Ross Hart

Ross Lindsay Hart,[2] (born January 3, 1960)[8] is a Canadian-American retired professional wrestler, promoter,[9] trainer, booker, TV producer, coach and actor.[5] Hart is a member of the Hart wrestling family and the second youngest son of Stu and Helen Hart. He is best known for his work in Stampede Wrestling and several appearances in WWE, often with his siblings Bruce, Keith, Bret, Diana and Owen Hart.

This article is about the professional wrestler. For the politician, see Ross Hart (politician).
Ross Hart
Birth nameRoss Lindsay Hart[1][2]
Born (1960-01-03) January 3, 1960[2]
Calgary, Alberta, Canada[3]
FamilyHart
Jack Pfefer (godfather)[4]
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Ross Hart
Ross Lindsey[1]
Ross Lindsay[1]
Rory Hunter[5]
Trained byStu Hart
Debut1985[6]
Retired2005[7]

Early life

Hart is of Irish descent through his maternal grandfather and Greek descent through his maternal grandmother.[10][11][12][13] His father was mainly of Scots-Irish descent but also had Scottish and English ancestry.[14][15] Hart is a dual citizen of Canada and the United States due to his mother Helen Hart being from New York.[16][17] Hart grew up in a household with 11 siblings, Smith, Bruce, Keith, Wayne, Dean, Ellie, Georgia, Bret, Alison, Diana and Owen.[18]

Hart's middle name was given to him in honor of his father's longtime friend Luther Lindsay[2] and he was the godson of wrestler and promoter Jack Pfefer.[19] Hart has stated that his earliest memory is hearing his father Stu training wrestlers in their family basement, known as The Dungeon.[20] Hart's first experience working for his father's promotion Stampede Wrestling was selling programs for the shows when he was six years old.[20] Hart is a childhood friend of fellow wrestler Milad Elzein who is the same age, he would sometimes help Hart sell the programs before the Stampede shows when they were young.[21]

Professional wrestling career

In the ring

Stampede Wrestling

In the 80s Hart wrestled for the original Stampede Wrestling having matches with wrestlers such as Drago Zhivago,[22] Cuban Assassin, Gerry Morrow, Biff Wellington, Jude Rosenbloom, Chris Benoit, Goldie Rogers, Steve Blackman, Steve DiSalvo, Vokhan Singh, Great Gama, Mike Hammer, Beef Wellington, Mr. Hito, Vladimir Krupoff, Adolph Barbee, George Skaaland and brother in-law BJ Annis.[23] Hart worked in tag team matches with Keiichi Yamada, Ken Johnson, George Skaaland and Johnny Smith as well as with his brothers Bruce against the Cuban Commandos.[23] He participated in three-man tag team matches with his younger brother Owen and brother in-law Ben Bassarab against Drago Thomas, Gama Singh and Vladimir Krupoff as well.[23] During this period he also took part in battle royales with many of the aforementioned wrestlers and competed for the Stampede British Commonwealth Mid-Heavyweight Championship.[23]

Sporadic work and appearances for WWF

In the 80s Hart worked in the UK and wrestled on the program World of Sport in singles matches against Marty Jones[24] and in tag team matches with his brother Owen against Fit Finlay and Rocky Moran,[25] they performed as faces.[26] Ross and Owen toured most of Europe together in 1983.[27] Hart shortly worked for WWF in the 90's and appeared on the television program WWF Wrestling Challenge under the ring name Ross Lindsey.[28] During his time there he mostly wrestled Ted DiBiase in singles matches and tag teamed with Mike Pocari against The Orient Express, with Barry Hardy against Power And Glory or with Mike Morgan and Ron Cumberledge against Demolition.[23] In 1994 hart worked for All Star Wrestling in England for a short period. He wrestled in victorious singles matches with Red Bronco, Johnny Angel, Duke Lynch, Count Von Zuppi, Drew McDonald. Duke Lynch being the only one he wrestled more than once.[23] At the 1994 SummerSlam Hart can be seen attempting to climb the cage in which his brothers Bret and Owen Hart had their match together with other members of the Hart family.[29][30]

Return to Stampede Wrestling and Wrestlemania appearance

Hart continued to wrestle sporadically for the 1999-2007 incarnation of Stampede Wrestling, having matches with wrestlers such as Rod Rage, Juggernaut, Cuban Assassin, Ryan Evans and Apocalypse before retiring in 2005.[23][31] Hart appeared again for WWF (now renamed WWE) in an in ring capacity at WrestleMania XXVI, where he was a lumberjack for his brother Bret's first WWE match in 13 years, a No Holds Barred Lumberjack match against the WWE chairman Vince McMahon. The storyline was that McMahon had paid off Ross and the rest of the Hart family to betray Bret, but all of them turned on him and helped Bret win the match.[32]

Promoting, booking and training

Hart worked as a Television Producer on the original Stampede Wrestling.[22] Hart together with his brother Bruce relaunched their father's Stampede Wrestling promotion in 1999.[33][34][35] Ross usually handled promotion in the smaller Alberta towns such as Hanna, Didsbury and Cochrane while Bruce took care of Ogden Legion.[36] At this time the Hart brothers also handled at the Hart Brothers Wrestling Camp where they would train students, often with help from their father Stu and occasionally other relatives.[37] In 2005 Hart worked as senior advisor and commissioner for Celtic Pro Wrestling in Ireland.[38][39][40]

Other work in wrestling

Ross and his brother Bruce started the Stampede Wrestling Hall of Fame together. Together they also owned the copyright to many of the Stampede Wrestling tapes, some of which they gave to their brother Bret and some who they sold to WWE.[41][42] Ross helped design his niece Natalya's ring costume,[43] he criticized how revealing the original version was and opted to change it.[44][45] In 2014 Ross inducted long time wrestling photographer Bob Leonard into the High Impact Wrestling Hall of Fame.[46] Hart appeared on WWE television on stage together with all his living siblings when his father Stu Hart was posthumously inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.[47] Ross and his brother Smith were present for the induction of their father into the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2014.[48] In 2017 Hart served together with his older brother Bret as part of the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum's Distinguished Selection Committee, the committee decides which wrestlers will be inducted for that following year.[49][50] During that year Hart inducted fellow Canadian Yvon Robert to the Hall of Fame.[51]

Other media

In 2006 Hart portrayed Humphrey Bogart in a theatrical rendition of Play It Again, Sam at the Workshop Theatre in Calgary.[52]

Hart has appeared in several documentaries, including Hitman Hart: Wrestling with Shadows and Bret Hart: Survival of the Hitman which are both about his brother Bret, as well as the Hart family documentary Hart & Soul: The Hart Family Anthology[53][54] and Surviving the Dungeon: The Legacy of Stu Hart which is about his father, and also 2016's Hart Still Beating, which is about his brother Smith and nephew Matt.[55] Outside of documentaries about Harts's family he has also appeared in Dynamite Kid: A Matter of Pride.[56]

In 2008 Hart appeared on the E! Chris Benoit special after Benoit's death.[57] In 2015 Hart appeared alongside his sister Diana on Shaw TV to speak about their father Stu's one hundredth birthday.[58]

Personal life

Ross's niece Lindsay Hart who is a make up artist and wrestling personality is named after his middle name. On July 4, 1989 Hart was involved in an automobile accident near Jasper, Alberta together with Davey Boy Smith, Chris Benoit, Karl Moffat and Tatsumi Kitahara. Hart who was in the driver's seat and wearing a seatbelt received minor injuries, Smith who was sitting next to him and not wearing a seabelt had his head smashed through the windshield resulting in a wound which required one hundred stitches. Karl Moffat was injured the most, one of his ankles was crushed by the spare tire. After the incident Moffat attempted to sue Hart, claiming he had been crippled by the event, but he did not succeed in receiving any compensation since a moving company Moffat had worked for supplied evidence of him moving around reasonably well after the accident.[59][60]

Hart appeared at the Cauliflower Alley Club reunion in Las Vegas in February 2001.[61] Since the passing of Hart family patriarch and matriarch Stu and Helen Hart, the traditional Sunday dinner is held at Ross' home.[62] Hart has long been candid about the scripted nature of professional wrestling and approved of the Calgarian civic committee's decision to exclude it from its combative sports bylaw in 2006.[63] In 2008 Ross Hart encouraged the city of Calgary to renovate but preserve his childhood home in its original form,[64] this was eventually done between 2010 and 2012. Ross is the Hart family's historian and has an encyclopedic knowledge of the wrestling business according to his brother Bret and journalists Dave Meltzer.[65][66][51]

Championships and accomplishments
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References
  1. "Cuban Assassin". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. May 19, 2008.
  2. Hart, Diana; McLellan, Kirstie (2001). Under the Mat: Inside Wrestling's Greatest Family. Fenn. p. 22 pp. ISBN 1-55168-256-7.
  3. "Smith Hart on The Hart Family's ties to Long Island, the city of Long Beach, and more". noplacelikelongisland.com. No Place Likelong Island. May 19, 2016. Retrieved 2015-05-31.
  4. Hornbaker, Tim (2007). National Wrestling Alliance: The Untold Story of the Monopoly That Strangled Pro Wrestling. ECW Press. p. 252 pp. ISBN 978-1550227413.
  5. Wilson-Neidhart, Natalie (14 December 2012). "The Official Page of Natalya". @NatbyNature. Twitter. Retrieved 2017-12-19. Visiting with my uncle Ross Hart, aka Rory Hunter! He was one of my first coaches when I started wrestling in 2001!
  6. "Ross Hart: General Information". wrestlingdata.com.
  7. "Ross Hart: Career highlights". cagematch.net.
  8. McCoy, Heath (2007). Pain and Passion: The History of Stampede Wrestling. ECW Press. p. 33. ISBN 978-1-55022-787-1.
  9. http://www.espn.com/magazine/assael_20021118.html
  10. Hart, Bret (2007). Hitman: My real life in the cartoon world of wrestling. Ebury Press. p. 8 pp. ISBN 9780091932862.
  11. Letawsky, Craig (2002-05-07). "Ask 411 - 5.07.02". 411wrestling.com. Archived from the original on 2007-11-17.
  12. Hart, Diana; McLellan, Kirstie (2001). Under the Mat: Inside Wrestling's Greatest Family. Fenn. p. 16 pp. ISBN 1-55168-256-7.
  13. Heath McCoy (2007). Pain and Passion: The History of Stampede Wrestling. ECWPress. p. 30 pp. ISBN 978-1-55022-787-1.
  14. Slamthology: Collected Wrestling Writings 1991-2004. jnlister. 2005. p. 252 pp. ISBN 1-4116-5329-7.
  15. Heath McCoy (2007). Pain and Passion: The History of Stampede Wrestling. ECWPress. p. 16 pp. ISBN 978-1-55022-787-1.
  16. Martha Hart; Eric Francis (2004). Broken Harts: The Life and Death of Owen Hart. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 84 pp. ISBN 978-1-59077-036-8.
  17. Hart, Bret (May 17, 1997). "An open letter to Shawn Michaels". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer.
  18. Wall, Karen L. (2012). Game Plan: A Social History of Sports in Alberta. University of Alberta Press. p. 276 pp. ISBN 978-0888645944.
  19. Hornbaker, Tim (2007). National Wrestling Alliance: The Untold Story of the Monopoly That Strangled Pro Wrestling. ECW Press. p. 252 pp. ISBN 978-1550227413.
  20. "LoserLeavesTownPodcast: Ross Hart interview".
  21. Oliver, Greg. "Wrestling Canadian Hall of Fame: Abu Wizal". SLAM! Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2016-04-02.
  22. McCoy, Heath (2007). Pain and Passion: The History of Stampede Wrestling. ECW Press. p. 1. ISBN 978-1-55022-787-1.
  23. "Ross Hart: Matches". cagematch.net.
  24. Marty Jones v Ross Hart (world of sport)
  25. "World Of Sport – Fit Finlay & Rocky Moran vs Owen Hart & Ross Hart".
  26. "5 Owen Hart Matches You Have to Watch". 2017-05-08.
  27. Meltzer, Dave (2001). Tributes: Remembering Some of the World's Greatest Wrestlers. p. 5. ISBN 9781553660859.
  28. "Ross Hart: Profile & Match Listing". profightdb.com. The Internet Wrestling Database.
  29. Ben Undelson (2013). Fiction. A Nostalgic Guide to Growing up with the WWF. lulu.com. p. 330 pp. ISBN 978-1-304-10190-7.
  30. Droste, Ryan (July 3, 2015). "WWE news: ex-wife of British Bulldog petitioning for his induction into WWE Hall Of Fame". Inquisitr. Retrieved 2016-04-06.
  31. "Ross Hart". Online World Of Wrestling. Retrieved 2015-04-02.
  32. "Bret Hart def. Mr. McMahon in a No Holds Barred Match". WWE. March 28, 2010. Retrieved December 23, 2012.
  33. Gordon, Cope (Jul 1, 1999). "Stampede Wrestling Rides Again". albertaventure.com. Alberta Venture. Archived from the original on 14 October 2014. Retrieved 2016-04-10.
  34. Pierson, Nova (Aug 21, 1999). "Get ready to rumble! Stampede Wrestling returns". Slam! Wrestling. Calgary Sun, via Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2015-04-02.
  35. Francis, Eric (March 5, 1999). "Harts Stampeded by support". Slam! Wrestling. Calgary Sun, via Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2015-04-02.
  36. McCoy, Heath (2007). Pain and Passion: The History of Stampede Wrestling. ECW Press. p. 285. ISBN 978-1-55022-787-1.
  37. Berger, Richard (2010). A Fool for Old School ... Wrestling, That is. Richard Berger & Barking Spider Productions. pp. 64–65.
  38. "Nate Stein Weekly Report". 411mania.com. October 12, 2005. Retrieved 2016-04-11.
  39. Gordon, Cope (April 1, 2005). "Celtic Pro Tournament April 8th in Dublin". groups.yahoo.com. Celtic Pro Wrestling. Retrieved 2016-04-10.
  40. http://www.wrestling101.com/101/newsitem/1644/ https://archive.today/20130209134928/http://www.wrestling101.com/101/newsitem/1644/
  41. Jeremy Thomas (December 9, 2015). "WWE Pulled Stampede Wrestling From WWE Network After Bret Hart Contacted Them". 411mania.com. Retrieved 2015-04-02.
  42. "Wrestling Observer Newsletter". July 2004.
  43. https://411mania.com/wrestling/wwe-news-natalya-reflects-on-nxt-takeovers-anniversary-wrestlers-sing-hbks-theme/
  44. "TIJ - EP157 - Tyson Kidd & Nattie Neidhart". TALK IS JERICHO. PodcastOne. July 3, 2015. Retrieved 2016-04-02.
  45. http://calgarysun.com/sports/other-sports/natalya-neidhart-travelling-is-amazing-except-when-they-lose-your-luggage
  46. "Bob Leonard inducted into the HIW HOF this Thursday!". caulifloweralleyclub.org. August 4, 2014. Retrieved 2016-03-01.
  47. Bret Hart and the Hart family speak on behalf of Stu Hart
  48. https://www.recordernews.com/news/local-news/43403
  49. Staff (2017). "PWHF: About". PWHF.org. Retrieved 2017-12-19.
  50. Johnson, Mike (November 26, 2010). "VINCE MCMAHON, ROAD WARRIORS, JERRY LAWLER AND MORE NAMED TO PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2011". Pro Wrestling Insider. Archived from the original on 28 November 2010. Retrieved 2017-12-19.
  51. http://slam.canoe.com/Slam/Wrestling/2017/05/24/22726474.html https://archive.today/20180403174952/http://slam.canoe.com/Slam/Wrestling/2017/05/24/22726474.html
  52. Powers, Matt (May 12, 2006). "Ross Hart tackles Bogart in stage role". Slam! Wrestling. Calgary Sun, via Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2015-04-02.
  53. https://prowrestling.net/artman/publish/WWE/article10012610.shtml
  54. Johnson, Mike (June 23, 2010). "Martha Hart attempted to prevent Canadian release of WWE's Hart family documentary, Ross Hart comments on suit, WWE attorney discusses whether previous settlement settlement barred company from using Owen footage". PWInsider. Archived from the original on 20 August 2017. Retrieved 2017-08-20.
  55. PWMania.com staff (August 9, 2016). "New Smith And Matt Hart Documentary In The Works – 'Hart Still Beating'". News. PWMania. Retrieved 2017-12-19.
  56. http://culturecrossfire.com/wrestling/dynamite-kid-a-matter-of-pride/
  57. Lebow, Adam (September 3, 2008). "RECAP OF E! CANADA CHRIS BENOIT SPECIAL, WHICH AIRED WITHOUT AN ENDING". PWInsider. Retrieved 2017-08-20.
  58. Trending On Shaw May 1st Part 01; Diana and Ross Hart
  59. Meltzer, Dave (2004). Tributes II: Remembering More of the World's Greatest Professional Wrestlers. Sports Publishing LLC. p. 39. ISBN 1-58261-817-8.
  60. Dixon, James (2015). Titan Shattered: Wrestling with Confidence and Paranoia. History of Wrestling. pp. 105–106 pp. ISBN 978-1326355814.
  61. Greg Oliver. "Ross Hart, with Stampede Wrestling's Dick Butkus Jr. (James Trimble) at the Cauliflower Alley Club reunion in Las Vegas in February 2001". Slam! Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2016-04-02.
  62. Hart, Smith (8 April 2012). "The Official Page of Smith Hart". smith.hart.5. Facebook. Retrieved 2017-12-19. Happy Easter to all my children, family, friends & fans. Unfortunately I will be missing my brother Ross' big family dinner, which is a continuation of the Sunday dinners my dad used to make, but I will be well represented by Bob Flop Johnson & the notorious Sir Chisholm. My sisters Georgia & Allison & my lovely niece Jennifer deserve major credit for the mighty feast. Also Happy Passover to Rabbi Gaffe and his lovely bride.
  63. Guttormson, Kim (December 16, 2006). "Hart gives up wrestling secret". Calgary Herald. Retrieved 2017-12-19 – via PressReader.
  64. Leung, Terence (July 19, 2008). "City moves to protect more of its history". Calgary Herald. Retrieved 2017-12-19 – via PressReader.
  65. Meltzer, Dave (2004). Tributes II: Remembering More of the World's Greatest Professional Wrestlers. Sports Publishing LLC. p. 31. ISBN 1-58261-817-8.
  66. https://web.archive.org/web/20070428022459/http://www.caulifloweralleyclub.org/cac_night_of_the_canadians.htm https://archive.today/20070428022459/http://www.caulifloweralleyclub.org/cac_night_of_the_canadians.htm
  67. "Canadian Wrestling Hall of Fame". Canadian Online Explorer. April 3, 2016.
  68. Oliver, Greg (February 1, 2001). "SLAM! Wrestling Canadian Hall of Fame: The Hart Family". Canadian Online Explorer. Archived from the original on 28 July 2012.
  69. Clevette, Jason (June 16, 2010). "Booker T enjoying life away from the spotlight". SLAM! Wrestling. Canoe.com. Archived from the original on 16 January 2018. Retrieved 2018-01-16.

Further reading
Books
  • Hart, Bruce (2011). Straight from the Hart. ECW Press. pp. 272pp. ISBN 978-1-55022-939-4.
  • Hart, Julie (2013). Hart Strings. Tightrope Books. ISBN 978-1926639635.
  • Billington, Tom; Coleman, Alison (2001). Pure Dynamite: The Price you Pay for Wrestling Stardom. Winding Stair Press. ISBN 1-55366-084-6.
Articles
Columns
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