Keith Hart
Encyclopedia
Keith William Hart is a Canadian
retired firefighter
and professional wrestler
. He is one of the sons of Stu Hart
, CM
.
in teaching.
Hart trained under his father and began wrestling on June 1, 1973 in his father's promotion
, Stampede Wrestling
, facing Lindy Calder in his debut match. He spent much of his career as a tag team
wrestler, teaming with wrestlers such as his brother Bret
, with whom he won the Stampede International Tag Team Championship four times. He feuded
with wrestlers such as Dick Steinborn, Mr. Hito, and Mr. Sakurada
. In addition to wrestling in Canada, Hart performed in Germany
and made infrequent appearances in the United States of America
.
In the late 1970s, at the urging of his brother-in-law, B.J. Annis, Hart passed a test and was accepted into the Calgary firefighter
department. As a result, he largely reduced his wrestling commitments.
As part of the feud
between Bret and Jerry Lawler
, at the 1993 Survivor Series
Bret and his brothers Keith, Bruce
and Owen
faced Shawn Michaels
and his three masked
knights. Though Owen was eliminated and Keith's shoulder was injured by a prolonged assault at the hands of Michaels, the Hart brothers were victorious.
In the 1990s, Hart worked as a trainer in the Hart Dungeon (the wrestling training camp located in the basement of the Hart family mansion
). He eventually retired to become a fulltime firefighter, although he briefly came out of retirement in 1999 when Stampede Wrestling was reopened by his brothers Bruce and Ross Hart. Hart became a tag team champion with Chris Benoit.
Following the death of Stu Hart on October 16, 2003, the Hart family sold the Hart mansion. On August 14, 2004 Hart organised a fundraiser, held within the mansion, for the Stu Hart Amateur Sport Foundation (which supports amateur wrestling in the Calgary area).
Hart retired as a firefighter in 2006 after 27 years and began working as a substitute teacher
. He is known to teach in Calgary and Okotoks (just outside of calgary)
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
retired firefighter
Firefighter
Firefighters are rescuers extensively trained primarily to put out hazardous fires that threaten civilian populations and property, to rescue people from car incidents, collapsed and burning buildings and other such situations...
and professional wrestler
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
. He is one of the sons of Stu Hart
Stu Hart
Stewart Edward "Stu" Hart, CM was a Canadian amateur wrestler, professional wrestler, promoter and trainer. Hart founded Stampede Wrestling, a promotion based in Calgary, Alberta, and was the father of famous wrestlers Bret and Owen Hart...
, CM
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
.
Career
Before becoming a wrestler, Keith Hart earned a degreeAcademic degree
An academic degree is a position and title within a college or university that is usually awarded in recognition of the recipient having either satisfactorily completed a prescribed course of study or having conducted a scholarly endeavour deemed worthy of his or her admission to the degree...
in teaching.
Hart trained under his father and began wrestling on June 1, 1973 in his father's promotion
Professional wrestling promotion
A professional wrestling promotion is a company or business that regularly performs shows involving professional wrestling. Promotion also describes a role which entails management, advertising and logistics of running a wrestling event...
, Stampede Wrestling
Stampede Wrestling
Stampede Wrestling is a Canadian professional wrestling promotion based in Calgary, Alberta and was for nearly 50 years one of the main promotions in western Canada and the Canadian Prairies...
, facing Lindy Calder in his debut match. He spent much of his career as a tag team
Tag team
Tag team professional wrestling is a variation in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. A tag team may comprise two wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of established teams who wrestle regularly as a unit and have a team name...
wrestler, teaming with wrestlers such as his brother Bret
Bret Hart
Bret Hart is a Canadian on-screen personality, writer, actor and Semi-retired professional wrestler. Like others in the Hart wrestling family, Hart has an amateur wrestling background, including wrestling at Ernest Manning High School and Mount Royal College...
, with whom he won the Stampede International Tag Team Championship four times. He feuded
Feud (professional wrestling)
A professional wrestling feud is a staged rivalry between multiple wrestlers or alliances of wrestlers. They are integrated into ongoing storylines, particularly in events which are televised...
with wrestlers such as Dick Steinborn, Mr. Hito, and Mr. Sakurada
Kazuo Sakurada
, better known as Mr. Sakurada and as the Japanese version of , is a retired Japanese professional wrestler. He is best known, under various monikers, for his work in Stampede Wrestling, National Wrestling Alliance, and World Championship Wrestling. Sakurada is also highly regarded by Bret Hart as...
. In addition to wrestling in Canada, Hart performed in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and made infrequent appearances in the United States of America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
In the late 1970s, at the urging of his brother-in-law, B.J. Annis, Hart passed a test and was accepted into the Calgary firefighter
Firefighter
Firefighters are rescuers extensively trained primarily to put out hazardous fires that threaten civilian populations and property, to rescue people from car incidents, collapsed and burning buildings and other such situations...
department. As a result, he largely reduced his wrestling commitments.
As part of the feud
Feud (professional wrestling)
A professional wrestling feud is a staged rivalry between multiple wrestlers or alliances of wrestlers. They are integrated into ongoing storylines, particularly in events which are televised...
between Bret and Jerry Lawler
Jerry Lawler
Jerry O'Neil Lawler is an American professional wrestler, wrestling commentator, musician, businessman, commercial artist and film actor, known throughout the wrestling world as Jerry "The King" Lawler. He is currently signed to WWE, working on its Raw brand as the color commentator and occasional...
, at the 1993 Survivor Series
Survivor Series (1993)
Survivor Series was the seventh annual Survivor Series pay-per-view professional wrestling event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on Thanksgiving Eve, November 24, 1993 at the Boston Garden in Boston, Massachusetts...
Bret and his brothers Keith, Bruce
Bruce Hart (wrestler)
Bruce Dennis Luis Hart is a retired Canadian professional wrestler. The second son of Stu Hart, Hart is a member of the large Hart wrestling family.Hart substitute teaches for the Calgary Board of Education.-Career:...
and Owen
Owen Hart
Owen James Hart was a Canadian professional and amateur wrestler who worked for several promotions including Stampede Wrestling, New Japan Pro Wrestling , World Championship Wrestling , and most notably, the World Wrestling Federation , where he wrestled under both his own name, and ring name The...
faced Shawn Michaels
Shawn Michaels
Michael Shawn Hickenbottom , better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American television host and retired professional wrestler. He presents the Outdoor Channel show MacMillan River Adventures, and is currently signed to WWE, where he has served in an ambassadorial role since December...
and his three masked
Wrestling mask
A Wrestling mask is a fabric based mask that some professional wrestlers wear as part of their in-ring persona or gimmick. Professional wrestlers have been using masks as far back as 1915 and they are still widely used today, especially in Lucha Libre in Mexico.-History:In 1915 a North American...
knights. Though Owen was eliminated and Keith's shoulder was injured by a prolonged assault at the hands of Michaels, the Hart brothers were victorious.
In the 1990s, Hart worked as a trainer in the Hart Dungeon (the wrestling training camp located in the basement of the Hart family mansion
Mansion
A mansion is a very large dwelling house. U.S. real estate brokers define a mansion as a dwelling of over . A traditional European mansion was defined as a house which contained a ballroom and tens of bedrooms...
). He eventually retired to become a fulltime firefighter, although he briefly came out of retirement in 1999 when Stampede Wrestling was reopened by his brothers Bruce and Ross Hart. Hart became a tag team champion with Chris Benoit.
Following the death of Stu Hart on October 16, 2003, the Hart family sold the Hart mansion. On August 14, 2004 Hart organised a fundraiser, held within the mansion, for the Stu Hart Amateur Sport Foundation (which supports amateur wrestling in the Calgary area).
Hart retired as a firefighter in 2006 after 27 years and began working as a substitute teacher
Substitute teacher
A substitute teacher is a person who teaches a school class when the regular teacher is unavailable; e.g., because of illness, personal leave, or other reasons. "Substitute teacher" is the most commonly used phrase in the United States, Canada and Ireland, while supply teacher is the most commonly...
. He is known to teach in Calgary and Okotoks (just outside of calgary)
Personal life
Hart has fathered three sons, Stuart Hart, Conor Hart and Brock Hart. Conor has pursued amateur wrestling at the University of Calgary and coaches a local high school team.In wrestling
- Finishing moves
- Figure four leglock
- Signature moves
- Diving crossbody
- ManagersManager (professional wrestling)In professional wrestling, a manager is a secondary character paired with a wrestler for a variety of reasons. The manager is often either a non-wrestler, an occasional wrestler, an older wrestler who has retired or is nearing retirement or, in some cases, a new wrestler who is breaking into the...
- Stu HartStu HartStewart Edward "Stu" Hart, CM was a Canadian amateur wrestler, professional wrestler, promoter and trainer. Hart founded Stampede Wrestling, a promotion based in Calgary, Alberta, and was the father of famous wrestlers Bret and Owen Hart...
- Stu Hart
- Wrestlers trained by Keith Hart
- Jason Clevett
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- Steven Elliott
- Chris JerichoChris JerichoChristopher Keith Irvine , better known by his ring name Chris Jericho, is an inactive Canadian-American professional wrestler, musician, songwriter, radio personality, television host, actor, author, and dancer...
- Brian PillmanBrian PillmanBrian William Pillman was an American football player and professional wrestler best known for his appearances in the World Wrestling Federation, Extreme Championship Wrestling, and World Championship Wrestling....
- Lance StormLance StormLance Timothy Evers known professionally by his ring name Lance Storm, is a semi-retired Canadian professional wrestler. He is best known for his work in World Wrestling Entertainment, Extreme Championship Wrestling, and World Championship Wrestling...
Championships and accomplishments
- Can Am Wrestling Federation
- CAWF Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Vinnie Fever
- Polynesian Pacific Wrestling
- PPW Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Bruce HartBruce Hart (wrestler)Bruce Dennis Luis Hart is a retired Canadian professional wrestler. The second son of Stu Hart, Hart is a member of the large Hart wrestling family.Hart substitute teaches for the Calgary Board of Education.-Career:...
- Stampede WrestlingStampede WrestlingStampede Wrestling is a Canadian professional wrestling promotion based in Calgary, Alberta and was for nearly 50 years one of the main promotions in western Canada and the Canadian Prairies...
- NWA International Tag Team Championship (Calgary version) (7 times) - with Leo Burke (2), Bret HartBret HartBret Hart is a Canadian on-screen personality, writer, actor and Semi-retired professional wrestler. Like others in the Hart wrestling family, Hart has an amateur wrestling background, including wrestling at Ernest Manning High School and Mount Royal College...
(4), and Hubert Gallant (1) - Stampede British Commonwealth Mid-Heavyweight ChampionshipStampede British Commonwealth Mid-Heavyweight ChampionshipThe Stampede British Commonwealth Mid-Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling title for lighter wrestlers in the Canadian promotion, Stampede Wrestling. It has existed since 1978.-Title history:...
(1 time) - Stampede International Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Chris BenoitChris BenoitChristopher Michael "Chris" Benoit was a Canadian professional wrestler whose career and life ended in a murder–suicide...
- Stampede World Mid-Heavyweight ChampionshipStampede World Mid-Heavyweight ChampionshipThe Stampede World Mid-Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling title, one of the lesser known secondary titles created for Stampede Wrestling in 1979, and was the focal point of the 1982-83 feud between the Dynamite Kid and the Great Gama...
(1 time) - Stampede Wrestling Hall of Fame