PWP Nation’s Bruce Hart thanks the wrestling community for all the support for his brother Bret and Smith Hart in the wake of sad news.
The month of January wasn’t easy for the Hart family and the wrestling fraternity in general- as we had to bid farewell to three of our beloved wrestling brothers: Archie “the Stomper” Gouldie, Bob Leonard and Iron Mike Sharpe.
The month of February has brought more grim news as, in the past week, I was informed that my brother Smith had been diagnosed with cancer and then, only a few days after that, we learned that my brother Bret had also been diagnosed with the same disease.
For those wrestling fans unfamiliar with Smith, or Smitty as we call him, while he may not have been as well known or garnered the worldwide fanfare that Bret or Owen did, he was an extremely talented wrestler in his own right – having wrestled in Japan, the States, England and Puerto Rico. Perhaps his greatest talent in wrestling was his creative acumen, as he had a great imagination and mind for the business and contributed to the tremendous success our promotion enjoyed during the 70’s and 80’s.
On a personal note, Smitty has always been a great, big brother – unselfishly giving support, encouragement and big brotherly advice to his younger siblings, including me, whenever we needed it. It’s not a well known fact, but it was Smitty who played an integral role in helping to launch Bret’s wrestling career – as he was wrestling in Puerto Rico back in 1977 and convinced the promoters to bring in his rookie, kid brother Bret, to tag team with him and the rest, as they say, is history.
As for Bret, while there may have been some issues in the past which caused division between him and others in the family (myself included), my brother Keith has wisely pointed out that “we are family and we all love each other, sometimes it, unfortunately, takes something serious like this to get us to drop the small things and realize what is really important.”
I couldn’t agree more and would like to emphasize that what is really important right now is for everyone in our family to rally behind Smitty and Bret and to inspire them to never surrender and to make the big, inspired comeback.
I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge the outpouring of love and well wishes from wrestling fans, and from some of Bret (and Smith’s) brothers in the wrestling fraternity. Here are some of the messages that have been sent to them.
- “I have only love for Bret Hart. I pray for his health. He’s in God’s hands.” — Hulk Hogan
- “Everyone gets knocked down, but the BEST get through it. We’re all with you – PRAYERS we’re all with you.” — Roman Reigns
- “Sending out prayers and support to my friend Bret Hart.” — Jerry Lawler
- “Since I was a kid, Bret ‘the Hitman” Hart has been a hero and inspiration to me and today he continues to inspire me, by going public with his battle against cancer. Join me in standing by him and fighting with him until he beats this disease!” — Chris Jericho
- “Thoughts and prayers are with the Hart family. Let’s all get in their corner to help win this fight.” — Triple H
I would like to thank each and every one of those guys for those profound words of inspiration and to add something that my dad used to say: “when the going gets tough, the TOUGH get going!”
I know that Smitty and Bret are among the toughest and would like to take this opportunity to wish them both love and support in the fight of their lives. You shall overcome! Amen.