Hart House (Alberta) - The Dungeon

The Hart Family Dungeon, otherwise known simply as The Dungeon, is the basement of the Hart mansion. It is known as one of the most notorious training rooms in the world of athletics and was established by Stu shortly after his founding of Stampede Wrestling in 1948; although, the nickname itself developed over time.

Aside from professional wrestlers, the Dungeon provided training grounds for various athletes from strongmen to football players. The majority of Hart's sons trained in the Dungeon and went on to become involved in the wrestling world including the legendary Bret and Owen Hart. Other famous Dungeon graduates include "Superstar" Billy Graham, Greg Valentine, Bad News Allen, Davey Boy Smith, Brian Pillman, Jushin Liger, Ricky Fuji, Chris Jericho, Lance Storm, Chris Benoit, Edge, Christian and Mark Henry. Nattie Neidhart, daughter of Jim Neidhart, granddaughter of Stu, was the first ever woman to train at the Dungeon. The final graduate of the Hart Dungeon was Tyson Kidd.

One of the first televised acknowledgements, if not the first such acknowledgement, of the nickname "Dungeon" was by then WWF color commentator Jesse Ventura. Its first significant exposure was in the documentary Hitman Hart: Wrestling with Shadows. In it, the Dungeon was moderately filmed for the first time and Stu Hart is shown demonstrating wrestling holds on a pupil in severe pain. Bret also discusses the brutality his father would inflict on him and the morbid words Stu uttered as he tortured his teenage son. A bonus feature on Bret's DVD set also shows him discussing the Dungeon and its legendary status.

Various activities took place in the Dungeon, ranging from weight lifting to shoot wrestling. Bret Hart has described the Dungeon in interviews as having holes in the walls and ceiling from bodies being driven into them. He also noted that practices could, at times, be as intense as MMA styled fighting. In July 1998, the WWF filmed a match between Owen Hart and Ken Shamrock in the Dungeon for the Fully Loaded pay-per-view. Leading up to the Hart House's sale in 2003, the Hart Brothers Training Camp still ran three times a week. A very similar training camp remains today at the family's gym, although none of the Hart brothers are involved. Students are, however, trained in the classic Dungeon style.