Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart Passes Away at 63

Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart, one of the founding members of the Hart Foundation, has passed away. Neidhart was 63 years old.

WWE officially announced the news Monday morning.

After playing football for the Oakland Raiders and Dallas Cowboys, Neidhart moved to Calgary, Alberta, Canada to begin his wrestling career. Trained by the legendary Stu Hart, Neidhart quickly made a name for himself in Hart’s Stampede Wrestling. He married Stu’s daughter, Ellie, becoming the brother-in-law to fellow WWE superstars Bret and Owen Hart.

Neidhart debuted in WWE in 1985 and quickly formed the Hart Foundation with Bret. They won the (then) WWF Tag Team Championships for the first time in February 1987. They would go on to have legendary match ups with the likes of The British Bulldogs, Demolition and The Rockers.

After brief stints in NJPW and WCW, Neidhart returned to WWF in 1994 to side with Owen Hart in Owen’s feud against Bret. This led to a steel cage match between Bret and Owen at SummerSlam 1994.

Neidhart’s WWF career floundered after the feud between the Hart brothers until 1997, when the Hart Foundation was re-formed with Owen, Brian Pillman and Davey Boy Smith joining the ranks. The five-man team defeated a team led by Stone Cold Steve Austin at “In Your House 16: Canadian Stampede” in Calgary.

Neidhart was out of WWF by the end of 1997. He spent a brief amount of time in WCW in 1998 before being released from there in September of that year.

“The Anvil” was a two-time WWF Tag Team Champion with Bret Hart. He was also inducted into the Canadian Wrestling Hall of Fame both as an individual and as a member of the Hart Foundation.

One of his daughters, Natalya, currently wrestles for WWE on Monday Night Raw. She is a former women’s champion

The cause of his death is unknown at this time. The entire Sports Al Dente team sends its condolences to the Neidhart family during this difficult time.