New Era Hart Foundation (or simply The Hart Foundation) was a

professional wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to Real life, real- ...

stable A stable is a building in which working animals are kept, especially horses or oxen. The building is usually divided into stalls, and may include storage for equipment and feed. Styles There are many different types of stables in use tod ...

Major League Wrestling Major League Wrestling (MLW) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in New Rochelle, New York. The promotion was founded in 2002 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, by former WWE writer Court Bauer. The promotion markets its product as ...

, consisting of

Teddy Hart Edward Ellsworth Annis (born February 2, 1980) is a Canadian-American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Teddy Hart. He currently wrestles on the independent circuit. He is one-half of the RCW (Real Canadian Wrestling) Tag Tea ...

, Davey Boy Smith Jr. and

Brian Pillman Jr. Brian Zachary Pillman (born September 9, 1993) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Lexis King. Pillman is known for his time in All Elite Wrestling (AEW) from 2019 ...

The group was the latest incarnation of the

Hart Foundation The Hart Foundation is the name of several derivative tag teams and Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Stable, stables composed primarily of members and close friends of the Hart wrestling family. The name originated in the World Wrestling ...

which was formed by MLW in 2018. The trio enjoyed success as they are former one-time World Tag Team Champions within the promotion, defending the title under the

Freebird rule The Fabulous Freebirds were a professional wrestling tag team who attained fame in the 1980s, performing into the 1990s. The team usually consisted of three wrestlers, although in different situations and points in its history, just two performed ...

. In addition,

is a one-time

World Middleweight Champion Championship recognition 1884–1910 Champions were recognized by public acclamation. A champion in that era was a fighter who had a notable win over another fighter and kept winning afterward. Retirements or disputed results could lead to a cha ...

as part of the group. Hart was released by MLW on December 6, 2019 and Smith left the promotion on December 2, 2020, thus ending the group.

History

Height of dominance (2018–2019)

On June 14,

announced on its website that a new era incarnation of the famous

was going to begin which would consist of Hart family members

and Davey Boy Smith Jr. along with

, the son of

Brian Pillman Brian William Pillman (May 22, 1962 – October 5, 1997) was an American professional wrestler and professional football player best known for his appearances in Stampede Wrestling in the 1980s and World Championship Wrestling (WCW), Extreme ...

, a former member of a previous incarnation of Hart Foundation. Pillman made his televised debut in MLW on the August 3 episode of '' Fusion'', where he showed respect to Kevin Sullivan accepting him as his mentor. Hart Foundation made its debut on the August 17 episode of ''Fusion'' as a trio with Pillman acting as the

cornerman In combat sports, a cornerman, or second, is a coach or trainer assisting a fighter during a bout. The cornerman is forbidden to instruct and must remain outside the combat area during the round. In the break, they are permitted to enter the r ...

of Hart and Smith, who defeated A. C. H. and

Rich Swann Richard Anthony Swann (born February 15, 1991) is an American professional wrestler. he is best known for his tenure in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). He is a former Impact World Champion, TNA World Heavyweight Championship (2020–2021), ...

after Pillman hit Swann with his cane. The trio established themselves as a villainous group and ranted against MLW management, which included Pillman turning on his mentor Kevin Sullivan and attacking him along with Hart and Smith on the August 31 episode of ''Fusion''. Hart Foundation would dominate competition as they went on to defeat The Stud Stable and the team of ACH, Rich Swann and Marko Stunt on ''Fusion''. The team would soon find championship success as Hart won the vacant World Middleweight Championship by defeating

Dezmond Xavier Deveon Everhart Aikens (born November 2, 1988) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT and Evolve brands under the ring name Wes Lee and is the leader of The High Ryze stable. He is a former one-t ...

El Hijo de L.A. Park El Hijo de L.A. Park (born November 20, 1988) is a Mexican ''Lucha libre, Luchador'' ''wrestling mask, enmascarado'', or masked professional wrestling, professional wrestler. better known for his time in Major League Wrestling, MLW where he is a ...

, Gringo Loco and Kotto Brazil in a five-way

ladder match A ladder match is a type of match in professional wrestling, most commonly one in which an item (usually a title belt) is hung above the ring, and the winner is the contestant who climbs a ladder and retrieves the item. The ladder itself become ...

on the first-ever live episode of ''Fusion'' on December 14. Pillman and Smith continued to succeed in tag team competition. The winning streak of Hart Foundation earned them a title shot for the

World Tag Team Championship In professional wrestling, a championship or title is a recognition promoted by professional wrestling organizations. Championship reigns are determined by professional wrestling matches, in which competitors are involved in predetermined rival ...

against The Lucha Brothers at SuperFight on February 2, 2019, which Smith and Hart won, thus making Hart a double champion. Pillman was also recognized as a champion via the

, which required any two of the three members to defend the titles. On the February 16 episode of ''Fusion'', Hart successfully defended the World Middleweight Championship against MJF, after which Richard Holliday joined MJF in attacking Hart. As a result, Holliday and MJF formed an alliance called The Dynasty and began feuding with Hart Foundation, which led to Hart Foundation turning into a heroic stable. Smith and Hart defended the World Tag Team Championship against Dynasty on the March 16 episode of ''Fusion'', where Dynasty was disqualified after

Alexander Hammerstone Alex Rohde (born January 17, 1991), better known by the ring name Alexander Hammerstone or simply Hammerstone, is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to Major League Wrestling (MLW), where he was a former MLW World Heavyweight Champ ...

joined Dynasty by attacking the Hart Foundation, beginning a lengthy feud between the two stables. On the April 27 episode of ''Fusion'', Hart Foundation suffered their first loss as they were defeated by the Dynasty in a six-man

tables match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called " gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a storyline. ...

. Pillman and Hammerstone would qualify for the finals of a tournament to crown the inaugural National Openweight Champion at Fury Road, which Hammerstone won. Pillman and Hart would lose the titles to Dynasty in a ladder match on the July 13 episode of ''Fusion''. Smith and Hart received a rematch for the titles in a

two out of three falls match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Gimmick, gimmick matches" in the Glossary of professional wrestling terms, jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick m ...

against the Dynasty on the September 21 episode of ''Fusion'', in which they were unsuccessful due to interference by

Austin Aries Daniel Healy Solwold Jr. (born April 15, 1978), better known by his ring name Austin Aries, is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is known for his time with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, TNA Wrestling, where he is a t ...

, who demanded a World Middleweight Championship title shot against Hart. The three members of the Hart Foundation would go on to compete in separate singles matches at Saturday Night SuperFight, where Hart successfully defended the World Middleweight Championship against Austin Aries, Smith failed to win the National Openweight Championship from Alexander Hammerstone and Pillman lost to

Low Ki Brandon Silvestry (born September 6, 1979) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Low Ki. He is known for his time with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, TNA Wrestling, Ring of Honor and Major ...

Breakup and split (2019–2020)

On the November 11 episode of ''Fusion'', Hart lost his title to Myron Reed after

Contra Unit Contra Unit is a Heel (professional wrestling), villainous professional wrestling Stable (professional wrestling), stable, currently performing in Major League Wrestling (MLW). It consists of leader Mads Krügger, Mads Krule Krügger, Ikuro Kwon, M ...

member Josef Samael threw a fireball on Hart. This would mark Hart's final appearance in MLW as he was released by the promotion on December 6. Smith and Pillman were both entered into the Opera Cup tournament, a family heirloom handed over to MLW management by Teddy Hart as the Opera Cup trophy had been won by his grandfather

Stu Hart Stewart Edward Hart (May 3, 1915 – October 16, 2003) was a Canadian sport wrestling, amateur and professional wrestling, professional wrestler, wrestling Booker (professional wrestling), booker, professional wrestling promotion, promoter, and ...

in 1948. Smith and Pillman made it to the final round of the tournament, which Smith won. Hart and Pillman went their separate ways afterwards until they reunited for one final match on the April 25, 2020 episode of ''Fusion'' by defeating Los Mercenarios (

Texano Jr. Juan Aguilar Leos (born July 31, 1984) is a Mexican ''luchador'', or professional wrestler, who is known by the ring name Texano Jr. Aguilar is the son of Juan Conrado Aguilar Jáuregui, who wrestled under the name El Texano; Aguilar's brother ...

and

Rey Escorpión Fabián Núñez Napoles (born January 20, 1979) is a Mexican '' luchador'' (professional wrestler), better known by the ring name Rey Escorpión. He is currently working for Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA), where he portrays a ''rudo'' or bad g ...

) in a tag team match, marking Hart Foundation's final appearance as a team. The group finally disbanded when Smith left the company after losing to

in the opening round of the 2020 Opera Cup, thus disbanding Hart Foundation.

Championships and accomplishments

MLW World Middleweight Championship The MLW World Middleweight Championship is a professional wrestling Professional wrestling championship#Weight class championships, championship created and promoted by the United States, American professional wrestling promotion Major League Wres ...

( 1 time) – Teddy Hart ** MLW World Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) - Teddy Hart, Davey Boy Smith Jr, and Brian Pillman Jr ** Opera Cup (2019) – Davey Boy Smith, Jr. **Wrestler of the Year (2018) – Teddy Hart *''

Pro Wrestling Illustrated ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publishing Group. The maga ...

'' ** Rookie of the Year (2019) – Brian Pillman, Jr. **Ranked Davey Boy Smith Jr. No. 253 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the ''

PWI 500 ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publishing Group. The maga ...

'' in 2018 **Ranked Teddy Hart No. 301 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the ''PWI 500'' in 2019 **Ranked Brian Pillman Jr. No. 411 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the ''PWI 500'' in 2019

References

External links

Hart Foundation
at Cagematch
Brian Pillman Jr. profile
at

Davey Boy Smith Jr. profile
at

{{MLW World Tag Team Championship Hart Foundation Major League Wrestling teams and stables