The Hart family has created a special legacy in the wrestling world to get passed on in multiple generations. Stu Hart’s dynasty started in Stampede Wrestling and saw many members of his family breaking out in the United States. Few wrestling families get talked about with the same respect as the Harts due to the contributions.
That smash mouth style merging storytelling, technical wrestling and a credible level of violence became associated with the Hart family members. Future generations would join the industry to show new styles with that old mentality that was passed on. Differing stories showed the ups and downs of so many wrestler relatives working in the same field. The following Hart relatives either had great success or flopped in wrestling.
9 Success: Davey Boy Smith
The wrestling industry badly needed new stars in the first half of the ’90s when Davey Boy Smith started to break out. WWE originally signed Smith and Dynamite Kid together as The British Bulldogs, but Davey turned out to be more reliable on his own.
There were still ups and downs that caused Smith to never stay at the main event level. Davey still had a legendary career with accomplishments like main eventing SummerSlam 1992 vs Bret Hart, becoming the first European Champion, and having a tremendous tag run with Owen Hart.
8 Flopped: Jim Neidhart (As A Singles Wrestler)
The overall career of Jim Neidhart was a success, but he clearly flopped as a singles talent. WWE wanted to move on from having The Hart Foundation tag team running the division since Bret Hart and Neidhart each felt like interesting singles talents.
Bret obviously ended up having more success between the two the entire time. WWE and WCW each tried to utilize Neidhart in singles roles throughout the ‘90s. Neidhart unfortunately peaked as the sidekick to Bret or Owen in WWE.
7 Success: Natalya
WWE has witnessed Natalya becoming one of their longest-tenured on-screen performers in company history. Natalya was hired all the way back in 2007 and has never been released nor has she moved to another wrestling promotion.
The on-screen pushes are hit or miss with Natalya being important at times and not on television at other times. Natalya is still a huge success story of the Hart family for having that long of a run still going and winning three different titles in WWE.
6 Flopped: Bruce Hart
Quite a few members of the Hart family tried to make their mark the same way as the bigger names did when moving to the United States. Bruce Hart was the most controversial of the Hart brothers who never got over in the bigger leagues.
WWE booked Bruce and a couple of the other forgotten Hart brothers to play into the Bret vs Owen feud. Bret had a lot of criticism in his book and other outlets for Bruce always trying to get a bigger role at the expense of others but not having that same talent.
5 Success: Owen Hart
WWE pushing Owen Hart made him the second member of the Hart family to become a major singles star. Bret and Owen delivered masterful storytelling of Owen showing jealousy and resentment when teaming with Bret but always making up.
Owen eventually turning heel led to him becoming one of the most important members of the New Generation Era. WWE pushed Owen as a top mid-card heel who often had main event moments. Owen proved he was a star and didn’t fall to the shadow of his bigger brother.
4 Flopped: Davey Boy Smith Jr.
Davey Boy Smith Jr. has had a mixed history since joining the wrestling world to follow in the footsteps of his father. New Japan having Smith in a tag team with Lance Archer was the peak of his career, but he was never able to reach noteworthy singles success.
WWE booked Smith poorly for his first run, and the second stint was even more embarrassing. Smith signed a deal before the pandemic and was never used on television. WWE fired Smith without even debuting him to sink any name value he still had.
3 Flopped: Diana Smith
Diana Smith trying to become a wrestling character is rarely remembered today. WWE enjoyed Diana’s reactions during the infamous match between her brother Bret Hart and husband Davey Boy Smith at SummerSlam 1992.
The heel run of Davey feuding with Bret again a few years later saw WWE bringing her back. Bret revealed he was livid since she was a bad heel and took away from the feud. Diana found her way into a lot of backstage controversy as well with minimal on-screen success.
2 Success: Bret Hart
Bret Hart is often viewed as the leader of the Hart family since he found by far the most success in WWE. Stu Hart also trusted Bret a little more than his other stars when booking him stronger in their regional Stampede Wrestling promotion.
WWE pushing Bret as a singles star after his tag success saw him becoming the face of the New Generation Era. No one had as many classic matches as Bret during that time, and he helped reshape WWE’s future as an all-time great WCW Champion.
1 Flopped: Teddy Hart
Teddy Hart was once viewed as the future of the Hart family when he started wrestling at a young age. One of Bret and Owen’s sisters was the mother of Teddy, and he grew up watching his relatives wrestling as part of the family business from day one.
The high-flying moves of Teddy saw him having the opposite style of his relatives that excelled in technical wrestling. Unfortunately, bad decisions and abhorrent actions burned all bridges before Teddy could make a name in the business.