matches were short work shoot style and could end by knockout, submission or McMahon's call. Raw Underground segments aired from August 3 to September 21, 2020 in 8 episodes of Raw. The first NXT Underground match took place on
2856-474: A few days later, President Jack Tunney reversed the decision and the win was never acknowledged on television. The Hart Foundation's reign lasted until WrestleMania VII , where they lost to The Nasty Boys , after which the team split. 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
3024-607: A figure-four leglock applied around the ring post. He 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 . Austin had Hart locked in his own finishing move, the Sharpshooter , in the middle of the ring when The British Bulldog interfered on Hart's behalf, resulting in disqualification and giving Austin
3192-640: A later time, typically for a pay-per-view event. They are also usually filmed on-location or at a custom built set. While not considered a cinematic match at the time, the Hollywood Backlot Brawl between Roddy Piper and Goldust at WrestleMania XII in 1996 is considered an early cinematic match by the World Wrestling Federation (now WWE ), as it used techniques now featured in cinematic matches. Unlike future cinematic matches (which typically air during one segment),
3360-589: A losing effort. He began 1988 with a decisive victory over Paul Roma of The Young Stallions (who had scored an upset victory over The Hart Foundation the previous year) on the January 11 episode of Prime Time Wrestling , and, at the Royal Rumble in January 1988, was the first entrant in the inaugural Royal Rumble match . He lasted 25 minutes and 42 seconds before being eliminated by Don Muraco . Entered into another battle royal at WrestleMania IV , Hart
3528-535: A neck injury. As a result, a tournament was staged in February and March 1996 to determine the new champions, with the matches airing on tape delay Superstars throughout March. The tournament final was held at WrestleMania XII, with The Bodydonnas defeating The Godwinns to be crowned the new champions. Bret Hart Mid 20th Century 1970s and 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s and 2020s Bret Sergeant Hart (born July 2, 1957)
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#17328011593063696-491: A nine-year-old. At Ernest Manning High School , Hart became a standout student in the amateur wrestling division. Hart has stated that he joined the wrestling team "for the sole reason that my dad expected me to... no-one asked me to". He won significant championships in tournaments throughout Alberta , including the 1974 city championships in Calgary. He scored a victory over competitor Bob Eklund – who would go on to become
3864-532: A no-contest on the October 27 episode of Raw Is War ; while the referee was knocked out, Shamrock put Hart in an ankle lock; members of the Hart Foundation then attacked Shamrock until Shawn Michaels made the save for Shamrock and attacked Hart. Around this time, Hart's on-air rivalry with Vince McMahon also escalated. A heated ringside altercation between the two led many fans to dislike McMahon, who at
4032-477: A non-title match or as a singles match. It was also used in a tag team format. World TV Champion Arn Anderson vs. Paul Orndorff at Clash of the Champions XI was one example. Though Orndorff won the match, Anderson remained champion. A champion vs. champion match can also be referenced to a Winner Takes All match , but in some cases each superstars' title is not contested in the match or only one title
4200-481: A one-ring, over-the-top-rope elimination. A typical battle royale, except this one features tables covered with barbed wire, thumbtacks, and light bulbs on the outside of the ring, which may catch wrestlers as they are thrown out of the ring. The National Wrestling Alliance 's (NWA) Bunkhouse Stampede involved wrestlers wearing what was described as "bunkhouse gear"—cowboy boots, jeans , T-shirts—instead of their normal wrestling tights and not only allowed but encouraged
4368-504: A predecessor to Extreme Championship Wrestling . Generally used in TNA / Impact Wrestling , a reverse battle royale begins with wrestlers surrounding the ring instead of inside it. At the start of the match they battle for half of them to get into the ring, at which point a standard last person standing wins the battle royale. The Cage Reverse Battle Royale is another TNA variation of this match type. This actually has three stages; It begins
4536-434: A rematch on the February 5 episode of Raw , again due to Diesel's interference. Hart retained his title once again against Diesel in a steel cage match at In Your House 6 , and defeated Hunter Hearst Helmsley , who was undefeated on Raw , on the March 4 episode of the show. WWF Commissioner Rowdy Roddy Piper ruled that Hart would face Shawn Michaels, who had earned a WWF Championship match at WrestleMania XII by winning
4704-506: A replacement. Before long, he became a regular contender, eventually partnering with brother Keith to win the Stampede International Tag Team Championship four times. Hart gained some of his most prominent experience with Japanese combatants and real-life trainers Mr. Hito and Mr. Sakurada . Hart also had high-impact matches against Tom Billington, who was better known by his in-ring name as
4872-544: A ring within a warehouse), action figure for Slammers Series 1 and the WWF War Zone video game. Tag team match Mid 20th Century 1970s and 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s and 2020s Many types of wrestling matches , sometimes called "concept" or " gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business , are performed in professional wrestling . Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude
5040-480: A score of 7 out of 10. In 2015, Ryan Dilbert of Bleacher Report called it the 16th greatest of the first 30 WrestleMania events. While the Iron Man match got positive reviews, PWInsider's Mike Johnson pointed that in the match both wrestlers "were working in spite of each other, not together". In February 1996, WWF Tag Team Champions The Smoking Gunns were forced to vacate the titles after Billy Gunn sustained
5208-691: A successful defence of their belts against the Harts at SummerSlam in August 1988, before enlisting old enemies The Fabulous Rougeau Brothers, who had recently turned heel, to resume their feud with the Harts. At the Royal Rumble in January 1989, The Hart Foundation teamed with Jim Duggan to defeat the Rougeaus and Dino Bravo. They also defeated Greg Valentine and The Honky Tonk Man , who were also managed by Jimmy Hart, at WrestleMania V . At an event in Milan on April 8, 1989, broadcast live on Tele+2 , André
WrestleMania XII - Misplaced Pages Continue
5376-474: A title match. Concurrently, The Undertaker, who had a scheduled title match with Sid at WrestleMania, attempted to help Sid win. Sid ultimately retained, leading to a pure grudge match for Hart and Austin. Following his loss to Sid, Hart shoved Vince McMahon to the ground when he attempted to conduct a post-match interview, and engaged in a worked shoot , expletive -laden rant against McMahon and WWF management. This incident has been cited as one which helped lay
5544-524: A unique ruleset compared to a traditional pro wrestling event, in that every match must end in either a knockout or submission. The traditional wrestling ring is replaced by a ring canvas with no ropes or turnbuckles. This event features worked shoot matches in a style that mimics the early days of MMA and catch wrestling . It is common for Bloodsport competitors to have some knowledge in other combat sports and/or MMA, as well as professional wrestling, as these one on one matches often appear stiff and have
5712-512: A very young child let the bear lick ice cream off his toes since he thought it was a good way to keep them clean. His introduction to professional wrestling came at an early age. As a child, he witnessed his father training future wrestlers like Superstar Billy Graham in the Dungeon , his household basement which served as a training room. Before school, Hart's father, also a wrestling promoter, had him hand out fliers to local wrestling shows. In
5880-468: A weakness throughout his early career. In 1986, 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 Hart's 2005 DVD as one of his all-time favourite matches. At WrestleMania 2, Hart instead participated in a 20-man battle royal which
6048-502: A winner!" The match ended shortly thereafter when Michaels pinned Hart after giving him Sweet Chin Music twice, thus becoming the new WWF Champion. WrestleMania XII received generally positive reviews from critics, who aimed praise, particularly at the main event. Rob McNew of 411mania called the opening match "really good," and gave it 3 and 1/4 stars (out of 5 stars). However, he called the match between Helmsley and The Ultimate Warrior
6216-489: Is a Canadian-American retired professional wrestler . A member of the Hart wrestling family and a second-generation wrestler, he has an amateur wrestling background at Ernest Manning High School and Mount Royal College . A major international draw within professional wrestling, he is credited with changing the perception of mainstream North American professional wrestling in the early 1990s by bringing technical wrestling to
6384-427: Is a multi-competitor match type in which wrestlers are eliminated until only one is left. Typical battle royales begin with 20 or more participants all in the ring at the same time, who are then eliminated by being thrown over the top rope and having both feet touch the venue floor. The Battlebowl is a two-ring variation on a battle royale. In these matches, the wrestlers start in one ring and try to throw wrestlers into
6552-541: Is at Vengeance (2003) between Stephanie McMahon and Sable , which Sable won. A pure wrestling rules match originally appeared in Ring of Honor (ROH), and still exists as the "official rules" for the ROH Pure Championship . Under the rules, each wrestler is allowed only three rope breaks; once they are all used, the wrestler cannot use the ropes to escape pins or submissions. Closed fists are illegal, and
6720-536: Is equally proud of his U.S. and Canadian nationality. His maternal grandfather was long-distance runner Harry Smith . 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 . As a child he was the closest with his older brother Dean who was the nearest to him in age of all his older brothers, being three years his senior. Together they would often fight with Bret's two older sisters, Ellie, who
6888-439: Is on the line. During WWE's second brand extension , this type of match was frequently used at Survivor Series , with both titles not defended, up until 2021, with the champion vs. champion matches being replaced by WarGames . This type of match has now been used at Crown Jewel since 2024 , with both the men's and women's world title holders facing each other for a commemorative Crown Jewel Championship. This event consists of
WrestleMania XII - Misplaced Pages Continue
7056-539: Is one in which the object is for one wrestler to throw his opponent into a grave dug out of a large mound of soil placed outside the ring. Once in the grave, the wrestler must bury his opponent in dirt and soil to the referee's discretion. Equipment ranging from shovels and wheelbarrows to bulldozers are often made available to completely bury the opponent. The Buried Alive match is one of three of The Undertaker 's signature matches (the Casket and Last Ride matches being
7224-491: Is reduced to two, and there is a subsequent episode where the final two compete, in this case, "AEW Dynamite Diamond Ring". In New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), the 2021 New Japan Rumble at Wrestle Kingdom 15 was conducted as a semi-final battle royale. Chase Owens , Bad Luck Fale , Tetsuya Bushi , and Toru Yano were the final four that competed in a championship match the next day. The tag team battle royale consist of designated tag teams of wrestlers with two members on
7392-400: The 1992 Survivor Series , and defeated Razor Ramon at the 1993 Royal Rumble . He would also 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 . Fuji then challenged Hulk Hogan , who had come out to help Hart, to compete for
7560-523: The Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim in Anaheim, California . The main attraction of this WrestleMania was the WWF Championship contested in an Iron Man match ; whereby the winner would be the man to win most falls over sixty minutes. Michaels had earned the opportunity to face reigning champion Bret Hart by winning the 1996 Royal Rumble , and had also defeated Owen Hart at In Your House 6 for
7728-462: The Dynamite Kid . In the midst of wrestling alongside his family, Hart made a point not to ride on the shoulders of his elders . Hart faithfully jobbed as requested of him, taking pride in the believability of his performances. As he said himself, "No one could take a shit-kicking like Bret Hart". Although he dreaded partaking in interviews and speaking in front of a crowd, Hart went on to win
7896-532: The London Arena and broadcast on Sky Television (Hart was in fact booked to win the match, but incurred a broken sternum , causing an unplanned countout loss). At SummerSlam in August 1989, The Hart Foundation lost a non-title match against then WWF Tag Team Champions The Brain Busters . In the first televised contest of a rivalry that would span Hart's WWF and WCW careers, he lost to Mr. Perfect on
8064-488: The Royal Rumble in January, Bret and Owen took on The Quebecers ( Jacques and Pierre ) for the WWF Tag Team Championship. Referee Tim White stopped the match after he considered Bret unable to continue after he sustained a kayfabe knee injury during the match. After the match, Owen berated his brother for costing him a title opportunity and attacked the injured knee, setting the feud between
8232-673: The Survivor Series event in 1997, which culminated in the Montreal Screwjob . The Hart Foundation lost the WWF Tag Team Championship titles to Strike Force on the October 27 episode of Superstars of Wrestling . 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
8400-597: The WWF Intercontinental Championship to Dean Douglas at In Your House 4 ), and suffering a storyline concussion at the hands of Owen Hart in November 1995. Hunter Hearst Helmsley made his debut in the WWF in May 1995, with his wrestling gimmick being in that he was a rich snob born with a silver spoon in his mouth. He went on an undefeated winning streak throughout the year until the Royal Rumble . The Ultimate Warrior meanwhile had left
8568-545: The "Match of the Year", and WWE named the match as the greatest in the history of SummerSlam. Upon induction into the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2006 , Hart cited the contest as his favourite match of his career. Hart won the WWF Championship from Ric Flair at a Superstars taping at Saskatchewan Place in Saskatoon , Saskatchewan on October 12 of that year, in a match not originally broadcast on WWF television –
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#17328011593068736-445: The "footage looked awfully familiar"; in reality, repurposed footage of Simpson's infamous Bronco chase was actually used as part of the match.) The match eventually ended in the ring live, when Piper stripped Goldust down to women's lingerie and kissed him as part of "making him a man". WrestleMania XII featured a second cinematic match between " The Huckster " and " Nacho Man ". At SummerSlam 1996 , The Undertaker faced Mankind in
8904-659: The 1970s fought between Dusty Rhodes and Ivan Koloff . The coffin match was revived as one of The Undertaker 's signature matches and first appeared on television at the Survivor Series as the coffin match against Kamala . Prior to that, at a house show on July 14, 1991, the Ultimate Warrior defeated the Undertaker in a casket match in St. Louis, Missouri at Busch Stadium. There have been 17 casket matches, 11 of which have been won by The Undertaker. The 20th edition
9072-451: The 1980s and 1990s in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE ), where he helmed The Hart Foundation stable . He left for World Championship Wrestling (WCW) following the controversial " Montreal Screwjob " in November 1997, where he remained until October 2000. Having been inactive from in-ring competition since January 2000, owing to a December 1999 concussion , he officially retired in October 2000, shortly after his departure from
9240-483: The 1990s (654) and was the first WCW World Heavyweight Champion born outside the United States. He is the second WWF Triple Crown Champion and fifth (with Goldberg ) WCW Triple Crown Champion , and the first man to win both the WWF and WCW Triple Crown Championships. He is also the 1994 Royal Rumble match winner (with Lex Luger ), and the only two-time King of the Ring , winning the 1991 tournament and
9408-463: The 1998 documentary Hitman Hart: Wrestling with Shadows , Hart reflected on his father's discipline, describing how Stu uttered morbid words while inflicting excruciating submission holds that left broken blood vessels in Bret's eyes. Hart claimed his father had an otherwise pleasant demeanour. Hart's first work in wrestling involved pulling out lucky numbers out of a metal box during intermission at
9576-459: The Bodydonnas the new WWF Tag Team Champions. The second bout, which also aired on the free-for-all broadcast, was a singles match (billed as a "geriatric match") between " The Huckster " and " Nacho Man ", two characters created to parody Hulk Hogan and "Macho Man" Randy Savage (former WWF performers who had joined its competitor World Championship Wrestling ). The referee for the match
9744-461: The Casket match. A similar type of match aims to restrain opposing wrestlers somehow, and the match often takes the name of the restraining device – for example, the Stretcher. None of these matches can end in a pinfall, submission, countout, or disqualification. Common containers used for these matches are caskets (connected to The Undertaker 's Deadman persona, either using a typical coffin or
9912-588: The Firefly Inferno match between Orton and The Fiend at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs in December, where Orton set The Fiend's entire body on fire, and an intergender match between Orton and Bliss at Fastlane in March 2021, where Bliss used supernatural powers. Since the resumption of live touring in July 2021, WWE ceased producing cinematic matches. AEW also incorporated cinematic matches during pandemic restrictions in 2020 and 2021, most notably
10080-454: The Giant requested to work a singles match with Hart, who lost the match, which was later released on his 2013 DVD set, The Dungeon Collection , but considered André's praise and encouragement after the match to be of key importance in his singles career. He wrestled his first pay-per-view singles match on October 10, losing to Dino Bravo in the first British WWF pay-per-view, which was held at
10248-534: The Grave Consequences (subsequently Graver Consequences) match. Another toned-down version of the Casket Match is when a victory is not obtained by placing the opponent in the coffin but by pinfall or submission. However, the defeated wrestler is then placed into the coffin. The Last Rites match is a Total Nonstop Action Wrestling variation where a casket is lowered into the center of the ring, and
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#173280115930610416-407: The Harts (Bret, Owen, Bruce , and Keith ) took on Shawn Michaels (a substitution for Lawler, who was facing legal troubles) and his knights. The Harts won the match, with all of the brothers surviving except for Owen, the only Hart family member eliminated when he was rolled up by Michaels after inadvertently knocking Bret off the apron. Bitter about his elimination, Owen blamed Bret for this and in
10584-543: The July 21 episode of Raw Is War in Halifax, Nova Scotia , where Bret, Owen, and Davey Boy Smith, representing Canada and the Hart Foundation, defeated the team of Dude Love , Austin, and The Undertaker, representing the U.S., in a Flag match . The Hart Foundation's feud with Austin was named " Feud of the Year " by Wrestling Observer Newsletter and voted " Feud of the Year " by readers of Pro Wrestling Illustrated . Hart vowed that if he could not defeat The Undertaker for
10752-445: The July 4, 2023 episode of NXT between Eddy Thorpe and Damon Kemp , for which Thorpe sought the help of Gable Steveson (Kemp's real life brother) to train him. Thorpe won the match. On the December 26, 2023 episode of NXT, Thorpe defeated Dijak in the second NXT Underground match. The first women's NXT Underground match took place on week 2 of NXT Spring Breakin' (2024) , where Lola Vice defeated Natalya . The battle royale
10920-457: The Limit , sixteen years later, that both men would finally bury the hatchet. After disposing of Lawler, Hart engaged in a three-month feud with Jean-Pierre Lafitte , who would be stealing the mirrored sunglasses from fans at ringside and his trademark leather jacket. At In Your House 3 , Hart defeated Lafitte, to end the feud. Hart shifted his focus back to the WWF Championship, defeating Diesel in
11088-533: The November 6, 1989, episode of Prime Time Wrestling , when Perfect pulled Hart's tights during a roll-up. In their first ever singles meeting, Shawn Michaels and Hart wrestled to a double countout on the February 11, 1990, episode of the Wrestling Challenge . After participating at the Royal Rumble in January 1990, The Hart Foundation defeated The Bolsheviks in 19 seconds at WrestleMania VI and began feuding with Demolition , who had just won
11256-707: The Ring tournament on September 7, 1991, at the Providence Civic Center in Providence, Rhode Island . Hart's first pay-per-view title defense occurred at This Tuesday in Texas , where he beat the undefeated Skinner . In January 1992, 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. This feud,
11424-401: The Ring. Hart instead entered a feud with Jerry "The King" Lawler , who interrupted Hart's coronation, claimed he was the only king, attacked Hart and began a barrage against Hart and his family. The two met at SummerSlam in 1993, to determine the "Undisputed King of the World Wrestling Federation". Hart originally won the match by submission, via the Sharpshooter, but as he would not let go of
11592-472: The Royal Rumble, in a 60-minute Iron Man match at the event. The wrestler with the most decisions during the 60 minutes would win the match and the WWF Championship. At WrestleMania, with less than a minute left on the clock and the score still 0–0, Michaels jumped from the middle rope; his legs were caught by Hart, and Hart locked in his Sharpshooter. Michaels did not submit in the last 30 seconds, so
11760-545: The September 29 episode of Superstars of Wrestling . In 1985, after acquiring the nickname of "Hit Man", he requested to join Jimmy Hart 's heel stable , The Hart Foundation , which included brother-in-law Jim Neidhart . Bret began to increasingly team with Neidhart, in order to build the promotion's tag team division. The "Hart Foundation" name then became exclusive to Bret, Neidhart and manager Jimmy Hart, due to
11928-590: The Stadium Stampede match at Double or Nothing 2020 , which was a 5v5 empty arena match in the TIAA Bank Field stadium. During that period, AEW featured at least one cinematic match at each of their PPVs: a "Tooth and Nail match" at All Out 2020 between Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. and Big Swole at Baker's real-life dental office, a match entitled "The Elite Deletion" at Full Gear 2020 , featuring Matt Hardy against Sammy Guevara and similar to
12096-477: The Stampede Wrestling shows when he was four years old. When he got slightly older, he would sell programs to the shows, something all Hart's seven brothers would do. He would often compete for customers with his little brother Ross since the fans would often want to buy from the youngest Hart child. Like his father, Hart was an excellent amateur wrestler since an early age, having begun training as
12264-478: The U.S., in a Flag match. Erstwhile, in a rematch from SummerSlam, The Undertaker challenged Hart for the WWF Championship at One Night Only ; after reversing a Tombstone Piledriver attempt from Hart, The Undertaker dumped Hart on the apron when he would not let go of the ropes. As a result, Hart's neck was caught in the ropes, and The Undertaker was disqualified. Hart later cited this as his favourite of all his matches with The Undertaker, and his last great match in
12432-406: The United States if he did not remain impartial as referee, had no option but to count the pinfall, giving his rival Hart the victory. After SummerSlam, Michaels was pushed as the top heel in the company and negative fan reactions toward Hart in the United States softened somewhat, as he declared: "I'm not so much anti-American as I am just very, very pro-Canadian." In real life, Hart did not like
12600-407: The WWF Championship at SummerSlam , he would never wrestle in the United States again. The Undertaker agreed to the match, and 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. Michaels, who, as part of another pre-match stipulation, would be banned from wrestling in
12768-519: The WWF Championship; Hart insulted Undertaker and told Shawn Michaels (who was a guest commentator for the match) not to interfere. Undertaker won the match, which ended with Hart hot shotting Sid on the ropes, therefore costing him the title. Hart challenged Rocky Maivia for the Intercontinental Championship in the main event of the March 31 episode of Raw . Rocky Maivia won by disqualification when Hart refused to release
12936-429: The WWF Tag Team Championship against The Colossal Connection at WrestleMania VI. At SummerSlam in 1990, The 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 . On October 30, the Hart Foundation lost the title to The Rockers ( Marty Jannetty and Shawn Michaels), but
13104-445: The WWF and reunited with Hart. At King of the Ring , Hart defended the WWF Championship against Diesel. When Hart was winning the match, Shawn Michaels interfered on Diesel's behalf; Diesel appeared close to victory after he delivered a Jackknife Powerbomb yet before he could pin Hart, Neidhart interfered, therefore Diesel won by disqualification, but Hart retained his title. Neidhart left when Diesel and Michaels attacked Hart following
13272-527: The WWF in 1992 after failing a drug test. His last match was on the November 14, 1992 edition of Saturday Night's Main Event XXXI , where he and "Macho Man" Randy Savage defeated Ted DiBiase and Irwin R. Schyster in a tag team match. WWF officials later signed on a match between Ultimate Warrior, who re-signed to the WWF in an attempt to increase ratings, and Helmsley for WrestleMania XII. Diesel began feuding with The Undertaker after interfering in
13440-703: The WWF. In September 1997, Hart faced Terry Funk at Terry Funk's WrestleFest in what was billed as Funk's retirement match. During the Hart Foundation's feud with the Shawn Michaels-led D-Generation X (DX), DX framed the Hart Foundation in vandalizing the locker room of the African American stable, Nation of Domination with racist motifs. In retaliation, during a promo with DX, Hart called members Triple H (previously billed as "Hunter Hearst Helmsley") and Shawn Michaels " homos ". Hart later apologized for his participation in
13608-541: The World Wrestling Federation responded with an unprecedented 20-year contract. Finishing up his original WWF deal, Hart returned to action on a tour of South Africa on September 8, 1996, defeating Davey Boy Smith in Durban. On October 21, Hart elected to re-sign with the World Wrestling Federation. He was inducted into the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame Class of 1996 . Over
13776-461: The Year " by readers of Pro Wrestling Illustrated . After months of dealing with Lawler, Hart received a WrestleMania IX rematch with WWF Champion Yokozuna on the November 20 episode of WWF Superstars . When Bret appeared to have the match won, with Yokozuna locked in the sharpshooter, Owen came to ringside to congratulate his brother. The referee began questioning Owen's motives, which allowed Fuji to assault Bret. Owen then involved himself in
13944-518: The Year " by readers of Pro Wrestling Illustrated . Hart eventually lost his WWF Championship at Survivor Series in a submission match against Bob Backlund where the manager of either competitor (Davey Boy Smith for Hart, Owen for Backlund) would have to "throw in the towel" for the wrestler they were representing. When Hart was in Backlund's crossface chickenwing and Davey Boy was kayfabe knocked out, Owen persuaded his mother Helen to throw in
14112-423: The adjacent Daily's Place . The audience in attendance watched the first half of the match on video screens before the action spilled into the amphitheater. This would be AEW's final cinematic match produced before the company resumed live touring in July that year. Impact Wrestling would also return to producing cinematic matches in 2021 when Ethan Page wrestled his alter ego "The Karate Man" at Hard to Kill in
14280-407: The back of an ambulance and close the door. The first ambulance match took place at Survivor Series 2003 where Kane defeated Shane McMahon . The second one took place at Elimination Chamber (2012) which also involved Kane as one of the competitors. His opponent was John Cena, who won the match, where an additional rule was added in that the ambulance has to leave to win. The third Ambulance match
14448-533: The belt, though, the match officially became for the WWF Championship. Hart defeated Austin, Vader, and The Undertaker in the Fatal Four-Way. Austin ensured Hart's fourth reign was short-lived, costing him a title match against Sid the next night on Raw . Hart challenged for Sid's WWF Championship in a steel cage match shortly before WrestleMania 13 , which saw Austin actually attempt to help Hart win, in order to make their scheduled match at WrestleMania 13
14616-422: The best there was, and the best there ever will be" (derived from the 1984 film The Natural ), which he would later justify through three claims: he never injured an opponent through any fault of his own; through the entire course of his career, he missed only one show (as a result of flight difficulties); and that he only once refused to lose a match – his final WWF match with long-time adversary Shawn Michaels at
14784-416: The blood loss and pain. Ken Shamrock , the special guest referee, awarded Hart the match, after which he continued to assault Austin, thus turning heel for the first time since 1988. It was named " Match of the Year " by Wrestling Observer Newsletter and voted " Match of the Year " by Pro Wrestling Illustrated readers. Later that night, Hart confronted Sycho Sid and The Undertaker prior to their match for
14952-705: The bout by technical knockout after hitting Vega with the Million Dollar Championship then applying the Million Dollar Dream to Vega until he passed out. During and after the fifth bout, footage aired of what was purportedly Piper pursuing Goldust (the actual footage aired was from the Los Angeles Police Department 's pursuit of O.J. Simpson in 1994). The sixth bout was a singles match between Hunter Hearst Helmsley and The Ultimate Warrior . Early in
15120-626: The bringing of weapons . In 1988 the NWA named a pay-per-view after the Bunkhouse Stampede , headlined by a Bunkhouse Stampede match held inside a cage . Recently, the match has been revitalized by Ricky Morton of the Rock n' Roll Express at his wrestling academy in Chuckey, Tennessee. A battle royale with hardcore rules (no disqualifications and no count-outs) involving several competitors in
15288-402: The company. He 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 . Throughout his career, He headlined WrestleMania IX , X , and XII , and participated in the main event of Starrcade 1997 and 1999 – as a special enforcer and referee in the former. He
15456-523: 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. McMahon agreed to Hart's idea of forfeiting the championship the next night on Raw Is War or losing it a few weeks later. Although Hart stated to McMahon he would not take the WWF Championship with him to WCW television and despite insistence from then-WCW President Eric Bischoff that Hart would join WCW with
15624-586: The effort. Bret said he believed that even if he became an exceptionally successful amateur wrestler, it would not have led to a career that interested him, rather one as a wrestling coach or high school gym teacher. Hart felt the only way to give up amateur wrestling without disappointing his father was to become a professional wrestler. His college grades became poorer as his interest in filmmaking waned; he dedicated himself to professional wrestling and began training with his father's Stampede Wrestling promotion. Hart has spoken of how helpful his amateur background
15792-693: The first King of the Ring pay-per-view in 1993 . Stone Cold Steve Austin , with whom he 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 . In 2019 , he became one of seven people to enter the WWE Hall of Fame twice, when he was inducted again as a member of The Hart Foundation , with brother-in-law Jim Neidhart . Outside of wrestling, 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
15960-568: The first for Hart and Rougeau as singles competitors, came about when the Mountie's manager, Jimmy Hart, threw water on Hart, and The Mountie proceeded to shock Hart with a cattle prod . On January 17, 1992, Hart dropped the Intercontinental Championship to The Mountie. Following the loss, Roddy Piper defeated Mountie with a sleeper hold two days later at the 1992 Royal Rumble , and Bret later pinned Piper for his second Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania VIII later that year, making him
16128-512: The first offense (if seen by the official) results in a warning. A second offense results in disqualification. The wrestlers must shake hands before and after the match. A special challenge match was often used in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) to refer to a singles match in which the champion is not defending the title, so the title doesn't change hands if the champion loses the match. It can be announced by name, as
16296-440: The first stage as an inside-out battle royale with 15 or more wrestlers involved. The first seven to enter the ring over the top cage will advance to the second stage which is a gauntlet match. When it gets down to the final stage, only two wrestlers will battle in a singles match which is decided by pinfall or submission. A semi-final battle royale consists of a battle royale where when a specific number of wrestlers are remaining,
16464-614: The first wrestler in the WWF – and one of few wrestlers ever – to pin Piper's shoulders to the mat. At a Wrestling Challenge taping on July 21, 1992, Hart defeated Shawn Michaels , with the Intercontinental Championship belt suspended above the ring, in the WWF's first ever ladder match . Hart dropped the Intercontinental Championship to his brother-in-law, Davey Boy Smith , in Hart's first WWF pay-per-view main event at SummerSlam in August 1992, held before over 80,000 fans at Wembley Stadium . Pro Wrestling Illustrated readers voted it
16632-446: The fore. He 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". For the majority of his career, he used the nickname " The Hitman ". Hart joined his father Stu Hart 's promotion Stampede Wrestling in 1976 as a referee and made his in-ring debut in 1978. He gained championship success during
16800-417: The foundations of the WWF's Attitude Era , as well as the starting point of McMahon's on-air character, the tyrannical WWF owner "Mr. McMahon". At WrestleMania 13, Hart and Austin had their rematch in a submission match that would later get a 5-star rating from Dave Meltzer . In the end, Hart locked the Sharpshooter on a bloody Austin, who refused to give up. In fact, Austin never quit, but passed out from
16968-525: The free-for-all broadcast, was a tag team match for the vacant WWF Tag Team Championship between the Bodydonnas ( Skip and Zip ) and the Godwinns ( Henry O. Godwinn and Phineas I. Godwinn ). This match was the final bout of a tournament held to determine the new champions after the titles were vacated in February 1996. The match ended when Skip pinned Phineas I. Godwinn using a roll-up , making
17136-511: The hold, the decision was reversed to a Lawler victory by disqualification. Hart and his younger brother, Owen Hart , would also feud with Lawler during 1993 in the United States Wrestling Association (USWA), with Lawler notably defeating Owen for Owen's USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship . Hart's feud with Lawler was named " Feud of the Year " by Wrestling Observer Newsletter , and voted " Feud of
17304-415: The longest-running professional wrestling event in history and is held annually between mid-March to mid-April. It was the first of the WWF's original four pay-per-views, which includes Royal Rumble , SummerSlam , and Survivor Series , which were dubbed the "Big Four", and was considered one of the "Big Five" PPVs, along with King of the Ring . WrestleMania XII was scheduled to be held on March 31, 1996, at
17472-402: The match aired during several segments in between matches inside the ring, and featured both pre-taped segments outside the Arrowhead Pond of the two fighting as well as Piper "chasing" Goldust's solid gold Cadillac in a white Ford Bronco in an obvious reference to the then-ongoing O. J. Simpson murder case . ( Vince McMahon mentioned on commentary without completely breaking kayfabe that
17640-592: The match and the official champion. The most famous example is the Hardcore Title Battle Royal from WWF's WrestleMania 2000 . A last blood battle royale is essentially a multi-competitor First Blood match . All competitors start at the same time and wrestlers are eliminated when they start bleeding. The winner is the last wrestler in the match not bleeding. This match was held in the Tri-State Wrestling Association,
17808-594: The match ended in a tie. WWF President Gorilla Monsoon ruled that the match would continue in sudden death overtime. Michaels hit a superkick to win the championship. Pro Wrestling Illustrated readers voted it the "Match of the Year"; in 2004, WWE fans voted the match as the greatest in the history of WrestleMania. After WrestleMania, Hart went on a European tour over the next two weeks, coming out victorious against Stone Cold Steve Austin and Hunter Hearst Helmsley. The tour ended on April 22, and after this he took his hiatus from television. His final televised appearance
17976-402: The match ends, and those that remain are placed in a standard wrestling match for the prize at stake. An example of this occurred on a January 2024 episode of NXT , where 20 women competed in a battle royal that became a Fatal 4-Way once there were four competitors remaining. In All Elite Wrestling (AEW), it is known as a Dynamite Dozen Battle Royale , as twelve competitors compete until it
18144-500: The match finish. Many behind-the-scenes events leading up to the Montreal Screwjob were filmed for the documentary Hitman Hart: Wrestling with Shadows , released in 1998. WWE has described the Montreal Screwjob as "arguably the most controversial, most jarring moment in the annals of sports entertainment". Hart's likeness would continue to be featured in WWF media into 1998, including the title video of Raw (brawling in
18312-430: The match was instead made available on a series of Coliseum/WWE Home Video releases. 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. He made successful title defenses against Kamala , The Berzerker and Papa Shango . He would headline his first pay-per-view as champion with a successful title defense against Shawn Michaels at
18480-535: The match when Davis pinned Davey Boy Smith after hitting him with Jimmy Hart's megaphone. The Hart Foundation adopted the nickname, "The Pink and Black Attack", which Hart continued to use after the tag team 's disbandment. This was in reference to the team's ring attire, as well as Hart's signature mirrored sunglasses, which he would routinely give away to a young audience member before matches, following his face turn in 1988. As Hart's WWF career progressed, he increasingly described himself as "The best there is,
18648-473: The match, Helmsley performed his finishing move, The Pedigree , on The Ultimate Warrior. However, The Ultimate Warrior no-sold the move and went on to pin Helmsley following a flying shoulder tackle , gorilla press slam , and Warrior Splash . Following the sixth bout, Todd Pettengill interviewed the debuting Marc Mero backstage. The interview was interrupted by Hunter Hearst Helmsley, resulting in
18816-422: The match, resulting in a victory for Yokozuna via disqualification. On the non-televised but now- canon November 22 episode of Monday Night Raw , Hart again challenged Yokozuna for the WWF Championship, and again failed to regain the championship due to similar involvement from Owen. The brothers' disagreements set the wheels in motion for a family feud that would span the entirety of 1994. At Survivor Series ,
18984-402: The match. Neidhart's motivation was made clear when he helped Owen win the tournament that night, so that he could receive a title shot against his brother. At SummerSlam , Hart successfully retained the WWF Championship against Owen in a steel cage match . This match received a five-star rating from Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Newsletter , and the brothers' feud was voted " Feud of
19152-400: The match. Towards the end of the match, with neither men having won any falls, Hart applied his Sharpshooter hold to Michaels, but time expired without Michaels submitting. As Hart began to leave with his title, WWF President Gorilla Monsoon instructed referee Earl Hebner to continue the match under " sudden death " rules, with ring announcer Howard Finkel announcing that "there must be
19320-540: The middle of the ring for the victory. This was one of The Undertaker ’s early gimmick matches; he had one of these matches in 1992 against The Ultimate Warrior at the Madison Square Garden . The casket match (also known as the Coffin match ) has a casket near the ring, with the objective of the match being to trap the opposing wrestler inside. The casket match began its life as a one-off coffin match in
19488-715: The new Attitude Era, instead preferring traditional values. This was used as part of his character, as Hart would insult the U.S. fans because of the success of the Attitude Era. Hart successfully defended his title against The Patriot , with whom Hart had become involved in a feud as part of the Canada vs. U.S. storyline, at Ground Zero: In Your House , avenging a loss to him on the July 28 Raw . The Canada vs. U.S. feud would conclude at Badd Blood: In Your House , where Hart and Davey Boy Smith, representing Canada and The Hart Foundation, defeated The Patriot and Vader, representing
19656-407: The objective is to get your opponent into the casket, which is raised to the ceiling following the match. The first Last Rites match was done between Sting and Abyss . Vince Russo came up with this match; it was perceived to be a disaster because neither wrestler could work properly due to the placement of the casket in the center of the ring, which limited and obstructed their workspace. The match
19824-469: The other "Deletion" matches involving Hardy, and a tag team street fight pitting Darby Allin and Sting against Team Taz ( Brian Cage and Ricky Starks ) at Revolution 2021 , which was held at an abandoned warehouse somewhere in Atlanta , Georgia. At Double or Nothing 2021 the Stadium Stampede match was a hybrid cinematic match with the first half recorded at TIAA Bank Field, then concluding live at
19992-416: The others). A cinematic Buried Alive match was held between The Undertaker and AJ Styles for WrestleMania 36 , referred to as a "Boneyard match" . The match took place outdoors in a cemetery-like setting near an abandoned warehouse rather than in a traditional ring. A Body Bag match is a no-disqualification match where the objective is for a wrestler to put an opposing wrestler in a body bag situated in
20160-510: The promotion's top titles, including two British Commonwealth Mid-Heavyweight Championships, five International Tag Team Championships, and six North American Heavyweight Championships. Hart also wrestled Tiger Mask in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), a promotion for whom he often wrestled during the early to mid-1980s. He remained one of Stampede's most successful performers until the promotion, along with several wrestlers,
20328-563: The rest of the world and reunited with brother Owen and brothers-in-law Davey Boy Smith and Jim Neidhart . The family members formed a new Hart Foundation with Brian Pillman ; this incarnation was an anti-American stable which was popular within Canada and Europe. As the leader of this stable, Hart routinely carried a Canadian flag to the ring and engaged in promos where he declared the superiority of his home nation; he became so despised by U.S. audiences that they would often throw debris during his ring entrances, interviews, and matches. He
20496-595: The right to keep the WrestleMania title shot. The main event was built on Bret Hart wanting to retain the WWF Championship against Shawn Michaels, who had suffered a number of setbacks over the course of the previous year, including failing to win Diesel's WWF Championship the previous year at WrestleMania XI in April 1995, being accosted at a Syracuse, New York nightclub in October 1995 (and subsequently forfeiting
20664-464: The ring and win the Royal Rumble match, while the referees were distracted by Mankind . Hart quit the WWF the next night on Raw in protest. In order to deal with this controversy, a Fatal Four-Way between Austin and the participants he eliminated after re-entering the ring ( Vader , The Undertaker , and Hart) was set up for In Your House 13: Final Four , with the winner becoming the number one contender. After then-champion Shawn Michaels relinquished
20832-410: The ring at the same time. The match could last for either 15 or 20 minutes. All participants are not eliminated by being thrown out of the ring and both feet touching the floor. Pinning or forcing to submit whoever was current Hardcore champion would result in the victorious participant becoming the interim champion. Whoever the person held the title at end of the time limit would be declared the winner of
21000-435: The ring, where the match continued. The match ended when Piper tore off Goldust's bodysuit - revealing him to be wearing woman's lingerie - and gave him a low blow , after which Goldust fled from the ring, leaving Piper the winner. The main event saw WWF Champion Bret Hart defend his title against Shawn Michaels in an Iron Man match , with the stipulation that whichever wrestler won the most falls in 60 minutes would win
21168-451: The ring. The third bout, and the first bout to air on the pay-per-view broadcast proper, was a six-man tag team match pitting The British Bulldog , Owen Hart , and Vader ( Camp Cornette ) against Ahmed Johnson , Jake Roberts , and Yokozuna , with the stipulation that if Yokozuna's team won he would receive five minutes in the ring with Jim Cornette , the manager of Camp Cornette. The match ended when Roberts attempted to give Cornette
21336-540: The second ring, after which they can be eliminated by being thrown out of that ring. The last remaining wrestler in the first ring can rest until only one wrestler is left in the second ring, after which they fight in both rings until one is eliminated and a winner is declared, in similar fashion to a double elimination tournament . This was held by World Championship Wrestling at the 1991 Starrcade event, but future Battlebowl matches were contested under normal battle royale rules. The battle zone features any number of men in
21504-435: The similar family names of both team members and their manager. Bret's agile, technical style – which earned him the moniker "The Excellence of Execution" (coined by Gorilla Monsoon ) – created a contrast with his partner Neidhart's strength and brawling skills. During this time, Hart began wearing his signature sunglasses , initially to conceal his nervousness during promos . Hart considers his microphone work to have been
21672-517: The singles match is to restrict the possible means for victory. In a blindfold match, the two participants must wear a blindfold over their eyes for the entire duration of the match. A well-known example of this match is the WrestleMania VII match between Jake "The Snake" Roberts and Rick Martel . A no count-out match is a singles match in which both competitors can stay outside of the ring without being counted out. A well-known example
21840-453: The storyline and said that he had been pressured into it, saying, "I am not in any shape or form a racist. And I don't believe it is anything to kid around about. I also want to apologize for any remarks I made about gay people. It was a stupid mistake on my part". Hart successfully defended his title against Nation of Domination leader, Faarooq , on the October 20 episode of Raw . In his penultimate title defence, Hart wrestled Ken Shamrock to
22008-454: The summer, Stone Cold Steve Austin , who was fresh from winning the 1996 King of the Ring , continually taunted Hart and challenged him to come back and have a match. After an eight-month hiatus from television, Hart returned and defeated Austin at Survivor Series in a match for the number one contender spot to the WWF Championship. Hart challenged champion Sycho Sid at the following month's In Your House 12: It's Time ; Shawn Michaels, who
22176-570: The team and manager. This led to matches pitting Hart against Davis and also his first singles championship opportunity, in which he challenged The Honky Tonk Man for the WWF Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship in the main event of the July 18 episode of Prime Time Wrestling , with the match ending in a double countout. As relations between the Harts and their former mentor further deteriorated, Jimmy Hart assisted tag team champions Demolition in
22344-414: The team. This match uses the normal battle royale rules, teams may be eliminated when either one or both partners are thrown over the top rope with both feet touching the floor. This match is conducted similarly to a battle royale but in these cases, both wrestlers are considered active at the same time and there are no tags using the tornado tag team stipulation. This variation of the tag team battle royale
22512-479: The time was being exposed as owner of the WWF more and more frequently on-air. Although Hart had signed a 20-year contract back in 1996, the WWF was in a rough financial position by late 1997 and could no longer afford to honour the contract. Although Hart was arguably the biggest wrestler in the world during the mid-1990s, McMahon also felt that the value of his character was beginning to wane, and he encouraged Hart to approach World Championship Wrestling (WCW) about
22680-417: The title; Hogan then won his fifth WWF Championship from Yokozuna. In June, Hart won the first pay-per-view King of the Ring tournament, defeating Razor Ramon, Mr. Perfect, and Bam Bam Bigelow , thus becoming the only two-time King of the Ring. According to Hart, he was scheduled to regain the WWF Championship from Hulk Hogan at SummerSlam , but Hogan chose to drop the title to Yokozuna instead at King of
22848-412: The towel for Hart, giving Backlund the championship victory. Bret's feud with Backlund would continue into the following year. He was voted the greatest wrestler of 1994 by Pro Wrestling Illustrated readers, winning the vote for the second straight year. Three days after Hart's title loss, Diesel defeated Backlund in eight seconds with a jackknife powerbomb to become the new WWF Champion. By 1995, Hart
23016-491: The two that occurred at WrestleMania 36 ; a Boneyard match between The Undertaker and AJ Styles , which was a Buried Alive match held at a custom built cemetery set in the Orlando area, and a Firefly Fun House match between John Cena and "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt. (Although the match ended with The Fiend pinning Cena in a ring, the match itself was a dream-like sequence of Cena's career, showing his perceived character flaws;
23184-721: The two. Later on, Hart managed to participate and win the 1994 Royal Rumble match amid controversy. Hart and Lex Luger were the final two participants and the two were eliminated over the top rope at the same time. 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. Hart lost his match against Owen but went on to defeat Yokozuna for his second WWF Championship. Hart continued to feud with his brother Owen while he also started feuding with Diesel . Hart's friend and former tag team partner Jim Neidhart returned to
23352-524: The use of cinematic matches was greatly reduced, as these new staging arenas allowed fans to attend the events virtually. To go with the Halloween -theme at NXT : Halloween Havoc in October, a Haunted House of Terrors match was held between Dexter Lumis and Cameron Grimes , which was similar to the House of Horrors match from Payback 2017. Matches involving Randy Orton, "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt, and Alexa Bliss have also used cinematic techniques, such as
23520-510: The various segments were filmed at WWE's Titan Towers headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut ). Following this, cinematic matches occurred at Money in the Bank in May, which was the event's eponymous ladder matches that occurred at WWE's headquarters, a Backlot Brawl between Adam Cole and Velveteen Dream in the parking lot of Full Sail University at NXT TakeOver: In Your House in June,
23688-455: The victory and title match. They met once again in a street fight on the April 21 episode of Raw Is War , in which Austin injured Hart's ankle with a steel chair. The match was ruled a no-contest and Austin afterward continued to beat Hart while on a stretcher in the back of an ambulance. In the ensuing weeks, Hart denounced American fans, because of their negative reaction to him in the recent weeks in contrast to his continued popularity through
23856-468: The weeks ahead, blamed Bret for holding him back. Owen demanded a one-on-one match with Bret, which Bret refused to accept. In the storyline, Bret, along with his parents, worked over the Christmas holidays to reunite the family and to settle their rivalry. Bret was voted "WWF Superstar of the Year" 1993 by fans, as well as the greatest wrestler of the year by Pro Wrestling Illustrated readers. At
24024-399: The worst of the night, going on to call it the "funniest squash ever, considering that HHH is now arguably a bigger star than Warrior was." He gave the main event the highest score of the night, with 4 stars. However, he says the match "isn't for everyone." Continuing, he says, "It's about a three-star match for the first 40 minutes, the last 20+ are an easy five stars." He gave the entire event
24192-600: The wrestling industry in general. He also 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. After his retirement, he spent much of his time on charitable efforts concerning stroke recovery and cancer awareness, due to his experiences with the two. The eighth child of wrestling patriarch Stu Hart and his wife Helen, Bret Hart
24360-436: Was " Billionaire Ted ", a parody of Ted Turner , the owner of World Championship Wrestling's parent company Turner Broadcasting System . This bout marked the culmination of a series of skits the WWF had aired featuring the three characters. This match did not take place in the Arrowhead Pond, having been pre-recorded elsewhere. The match ended in a no contest when both competitors, along with Billionaire Ted, seemingly expired in
24528-404: Was a brawl between The Broken Hardys and Decay titled "Delete or Decay". The Broken Hardys and Decay continued their feud at Bound for Glory , where Decay lost their TNA World Tag Team Championship to The Hardys in "The Great War". The Hardys issued an open tag team invitational at their compound on the December 15 episode of Impact Wrestling , titled Total Nonstop Deletion . The main event
24696-557: Was acquired by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in August 1984. Hart was asked to start out in the WWF as a singles wrestler with a cowboy gimmick but refused, stating that in Calgary, "if you called yourself a cowboy, you'd better be one". He made his televised WWF debut on August 29, 1984, in a tag team match where he teamed with the Dynamite Kid . On September 11, in Poughkeepsie, New York , Hart defeated Aldo Marino in his televised debut singles match, which aired on
24864-524: Was actually an illusion made possible by having live footage cut to a pre-recorded close-up footage of Diesel himself in the same casket, lying in a relaxed position with his eyes closed, filmed at some time before the episode, thus avoiding showing the mannequin in the casket up-close); seeing "himself" in the casket terrified him, as it foreshadowed The Undertaker's upcoming match against Diesel in WrestleMania XII. The opening bout, which aired on
25032-409: Was again one of the final two combatants as he was enlisted by former frequent Stampede opponent Bad News Brown to eliminate Junkyard Dog before Brown turned on Hart, eliminating him to win the event. This turned Hart back into a fan favourite and triggered a feud between the two. Neidhart soon came to Hart's side in the feud, but manager Jimmy Hart discouraged the feud, leading to a fallout between
25200-459: Was an interview taped while on the European tour in which he described his passion for wrestling was diminished and stated that although there were offers from competing companies, he might be finished with wrestling. That fall, Hart would indeed receive competing offers of employment from both WWF and World Championship Wrestling (WCW). WCW presented a 3-year, $ 9M contract offer to Hart, while
25368-541: Was born in Calgary, Alberta , Canada into the Hart wrestling family . He is of Greek descent through his maternal grandmother and of Irish descent through his maternal grandfather. His father was of Scottish , Irish and English ancestry. Hart is a dual citizen of Canada and the United States since his mother Helen was born in New York. Hart has stated that he considers himself to be North American and that he
25536-464: Was called the "Ultimate Deletion;" this was just like the "Final Deletion," including being held at Matt's compound. Cinematic matches became more frequent in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic ; the pandemic began affecting the professional wrestling industry in March that year, forcing promotions to hold events behind closed doors . WWE would hold several cinematic matches at their pay-per-views between March and August, being highly praised for
25704-612: Was critical with the match against Backlund, claiming it was "probably my worst pay-per-view match I ever had". 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 . He defeated Hakushi in the first match of the in Your House series. Hart's acclaimed feud with Jerry Lawler was reignited at the event when Lawler defeated Hart due to Hakushi's (now Lawler's protégé) interference. Hart beat Lawler in
25872-609: Was eventually won by André the Giant . He lost to Steamboat again on the July 28, 1986, episode of Prime Time Wrestling . 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 . The 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 . They then teamed with Danny Davis to face The British Bulldogs and Tito Santana at WrestleMania III . They won
26040-464: Was focusing on projects outside the business, such as acting, and shifted to the number two face in the company, behind Diesel. 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. Both men embraced in a display of sportsmanship after the match. In a rematch from Survivor Series, Hart defeated Bob Backlund in an "I Quit" match at WrestleMania XI . Hart
26208-632: Was held at Halloween Havoc and the first following the retirement of The Undertaker involving Grayson Waller vs. Apollo Crews in which Crews won. WWE held its first women's casket match on the October 29, 2024 episode of NXT involving Tatum Paxley and Wendy Choo in which the Paxley won. In addition to WWE, the casket match has been adopted for use in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , All Elite Wrestling , and Lucha Underground , with Lucha Underground denominating it as
26376-470: Was in his professional wrestling career, and also of what a positive effect amateur wrestling has on junior high school and high school-aged boys in terms of building self-confidence. In 1976, Hart began working for his father's Stampede Wrestling promotion in Calgary. Hart first began helping the promotion by refereeing matches. At a 1978 event in Saskatoon , Saskatchewan, a wrestler was unable to perform his match, forcing Stu to ask his son to stand in as
26544-487: Was inducted into the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame upon its inception in 1996, while still an active performer. Hart held championship titles in five decades from the 1970s to the 2010s, 32 throughout his career and 17 between the WWF/WWE and WCW. Among other accolades, he is a five-time WWF Champion and a two-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion . He went the most combined days as WWF Champion during
26712-601: Was left standing. A cinematic match is not technically a match type itself, but rather, it is a term used to refer to matches that are produced with various cinematic techniques . The rules vary from match to match, but generally have a basis in hardcore wrestling. Unlike a normal wrestling match, which is done in one take and typically in front of a live audience, cinematic matches are shot over several hours with various scenes filmed, similar to filmmaking, with higher-budget production involved. The final product (the complete match) generally lasts from 20 to 40 minutes and airs at
26880-570: Was part of Three Stages of Hell match at WWE Payback on June 16, 2013, in Rosemont, Illinois between John Cena and Ryback for the WWE Championship . The most recent was at NXT Halloween Havoc in October 2024, between Ridge Holland and Andre Chase . The famous 2017 Lucha Underground "Hell of War" bout between Dante Fox ( A.R. Fox ) and Killshot ( Swerve Strickland ) was that promotion's only ambulance match. A buried alive match
27048-427: Was serving as a guest commentator at ringside, accidentally cost Hart the victory when he attempted to become involved in the match after being assaulted by Sid. The building tension between Hart and Michaels climaxed after the match when Hart assaulted Michaels. Hart's feud with Austin escalated at the Royal Rumble , when Hart tossed Austin out of the ring, only for Austin (unbeknownst to the referees) to climb back into
27216-461: Was studying filmmaking; his coaches and other people around him felt that he had shown sufficient promise to compete at the following year's Commonwealth Games and encouraged him to begin training for the event. He began to find amateur wrestling unrewarding amid injuries and fluctuating weight . Stu still believed his son capable of making it to the Olympic or Commonwealth Games if he put forth
27384-465: Was such a failure that during the match, the enraged crowd screamed "Fire Russo!" so loudly that the commentators had to yell into their microphones to be heard. In 2023, TNA Wrestling brought back the Last Rites match, but modified it to be more of a basic casket match. A dumpster match is a no-disqualification, no-submission, no-countout, no-fall hardcore match in which the only objective to win
27552-505: Was the "Tag Team Apocalypto" where The Hardys last defeated Decay. Although not contested as a match, WWE followed this up shortly after and filmed a cinematic-style brawl between The New Day ( Big E , Kofi Kingston , and Xavier Woods ) and The Wyatt Family ( Bray Wyatt , Erick Rowan , and Braun Strowman ) that was held at The Wyatt Family Compound and shown on the July 11, 2016 episode of WWE Raw . WWE then taped their own cinematic match for their 2017 pay-per-view Payback , called
27720-462: Was two years older, and Georgia, who was one year older. Hart's family were non-denominational Christians , but he and all of his siblings were baptized by a local Catholic priest. Hart spent the vast majority of his childhood in the Hart family mansion which was owned by his father. During one period his father was housing a bear known as Terrible Ted chained under the building, the bear had had all of its teeth removed and Hart would sometimes as
27888-564: Was used at the WrestleMania XV as well. Created by WCW in 1995, the World War 3 battle royale involved a three-ring setup and 60 competitors; 20 wrestlers started in each of the three rings, in which they would wrestle under regular battle royale rules. Once there were 30 competitors remaining (except in 1997, where the number was 20), all competitors would enter the center ring and continue under regular rules until only one wrestler
28056-425: Was used during the 2011 WWE Draft on April 25, 2011; where the wrestler's team has to eliminate all members of the opposing team, much like an elimination tag team match where the losing wrestler of a team, who just got thrown over the ring ropes with both feet touching the floor, must return to their locker room. The team winner receives a #1 draft pick for their respective brand. Another notable version of this match
28224-406: Was voted by Pro Wrestling Illustrated readers as the " Most Hated Wrestler of the Year " in 1997. At In Your House 16: Canadian Stampede , in Hart's home town of Calgary, the Hart Foundation defeated the team of Stone Cold Steve Austin, Ken Shamrock, Goldust , and The Legion of Doom , representing the United States, in a ten-man tag team match main event. The Canada vs. U.S. rivalry escalated on
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