Hart Foundation

[Cheex Incarnate 0]

Now back when the Hart Foundation stable formed, I was freebasing on nWo merchandise, so I'm a little hazey on the details. I remember flipping to RAW because Nitro was at commercial (probably one of their middle match commercials where the match is Silver King vs. Barry Darsow) and all I remember is Bret reconciling with Owen and Owen crying "crocodile tears" alot.

 

Can anyone enlighten me on why the reconciliation happened, and how Davey Boy, Neidhart, and Pillman were brought into the fold?

[BHK 0]

The Hart Foundation=Greatest angle/stable ever.

 

I haven't watched the formation in a couple of years, but from what I remember of it it was Owen/Bulldog in the Euro title Finals, and Bret comes out and stops the match and gives this big speech about why are they fighting they're family etc., andt te stable was formed. the Anvil, also being related, was a natural fit. Pillman was more of a tag along/enforcer for the group more than anything else. they ended up holding all the WWF belts at one point, I think.

 

If you haven't seen it, pick up some Raws from after Survivor Series 96-right before the montreal screwjob. That entire period is just amazing to me. It produced the two best matches in WWF history, The best non-Wrestlemania PPV ever, and the heat for the 10 man rivals Rock/Hogan. It's the best angle/feud(hart foundation/Austin) ever.

[chaosrage 0]

It was after the Euro finals. The Euro tournament was before WM.

 

I definitely agree it was the best angle ever. Even the little things that people don't pay attention to or seem to remember was great, like Austin turning on Pillman because he made the mistake of calling Bret by his catchphrase. See, he was Austin's best friend, but he still had some respect for the Hitman since he got trained in the dungeon. That's why him joining the Hart Foundation made perfect sense. And not only did Austin break Pillman's ankle but he went to his house to finish him off. That's how much he hated bret. Before they even met or fought once and 5 months before the double turn.

[Australian Pride 0]

They never quite held all the titles at the same, but at one point they had the Euro (davey boy), IC (owen) and tag titles (owen/davey boy). They lost the Tag belts to Austin/Michaels on Raw prior to KOTR 97 and then Owen dropped the IC belt at SummerSlam 97 before Bret picked up the World Title later that night.

 

They had a damn good run, that's for sure. Hell, they had so much heat that they could even turn a natural heel like Vader babyface.

[BHK 0]

Austin/Michaels at Wrestlemania XIV is also the biggest injustice of all time. Had Bret not jumped to WCW, he'd have gone in with the title, and Austin would have went over, and judging by their previous encounters it could have been the greatest North American match ever.

[iliketurtles 0]

Even before 1997, the buildup for Austin/Bret @ Survivor Series 1996 was fucking awesome. Go try to watch the black and white vingettes of Austin going off on Bret. So. Fucking. Badass.

 

The "Stone Cold" character was possibly the best heel character in the history of the business, and became the most popular because it was that good.

[chaosrage 0]

I doubt Austin/Bret would have been the main event. Bret wasn't even main eventing the PPVs he was around for in late 97. Fans were losing interest in him and USA vs Canada was starting to get old. It'd have been company suicide to keep the title on him for another 4 months.

 

Or he would have to turn face. Then what would be the point of him still being champ?

 

Fake edit: The thing I loved the most about Stone Cold as a heel was he was too much of a badass to cheat or get help. He was always winning matches by himself.

[deancoles 0]

Bret wasn't even main eventing the PPVs he was around for in late 97.

When your booked against the Patriot what do you expect?

[Australian Pride 0]

Bret wasn't even main eventing the PPVs he was around for in late 97. 

When your booked against the Patriot what do you expect?

And the ridiculous booking for the HBK/Undertaker match required it to be the last match on the show. And after that the first Hell in a Cell match was worthy of main event billing ahead of a flag match.

Besides, Bret/Taker and Bret/HBK were both the main events of their respective shows.

[deancoles 0]

How do you think they would have held off Austin/Hart until Wrestlemania? I can see Bret defending against Shamrock at the December ppv and possibly Undertaker/Vader at Royal Rumble.Austin would most likely have faced Bulldog at IYH and then lastly eliminate Owen to win the Rumble.No Way out would likely have been a 6 or 8 Man tag.

[Guest Arnold_OldSchool]

This and the Kane angle was all the company had going for it from SS 96-SS 97 The mid to undercard was horrid with Rocky "Sucks" Miavia, Tiger Ali Singh and Mark Henry being the "future main event" additions.

 

Raws matches were generally horible as the company's 3 best workers (Austin, Bret, HBK) all sidelined at certain points during the year.

[deancoles 0]

Owen and Bulldog were real MVP's that year as they did the bulk of the good wrestling that was on Raw.

[cawthon777 0]

I think I've heard this story enough times to repeat it accurately. I believe Meltzer was the source.

 

The original plan for WrestleMania XIV was Bret vs. Austin. And this is how they would have gotten there ...

 

Bret vs. HBK ... Survivor Series ... DQ / double DQ / whatever ... DX and Harts brawl as the show goes off the air

 

In Your House DX ... Bret vs. Shamrock vs. HBK vs. Taker for the title ... Shawn wins the title

 

Royal Rumble 98 ... Bret vs. HBK ... HBK wins

 

Either the Raw the day after or the February 98 In Your House ... Bret puts his career on the line, saying if he can't beat Shawn for the title then he'll retire ... they have a ladder match, Bret wins

 

WrestleMania XIV ... Bret vs. Austin ... Austin wins

[cawthon777 0]

This and the Kane angle was all the company had going for it from SS 96-SS 97  The mid to undercard was horrid with Rocky "Sucks" Miavia, Tiger Ali Singh and Mark Henry being the "future main event" additions.

Mark Henry was gone that entire time. He suffered an injury right before Series 96 (which is why he wasn't there) and didn't come back until very late 97 / early 98 when he turned on Shamrock to join the Nation.

 

They hardly tried to get Tiger over. He won the Kuwati Cup but didn't appear on a regular basis.

 

The mid-card wasn't so bad when you take into consideration Triple H, Ken Shamrock, Owen, Davey, Foley in all his incarnations, Goldust, etc. Though I agree there were some stinkers.

[deancoles 0]

I think I've heard this story enough times to repeat it accurately. I believe Meltzer was the source.

 

The original plan for WrestleMania XIV was Bret vs. Austin. And this is how they would have gotten there ...

 

Bret vs. HBK ... Survivor Series ... DQ / double DQ / whatever ... DX and Harts brawl as the show goes off the air

 

In Your House DX ... Bret vs. Shamrock vs. HBK vs. Taker for the title ... Shawn wins the title

 

Royal Rumble 98 ... Bret vs. HBK ... HBK wins

 

Either the Raw the day after or the February 98 In Your House ... Bret puts his career on the line, saying if he can't beat Shawn for the title then he'll retire ... they have a ladder match, Bret wins

 

WrestleMania XIV ... Bret vs. Austin ... Austin wins

Thanks for that, I guess in the 4 way match that Shamrock would have been pinned giving bret a good reason to have a rematch.

[Guest Askewniverse]

Royal Rumble 98 ... Bret vs. HBK ... HBK wins

 

Either the Raw the day after or the February 98 In Your House ... Bret puts his career on the line, saying if he can't beat Shawn for the title then he'll retire ... they have a ladder match, Bret wins

From what I remember, Michaels was supposed to win a ladder match at Royal Rumble '98. The following night on Raw, Bret would win the title.

 

EDIT: Meltzer's article, courtesy of BretHart.com.

[The C Man 0]

Thanks for reminding me about the 10-man. That's from the Canadian Stampede PPV, one of the WWF/E's best ever. My god the heat in that match was incredible. Then you had Sasuke vs Taka in the undercard.

 

**drools**

[Guest Arnold_OldSchool]

This and the Kane angle was all the company had going for it from SS 96-SS 97   The mid to undercard was horrid with Rocky "Sucks" Miavia, Tiger Ali Singh and Mark Henry being the "future main event" additions.

Mark Henry was gone that entire time. He suffered an injury right before Series 96 (which is why he wasn't there) and didn't come back until very late 97 / early 98 when he turned on Shamrock to join the Nation.

 

They hardly tried to get Tiger over. He won the Kuwati Cup but didn't appear on a regular basis.

 

The mid-card wasn't so bad when you take into consideration Triple H, Ken Shamrock, Owen, Davey, Foley in all his incarnations, Goldust, etc. Though I agree there were some stinkers.

With all do respect Cawthon

 

Shamrock was pretty bad for most of 97 as he was honing his craft as a wrestler, and trying to learn not to be so stiff (Although he had been a pro wrestler off and on for nearly a decade)

 

HHH was rather dull and had 0 heat for the most part.... It wasn't til Chyna Showed up in Feb, of 97 that HHH finally had a heat magnet

 

Owen/Davey/Foley I'll grant you, but the rest was REAL Thin (Jesse James, Sultan,Rockabilly etc) I have many of the RAWs from that time....it ain't pretty

[chaosrage 0]

This and the Kane angle was all the company had going for it from SS 96-SS 97  The mid to undercard was horrid with Rocky "Sucks" Miavia, Tiger Ali Singh and Mark Henry being the "future main event" additions.

Mark Henry was gone that entire time. He suffered an injury right before Series 96 (which is why he wasn't there) and didn't come back until very late 97 / early 98 when he turned on Shamrock to join the Nation.

 

They hardly tried to get Tiger over. He won the Kuwati Cup but didn't appear on a regular basis.

 

The mid-card wasn't so bad when you take into consideration Triple H, Ken Shamrock, Owen, Davey, Foley in all his incarnations, Goldust, etc. Though I agree there were some stinkers.

With all do respect Cawthon

 

Shamrock was pretty bad for most of 97 as he was honing his craft as a wrestler, and trying to learn not to be so stiff (Although he had been a pro wrestler off and on for nearly a decade)

 

HHH was rather dull and had 0 heat for the most part.... It wasn't til Chyna Showed up in Feb, of 97 that HHH finally had a heat magnet

 

Owen/Davey/Foley I'll grant you, but the rest was REAL Thin (Jesse James, Sultan,Rockabilly etc) I have many of the RAWs from that time....it ain't pretty

HHH had good matches with Rock and Foley.

 

In 97, there was Bret, Shawn, Austin, Undertaker, Owen, Mankind, Vader, Bulldog, Goldust, HHH, and Rocky. That's a huge roster. And you could probably throw in Great Sasuke, Taka, Scorpio, Furnas & Lafon, and Mero. Great year.

[deancoles 0]

And Patriot,Headbangers(on a good day),Faarooq and Los Boricuas were decent wrestlers as well.

[Black Lushus 0]

96 to 97 is my all-time favorite time period in the WWE, sure there were mediocre wrestlers but the Austin/Hart fued, the HBK/Hart fued and the Austin/HBK frenemies thing were more than enough to keep the promotion going considering how bad WCW eventually botched the nWo invasion angle...as far as im concerned, after 97, the nWo thing went downhill...

[Guest Arnold_OldSchool]

HHH had good matches with Rock and Foley.

 

In 97, there was Bret, Shawn, Austin, Undertaker, Owen, Mankind, Vader, Bulldog, Goldust, HHH, and Rocky. That's a huge roster. And you could probably throw in Great Sasuke, Taka, Scorpio, Furnas & Lafon, and Mero. Great year.

Rock's matches were mostly garbage from the time period were discusing here, he was still pretty green and playing the super babyface during that time period. Although, I do seem to remember SKieth giving the IC title win (Rocky over HHH on Thurs Raw Thurs. ***+) So I guess I'll grant you that.

 

For much of the time period in question Shawn was playing lame duck with his knee and only wrestling sporaticly (sp?),

 

Taker fought Sid in a horid match at WM, then as champ fought Mankind in the most forgetable match in their long fued, then fought Austin with the Harts/Austin issue overtaking Taker's importance, then he had the Furooqu race card title fued, before finally catching a break and finishing his reign with good matches vs Vader/Bret.... At this point Shawn decided to play ball again and he and Taker rocked our world

 

GoldDust was Mr. **1/2 stars for his single matches for the most part, so he passes

 

Rocky wasn't over at all til Septemberish(whenver he came back and attacked chainz) when the heel turn started him down the right path

 

Sausake was in for 2 matches

 

Taka had to carry Brain Christopher and had no other real competition who could work with him

 

Scorpio was being jobbed out as Flash Funk within 3 months of his debuet, his lone PPV victory came over Leif Cassidy.... He jobbed to Billy Gunn (1 month shy of Rockabilly) during the WM free for all

 

Furnas and Lafon had good- great matches with Owen/Bulldog and possibly the Pierroth and Cybernetico, but then they had the car crash (with Sid and Scorpio) and didn't come back until their brief November stint. They were heatless regardless of the time period.

 

Marc Mero went on the shelf 5 months into the time period we mentioned, his matches with HHH and Leif Cassidy were quite solid however

[Scroby 0]

I miss those days so much. One of the greatest if not the greatest angle's the WWE ever will have.

[justcoz 0]

Scorpio was being jobbed out as Flash Funk within 3 months of his debuet, his lone PPV victory came over Leif Cassidy.... He jobbed to Billy Gunn (1 month shy of Rockabilly) during the WM free for all

 

Did Meltzer or anyone ever report why Scorpio/Flash Funk was jobbed out so quickly? They seemed to be pushing him when he debuted. Then it was almost immediate jobbing? Drugs? Attitude? They didn't like his ring work? He was hung better than Taker?

[Rob E Dangerously 0]

if only they would have given the "Rival Pornstar" gimmick to Scorpio.

 

[Guest Frank_Nabbit]

He was a WCW guy, plus drugs, plus he's "small" 3 WWE no no's

[spman 0]

The one thing I never understood about the Hart Foundation was that they were a pro-Canada group, but only Bret and Owen were acutally from Canada. Bulldog was from England, and Pillmanand Neidhart were both American. Oh well.

[BHK 0]

The one thing I never understood about the Hart Foundation was that they were a pro-Canada group, but only Bret and Owen were acutally from Canada. Bulldog was from England, and Pillmanand Neidhart were both American. Oh well.

Bulldog and Neidhart were family though, and family sticks together.

 

Pillman's role was more of an enforcer for the group than an intimate memeber, so that's how I reason his joining.

[Black Lushus 0]

didn't Pillman also get some Dungeon training in? not sure if they ever mentioned it but perhaps that would be his tie to the Harts, not to mention his hatred of Austin, the Harts main adversary...

[cawthon777 0]

didn't Pillman also get some Dungeon training in? not sure if they ever mentioned it but perhaps that would be his tie to the Harts, not to mention his hatred of Austin, the Harts main adversary...

Yes he did and it was used to help explain the association.