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| Rest in power, Anvil Photo Credit: WWE.com |
Neidhart began his wrestling career after bouncing around National Football League training camps. He settled in Calgary to train with Stu Hart and wrestle for Stampede Wrestling. He would make the legendary promotion his home base for his pre-WWE career, although he would wrestle on excursion in New Japan, Mid-South, Georgia Championship Wrestling, and Championship Wrestling from Florida. He received his signature nickname after Hart entered him in the Calgary Stampede anvil toss, which he won. Neidhart held acclaim mostly as a tag team wrestler around the territories.
It would be in a tag team where he'd make his biggest impact in WWE, as his contract with Stampede was included in the territory's sale to Vince McMahon and WWE. While he was initially slotted as a singles wrestler, he and Bret Hart would soon form the legendary Hart Foundation tag team, first under the guidance of Jimmy Hart. The two would team together for five years until they amicably split after WrestleMania VII, when they lost the World Tag Team Championships to the Nasty Boys. Afterwards, Hart would begin his solo career, while Neidhart would continue on in a tag team with the youngest Hart brother, Owen, until early 1992, when he was fired from the company.
After short stints with New Japan and WCW, Neidhart would return to WWE to second Owen during his initial feud with Bret. It was around this time that he would begin a turbulent relationship with the company, where he was dismissed and rejoined the company twice before returning in 1997 to join the revamped version of the Hart Foundation during Bret's final run with the company. He actually stayed with the company after Survivor Series '97, where Vince McMahon, Shawn Michaels, and Earl Hebner double-crossed Bret on his way out of the company, albeit it was only for a single television angle before his release in December of that year.
This would mark the effective end of Neidhart's career in the mainstream. He would return to WCW for a short stint and continue to work indies. Most recently, Neidhart was a fixture on Total Divas, which counted his daughter Natalya as a cast member. Out of the ring, Neidhart had quite a few demons with which he wrestled, most notably painkillers. He was arrested several times for drug-related offenses. While the end of his life was marked with struggles, it's not fair to remember him for his battles with keeping sobriety. He was an important fixture in pro wrestling for two decades, a rock solid tag wrestler, and an important figure not only in the career of one of the greatest technicians, but in his own right. Hopefully, Neidhart has found peace now.
