Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart, Natalya's father and a WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2019 inductee, revealed what he's most proud of in his final exchange with his Superstar daughter. Courtesy of WWE Network.
BROOKYLN, N.Y. — Only one member of The Hart Foundation took the stage at the 2019 WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony, but that isn’t to say they weren’t both there. The late Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart was represented on stage, both in spirit and in body by his daughter Natalya, who joined Bret Hart to accept the induction in her father’s place.
The Queen of Harts aimed to deliver the speech her father would have given, thanking her mother, Bret, the WWE Universe for their “unconditional love since 1985,” The British Bulldogs, New York City (Anvil’s favorite town) and the teams inspired by The Pink and Black Attack. She also revealed that Anvil had been approached to write a book late in his life, and declined the opportunity to relive his days as a world-class shotputter and NFL player: “At the end of the day, I was a wrestler, and that’s what I loved most.”
Bret took the mic after Natalya and regaled the audience with tales of The Hart Foundation’s inception — basically, he came up with the idea and didn’t tell Anvil — and their misadventures with King Kong Bundy. Thank you’s followed to Jimmy Hart for their entrance music, infamous referee “Dangerous” Danny Davis for getting The Hart Foundation the Tag Team Titles and the various teams who helped make The Hart Foundation as good as they were. He closed the induction by paying homage to Anvil as the kind of friend with whom he never had a cross word or disagreement. “When I cross over,” Hart said, “I pray God will lead me straight to The Anvil.”
It was a fitting farewell to the new WWE Hall of Famer. But perhaps the “Hitman’s” best tribute to his former partner came in a backstage interview all those years ago: “Individually or together, The Hart Foundation will live forever.”