| New Era Hart Foundation | |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Name(s) | New Era Hart Foundation The New Hart Foundation The Hart Foundation |
| Former member(s) | Teddy Hart Davey Boy Smith Jr. Brian Pillman Jr. |
| Debut | June 14, 2018 |
| Disbanded | December 2, 2020 |
New Era Hart Foundation (or simplyThe Hart Foundation) was aprofessional wrestlingstable inMajor League Wrestling, consisting ofTeddy Hart,Davey Boy Smith Jr. andBrian Pillman Jr. The group was the latest incarnation of theHart Foundation which was formed by MLW in 2018.[1] The trio enjoyed success as they are former one-timeWorld Tag Team Champions within the promotion, defending the title under theFreebird rule.[2] In addition,Teddy Hart is a one-timeWorld Middleweight Champion as part of the group.[3] Hart was released by MLW on December 6, 2019[4] and Smith left the promotion on December 2, 2020, thus ending the group.
On June 14,Major League Wrestling announced on its website that a new era incarnation of the famousHart Foundation was going to begin which would consist ofHart family membersTeddy Hart andDavey Boy Smith Jr. along withBrian Pillman Jr., the son ofBrian Pillman, a former member of a previous incarnation of Hart Foundation.[5] Pillman made his televised debut in MLW on the August 3 episode ofFusion, where he showed respect toKevin Sullivan accepting him as his mentor.[6] Hart Foundation made its debut on the August 17 episode ofFusion as a trio with Pillman acting as thecornerman of Hart and Smith, who defeatedA. C. H. andRich Swann after Pillman hit Swann with his cane.[7] The trio established themselves as avillainous group and ranted against MLW management, which included Pillman turning on his mentor Kevin Sullivan and attacking him along with Hart and Smith on the August 31 episode ofFusion.[8] Hart Foundation would dominate competition as they went on to defeat The Stud Stable and the team of ACH, Rich Swann and Marko Stunt onFusion.[9][10]
The team would soon find championship success as Hart won the vacantWorld Middleweight Championship by defeatingDezmond Xavier,El Hijo de L.A. Park, Gringo Loco and Kotto Brazil in a five-wayladder match on the first-ever live episode ofFusion on December 14. Pillman and Smith continued to succeed in tag team competition. The winning streak of Hart Foundation earned them a title shot for theWorld Tag Team Championship againstThe Lucha Brothers atSuperFight on February 2, 2019, which Smith and Hart won, thus making Hart a double champion.[11] Pillman was also recognized as a champion via theFreebird rule, which required any two of the three members to defend the titles.
On the February 16 episode ofFusion, Hart successfully defended the World Middleweight Championship againstMJF, after which Richard Holliday joined MJF in attacking Hart. As a result, Holliday and MJF formed an alliance calledThe Dynasty and began feuding with Hart Foundation, which led to Hart Foundation turning into aheroic stable. Smith and Hart defended the World Tag Team Championship against Dynasty on the March 16 episode ofFusion, where Dynasty was disqualified afterAlexander Hammerstone joined Dynasty by attacking the Hart Foundation, beginning a lengthy feud between the two stables. On the April 27 episode ofFusion, Hart Foundation suffered their first loss as they were defeated by the Dynasty in a six-mantables match. Pillman and Hammerstone would qualify for the finals of a tournament to crown the inauguralNational Openweight Champion atFury Road, which Hammerstone won. Pillman and Hart would lose the titles to Dynasty in a ladder match on the July 13 episode ofFusion. Smith and Hart received a rematch for the titles in atwo out of three falls match against the Dynasty on the September 21 episode ofFusion, in which they were unsuccessful due to interference byAustin Aries, who demanded a World Middleweight Championship title shot against Hart.
The three members of the Hart Foundation would go on to compete in separate singles matches atSaturday Night SuperFight, where Hart successfully defended the World Middleweight Championship against Austin Aries, Smith failed to win the National Openweight Championship from Alexander Hammerstone and Pillman lost toLow Ki.
On the November 11 episode ofFusion, Hart lost his title to Myron Reed afterContra Unit memberJosef Samael threw afireball on Hart.[12] This would mark Hart's final appearance in MLW as he was released by the promotion on December 6. Smith and Pillman were both entered into theOpera Cup tournament, a family heirloom handed over to MLW management by Teddy Hart as the Opera Cup trophy had been won by his grandfatherStu Hart in 1948. Smith and Pillman made it to the final round of the tournament, which Smith won.[13] Hart and Pillman went their separate ways afterwards until they reunited for one final match on the April 25, 2020 episode ofFusion by defeatingLos Mercenarios (Texano Jr. andRey Escorpión) in a tag team match, marking Hart Foundation's final appearance as a team.
The group finally disbanded when Smith left the company after losing toLow Ki in the opening round of the2020 Opera Cup, thus disbanding Hart Foundation.
