The patriarch of one of the greatest and most respected families in professional wrestling, Stu Harts contribution to the wrestling industry exceeded the confines of promoting and helping the young talent. Stu, who was trained in catch wrestling as a youngster, taught the shoot style of wrestling to those who trained under him later in his career. In the later part of 1940s, Stu Hart founded Stampede Wrestling in Calgary, Alberta. The promotion competed with other organizations such as NWA All Star Wrestling and Pacific Northwest Wrestling, regularly running events in various arenas in Calgary. Stampede Wrestling was briefly sold to Vince McMahon Jr. but was bought back the very next year, although the WWF had signed most of its younger prospects. Some of the wrestlers who were a part of Stampede Wrestling in the 80s include Bret and Owen Hart, Dynamite Kid, Davey Boy Smith, Brian Pillman and Chris Benoit. Stu Harts wrestling school, famously known as The Dungeon has become a stuff of legends among the professional wrestlers and the wrestling fans alike. Stampede Wrestling, which was shut down in 1989, was briefly revived by Bruce and Ross Hart, but the promotion was once again shut down in 2008. Stu Hart is considered to be one of the greatest Canadian wrestlers/promoters, and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in the year 2010.
Sports journalist, writer, poet, quiz master and an engineer. I have been writing about contact sports for years, and have interviewed UFC fighters such as Miesha Tate, Cung Le and John Hathaway. I had also covered TUF - China finale and UFC Fight Night - Macau.
