One of my earliest favorite tag teams was the legendary Hart Foundation, and Bret “The Hitman” Hart would quickly become one of my must see guys in the ring. Not only was he fantastic in the ring, but had a great look too, with greasy hair and dark sunglasses I could easily emulate in incredible poor fashion. And yes, I did once have long hair that allowed me to do this. I even had a RAT TAIL at one time. Don’t judge. Just be jealous.
What’s interesting is that at the time, Bret was considered by many to be the lesser of the Foundation, with his partner, Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart, getting more focus. A big barrel chested powerhouse, Neidhart also sported a killer persona, with a long spikey beard and maniacal laugh. No matter which guy you liked, the Foundation was always great to watch. So it was always baffling to me that they were split up several times. When that happened, it was absolutely clear to everyone that Bret was the superior of the two performers and Anvil would flounder. Even when he was paired up with Owen, as would be the case around this time. Even so, he racked up many SQUASHES, such as this one against Jeff Harvey.
Now you would likely know him better also as a tag team performer along with his brother Matt. You know…
…The Harvey Boyz.
Call him whatever you want, he’s about to get pummeled by the Anvil. Gotta love it when the first spot of the match is Jeff going for a high cross and being thrown over the top rope to the floor. And just in case you didn’t quite get the brutality the first time…
…we get a WWF DOUBLE FEATURE (!!!) to show the poor geek crashing and burning to the floor.
Neidhrt brings him back up and beats him across the chest. I see people doing this move all the time these days and it NEVER looks like that. Seriously, poor Brother Nero looks like he’s gasping for his last breath out there!
And if ever we needed a Vincent K. McMahon BAAAAAAAAACK BODY DROP call it would be for that one.
The high flying oversells continue with a biel throw. Gotta believe somewhere in the back Shawn Michaels was frantically taking notes in case he ever went one on one with the Hulkster.
Throughout the whole match I was waiting for Neidhart to use the powerslam for the finish, but no no – instead he opts for a camel clutch??!! Gotta say I have no recollection of that, like, ever. Anyway, obviously young Jeff Harvey impressed someone backstage and would eventually get a chance to tag up with his brother and go on to greater things. And even by called by his actual name in the process!