As fans already know, Bret “The Hitman” Hart is considered not only one of the top stars of the 1990s, but also one of the all-time greats, a submission specialist and gifted in-ring performer. But the Hitman hails from a huge wrestling family under patriarch Stu Hart, who had 12 children during his life. Of those twelve, the eight boys in the family all ended up performing in a wrestling ring.

RELATED: 10 Things Wrestling Fans Should Know About Stu Hart

Those other brothers were Smith, Bruce, Keith, Wayne, Dean, Ross, and of course Owen Hart. Since fans rarely hear about them aside from Owen Hart’s untimely and much-discussed in-ring death, let’s take a look at the brothers of the Hitman, and what fans should know about them.

10 Smith Hart Was The Oldest

Smith Hart

While Bret Hart is the famous, he’s by no means the oldest, being Stu’s eighth-born. The eldest Hart brother is Smith, who entered the wrestling business in 1973 and enjoyed an 18-year career wrestling in his father’s promotion, Stampede Wrestling, as well as in Japan and Puerto Rico. In addition to his in-ring work, it’s Smith Hart who is reportedly responsible for discovering Davey Boy Smith and the Dynamite Kid in the UK, although Bruce Hart tends to get credit for bringing the future British Bulldogs to Calgary.

9 Bret Hart Was Tag Team Partners With Keith Hart

Bret Hart with Keith Hart and Bruce Hart

In WWE, Bret Hart is known for his Hart Foundation tag team with brother-in-law Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart and later teaming with Owen Hart. But in his early days, he partnered with a different family member: Keith Hart, who was already about five years or so into his career when Bret reluctantly entered the family business in 1978. Together, Bret and Keith hart held the Stampede International Tag Team Championship five times between 1978 and 1980.

8 Stu Hart Trained Them All

Bret Hart, Stu Hart, and the entire Hart Family

As mentioned, all Hart brothers ended up performing as wrestlers at one point or another, and they all had the same trainer in their father. Stu Hart’s wrestling school, the infamous Dungeon, was in the basement of the Hart household, and the patriarch became infamous for his method of putting students in legitimately painful holds for extended periods of time, a process called “stretching.”

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Stu Hart’s kids could hear screams from trainees emanate from the basement, and eventually each of the brothers would experience the grueling training first-hand.

7 Owen Hart Wrestled Under A Mask Multiple Times

Owen Hart as The Blue Blazer

When Owen Hart signed to WWE in 1988, he initially wasn’t presented as Owen Hart or even a relative of Bret’s. Instead, he performed under a mask as the high-flying Blue Blazer, a babyface midcard superhero who once took on Mr. Perfect at WrestleMania 5. But even that isn’t Owen Hart’s first alter ego, as he claimed to have also wrestled under a mask as a prototype of British Bulldog while in college. Hart would, of course, infamously revive the Blue Blazer gimmick during the Attitude Era as a comedic character.

6 Four Brothers Teamed Up At Survivor Series 1993

Bret Hart, Owen Hart, and their brothers vs. Shawn Michaels and his Knights at Survivor Series 1993

Bret Hart and Owen Hart are best known for their times in WWE, but a couple other brothers wrestled for the company, too, albeit in a one-off outing. In 1993, Bret was feuding with Jerry Lawler, leading to a Survivor Series elimination match that year, albeit with Lawler being replaced by Shawn Michaels. Combating Michaels and his masked “knights” were Bret, Owen, Bruce, and Keith Hart in a half-hour effort that ended with the Heartbreak Kid taking a countout loss.

5 Survivor Series 1993 Led To The Owen vs. Bret Feud

Bret Hart, Owen Hart, and their brothers at Survivor Series 1993

In that Survivor Series 1993 match, Owen Hart was the only member of the Hart team to be eliminated, which happened due to a miscommunication with Bret that allowed Shawn Michaels to get a distraction pin on Owen. Following the match, Owen returned to the ring to get into a shouting match with his brother over the elimination, and tensions would continue to rise until the two brothers finally collided in a classic match to open up WrestleMania 10 and a steel cage match at SummerSlam that same year, making for one of the best brother vs. brother feuds ever.

4 Bruce Hart Reopened Stampede Wrestling Multiple Times

Stampede Wrestling logo

Originally started in 1948, Stampede Wrestling would end up being sold to WWE in 1984, though the Harts would end up getting it back the following year. From there, Bruce Hart took over running the show, resulting in a strong product that focused on a lot of great up-and-coming talent until myriad issues — both financial and backstage — resulted in Stampede shutting down in 1989.

RELATED: The Overlooked Legacy Of Stampede Wrestling, Explained

However, that wasn’t the end of Stampede Wrestling. Bruce Hart attempted to kickstart the brand multiple times throughout the 1990s, with some attempts lasting mere months while others were simply one-night-only affairs. However, a 1999 revival ended up lasting all the way until 2008.

3 Bruce Wanted To Feud With Bret

bret-hart-owen-hart-wrestlemania-10

It may surprise fans to find out that Owen Hart wasn’t the originally intended brother to feud with Bret after Survivor Series 1993. It was Bruce Hart who pitched the idea for himself to Vince McMahon, but when it was brought to Bret Hart, he insisted on using Owen instead, as Bret felt it was Owen’s time to take the spotlight. In retrospect, a feud between Bret and Owen rather than Bret and Bruce makes way more sense, considering that Bret and Owen were both active members of the roster, and were thus the most famous Hart brothers.

2 Smith’s And Bruce’s Sons Became Wrestlers

Bruce Hart, Bret Hart's Brother

Fans know about some of the more recent Hart family members to make it big, including Stu’s grandkids Natalya and Davey Boy Smith Jr. as well as Natalya’s husband, the now-retired Tyson Kidd. Natalya and Smith are children of Bret’s sisters, but some of his brothers had kids who entered the business as well. Smith Hart’s two children are Mike and Matt Hart, who wrestle on the Canadian indie scene. Bruce Hart’s kids, Torrin and Bruce Jr. also both wrestled at one point, performing for Stampede Wrestling as a tag team in 2011.

1 Several Got Into Training

Students from the Hart Brothers Wrestling Camp, including Chris Jericho and Lance Storm

Several Hart brothers didn’t just follow their dad’s footsteps by competing in the ring, but also followed their father by becoming trainers themselves, and not just by helping out in the Dungeon. Bruce Hart and Ross Hart opened the Hart Brothers Pro Wrestling Camp in Calgary, boasting such trainees as Chris Jericho, Lance Storm, and some of the aforementioned modern Harts like Natalya. Smith Hart opened a Hart Brothers school of his own in Cambridge Ontario, working alongside Canadian journeyman Waldo Von Erich.