So far, it’s been a bad year for big men. First, we lost Big Van Vader and now we mourn the passing of the another WWE Legend, Jim ‘The Anvil’ Neidhart. Neidhart could be called the muscle of the Hart clan usually playing a supporting role to his brothers-in-law, Bret and Owen Hart. Too often, the big guy is overlooked for other members of his extended family. Bret and Owen were better on the mat and Davey Boy Smith was a more physically impressive powerhouse.
Though he never had the singles push they would have (Bret obviously more-so than Owen), he was at the heart of every iteration of the Hart Foundation. No version of the tag team or stable was complete without Neidhart as a cornerstone. He was the Foundation’s bruiser and played an important part in the evolution of his family members’ careers and the Hart legacy as a whole. On this special edition of the High 5, we’d like to celebrate the Top 5 Anvil Moments. We’ll just ignore the outfits he and Owen wore in the New Foundation.
5. Crowning the Black Heart
Owen vs Bret is one of the greatest feuds of the early 90s. Owen’s frustration with living in Bret’s shadow was a key feature of their confrontations. Owen has always seemed like he needed to prove himself that much more and it made him dangerous and perhaps slightly unhinged. As this sibling rivalry was about to heat up, the Anvil returned to throw gasoline on the fire.
At King of the Ring 1994 Neidhart made his return to the WWE, helping Bret retain the title by DQ, but allowing the champ to get worked over by Shawn Michaels and Diesel afterwards. Later that same night, Owen was squaring off against Razor Ramon in the King of the Ring Tournament finals. Jim attacked Razor behind the ref’s back allowing Owen to be crowned the King of Harts.
The broken Hart family story was tragic and played perfectly by the warring brothers. Jim’s part was vital as it gave Owen the support and muscle to really challenge his brother for the kingdom.
4. WrestleMania II Battle Royal
Wrestlemania II isn’t exactly a classic. There’s a reason most people skip to Wrestlemania III when reminiscing about the event’s history. Politely put, it was a cluster of epic proportions. During this bizarre mix of three arenas and out of place celebrity cameos, a 20-Man WWE vs NFL Battle Royal took place. At this time the Hart Foundation was freshly into their Heel run with manager Jimmy Hart.
That night they stood in the ring with more than just washed up football players, but with some real legends of the ring. Jim and Bret outlasted Bruno Sammartino, Big John Studd, Dan Spivey, Hillbilly Jim, and the Iron Shiek to be standing tall alone with André. Even though André needed the ring to hold himself up at this point, the Hart Foundation did a credible job of taking it to him and then selling to the broken giant on their way out.
Though not a great victory, it was the first time the pair were really featured in a major event and it was the beginning of a heel push that would see them capture the titles less than a year later.
3. First WWF Tag Team Title Reign
After featuring in the 20-Man Battle Royal, the Hart Foundation was rolling as a heel team under their manager Jimmy Hart. The same night they took on André, the British Bulldogs were winning their first WWE Tag Team Titles. Davey Boy Smith and Dynamite Kid defeated Greg Valentine and Brutus Beefcake for the titles and would hold them for an impressive 294 days.
The Hart Foundation would win the titles on a February 1987 episode of Superstars in what was essentially a 2-on-1 mugging of the only white man to pull off braids with beads in them. Dynamite was dealing with severe back injuries and had to be practically dragged to the ring. They took out Dynamite early with an attack from the dreaded Jimmy Hart megaphone. This let him sell on the outside while Davey worked the match. I take that back he was probably in severe pain. He didn’t have to fake anything.
Winning the titles cemented the foundation for one of the greatest tag teams in WWE history. Their heel run with the belts started here and lasted 274 days before they were bested. They would eventually turn on Jimmy Hart, turn face, and return to title glory. The long road that is the Hart Foundation legacy, that every subsequent version has attempted to live off of, it started here.
2. Bolshevik Beatdown
If ever Jim looked like a monster it was in this moment. I won’t call it a match. Even though a bell rang, this was a beating plain and simple. Nikolai Volkoff was singing the Russian National anthem (which today would just be a list of Putin’s turn-ons) and you can see Jim getting worked up in the background. Bret seems to try, albeit half-heartedly, to restrain the big man, but the Anvil drops a heavy blow on Volkoff’s neck and back. Brett figures, “what the hell,” and starts beating on Boris Zukhov.
The bell rings when Nikolai bails out and Zukhov eats a Hart Attack for a devastatingly quick 1-2-3. the match lasted 19 seconds and most of that was setting up for the finisher. Jim looked like a monster on the biggest stage of them all, and this sort of domination would help catapult the team to…
1. Defeating Demolition at SummerSlam 1990
I don’t know if you heard, but Demolition was the longest reigning WWE Tag Team Champions until the New Day broke their record. Going into SummerSlam Demolition was on their third run as the WWE Tag Team Champions. Though, really this was just one long run at the top only interrupted briefly by the Brain Busters and André and Haku. Demolition had pretty much run the show since WrestleMania IV. Apparently, guys who dress like extras from 8mm are tougher than you’d think.
The Hart Foundation had the titles in ’87 before losing them to Tito Santana and Rick Martel. They, in turn, would lose the titles to the aforementioned Demolition, who held the belts tighter than I do my Bray Wyatt body pillow on stormy nights. The Hart Foundation had tried to regain the titles at SummerSlam ’88, but a cheap shot from Jimmy Hart’s megaphone cost them the match.
So now, years later with Jimmy Hart dealt with, Anvil and Hitman finally get their retribution at SummerSlam ’90. This victory ended Demolition’s stranglehold for good and started the Hart Foundation’s second 200+ day title reign. Even though it was Crush this was still a big deal.
That’s it for this Special Episode of the High 5. Jim the Anvil Neidhart was truly a cornerstone of the Hart clan and a vital component to the greatest storylines the family has ever told in the squared circle. There is no Hart legacy without Jim ‘the Anvil,’ and we all mourn his passing. The Hart legacy lives on through him in his daughter Natalya.
What were your favorite Anvil moments? We implore you to celebrate the career of one of the greats by sharing your favorite Jim Neidhart moments with us via Twitter or Discord.
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