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The wrestling world mourns the loss of another great. Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart passed away earlier this week at the age of 63. Join Seth and Crazy Train as they cover Neidhart’s career from its beginnings in Stu Hart‘s Stampede Wrestling up through his multiple stints in the then World Wrestling Federation in the Monday Night Wars.
Neidhart was born in Florida but went to high school and college in California. He held a shot put state record for over a decade. When you think of the size and population of California, that is quite an accomplishment.
Jim initially sought to play in the NFL. While he participated in several pre-season activities with The Oakland Raiders and The Dallas Cowboys, he never formally made an NFL roster. However, his athleticism caught the eye of the legendary Stu Hart. Neidhart began training at the Hart Dungeon for a wrestling career in the late 1970s. He also met and married Elizabeth Hart around this time. After completing training, Neidhart wrestled for Stu’s Stampede Wrestling in Calgary. He then worked in Georgia Championship Wrestling, Bill Watts‘ Mid-South, Jerry Jarrett‘s CWA, and Eddie Graham‘s Florida territory before getting work in Vince McMahon‘s World Wrestling Federation.
At first, Neidhart was paired with Mr. Fuji as a singles wrestler and worked matches against his now brother-in-law Bret Hart. Shortly afterward, the plan changed and the two were paired together with Jimmy Hart as The Hart Foundation, where they were staples in the WWF tag division for the rest of the 1980s.
The Anvil would have several memorable, and maybe not so memorable, runs with the WWF for the next decade, and would make indie appearances into the 2000s. We here at Classic Wrestling Memories extend our deepest condolences to the Hart and Neidhart family