The legendary Hart family is associated with a number of great wrestlers — both biological relatives and in-laws — including Bret Hart, Owen Hart, Natalya, and Tyson Kidd, but there are also a number of notable family members who aren’t as well known by mainstream fans, like third-generation wrestler Teddy Hart.
Teddy Hart is known among the die-hard fans for his charisma and amazing athleticism as well as his various problems, both backstage and personal. Wrestling for nearly three decades at this point, Hart has had a long career thus far, but one that may be under the radar for many fans. Let’s take a look at what fans should know about Teddy Hart, including his weird obsession with cats.
10 Started Wrestling As A Teenager
Born in 1980, Teddy Hart made his debut in 1995, wrestling alongside his brother Matthew against fellow Hart family members who’d come to be known as Davey Boy Smith Jr. and Tyson Kidd. The following year, he wrestled his first WWE match as a 16-year-old at a Calgary house show with Smith and Kidd as a tribute to Matthew, who had died. In the early 2000s, he was part of his uncle Bruce Hart’s short-lived promotion Matrats, which strived to feature young high-flying wrestlers under the age of 2001 and involved the participation of former WCW boss Eric Bischoff.
9 Signed To WWE As A Teenager
Fans might be surprised that a gifted athlete like Teddy Hart never had a shot in WWE, but he actually ended up signing to the company twice. The first time was in 1998, when Hart was only 18 years old, making him one of the company’s youngest signees ever. During this brief stint, he trained with the legendary Dory Funk Jr., who ran the Funkin’ Conservatory school to train WWE signees including Kurt Angle. However, the young Hart’s dedication wasn’t there, as he dealt with the pressure by shirking most responsibilities and being unreliable, and was quickly released just before he was supposed to make his debut.
8 Performed For Wrestling Society X
Teddy Hart did eventually make it to televised pro wrestling as a part of a promotion’s main roster — just not in WWE. In 2006, Hart was a part of MTV's short-lived Wrestling Society X, where he appeared in the first episode’s Royal Rumble-style match to determine contenders for the WSX Championship.
During his time with Wrestling Society X, Teddy Hart formed a tag team with Matt Cross called The Filth & The Fury, and notably took on Team Dragon Gate (Masato Yoshino and Genki Horiguchi) in the Exploding Cage match that closed out the final episode. However, the show was canceled after one season.
7 Re-Signed To WWE In The 2000s
Around the time of WSX, Teddy Hart wrestled some dark matches and squashes on minor shows for WWE, and even appeared at Bret Hart’s WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony. In 2007, Hart signed to WWE once again, debuting in Ohio Valley Wrestling before all developmental was moved to Florida Championship Wrestling. While in FCW, he formed a new version of the Hart Foundation stable with Davey Boy Smith Jr., Tyson Kidd, and Natalya. However, the aforementioned issues with Hart continued and he was quickly released from WWE yet again.
6 Bad Reputation On The Indies
Teddy Hart’s bad reputation wasn’t just limited to working for WWE developmental — he has also burned many bridges while working the independent wrestling scene. One infamous moment happened in 2003 during a 10-man cage match in Ring of Honor, where Hart went off-script and started doing dangerous aerial maneuvers off of the cage that the rest of the wrestlers in the match weren’t expecting. Hart was kicked out of ROH for his efforts, but the incident followed him as he and CM Punk got into an altercation over it while they were both working for Impact Wrestling, which resulted in Hart’s release.
5 Wrestled In AAA
By 2007, Teddy Hart had exhausted his chances at pretty much every major United States wrestling promotion, but he got a second chance in Mexico. WCW legend Konnan ended up bringing in Hart to Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide, becoming part of Konnan’s heel faction La Legión Extranjera and later the heel group Los Perros del Mal. However, despite yet another shot at redemption, Teddy Hart’s behind-the-scenes antics once again proved to be a problem, and Hart ended up getting released from AAA in 2010, though he did make a short return in 2012.
4 Trained Pentagon Jr. & Fenix
While Teddy Hart is now infamous for being a backstage liability, he did contribute positively to pro wrestling at least once. During his time in Mexico, Hart ended up training a young Pentagon Jr. and his teenage brother Rey Fenix, when they were just coming up in the business.
As detailed in a Rolling Stone article, Hart had no idea the kids he trained turned out to be two of the hottest acts in pro wrestling until he was booked to take on Pentagon in a bout for a newer lucha libre promotion, The Crash.
3 Breeds Cats
Fellow Hart family members Tyson Kidd and Natalya are known for their love of cats, but Teddy Hart exceeds them when it comes to cat obsession. Not only does he reportedly breed Persian cats in his spare time, but cats have become a part of his act as a pro wrestler. Hart is notorious for bringing cats with him to shows backstage, but he also trained a cat named Mr. Velvet to come out to the ring with him.
2 Wrestled For MLW
In 2004, Teddy Hart wrestled for Court Bauer’s Major League Wrestling during its initial two-year run, notably taking on Bryan Danielson, which was presented as a Hart family member taking on a protege of Shawn Michaels. But Hart returned to MLW when it was revived in 2017, forming a brand new version of the Hart Foundation with Davey Boy Smith Jr. and Brian Pillman Jr. Before he was released in 2019 for rumored backstage issues, Hart had a 330-day run with the MLW World Middleweight Championship.
1 Regularly In Trouble With The Law
From the 2010s to the 2020s, Teddy Hart began to get more press for his run-ins with the law than anything he was accomplishing in pro wrestling. In 2014, he was accused of assaulting two women he was in relationships with, while following charges throughout the 2010s include drug possession, DUI, evading arrest, and violating house arrest. In 2020, he was arrested at least four times, including once for allegedly assaulting his girlfriend, with another arrest following in 2021.