Under The Mat
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Under The Mat
''Under the Mat: Inside Wrestling's Greatest Family'' is a book co-written by Diana Hart (daughter of Stu and Helen Hart, ex-wife of Davey Boy Smith and mother of Harry Smith) and journalist Kirstie McLellan. The subtitle, ''Inside Wrestling's Greatest Family'', refers to the Canadian Hart wrestling family, which includes wrestlers such as Smith Hart, Bruce Hart, Keith Hart, Dean Hart, Bret Hart, Ross Hart, Owen Hart, Teddy Hart, David Hart Smith and Natalya Neidhart among others. The book is highly controversial and was pulled from stores after Martha Hart, widow of Owen Hart and Diana Hart's sister-in-law, filed a lawsuit. The book became an Alberta top ten nonfiction best-seller on its release. Background The writing of the book was at least partially motivated by the death of her younger brother Owen Hart. Hart has also stated that she hoped that the book would lead to her brother Bret respecting her and taking her seriously, which she did not feel he had done during the ...
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Diana Hart
Diana Joyce Hart (born 8 October 1963) is a Canadian-American writer, model, valet and wrestling personality. She is the youngest daughter of Canadian wrestling promoter Stu Hart and was the second to last child born to Stu and his wife Helen. She is best known for her several appearances for Stampede Wrestling and WWE often with her brothers Bret and Owen Hart as well as her husband Davey Boy Smith, and for her book, '' Under the Mat''. She was also the 1997 "Mrs. Calgary Stampede". Early life Hart is of Greek descent through her maternal grandmother and Irish through her maternal grandfather. Her father was mainly of Scots-Irish descent but also had Scottish and English ancestry. Hart is a dual citizen of Canada and the United States thanks to her mother Helen, who was born in New York. Hart grew up with eleven siblings; Smith, Bruce, Keith, Wayne, Dean, Ellie, Georgia, Bret, Alison, Ross and Owen. Wrestling related appearances Stampede Wrestling One of Hart's first wrestl ...
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Owen Hart
Owen James Hart (May 7, 1965 – May 23, 1999) was a Canadian-American professional wrestler who worked for several promotions including Stampede Wrestling, New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), World Championship Wrestling (WCW), and the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). He received most of his success in the WWF, where he wrestled under both his own name and the ring name The Blue Blazer. A member of the Hart wrestling family, he was born in Calgary, Alberta, the youngest of twelve children of Stampede Wrestling promoters Stu and Helen Hart. Among other accolades, Owen was a one-time USWA Unified World Heavyweight Champion, a two-time WWF Intercontinental Champion, a one-time WWF European Champion, and a four-time WWF World Tag Team Champion, as well as the 1994 WWF King of the Ring. He headlined multiple pay-per-view events for the WWF, and was widely regarded as one of the company's best in-ring performers. Hart died on May 23, 1999, during his entrance from the rafters o ...
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Toronto Star
The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division. The newspaper's offices are located at One Yonge Street in the Harbourfront, Toronto, Harbourfront neighbourhood of Toronto. The newspaper was established in 1892 as the ''Evening Star'' and was later renamed the ''Toronto Daily Star'' in 1900, under Joseph E. Atkinson. Atkinson was a major influence in shaping the editorial stance of the paper, with the paper having reflected his values until his death in 1948. The paper was renamed the ''Toronto Star'' in 1971. The newspaper introduced a Sunday edition in 1973. History The ''Star'' was created in 1892 by striking ''Toronto News'' printers and writers, led by future mayor of Toronto and social reformer Horatio Clarenc ...
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Jim Neidhart
James Henry Neidhart (February 8, 1955 – August 13, 2018) was an American professional wrestler known for his appearances in the 1980s and 1990s in the World Wrestling Federation as Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart, where he was a two-time WWF Tag Team Champion with his real-life brother-in-law Bret Hart in The Hart Foundation. He also won titles in Stampede Wrestling, Championship Wrestling from Florida, Mid-South Wrestling, Memphis Championship Wrestling and the Mid-Eastern Wrestling Federation. He was part of the Hart wrestling family through marriage to his wife Ellie Hart, teaming with various members throughout his career, and appearing with his daughter Natalya Neidhart on the reality television show ''Total Divas''. Early life At Newport Harbor High School, Neidhart first gained athletic acclaim for his success in strength-oriented track and field events. He set a California high school record in shot put in 1973 which stood until 1985. After graduating from high school, N ...
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Ben Bassarab
Benjamin Bassarab (born March 3, 1960) is a Canadian former bodybuilder and professional wrestler, best known for his appearances for Stu Hart's Stampede Wrestling promotion throughout the 1980s. Bassarab is a two time Stampede International Tag Team champion. Wrestling historian Dave Meltzer described Bassarab as a semi-spectacular in-ring performer. Early life Born in 1960 he is the son of Betty and Rusty Bassarab. He has two sisters named Whitney and Wendy and a brother, Rusty. Betty died of cancer in the early 80s and his father died in the late 90s. He grew up in Elbow Park, Calgary. Bassarab played hockey and football with the Glencoe Club. He also rode in some rodeos. Professional wrestling career Around 1981 Bassarab was encouraged by his future brother-in-law Davey Boy Smith to pursue pro wrestling. Bassarab was trained by Stu Hart and debuted in Hart's Calgary, Alberta based Stampede Wrestling promotion under his own name in 1983. Bassarab formed a tag team with Ph ...
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Dynamite Kid
Thomas Billington (5 December 1958 – 5 December 2018), best known by the ring name the Dynamite Kid, was a British professional wrestler. Trained by former wrestler "Dr Death" Ted Betley, he competed in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), Stampede Wrestling, All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), and New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). With his cousin Davey Boy Smith, he was also known for being one half of the tag team The British Bulldogs. He had notable feuds with Tiger Mask in Japan and Bret Hart in Canada. Billington is considered by many, including Bret Hart, to have been one of wrestling's most influential in-ring performers, having increased the level of athleticism involved in the art, bringing together styles from Britain, Mexico, Canada and Japan. Early life Billington was born in Golborne, Lancashire, England. He had two sisters and a younger brother named Mark. His father Bill and uncle Eric Billington were boxers in their youth and his grandfather Thomas Billington ...
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Harry Smith (athlete)
Harry James Smith (July 30, 1888 – November 20, 1962) was an American long-distance runner. He was most notable for competing in the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm. He was also the father of Hart wrestling family matriarch Helen Hart and the father-in-law of Stu Hart. Early life He was born in the Bronx, New York, and was of Irish descent. Smith came from a relatively well off family and had a brother named Frank. Both of them suffered from bipolar disorder. His athletic interest began when he was a child. At the age of 12 Smith was playing craps with some friends in an alley when a police officer spotted them and ran after them, attempting to arrest them for illegal gambling. The man caught all of them except Smith. Another day when the officer found Smith, the officer advised him to pursue competitive running. Career He competed in the marathon for the United States at the 1912 Summer Olympics. He finished in 17th place. He shared rooms with Jim Thorpe on the way to the ...
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Hart Dungeon
The Hart Dungeon or Hart Family Dungeon, otherwise known simply as The Dungeon, was the gym and wrestling school located in the basement of the Hart mansion. The school was created by Stu Hart, patriarch of the Hart wrestling family and is known for having produced some of the greatest and most successful professional wrestlers of all time. Location description The room was located in the Hart family mansion basement and had a very low ceiling. For most of the duration of the room being used as training hall there was a wrestling mat located on the floor without any ropes which would be used for training students. History Hart acquired the former army hospital mansion in 1951 and transformed its basement into his personal training centre shortly thereafter. This was done because Hart needed a training facility after the founding of his first wrestling promotion in 1948. Although, the nickname itself developed over time when Stampede Wrestling became world famous. Aside from profe ...
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World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) territory Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP) (which had aired its programming on TBS). For much of its existence, WCW was one of the top professional wrestling promotions in the United States alongside the World Wrestling Federation (WWF; now known as World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)), at one point surpassing the latter in terms of popularity. After initial success through utilization of established wrestling stars of the 1980s, the company appointed Eric Bischoff to executive producer of television in 1993. Under Bischoff's leadership, the company enjoyed a period of mainstream success characterized by a shift to reality-based storylines, and notable hirings of former WWF talent. WCW also gained attention for ...
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World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and various other business ventures. The company is additionally involved in licensing its intellectual property to companies to produce video games and action figures. The promotion was founded in 1953 as the Capitol Wrestling Corporation. It is the largest wrestling promotion in the world with its main roster divided up into two primary touring groups, along with a developmental roster based in Orlando, Florida (referred to by WWE as "brands"). Overall, WWE is available in more than 1 billion homes worldwide in 30 languages. The company's global headquarters is located in Stamford, Connecticut, with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Mumbai, Shanghai, Singapore, Dubai and Munich. As in other professional wrestling promotions, WWE sh ...
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Hart House (Alberta)
The Hart House, sometimes known as the Hart mansion, is a residence located in the Patterson Heights neighbourhood of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Once owned by Stu Hart, it was home to his extensive professional wrestling family for 52 years from October 1951 until Stu Hart's death in October 2003. While not built for them nor any longer under ownership of the Harts, the mansion continues to be referred to as the Hart House. During the ownership of the Hart family the mansion's basement was used as a training hall and wrestling school known as the Hart Dungeon, which produced many successful pro wrestlers. Besides the Hart family the mansion also housed many other wrestlers as well as an abundance of family pets and circus animals which were sometimes used in the Stampede Wrestling shows. The building has a large historical value for the wrestling industry and WWE recognized it as being as important and significant as Madison Square Garden. In 2012 the building was declared a ...
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Krause Publications
Krause Publications is an American publisher of hobby magazines and books. Originally a company founded and based in Iola, Wisconsin, they relocated to Stevens Point, Wisconsin, in April 2018. The company was started by Chester L. Krause (19232016) upon the publication in October 1952 of the first issue of '' Numismatic News''. In the coin collecting community the company is best known for its ''Standard Catalog of World Coins'', a series of coin catalogs commonly referred to as ''Krause-Mishler'' catalogs or simply ''Krause'' catalogs; they provide information, pricing, and Krause-Mishler (KM) numbers referring to coin rarity and value. Krause-Mishler (named for Krause and longtime employee Clifford Mishler) numbers are the most common way of assigning values to coins. The first edition was published in 1972. In addition, they established the Coin of the Year Award, first issued in 1984, for excellence in coinage design. In the paper money collecting community the company is ...
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