Wrestling’s Greatest Factions of All Time

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6. The Hart Foundation

Members: Bret Hart, Owen Hart, The British Bulldog, Jim Neidhart, and Brian Pillman

Years Active: 1997

In 1997 a new attitude was taking over the wrestling world. Bad guys were viewed as the heroes, while the former heroes were viewed as villains. This point was especially true when it referred to Bret Hart. In the midst of huge rivalry with Stone Cold Steve Austin, Hart was viewed as a bad guy, despite Austin being the instigator to the feud. No matter what Bret did the fans in the United Sates were tired of his wholesome good guy attitude. The fans wanted to cheer for someone more they could relate to. Austin’s working class blue-collar personality attracted the United States fans and he became their hero. Angry and spiteful that the fans in the United States had turned on him in favor of Austin, Hart turned on the United States fan.

To help with his rebellion against the United States, Hart looked to recruit allies. Who better to recruit than your own blood, which is exactly what Bret did. After feuding with his brother, Owen Hart, and his brother-in-law ,The British Bulldog, for the last few years, Bret looked to make amends with his family. After asking for his family’s help and forgiveness, Bret was reunited with his family. Soon after he recruited his other brother-in-law, Jim Neidhart, then he recruited family friend, Brian Pillman, into the fold. With the five now aligned, we had The Hart Foundation.

Throughout 1997, the Hart Foundation dominated the WWF winning every championship the company had to hold. Owen Hart won the Intercontinental Championship twice, The British Bulldog won the European championship, Owen and Bulldog together won the tag team championship, and Bret won his fifth and final WWF championship.

The funny thing about the Hart Foundation was while they were viewed as villains in the United States, they were viewed as heroes throughout the rest of the world, especially in Canada. The groups biggest highlight came in July 1997, when at In Your House: Canadian Stampede in the Hart’s home city of Calgary the group came out to a massive reaction by the hometown crowd. The Hart Foundation fought the team of  The Road Warriors (Animal and Hawk), Ken Shamrock, Goldust and Stone Cold Steve Austin in a USA vs. Canada match. The Hart Foundation won , after the match the rest of the Hart Family came into the ring to celebrate with the Foundation, with the home crowd still in attendance rocking the house down.

The Hart Foundation’s run in WWF came to a shocking end in November 1997, at the Survivor Series. The infamous Montreal Screwjob ended The Hart Foundation run as Hart left for WCW, with Neidhart and Bulldog following soon after. Their run might have been short but The Hart Foundation’s run in 1997 surely proved that blood is thicker than water.

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