Matt Hart | |
---|---|
Birth name | Matthew Aryan Dean Herweg |
Born | Calgary, Alberta, Canada | January 28, 1993
Family | Hart wrestling family |
Professional wrestling career | |
Ring name(s) | Matt Hart [1] Matthew Hart [1] |
Billed height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) [2] |
Billed weight | 189 lb (86 kg) (2014) [1] 224 lb (102 kg) (2016) [2] |
Billed from | Calgary [2] |
Trained by | Teddy Hart [3] Smith Hart [4] |
Debut | 2012 [5] |
Matthew Aryan Dean Herweg, (born January 28, 1993) better known by his ring name Matt Hart is a Canadian professional wrestler. He is a third generation wrestler member of the Hart family and the son of professional wrestler Smith Hart, oldest child of wrestler Stu Hart and promoter Helen Hart. Hart has wrestled extensively on the independent scene in Canada but also in the United Kingdom and the United States. He is the first member of his family to complete the Canadian Death Tour. Hart has regularly performed for the Hart Legacy Wrestling promotion with other members of his family. He was the subject of the 2016 documentary Hart Still Beating .
Herweg was born to Liane Reiger-Herweg, who was of German and Native American descent, and Smith Hart in 1993. Herweg's father is part of a family of Ulster Scot and Irish heritage through Smith's father Stu Hart. Herweg also has Greek as well as more Irish ancestry through his paternal grandmother Helen Hart. [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [ excessive citations ] He has an older half-brother named Michael on his mother's side who is also a professional wrestler and three half-siblings on his father's side named Tobi, Tania and Chad, as well as a foster brother named Steven from his father. [11] His middle name Dean is in honor of his uncle Dean Hart who died in 1990. [12] He also shares his first name with his deceased cousin Matthew Annis. Herweg's mother and father separated before he was born but they shared custody, he and his father lived together in the attic of the famed Hart House in Calgary. [13] In 2001 he and his father were among the Hart family members who attended WWF Monday Night RAW to commemorate his uncle Owen who had died two years earlier. [14] Herweg's mother died on his thirteenth birthday on January 28, 2006 [15] after which he was put into foster care due to Canadian authorities deeming his father's career too unstable. [16] After some time Herweg was put in the care of Stacey Olaszak, his father's long time partner. [17] [18] [19] [20] [11] Herweg studied to be a stonemason. [21] As a member of the Hart family Herweg has many relatives in the industry, his cousins Natalie Neidhart, Harry Smith, Teddy Hart, Torrin Hart, and Bruce Hart Jr. are contemporaries in the ring while his cousin Lindsay Hart is an on screen personality for Elite Canadian Championship Wrestling. [22]
After being separated from his father's side of the family after the death of his mother, Herweg reconnected to them through professional wrestling, deciding to join the industry as soon as he got the chance. [23] Matthew was trained by his father and cousins Teddy Hart and Harry Smith. He debuted in 2012 for his family's promotion, which was known as Stampede Extreme Sports at the time, for the 100th anniversary of the Calgary Stampede. In his first match he wrestled with Teddy and Harry. [5] At later events he would appear with his cousins Tory and Bruce Hart Jr. among other Stampede Wrestling alumni. [24] [25] By March Matt was wrestling in Mecca Pro Wrestling [26] in Ontario for several dates [27] [28] and by August he wrestled against a wrestling champion for the first time with KC Andrews who held the Big West Wrestling Television Championship. [29] [30] [31] In September he worked as a tag team wrestler in a storyline for Thrash Wrestling where his partner betrayed him to become the inaugural Trash Wrestling Tag Team Champion. [32] In 2016 Hart participated in the "Canadian Death Tour", becoming the first Hart family member to do so. [33] 2017 saw Hart traveling to the United Kingdom to wrestle. [34] [35] In May 2022 Hart performed for his cousin Dallas Hart's promotion Dungeon Wrestling. [36]
Hart debuted on the 2012 sneak peek of the promotion but had to take a year off from all wrestling afterwards due to injury. [37] He returned in January 2013 [38] [39] and was a regular performer for the promotion [40] until 2019. [41]
Hart began wrestling for Real Canadian Wrestling in 2015. [42] [43] He wrestle for the promotions charity show in June that year. [44] In 2017 Hart won his first championship, catching the RCW Tag Team Championship together with tag-team partner D. Dwight Davis as part of the group Hard To Kill. [45] In 2018 Hart was given his uncle Dynamite Kid (Tom Billington)s' robe by his aunt Michelle Billington in a match of the Smith Hart Memorial Tournament. [46] [47] He later got involved in a major storyline with Real Canadian Wrestling's top heel wrestler, [48] Heavy Metal, after he destroyed Harts trophy for winning the Smith Hart Memorial Tournament and destroyed Smiths final letter to his children before Matt could read it. [49] During RCWs collaboration with Impact Wrestling Hart had a feuded with Raj Singh, the son of a Gama Singh who wrestled for Harts grandfather, the feud was popular and heated up the promotion. [50] [51] [52] [53] In January 2020 Hart captured his first singles championship when he won the RCW British Commonwealth Championship. [54] Hart lost the title on March 6, 2020 to his former tag-team partner Davis. [55] [56]
Hart began working for the Canadian Wrestling's Elite by 2016. [57] By September that year Hart wrestled his first world champion in Magnus [58] who held the GFW Global Championship for Global Force Wrestling. [59] [60] In 2017 Hart headlined the tribute show for his father Smith Hart for the promotion, [61] he wrestled with his cousins-in-law "Dynamite" Dan and "Pistol" Pete Wilson. [62] Hart won the match with the Sharpshooter, [63] a move which is deeply connected to his family's history.
In 2016 Herweg and his father were the subject of the Telus original documentary Hart Still Beating which concerns his childhood, the loss of his mother, his father's then recent diagnosis with terminal cancer and their attempt to grow closer to each other through professional wrestling. [64] [65]
Herweg is a cat owner. [66] Herweg is a big fan of The Honky Tonk Man. [67] He is close with his cousin Torrin. [68]
Stewart Edward Hart was a Canadian amateur and professional wrestler, wrestling booker, promoter, and coach. He is best known for founding and handling Stampede Wrestling, a professional wrestling promotion based in Calgary, Alberta, teaching many individuals at its associated wrestling school "The Dungeon" and establishing a professional wrestling dynasty consisting of his relatives and close trainees. As the patriarch of the Hart wrestling family, Hart is the ancestor of many wrestlers, most notably being the father of Bret and Owen Hart as well as the grandfather of Natalya Neidhart, Teddy Hart and David Hart Smith.
David Smith was an English professional wrestler best known for his appearances in the United States with the World Wrestling Federation under the ring names Davey Boy Smith and The British Bulldog.
Edward Ellsworth Annis is a Canadian-American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Teddy Hart. He currently wrestles on the independent circuit. He wrestled on a National scale for Major League Wrestling (MLW) as the leader of The Hart Foundation, where he held the MLW World Middleweight and MLW Tag Team championships. He has also wrestled for AAA, the short-lived Wrestling Society X, Jersey All Pro Wrestling, and Dragon Gate USA. He operates a wrestling school in Edmonton. He is the son of Georgia Hart of the Hart wrestling family and wrestler B. J. Annis. He is also the nephew of former professional wrestlers, Bret Hart and Owen Hart. Hart achieved an early degree of fame when he became the youngest wrestler to be signed to the World Wrestling Federation. His subsequent release, controversial actions while wrestling on the independent circuit and various legal problems have earned him a measure of infamy.
John Parsonage is a Canadian semi-retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name "Hot Shot" Johnny Devine. He is best known for his time in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.
Bruce Edward Hart is an American-born Canadian retired professional wrestler, promoter, booker, trainer and school teacher. He is a second-generation wrestler and a member of the Hart wrestling family, being the second child of Stu and Helen Hart. He is best known for his time in Stampede Wrestling and several appearances for WWE, often with his brothers Bret and Owen.
Keith William Hart is an American born-Canadian retired professional wrestler and firefighter. He is a member of the Hart wrestling family and the third child of Helen and Stu Hart. He is best known for his work for Stampede Wrestling and several appearances for WWE, often with his siblings Bret, Owen, Bruce and Diana. In Stampede he won several championships and for WWE he participated in the seventh edition of Survivor Series.
Harry Francis Smith, better known by his ring name Davey Boy Smith Jr., is a Canadian professional wrestler and catch wrestler. He works for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), where he is the current Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion in his first reign. He is a two-time Opera Cup winner, and a former MLW World Tag Team Champion. Smith is known for his time in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), where he was a three-time NWA World Tag Team Champion, and New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he was a former three-time IWGP Tag Team Champion as part of the Killer Elite Squad with Lance Archer, as well as being a two-time GHC Tag Team Champion in Pro Wrestling Noah. He is also known for his tenure in WWE from 2006 until 2011 under the ring name David Hart Smith, where he won the Unified Tag Team Championship along with Tyson Kidd as part of The Hart Dynasty. He also previously performed in WWE's developmental territory, Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) under the ring name DH Smith. Smith has also appeared for World of Sport Wrestling under the ring name British Bulldog Jr.
Smith Stewart Hart was an American-Canadian professional wrestler and a member of the Hart wrestling family. His parents were Stu and Helen Hart. Smith was the first of their twelve children, being one of their eight sons, Bruce, Keith, Wayne, Dean, Bret, Ross and Owen followed him. Hart is also the father of two professional wrestlers, Mike and Matt Hart. Hart wrestled for the majority of his career in Canada but also worked briefly in other countries and is best known for his time in Stampede Wrestling and for his appearances for WWE. He died in 2017 due to prostate cancer.
Gadowar Singh Sahota ; born December 8, 1954) is an Indo-Canadian semi-retired professional wrestler known as Gama Singh and Great Gama Sahota was a villainous mainstay and top attraction in Stu Hart's Stampede Wrestling in Calgary for much of the 1970s and 1980s. Sahota also wrestled internationally in Japan, South Africa, Germany, Kuwait, Dubai, Oman, Australia, the United States and the Caribbean. He also worked sporadically, mostly on overseas tours, for Vince McMahon and the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) from 1980 to 1986. His nephew is former WWE Champion Jinder Mahal. Singh made a brief comeback of sorts in 2018, when he signed with Impact Wrestling as the manager for a stable of Indian wrestlers known as the Desi Hit Squad, but quietly left in 2020.
Theodore James "TJ" Wilson, better known by the ring name Tyson Kidd, is a Canadian retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he works as a producer.
Diana Joyce Hart 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.
Ángel Acevedo is a Puerto Rican retired professional wrestler known by his ring name The Cuban Assassin and for his appearances with Atlantic Grand Prix Wrestling, World Wrestling Council and Stampede Wrestling. Ángel Acevedo is a permanent resident of Canada and resides in Calgary, Alberta. Acevedo's son, Richie Acevedo, was also a wrestler for many years but retired in 2009. Acevedo allowed Fidel Sierra to use the Cuban Assassin name as well, as long as he did not use it in Japan, which has led to some mistakenly crediting Acevedo and Sierra with championships they did not win.
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.
The Hart wrestling family, sometimes known as the Hart dynasty, is a mainly Canadian family with a significant history within professional wrestling. The patriarch of the family was wrestling legend Stu Hart (1915–2003). An amateur and professional wrestling performer, promoter and trainer, Stu owned and operated his own wrestling promotion, Stampede Wrestling. He also trained some of the most well known stars in wrestling history including "Superstar" Billy Graham, Fritz Von Erich, Chris Benoit, and his own sons Bret Hart and Owen Hart.
Karl Moffat, better known by the ring name Jason the Terrible, is a Canadian professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with Stampede Wrestling and in Japan.
Ross Lindsay Hart is a Canadian-American retired professional wrestler, promoter, trainer, booker, TV producer, coach and actor. 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.
The Stu Hart 50th Anniversary Show was a professional wrestling supercard produced by the Hart family that took place on December 15, 1995 at the Stampede Corral in Calgary, Alberta. Held in honor of Stu Hart, the event featured Stampede Wrestling alumni as well as talent from World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation. It was the first event to feature an interpromotional "dream match" during the Monday Night War-era. The proceeds from the event were donated to the Calgary Quest Children's Society. Nine professional wrestling matches, two of which for championships, were featured on the card.
Hart Legacy Wrestling (HLW) is a Canadian professional wrestling promotion operated by some members of the Hart wrestling family, it was founded mainly by Teddy Hart and his associates. Smith Hart was also involved with the promotion prior to his death on July 2, 2017. His long-time partner Stacey Angel is the current owner of the promotion. Bret Hart has no involvement in HLW.
Pain and Passion: The History of Stampede Wrestling is a 2005 history book written by Heath McCoy about the Canadian professional wrestling promotion Stampede Wrestling and its associated wrestling territory. It was published by CanWest and later ECW Press and was well received by former workers of the organisation as well as journalists of the professional wrestling industry.
Hart Still Beating: Pro Wrestling Saved My Life - A Hart Family Documentary is a 2016 Canadian short documentary directed by Kurt Spenrath and Frederick Kroetsch for Telus about professional wrestlers Matt and Smith Hart, father and son from the Hart family. The film concerns Matt's childhood from that of the death of his mother as well as Smith's terminal cancer diagnosis which leads to them growing closer to each other through professional wrestling after being near estranged for many years.