| Stu Hart's 88th Birthday Celebration | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Promotion | Stampede Wrestling | ||
| Date | May 2, 2003 | ||
| City | Calgary, Alberta | ||
| Venue | Ogden Legion Hall | ||
| Tagline(s) | Stampede Wrestling 50th Anniversary Show | ||
| Event chronology | |||
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The Stu Hart's 88th Birthday Celebration (also called Stampede Wrestling 50th Anniversary Show) was a professional wrestling supercard produced by the Stampede Wrestling promotion that took place on May 2, 2003, at the Ogden Legion Hall in Calgary, Alberta. It was initially to be held at the Victoria Pavilion, [1] [2] however, the event was later moved to another venue. The show was held to celebrate Stu Hart's 88th birthday [3] [4] as well as the 50th anniversary of Stampede Wrestling. Ralph Klein, then Premier of Alberta, made a guest appearance at the event to honor the Hart wrestling family. It was second reunion show to be held since the Stu Hart 50th Anniversary Show in 1995. The event featured talent from both the original Stampede Wrestling and Ross and Bruce Hart's version. Seven professional wrestling matches were featured on the card. [2] [5]
Two of the matches on the undercard were Sabu versus Teddy Hart in a hardcore match, and Bruce Hart versus Principal Richard Pound. Another featured match was a standard wrestling match between Nattie Neidhart and Belle Lovitz. [2] [5] The main event was a tag team match between The Stampede Bulldogs (Harry Smith and T.J. Wilson) and the team of A.J. Styles and The Black Dragon. Wilson later claimed that their match was a great learning experience for him especially as he was preparing to enter New Japan Pro-Wrestling's Best of the Super Juniors that summer. [6]
| No. | Results [7] [8] | Stipulations | Times |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jack Flash defeated Nick Nog and Pete Wilson | Three-Way Dance | 15:02 |
| 2 | Dan Fox [9] defeated Brayden Schultz and Trevor Ing (kids match) [10] | Triple Threat match | 9:00 |
| 3 | Nattie Neidhart defeated Belle Lovitz | Singles match | 10:12 |
| 4 | Johnny Devine, [11] Duke Durrango [12] and Randy Myers defeated Kirk Melnick, Rod Rage and Jason Carter | Six-man tag team match | 11:25 |
| 5 | Bruce Hart defeated Principal Richard Pound by countout | Singles match | — |
| 6 | Juggernaut and Apocalypse defeated Dave Swift and The Highlander | Tag team match | 18:12 |
| 7 | Sabu vs. Teddy Hart ended in a no-contest | Hardcore match | 18:12 |
| 8 | The Stampede Bulldogs (Harry Smith and T.J. Wilson) defeated A.J. Styles and The Black Dragon | Tag team match | 22:50 |
The professional wrestling section, SLAM! Wrestling , of the Canadian Online Explorer website rated the entire event a 10 out of 10 stars. [7]
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.
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-British 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.
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 promotion competed with other promotions such as NWA All-Star Wrestling and Pacific Northwest Wrestling and regularly ran events in Calgary's Victoria Pavilion, Ogden Auditorium and the Stampede Corral between 1948 until 1984 when bought out by promoter Vince McMahon, the company was briefly run by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) before being sold back to the Hart family the following year. Run by Bruce Hart until January 1990, he and Ross Hart reopened the promotion in 1999 and began running events in the Alberta area.
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.
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.
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.
The Prairie Wrestling Alliance was a independent wrestling promotion based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, and founded 2001. The PWA was co-owned, operated, and promoted by Kurt Sorochan. Lance Storm is a former booker with the promotion.
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.
Bradley Joseph Annis 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 Calgary gym at which many of the wrestlers trained. Annis is married to Georgia Hart, the daughter of wrestler Stu and wrestling promoter Helen Hart.
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.
Stu Hart: Lord of the Ring is a 2002 biography of Canadian professional wrestler and promoter Stu Hart, written by journalist Marsha Erb and published by ECW Press. The book is generally considered to be the most in-depth work on Hart's life and career.
Straight from the Hart is a 2011 autobiography by Canadian professional wrestler Bruce Hart. The book chronicles Hart's childhood in Calgary as a member of the Albertan Hart wrestling family, his career in the wrestling industry to his later life as a trainer. It was published by ECW Press. The book is one of a long line of books by or about members of Hart's family.
2003 in professional wrestling describes the year's events in the world of professional wrestling.
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