Bret 'Hit Man' Hart to guest host WWE RAW

Bret “Hit Man” Hart will guest host Monday Night RAW next week live from Dayton, Ohio.

The announcement was made official last night on RAW from Hartford, Connecticut, when Vince McMahon made the decree on live television. Rumors had been swirling since Dennis Miller name-dropped Hart while guest hosting The Slammys.

Hart is one of the certifiable legends in the pro wrestling business. He grew up as the son of former wrestler and promoter Stu Hart in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and grew up in the wrestling industry. After cutting his teeth in his father’s promotion he joined the World Wrestling Federation in 1984. During his thirteen years straight with the WWF he worked his way from preliminary talent to the upper echelons. He became a two time WWF World Tag Team Champion with long-time Hart Foundation partner (and brother-in-law) Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart. From there he captured two Intercontinental Championships and then went on to amass five WWF World Heavyweight Championships.

After being screwed out of the WWF Championship at Survivor Series ’97 in a match against Shawn Michaels, Hart left for World Championship Wrestling where his career floundered.

He spent two years in WCW but was mis-handled from the onset (as Vince McMahon predicted.) His character switched back-and-forth with no clear motivation. He won the WCW World Heavyweight Championship for the first time in November 1999 but found his career ended prematurely shortly thereafter. At Starrcade ’99 in December an errant kick from Bill Goldberg caused Hart to develop post-concussion syndrome and subsequently retire from wrestling altogether.

Since his retirement his bad blood with Vince McMahon, Shawn Michaels and WWE caused him to remain out of the spotlight until 2005 when he agreed to work with the company to produce a three disc DVD set highlighting his career. He then accepted an invitation to join the WWE Hall of Fame in 2006.

This will be Hart’s first time inside an actual WWE wrestling ring since 1997.

Past (and future) celebrity guest hosts:
- Jon Heder & Don Johnson
- Mike Tyson
- Timbaland
- Johnny Damon
- Dennis Miller
- Mark Cuban
- Verne Troyer
- Jesse “The Body” Ventura
- Ozzy & Sharon Osbourne
- Kyle Busch & Joey Logano
- Snoop Dogg
- Nancy O’Dell & Maria Menounos
- Ben Roethlisberger
- Rev. Al Sharpton
- Cedric the Entertainer
- Bob Barker
- Floyd “Money” Mayweather, Jr.
- Freddie Prinze, Jr.
- Jeremy Piven
- Shaquille O’Neal
- ZZ Top