Bret Sergeant Hart (born July 2, 1957) was a Canadian professional wrestler spawned from the famous Hart family of wrestling. He had several monikers; Bret "The Hitman" Hart, (adopted from boxer Thomas Hearns), the Excellence of Execution, and perhaps the most resounding, "The best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be".

He was born in Calgary, Alberta as the eighth of the 12 children of wrestling promoter Stu Hart. His seven brothers were either wrestlers or involved backstage with the wrestling business; his four sisters all married professional wrestlers. Two of his brothers-in-law, Davey Boy Smith and Jim Neidhart, had very successful careers in the business. His youngest brother, Owen Hart, became a prominent wrestler in his own right before his death in 1999 when a wrestling stunt went horribly wrong.

Famous for wearing wrap-around sunglasses, Hart is still regarded by many as one of the most technically sound pro wrestlers ever to grace a wrestling ring. He rose to fame in the World Wrestling Federation in the early 1990s, winning the WWF Tag Team title twice as one half of The Hart Foundation , WWF Intercontinental title twice, the WWF World title five times, and winning the original "King of the Ring" tournament in 1993. One of his world title reigns originated by defeating The Undertaker, another by defeating the nearly 600 pound Yokozuna. Following a rather controversial match (known to fans as the Montreal Screwjob) with Shawn Michaels, in November 1997, he left the WWF and joined World Championship Wrestling (WCW).

In late 1999, he suffered a severe concussion in a match against Bill Goldberg, which turned out to be career-ending.

In 2002, he suffered a stroke after falling off his bicycle. He has made a remarkable recovery from the stroke. He currently writes a column for the Calgary Sun newspaper and is working on his three-volume autobiography.

In 2004, Hart was chosen as one of the Greatest Canadians, coming in at number thirty-nine. He was also the advocate for Don Cherry during the televised portion of the competition.

Famous Quotes

• "The Excellence of Execution"
• "I'm the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be"

External links

• Bret Hart's column (http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/Hitman/home.html)
• Bret Hart's Web Page (http://www.brethart.com/)
• Archive of Bret's Columns (http://www.brethart.com/columns.asp)

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