Benjamin Bassarab (born March 3, 1960) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

former

bodybuilder Bodybuilding is the use of progressive resistance exercise to control and develop one's muscles (muscle building) by muscle hypertrophy for aesthetic purposes. It is distinct from similar activities such as powerlifting because it focuses o ...

and

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

, best known for his appearances for

Stu Hart Stewart Edward Hart (May 3, 1915 – October 16, 2003) was a Canadian amateur and professional wrestler, wrestling booker, promoter, coach, trainer, football player and sailor. He is best known for founding and handling Stampede Wrestling, a ...

Stampede Wrestling Stampede Wrestling was a Canadian professional wrestling promotion based in Calgary, Alberta. For nearly 50 years, it was one of the main promotions in western Canada and the Canadian Prairies. Originally established by Stu Hart in 1948, the prom ...

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

throughout the 1980s. Bassarab is a two time Stampede International Tag Team champion. Wrestling historian

Dave Meltzer David Allen Meltzer (born October 24, 1959) is an American journalist who reports on professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Since 1983, he has been the publisher and editor of the ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON''). He has als ...

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 Elbow Park is an affluent residential neighbourhood in the southwest quadrant of Calgary, Alberta. It is one of the oldest and wealthiest communities in the city. It is bordered to the south and east by Elbow River, to the east by Elbow Drive, t ...

. 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 David Smith (27 November 1962 – 18 May 2002) was an English professional wrestler. Born in Golborne, Lancashire, Smith is best known for his appearances in the United States with the World Wrestling Federation under the ring names Davey Bo ...

to pursue pro wrestling. Bassarab was trained by

and debuted in Hart's

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

based

under his own name in 1983. Bassarab formed a

tag team Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establish ...

with Phil Lafleur. They faced Danny Davis and

Hubert Gallant Hubert Gallant (born November 12, 1955) is a Canadian retired professional wrestler and trainer who competed in North American regional promotions during the 1970s and early 1980s including Stampede Wrestling and Emile Dupree's Grand Prix Wrestling ...

for the

Stampede International Tag Team Championship The Stampede International Tag Team Championship was the main tag team title in the Canadian professional wrestling promotion Stampede Wrestling. It was created in 1958 as the NWA International Tag Team Championship (Calgary version). When promote ...

in early 1984, but the match was ruled a no-contest and the title was vacated. The acquisition of Stampede by

Vince McMahon Vincent Kennedy McMahon (; born August 24, 1945) is an American media proprietor and retired professional wrestling promoter, executive, and performer. From 1982 to 2022, he served as the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of WWE, the w ...

(owner of the

World Wrestling Federation 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 vario ...

, WWF) in 1985 led to many Stampede wrestlers being signed by the WWF. The

British Bulldogs British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

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 T ...

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 Wrest ...

, and

Bret Hart Bret Hart (born July 2, 1957) is a Canadian-American retired professional wrestler, currently signed to WWE under a legend's contract. A member of the Hart wrestling family and a second-generation wrestler, he has an amateur wrestling backgr ...

were all hired, but Bassarab was not. When Ben was going to sign on when Agent at the time Chief Jay Strongbow asked Ben when he could start, Ben replied that he could start today. Strongbow said that he would want Ben to give his 2-week notice with Stampede. Ben replied to Jay that Stu fired him as he and Allison split up. Jay told Ben that he hopes that Stu will not mind as his son Marc was going to live and train at Stu place and he hopes that this will not be a conflict, if it is that Jay told Ben that he would have to wait. Stu tried to use this leverage against Ben and told Ben that if he gets back together then he would get hired with WWF. Ben declined though he did face WWF wrestler

Brutus Beefcake Edward Harrison Leslie (born April 21, 1957) is an American retired professional wrestler, best known for his work in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) under the ring name Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake. He later worked for World Championship ...

at the

Maple Leaf Gardens Maple Leaf Gardens is a historic building located at the northwest corner of Carlton Street and Church Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The building was initially constructed in 1931 as an arena to host ice hockey games, though it has sinc ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

on July 28, 1985. Bassarab substituted for the absent

Tony Garea Anthony Gareljich (born 20 September 1946) is a New Zealand retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Tony Garea. He is best known for his appearances in the United States with the World Wide Wrestling Federation/World Wrestl ...

and lost to Beefcake. Bassarab began pursuing the International Tag Team Championship once more and began teaming with

Chris Benoit Christopher Michael Benoit (; May 21, 1967 – June 24, 2007) was a Canadian Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He worked for various pro-wrestling promotions during his 22-year career including most notably the WWE, World Wrestlin ...

. On March 1, 1986, in

Regina, Saskatchewan Regina () is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province, after Saskatoon, and is a commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. As of the 2021 C ...

, Bassarab and Benoit defeated Honky Tonk Man,

Wayne Farris Roy Wayne Farris (born January 25, 1953), better known by the ring name The Honky Tonk Man, is an American retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He previously wrestled for World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and WWE, World Wrestl ...

, and Rotten Ron Starr for the International Tag Team Championship. They lost the title to Farris and his new partner, The Cuban Assassin, on March 21 in Calgary. Bassarab then formed a new team with his brother-in-law, Owen Hart. On August 9 in

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

, Alberta they defeated Duke Myers and Kerry Brown for the International Tag Team Championship. They held the title until October 3, when they lost to The Viet Cong Express (

Hiroshi Hase is a Japanese politician who is currently the governor of Ishikawa Prefecture. He served as the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology under Prime Minister Shinzō Abe. Prior to his appointment in the Cabinet, he also se ...

and Fumihiro Niikura) in Calgary. Bassarab and Owen feuded with the Express throughout

Western Canada Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces, Canadian West or the Western provinces of Canada, and commonly known within Canada as the West, is a Canadian region that includes the four western provinces just north of the Canada� ...

, on one occasion fighting to a forty-five-minute draw, but were unable to regain the International Tag Team Championship. Bassarab remained with Stampede for the remainder of his career. During the 80s Bassarab took short tours in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, working for

Japan Pro-Wrestling Japan Puroresu (ジャパンプロレス) or Japan Pro-Wrestling was the first renegade professional wrestling promotion in Japan. It was formed by Riki Choshu and his Ishingun after leaving New Japan Pro-Wrestling in 1984. The promotion co-pro ...

, and

All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW/AJP) or simply All Japan is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established on October 21, 1972 when Giant Baba split away from the Japanese Wrestling Association and created his own promotion. Many wrestlers had left with Baba, ...

. In 1987 Bassarab worked for the North American Wrestling Association. He also worked for the WWF when they toured Alberta in the 80s, and retired in 1992.

Personal life

He married Stu Hart's daughter Alison Hart in May 1983.McCoy (2005). p. 241. They were married briefly, before leaving Alison when she was pregnant with their second daughter. They have two children, Lindsay and Brooke, both children are close to Davey Boy Smith's children. Brooke is Married to wrestler Peter Minnema, better known under his ring name,

Pete Wilson Peter Barton Wilson (born August 23, 1933) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 36th governor of California from 1991 to 1999. A member of the Republican Party, he also served as a United States senator from California bet ...

. Bassarab regularly visited B.J's Gym in Calgary, which was owned by his brother-in-law

B. J. Annis Bradley Joseph Annis (born 1947) is an American retired bodybuilder, powerlifter, fitness guru, professional wrestler, gym owner and firefighter. Annis is best known for his work for Stampede Wrestling and his ownership and handling of the Calgar ...

. He also worked in the juice bar at the gym for some time before becoming a wrestler. In 1988 Bassarab was stabbed in a barfight, the incident damaged his liver severely. After divorcing Hart he remarried at some point. He and his new wife attended both of the two funeral services for former brother-in-law

held by Smith's girlfriend Andrea Redding, and the other was held by former sister-in-law Diana Hart-Smith. Bassarab later became a

truck driver A truck driver (commonly referred to as a trucker, teamster, or driver in the United States and Canada; a truckie in Australia and New Zealand; a HGV driver in the United Kingdom, Ireland and the European Union, a lorry driver, or driver in ...

and, later, a

warehouse A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the outskirts of cities ...

foreman before retiring to run a

vending machine A vending machine is an automated machine that provides items such as snacks, beverages, cigarettes, and lottery tickets to consumers after cash, a credit card, or other forms of payment are inserted into the machine or otherwise made. The fir ...

and

real estate company Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more general ...

that he and his wife Kathy owned in Calgary. They sold of the business and moved down to the Maritimes. When asking Ben why he replied he just wanted peace in his life.

Championships and accomplishments

* Pro Wrestling This Week **Wrestler of the Week (December 1–6, 1986) *

(2 times) - with

(1),

(1) * Canadian Wrestling Hall of Fame **Individually **With the Hart family

References

External links