Career
Hart debuted in July 1995, teaming up with Matthew and defeating his cousin, Harry Smith, and T.J. Wilson at Rockyford, Alberta. Following this, he teamed up with Smith, Wilson, and American wrestler Jack Evans in the Calgary-based 'Stampede Wrestling' promotion.
On October 5, 1996, he teamed up with Harry Smith, as “Ted Annis,” to defeat Andrew Picnaric and T.J. Wilson in the opening match for the 'World Wrestling Federation' (WWF) house show in Calgary. The match was a tribute to Matthew.
In 1998, Hart was the youngest wrestler to be signed to a ‘WWF’ developmental contract. He was supposed to be trained under Dory Funk, Jr., but was later released due to alleged ego issues.
From 1999 to August 2003, Hart won several matches in 'Stampede Wrestling.' However, on August 22, 2003, he lost the 'Stampede North American Heavyweight' title to Karnage.
On September 20, 2003, he defeated T.J. Wilson in the 'Ring of Honor' in Philadelphia. However, the 'Special K' faction of the tournament mocked Hart backstage for not being an accomplished wrestler.
On November 1, 2003, Hart lost a 'Scramble Cage' match at a 'Ring of Honor' show in Elizabeth, New Jersey, after which he performed moonsaults, executed a shooting star press, and then vomited at the ringside, which was a shameful act. He was possibly blackballed.
Hart, however, justified the act by blaming it on an injury he had suffered during the match. Following this, he wrestled at only two ‘ROH’ shows, 'At Our Best,' on March 13, 2004, and 'Final Battle 2009,' against Jack Evans.
On January 9, 2004, after defeating Bryan Danielson in 'Major League Wrestling Reloaded,' he did backflips, which Bryan found disrespectful. The following day, the crowd chanted, ''don't come back," at Hart, after Jerry Lynn defeated him.
In March 2004, he represented the Canadian team as its original captain in the second 'America's X-Cup.' However, he was later released from the tournament because of an altercation with CM Punk, which had stemmed from their brawl during the ‘Elizabeth ROH’ show, where they had to be separated.
Continue Reading Below
His match against B-Boy on March 5 was a no-contest. He then got into a "worked" confrontation with John Zandig. The match had to be stopped, as Hart claimed a knee injury. He was thrown out from the building, but he later returned from the front door to attack Zandig.
That year, Hart made his first appearance on TV, through 'MLW Underground.' He also debuted on 'Jersey All Pro Wrestling' (JAPW), winning the 'Tag Team Championship' (pairing with Jack Evans), against ‘The Strong Style Thugs.’
He held the title for nearly 4 months, eventually losing it to the ‘Backseat Boyz.’ He regained the title 3 months later, teaming up with Homicide and defeating the ‘Backseat Boyz,’ only to lose it to them again a little over a week later.
In 2005, Hart participated in several ‘WWE’ promotions, wrestled in dark matches, and served as an enhancement talent on the ‘WWE’ TV show 'Velocity.'
Hart made his debut with 'ActionZone Wrestling,' at its 'Revenge and Retribution' event held in Hawaii on March 29, 2007.
Hart appeared in the inaugural contract rumble of the 'Wrestling Society X' (WSX), a short-lived American wrestling promotion and wrestling-based TV series that premiered in January 2007. Unfortunately, he did not win.
After ‘WSX’ was canceled, he was signed to ‘WWE’ in its 'Florida Championship Wrestling' developmental facility.
On July 1, 2006, Hart defeated ‘PAC’ in his debut 'One Pro Wrestling' match at 'Fight Club II' in Yorkshire, England. On September 13, 2006, Hart and Corino's grudge match at the first-ever 'Pro Wrestling Xplosion' show, called 'Lighting the Fuse,' held at the infamous 'ECW Arena,' ended in a no-contest. The referee was associated with Corino and declared Hart's submission when he had not. It led to a brawl between Hart and Corino in the parking lot.
His ‘JAPW’ match against Jay Lethal in Aberdeen, New Jersey, held on July 29, 2006, was briefly stopped when Hart stepped out to recover from the moonsault act he performed on Lethal, that too, after climbing on top of a soda machine. Hart resumed and won the match.
Continue Reading Below
Hart defeated Shawn Osbourne in the debut show of 'Florida Championship Wrestling' (FCW) and won the main event of the tournament as a member of 'Team Vision.'
On October 2, 2006, Hart wrestled along with T.J. Wilson in his last match for ‘FCW,’ defeating Mike Mondo and Nick Nemeth. ‘FCW’ officially released him on October 11.
On January 23, 2007, Hart was suspended from the ‘JAPW Heavyweight Championship' due to his issues with the promoter and was eventually released from the promotion. He, however, returned on October 27, after he interfered in the fight between Homicide and Low Ki at the promotion's tenth anniversary show.
Hart made his 'Antonio Peña Promotions' (AAA) debut on November 20, 2007, with the team 'Ladder Match' of 'Extreme Four Way.' He teamed up with Sabu for the 'AAA World Tag Team Championship' at 'Guerra de Titantes.'
Shortly after, he joined Cuban wrestler Konnan's team 'Legión Extranjera' (''Foreign Legion''), for which he teamed up with Evans as 'The Hart Foundation 2.0.' Since he does not speak Spanish, ‘AAA’ captioned his remarks in Spanish during the promotion.
On March 22, 2008, the duo of Hart and Evans became the first-ever 'PWS Champion' by defeating Ruckus and Trent Acid at the 'PWS Majestic Mayhem' of the 'Majestic Tournament.' However, in the second round, Hart faced Evans and was defeated.
In June 2009, along with 'Foreign Legion,' Hart defeated Evans to get him out of the stable. Following this, on June 13, Evans’s ‘Team AAA,’ defeated Hart's 'La Legion Extranjera' at 'Triplemania XVII.' Evans thus regained control over the ‘AAA’ title and threw Konnan out of the company.
On August 21 that year, Hart and Konnan returned to ‘AAA’ only to be suspended indefinitely in early 2010. On December 19, 2009, he also made his comeback to the 'Ring of Honor,' facing Evans in its first live pay-per-view, ''Final Battle 2009.” He lost the game.
The 2009 documentary 'A Hart Still Pounding' revolves around Hart's life. Originally named 'Ted Hart's Truth and Reality,' the show was almost shelved due to the creator’s issues with Hart.
Continue Reading Below
He returned to ‘AAA’ with the 'Rey de Reyes,' held on March 18, 2012. Once again, it was an unsuccessful comeback, with him losing the four-way tag team match to Joe Líder and Juventud Guerrera.
Hart registered a victory against Matt Hardy and Colt Cabana in a 'Pro Wrestling Syndicate' triple threat match, held on May 4, 2012, in Rahway, New Jersey.
He reunited with Evans in a 'Parejas Suicidas' steel cage match at 'Triplemanía XX' held on August 5. The two escaped the cage and avoided the 'Hair vs. Hair' match.
Hart reached the finals of the 'AAA Canada: Next Generation Wrestling' event for the 'NGW World Title Tournament' but did not win the championship.
He also lost the 'Inspire Pro Pure Prestige' title to Thomas Shire, in a match held on October 5, 2014.
On August 21, 2015, Hart's debut for 'NOVA Pro Wrestling' was announced. In January 2016, he made his debut for 'Canadian Wrestling's Elite,' and on July 14, 2016, he debuted for 'Lucha Libre Elite.' However, he was defeated by Diamante Azul.
He was featured in the 2016 documentary 'Hart Still Beating,' based on the life story of his uncle Smith and cousin Matt. Filmmakers Kurt Spenrath and Fred Kroetsch directed the documentary 'Hart of Darkness.'
Hart made his comeback to ‘MLW’ in 2017, through the 'New Era Hart Foundation,' along with his cousin Davey Boy Smith Jr. and Brian Pillman Jr.
On April 20, 2018, Hart returned to ‘AAA,’ wrestling against Joe Líder and Pagano. He regained the 'MLW World Middleweight Championship' title on November 2, 2019, defeating Austin Aries at the 'MLW Saturday Night SuperFight.'
On December 6 that year, ‘MLW’ announced Hart's release from the company without citing any official reason. Anonymous sources, however, suggested that the company's ongoing disciplinary issues with him was a possible reason. The sources added that Hart's not turning up to an event and appearing in the crowds of the ‘AEW’ and ‘NXT ‘shows could have also been the reasons behind his ouster.
Family & Personal Life
Hart's mother has both Greek and Irish origins, while his father is half-Italian. His cousins, Natalya Neidhart, Mike Hart, Matt Hart, Harry Smith, Bruce Hart Jr., and Torrin Hart, have been professional wrestlers. He is also related to Lindsay Hart and Georgia Smith from the ''Hart Dynasty.''
He was in a relationship with Kim, with whom he had a son, Bradley. He then married Fay, a professional wrestler who had participated in the 'Hart Legacy' promotion. The two divorced in 2016.
He then dated Samantha Louise Michelle Fiddler, who has been missing from Bartow, Florida, since November 19, 2016.
Hart has bipolar disorder but is not on medication. His great-grandfather, Harry Smith, and brother, Frank, too, had the disorder.
On December 3, 2014, Hart was on the “wanted” list circulated by the 'Royal Canadian Mounted Police.' He was accused of sexual assault by two women. The charges were legally dropped in June 2016.
In January 2015, he revealed several aspects from his personal life, including the rape accusations, in an interview to wrestlers Chuckie T and Trent Barreta.
Hart is interested in involving animals in professional wrestling. His cat, "Mr. Money," has accompanied him to the ring several times.
