Every so often, the masses of wrestling fans are occasionally treated to a small slice of history. It doesn't happen very often, but sometimes we are lucky enough to bear witness to a moment which truly changes the face of the industry.
Anything can be the focus of our attention, from one single match to a whole decade, from one wrestler to a whole group of performers.
They all have the same effect on us.
They become measuring sticks for our image of the business, focal points for years to come, and moments which remind us of the reason we spend part of our lives dedicated to the noble art of wrestling.
Cast your mind back to the 1980s, arguably the greatest decade for professional wrestling in sporting history.
We had introduced to the first installment of what is now the biggest wrestling PPV in history, Wrestlemania.
Hulkamania was running wild, Randy Savage and Ricky Steamboat had given us one of the greatest matches of the 20th century, and all was good in the land of WWF.
Sure, you might say, everything was all hunky-dory and fine the way it was. Nothing was going to rain on VKM's parade.
However, towards the end of the 1980s, WWF was losing its grip on the world wrestling monopoly. The emergence of WCW and NWA as top competitors had threatened to run the McMahon promotion into the ground.
Something needed to be done to bring back the fans, to re-establish WWF as the top of the food chain in the wrestling world.
This led to the creation of brand new stars, modern performers who the fans would want to aspire to emulate.
In the construction period came the birth of arguably the best faction of all time, the greatest collection of superstars ever to lace up a set of boots.
This was the appearance of a true family, both of wrestling and blood. Possibly the most famous dynasty in the history of professional wrestling.
The Hart Foundation.
From humble beginnings...
The Hart family all began training under the expert eye of Stu Hart, owner of the legendary Hart dungeon, which helped start the careers of not only the Hart Foundation, but also the current Hart Dynasty.
Employing an ethos of tough love, every graduate was efficiently trained in the art of technical wrestling.
It was here that the Hart Foundation's roots can be traced, competing in Stu Hart's Stampede Wrestling promotion.
Being related to Stu in various ways, each member of the Hart family was not only responsible for working the matches featured on each card but also for dealing with behind-the-scenes aspects of the promotion.
The Hart family began to gain a reputation beyond Canada as some of the finest wrestlers in the world, a fact that Vince McMahon picked up on when he bought Stampede Wrestling in 1985.
It was from here he signed all of the Hart family members (excluding Owen at that point, as he needed more training) to WWF contracts.
This would be the start of the development of the original Hart Foundation.
Tag Team Specialists...
The original Hart Foundation was formed in 1985 under the tutelage of Jimmy "Mouth of the South" Hart. It had been a long-running theme that wrestlers he managed were members of his "foundation," the name being a play of his own surname.
One of the first members of the Hart Foundation was Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart, known for being a very strong powerhouse and a brawler. Under Hart's guidance, he became a feared singles wrestler, but this wasn't enough.
He needed a partner. That partner, and the missing piece of the puzzle, was Bret "Hitman" Hart.
In direct contrast to Neidhart's strong authoritarian style, Hart was an agile ring technician, famed for his calculating mind and repertoire of lethal submission manoeuvres, earning him the moniker of "The Excellence of Execution."
Many believed that such a unique pairing would prevent success being had, but they were wrong.
With the Hart Foundation formed by these three men, they went on a mission to claim the gold and bring it "back to the family."
However, for the first couple of years, The Hart Foundation were unable to string together any momentum, constantly jobbing to many more established teams, such as the British Bulldogs, the Killer Bees, and the Rougeau Brothers.
It wasn't until early 1987 that the team began to be recognised as legitimate contenders for the Tag Team titles.
The Hart Foundation entered a feud with the current Tag Team champions, the British Bulldogs. This culminated in February 1987, when the referee for the match "Dangerous" Danny Davis interfered on behalf of the Hart Foundation and gained them the win.
With both the gold and Danny Davis at their side, the Hart Foundation embarked on a 10-month wrecking spree, defending the titles against such teams as Can-Am Connection, the Young Stallions, and the Fabulous Rougeaus.
During this time, they earned victories in both a six-man tag match at Wrestlemania III, and a two-out-of-three falls match against The British Bulldogs.
The Hart Foundation's incredible run as champions eventually came to an end on Oct. 27, when they lost the belts to the team of Rick Martel and Tito Santana, collectively known as Strike Force.
This led to a feud against the team, which lasted several months. This included the teams' meeting in a Survivor Series elimination match against each other, and both Bret and Santana being the first two men into the inaugural Royal Rumble.
The rivalry culminated in February 1988, when Strike Force successfully defended the titles.
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