Bret Hart

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 a replacement. Before long, he became a regular contender, eventually partnering with brother Keith to win the Stampede International Tag Team Championship four times.

By 1977, Hart was collegiate champion at Mount Royal College, where he 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. Hart, however, was beginning 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 the effort. Hart has expressed that he believed that even if he became an exceptionally successful sports wrestler it would not have led to a career afterwards which he was interested in, stating that he thought that he would end up as a wrestling coach or phys-ed teacher at a high-school if he pursued the olympic route. Hart felt that 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 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.

Hart married Julie Smadu (born March 25, 1960) on July 8, 1982. They have four children: Jade Michelle Hart (born March 31, 1983); Dallas Jeffery Hart (born August 11, 1984); Alexandra Sabina Hart (born May 17, 1988), nicknamed "Beans"; and Blade Colton Hart (born June 5, 1990). The four hearts located on the right thigh of his tights symbolize his children, as do the four dots following his signature. Julie's sister Michelle was married to Tom Billington from 1982 to 1991. Bret and Julie separated in May 1998, and after several brief reunions over the next 4 years, eventually divorced on June 24, 2002, just hours before Hart suffered his stroke. Hart married an Italian woman named Cinzia Rota on September 15, 2004, but they divorced in 2007 after failing to agree on where they should live. He married Stephanie Washington on July 24, 2010. Through his daughters Jade and Alexandra, Hart has a granddaughter, Kyra Beans (born June 2010) and two grandsons, Grayson Knight Cassidy (born June 20, 2015) and Bo (born April 2016). In 2019, Hart's son Dallas had a daughter, Vylet Louise Hart.

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, 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 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, 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 where he comes from "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 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 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 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 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 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, 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 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 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 man to enter the 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 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 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 a successful defense 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 The Mountie. This feud 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 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 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 World Heavyweight 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 – 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 his first successful title defense against Papa Shango on Saturday Night's Main Event XXXI. He would headline his first pay-per-view as champion with a successful title defense against Shawn Michaels at 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 the title; Hogan then won his fifth WWF World Heavyweight Title 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 World Heavyweight Championship from Hulk Hogan at SummerSlam, but Hogan chose to drop the title to Yokozuna instead at King of 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 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 the Year" by readers of Pro Wrestling Illustrated.

Along with Storm, Roman Reigns and Sami Zayn point to Hart as their top wrestling inspiration; Seth Rollins and Jinder Mahal called him an idol, and Dean Ambrose cited him as an influence. Edge listed his three idols within the business as "Bret, Shawn and Hulk". Chris Jericho named Bret as his hero (along with Owen Hart), and said he aspired to be "half of" what Bret was. Chris Benoit remarked: "I always emulated him... I spent so many years looking up to, idolizing [Hart]; he was somewhat of a role model to me". Benoit added that his matches against Hart were "up on a pedestal". Koji Nakagawa modelled his character and entire career on Bret Hart by adopting Hart's pink and black attire, an entrance theme identical to Hart's theme song, while also adopting his moveset. Ryback recalled a WWF event from his childhood, saying: "I remember it was Bret Hart against Diesel inside a steel cage in the main event, and I just knew I wanted to be a WWE wrestler... Bret [Hart], I love". Drew McIntyre named Hart his favourite wrestler, while Wade Barrett named Hart along with The British Bulldog, The Ultimate Warrior and The Undertaker; he called Hart vs. Bulldog, at SummerSlam 1992, his all-time favorite match. Scott Dawson said that Hart's work at King of the Ring in 1993 made him want to become a professional wrestler.

In October 1993, Hart gave a radio interview in which he said Ric Flair "sucks", and described his workplace, WCW, as "minor league". In his autobiography, Flair accused Hart of exploiting the death of his brother, Owen Hart, and the controversy surrounding the Montreal Screwjob. Flair also claimed in his autobiography that, despite Hart's popularity in Canada, he was not a formidable money-making draw in the United States, a claim which Hart dismissed as "plain ridiculous" in a column written for the Calgary Sun. Hart claimed that he drew greater revenue than Flair, citing his headlining performances on consistently sold-out tours throughout his WWF career, while Flair wrestled to allegedly near-empty arenas. He also criticized Flair on what he perceived as insults to fellow wrestlers Mick Foley and Randy Savage. Hart did acknowledge a decline in the WWF's popularity during the mid-1990s, but he, and others, felt that this was largely attributed to the WWF's well-publicised sex and steroid scandals, as well as WCW's acquisition of former top WWF stars. Hart also took aim at Flair in his autobiography, criticizing his in-ring talents and what Hart perceived as Flair's unsubtle blading.

In 1994, Hart played a prison inmate in Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers; however, the scene he appeared in was deleted. From 1994 to 1995 Hart appeared in Lonesome Dove: The Series television show playing "Luther Root". He has made numerous televised appearances since, including a guest spot on The Simpsons in 1997 (as himself, in "The Old Man and the Lisa") and episodes of the Honey I Shrunk The Kids TV series (along with his brother Owen), The Adventures of Sinbad, Big Sound, and The Immortal. Hart provides the voice of pro wrestler character "The Hooded Fang" in Jacob Two-Two.

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 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.

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 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 honor 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 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 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.

In September 1997, Hart faced Terry Funk at Terry Funk's WrestleFest in what was billed as Funk's retirement match.

Hart's three-year contract with World Championship Wrestling included a salary of $2.5 million per year (a $1 million annual increase from his WWF contract), as well as a light schedule and a measure of creative control over his television character. A day after the WWF's Survivor Series pay-per-view, Eric Bischoff, while with the New World Order (nWo), announced that Hart was going to be coming to WCW and joining the nWo. Hart made his debut on Nitro on December 15, 1997. He was also heavily involved in that month's Starrcade pay-per-view. Due to a 60-day no-compete clause from the WWF, he served as the special guest referee for the match between Bischoff and Larry Zbyszko; during the Sting versus Hollywood Hogan main event for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship, he stepped in toward the conclusion of the match as impromptu referee, declaring Sting the winner and new champion by submission, establishing Hart as a face in the process. In January, his no-compete clause expired, and his first feud in WCW was against Ric Flair, as both wrestlers considered themselves the greatest professional wrestlers of all time. Hart defeated Flair at Souled Out in his first WCW match. After this, Hart elected to defend the honor of WCW against the nWo, defeating members Brian Adams in his debut Nitro match on March 2, and Curt Hennig at Uncensored. In April 1998, Hart interfered in a Nitro main event between Hollywood Hogan and Randy Savage, helping Hogan recapture the WCW World Heavyweight Championship, turning heel in the process. He became an associate of the nWo, but did not officially join the group.

Hart also guest starred on the sketch comedy series MADtv in 1997 where he acted as enforcer at a fan's house, appearing with his WWF Championship belt. Hart later appeared again on MADtv in 1999 and 2000 in an angle with actor Will Sasso in which the two feuded on the set of MADtv and in World Championship Wrestling; this culminated in a grudge match on WCW Monday Nitro, where Hart decisively defeated Sasso.

His introduction to professional wrestling came at an early age. As a child, he witnessed his father training future wrestlers like 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 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 demeanor.

Although Hart stated to McMahon he would not take the WWF World Heavyweight Championship with him to WCW TV and despite insistence from then-WCW President Eric Bischoff, that Hart would join WCW with 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 title 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 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".

On May 23, 1999, the night before Hart was scheduled to make an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno to hype his imminent WCW return, his brother Owen Hart died in an accident during a WWF pay-per-view. Hart took a further four months off from WCW to be with his family.

A clip of Hart applying the sharpshooter to Benoit at WCW Mayhem in 1999 is featured in the opening credits of Malcolm in the Middle.

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 successful careers in the business. His youngest brother Owen Hart had become a decorated wrestler in his own right before his death in 1999, caused in an accident at the WWF pay-per-view Over the Edge. Hart's niece Natalya is a professional wrestler.

Out of respect for Goldberg, Hart vacated the WCW World Heavyweight Championship on the December 20 episode of Nitro and suggested that he, without the championship advantage, face Goldberg that night to determine the true champion. During the match, Scott Hall and Kevin Nash came to the ring looking to attack Goldberg with baseball bats. Hart convinced them to stop, then hit Goldberg with one of the bats, turning heel once again. The three continued to beat down Goldberg and were eventually joined by Jeff Jarrett. Hart regained the championship, even though it was Roddy Piper who was covering Goldberg (to try and protect him) when the three count was made. The nWo was reformed (now billed as "nWo 2000"). Hart wrestled Terry Funk to a no contest in a non-title, hardcore rules match on the January 6 episode of Thunder. In his final match in WCW, he defended the WCW World Heavyweight Championship against Nash on the January 10 episode of Nitro, which also ended in a no contest. Hart vacated the title in late January 2000 when he was forced to withdraw from the main event of WCW's Souled Out due to his injuries. Hart continued to make appearances on WCW television, generally cutting promos. On the May 3 episode of Thunder, Hart made a run in during an over the top rope battle royal where he hit Hogan with a chair. His final WCW appearance occurred on the September 6, 2000 episode of Thunder, in a promo where he confronted Bill Goldberg on the injury he sustained nine months prior. WCW terminated Hart's contract via FedEx letter on October 20, 2000, due to his ongoing incapacity, and he announced his retirement from professional wrestling soon afterward.

In 2001, Hart became the on-screen commissioner of World Wrestling All-Stars (WWA), a role that ended prematurely due to a 2002 stroke, which temporarily required him to use a wheelchair. In his first major appearance since recovering, Hart traveled to Auckland, New Zealand to appear at another WWA event in May 2003.

On June 24, 2002, Hart suffered a stroke after hitting his head in a bicycle accident. The Calgary Herald reported that Hart hit a pothole, flew over the handlebars of the bike, and landed on the back of his head. Hart suffered total paralysis on his left side, which required months of physical therapy. Hart has since recovered much of his mobility and is in good health, although he suffers from an emotional imbalance and other lasting effects common to stroke survivors. Hart wrote in detail about his stroke in his autobiography, Hitman: My Real Life In The Cartoon World of Wrestling. Hart later became a spokesperson for March of Dimes Canada's Stroke Recovery Canada program. While recovering from his stroke Hart would train three days a week at B.J's Gym in Calgary, which was owned by his brother-in-law B.J. Annis.

Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) readers voted Hart the greatest wrestler of 1993 and 1994 in the "PWI 500", as well as the "Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Year" 1994. He was voted "WWF Superstar of the Year" 1993 by fans. PWI ranked him No. 4 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years" in 2003, after Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, and André the Giant. WWE has also credited Hart as the top "Submission Specialist" in professional wrestling history, and for popularizing the Sharpshooter, named by the organization as the most devastating submission hold in professional wrestling history. Hart's rise to singles success was seen to revolutionize the business; IGN wrote: "After Bret beat Ric Flair for the WWE Championship in 1992, it changed the entire industry, re-setting the WWF back to the days of technical wizardry and reshaping all our notions of what a great wrestling match should actually look and feel like". According to prominent industry historian Dave Meltzer, Hart was "a major draw in the United States and probably more so in Europe". Fellow journalists Dave Scherer and Bob Ryder described him as "an incredible international draw, attracting standing room only crowds in every corner of the globe." Fin Martin of Power Slam also spoke to Hart's drawing power, placing him number 7 in "The 10 Best U.S.-Style All-Rounders", a list that considered drawing ability, along with workrate and promo skills. Vice's Corey Erdman wrote, "1997 was one of the hottest periods in the history of professional wrestling... Hart was the [WWF's] biggest star, arguably its biggest live gate draw globally." Recalling WCW's acquisition of Hart that year, WWE owner Vince McMahon argued that his chief competitor "could have really built the entire franchise... around this extraordinary star." McMahon felt that WCW misused Hart, which was "fortunate" for the WWF.

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. However, Michaels did not submit in the last 30 seconds so 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 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.

Hart donned his "Hit Man" singlet, along with additional costume, and executed wrestling maneuvers on villain characters, as part of his performance as the Genie in a 2004 stage production of Aladdin. He reprised the role in 2006.

In mid-2005, WWE announced the release of a three-disc DVD originally named Screwed: The Bret Hart Story, with the title a reference to the Montreal Screwjob. Hart filmed over seven hours of interview footage for the DVD, which was renamed Bret "Hit Man" Hart: The Best There Is, The Best There Was, The Best There Ever Will Be. The collection was released on November 15, 2005.

On April 1, 2006, Hart was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2006 by Stone Cold Steve Austin. He did not appear alongside his fellow inductees at WrestleMania 22 the following night. On June 11, 2007, Hart made his first appearance on Raw since October 27, 1997 when he appeared in a pre-taped interview voicing his opinions on Vince McMahon as part of "Mr. McMahon Appreciation Night."

On the February 16, 2006 episode of Raw, it was announced that Hart would be an inductee into the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2006. Hart had also been approached by Vince McMahon for a potential match between the two at WrestleMania 22 but declined the offer. On April 1, 2006, Hart was inducted by "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. He thanked every wrestler he worked with (even thanking Vince McMahon) and said he's "in a good place in life." Veteran industry personality and former WWE executive Paul Heyman referred to Hart's oeuvre as "a body of work so spectacular that it is beyond comprehension how brilliant a career he enjoyed".

On July 15, 2006, Hart was inducted into the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame, at the International Wrestling Institute and Museum in Newton, Iowa. The induction took place in an immensely crowded and humid display room showcasing one of Hart's ring entrance jackets. The honor is only awarded to those with both a professional and amateur wrestling background, making Hart one of the youngest inductees. During his acceptance, Hart compared this induction to his place in the WWE Hall of Fame, saying "This is a much bigger honor for me." In June 2008, Hart returned to the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame ceremony, this time to induct his father Stu Hart.

In 2007, Hart signed autographs at "The Legends of Wrestling" show at the Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. On the weekend of July 11, 2009, he made an appearance at One Pro Wrestling in Doncaster, England, where he held a Q&A, and then entered the ring to address the fans at the show. On September 27, 2009, Hart appeared in New York City's Manhattan Center to sign autographs during a Ring of Honor event. He spoke to the crowd, reminiscing about some of his more memorable matches in New York.

On October 16, 2007, Hart's autobiography titled Hitman: My Real Life in the Cartoon World of Wrestling, was released in Canada by Random House Canada, and released in fall 2008 in the United States by Grand Central Publishing, with a U.S. book signing tour. Hart began writing the book in July 1999 with Marcy Engelstein, his longtime close friend and business associate. They did not complete the book until eight years later in September 2007 due to Hart suffering his stroke in 2002, among numerous other tragedies that occurred during the writing. Hart's chronicle is based on an audio diary that he kept for all of his years on the road in professional wrestling.

Hart re-signed with WWE in late 2009. On December 28, after weeks of speculation surrounding Hart and his presence in World Wrestling Entertainment, Chairman Vince McMahon announced that Hart would be special guest host on the January 4 Raw. Hart thanked the fans for their continued support, jokingly teased announcer Jerry Lawler about their long-running 1990s feud, and confronted Shawn Michaels and McMahon regarding the Montreal Screwjob at Survivor Series in 1997. Hart and Michaels were able to agree on a truce, shaking hands and hugging. While many cast doubts on the sincerity of their reconciliation, both men have confirmed that it was indeed genuine and not part of storyline. It also appeared that he had buried the hatchet with McMahon later in the night, until McMahon subsequently kicked Bret in the crotch (this was in fact part of a storyline, as Hart and McMahon had been on speaking terms since 2005).

During different encounters the following month, Hart and McMahon reproduced events similar to those that occurred in the Montreal Screwjob: McMahon spitting in Hart's face (as Hart did to McMahon), and Hart destroying parts of the technical equipment that goes into producing Raw (as he did to the Survivor Series equipment). On the February 15 Raw, Hart made a farewell from WWE, but as he left to go inside his limousine, another vehicle reversed into the door of his limo and injured his left leg. On the March 1 Raw, McMahon challenged Hart to a match at WrestleMania XXVI; Hart accepted. The match was later changed to a No Holds Barred match as Hart revealed (with help from "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, the special guest host that night) the staging of his injury. Hart, along with his family, inducted his father Stu Hart into the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2010, a controversial decision that aggravated Hart and McMahon's rivalry in 2010. At WrestleMania, McMahon attempted to buy Hart's family into turning against him; however, they turned against McMahon instead and helped Hart defeat McMahon.

Hart returned five weeks later, where it was announced by John Cena that he, The Great Khali, R-Truth, Edge, Chris Jericho, John Morrison and Hart would face the NXT rookies, now known as The Nexus, at SummerSlam. The following week, Hart teamed with Cena to wrestle SummerSlam teammates Edge and Chris Jericho to a no contest. In the SummerSlam main event, he was disqualified for using a steel chair on Skip Sheffield, however, his team still ultimately won the match. On the August 16, episode of Raw, Hart introduced the new tag team title belts to the champions, The Hart Dynasty. Later on in the night during The Nexus vs. Raw challenge, Hart was scheduled to face Justin Gabriel, but was unable to compete after the Anonymous Raw General Manager, citing his disdain for Hart, removed him from the match and replaced him with Randy Orton. On September 25, WWE hosted a tribute event to Hart in Madison Square Garden, where he and the Hart Dynasty defeated Nexus members Heath Slater, Justin Gabriel and Michael Tarver in a six-man tag team match, when Gabriel submitted to Hart's Sharpshooter. In November 2010, Hart's WWE contract had expired.

On April 6, 2010, WWE released Hart & Soul: The Hart Family Anthology, which is a 3 DVD set featuring a documentary on the Hart wrestling family as well as 12 matches. It is unique in that it also features previously unseen home movies from the Harts as well as interviews from family members.

In 2010, The Fight Network produced a documentary titled Bret Hart – Survival of the Hitman produced by John Pollock, Jorge Barbosa and Wai Ting chronicling the rise of Hart, his split with WWE in 1997 and his road back to the company in January 2010. The documentary features interviews with Hart, members of the Hart family, Hart's former business manager Carl De Marco, former sports agent Gord Kirke, and producer of Wrestling with Shadows Paul Jay.

A DVD entitled Shawn Michaels vs Bret Hart: WWE's Greatest Rivalries was released in November 2011. The subject of the DVD was their on-screen rivalry and real-life conflicts, with a particular focus on the Montreal Screwjob.

Hart has made infrequent appearances in minor roles, appearing on the April 25, 2011 episode of Tough Enough. At Raw 1000 and on the May 4, 2012 episode of Raw he served as guest ring announcer; he interviewed John Cena on September 10, 2012, during which CM Punk interrupted and got into a confrontation with Hart. He participated in backstage segments at the 2013 Royal Rumble and WrestleMania 31. On the post-show of Raw on May 27, 2013, Hart was honored by the city of Calgary and the WWE with a "Bret Hart Appreciation Night", a celebration of the work he had done in his career. Also present in the ring for this celebration were Pat Patterson, Chris Jericho, Shawn Michaels and Vince McMahon, who each paid their own tributes to Hart. He has also served as an expert on panels, including the March 25, 2013 episode of Raw and at the NXT Arrival pre-show. Hart was in the corner of his niece Natalya on the March 27, 2014 episode of NXT, at the second NXT TakeOver event and at the 2016 Payback event. The match ended when the referee, Charles Robinson, called for the bell as Charlotte had Natalya locked in the Sharpshooter. After the match both Natalya and Hart placed Charlotte and her father, Ric Flair, respectively in the Sharpshooter.

In 2016, Hart starred in the documentary film Nine Legends. Early that year, Hart launched a podcast named The Sharpshooter Show.

On February 1, 2016, Hart announced through a Facebook post that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer. Jim Ross claimed on March 2, 2016 that Hart had beaten the disease following successful surgery and that it appeared not to have spread to other areas of his body. Hart responded to Jim Ross' comments through Facebook saying that although the surgery was a success and that he and his doctors were optimistic, he would continue to be monitored every three months by doctors until he can actually be cancer free.

On August 23, 2018, Hart was honored with a traditional Niitsitapi naming ceremony and named 'Courageous Chief' by Siksika Elder Miiksika’am (Clarence Wolfleg). The ceremony was done as recognition for his and his father Stu Hart's cultural relationship building contributions, such as promoting interest of the sport of amateur wrestling among indigenous youth throughout Western Canada.

On April 6, 2019, Hart became a two-time WWE Hall of Famer when he was inducted as a member of The Hart Foundation alongside Jim Neidhart. During Hart's speech, an audience member charged into the ring and tackled Hart and his niece Natalya to the ground, but they were quickly saved by multiple wrestlers and security, and after several minutes, Hart continued his speech. WWE later released a statement saying that the attacker was sent to the local authorities.

In August 2019, Hart appeared at WWE SummerSlam pay per view backstage wishing Seth Rollins good luck in his match against Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship.

On May 25, 2019, Hart made a surprise special appearance at All Elite Wrestling's (AEW) inaugural pay-per-view, Double or Nothing, to unveil the AEW World Championship.

Happy Birthday, Bret Hart

The Best There Is, the Best There Was, the Best There Ever Will Be Photo Credit: WWE.com The Hitman himself, Bret Hart, celebrates his 5...