Teddy Hart

Edward Ellsworth Annis (born February 2, 1980) is a Canadian-American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Teddy Hart.

He currently wrestles on the independent circuit.

He wrestled on a National scale for Major League Wrestling (MLW) as the leader of The Hart Foundation, where he held the MLW World Middleweight and MLW Tag Team championships.

He has also wrestled for AAA, the short-lived Wrestling Society X, Jersey All Pro Wrestling, and Dragon Gate USA.

He operates a wrestling school in Edmonton.

He is the son of Georgia Hart of the Hart wrestling family and wrestler B. J. Annis.

He is also the nephew of former professional wrestlers, Bret Hart and Owen Hart.

Hart achieved an early degree of fame when he became the youngest wrestler to be signed to the World Wrestling Federation (now WWE).

His subsequent release, controversial actions while wrestling on the independent circuit and various legal problems have earned him a measure of infamy.

Outside of the ring, Annis has been a mentor to several young wrestlers and has been a trainer at wrestling schools.

Among his trainees are Jack Evans, Pete Wilson and his younger cousin Matt Hart.

Annis is also a cat lover and breeder of Persian cats which he has used sometimes in storylines and brought with him to matches.

Annis is the oldest male grandchild of Stu and Helen Hart and the second oldest overall.

His mother is of Greek descent through her maternal grandmother and Irish through her maternal grandfather.

His maternal grandfather was of Scots-Irish, English and Scottish descent.

On his father's side he is part Italian.

He is the nephew of former professional wrestlers, Bret Hart, Owen Hart, Bruce Hart, Keith Hart, Smith Hart, Ross Hart, Dean Hart, and Wayne Hart.

Annis holds dual citizenship with Canada and the United States.

Hart debuted in July 1995 at Rockyford, Alberta, where he teamed up with his brother, Matthew, and defeated his cousin, Harry Smith, and T. J. Wilson.

In the Calgary, Alberta-based Stampede Wrestling promotion, Hart teamed with Smith, Wilson and Jack Evans.

Annis grew up with three siblings, two sisters named Annie and Angela, as well as a younger brother named Matthew who died of necrotizing fasciitis in 1996.

Annis is the cousin of fellow professional wrestlers Natalya Neidhart, Mike Hart, Matt Hart, Harry Smith, Bruce Hart Jr. and Torrin Hart as well as wrestling personalities Lindsay Hart and Georgia Smith.

In 1998, Hart became the youngest person ever to be signed to a World Wrestling Federation developmental contract, and was sent to train with Dory Funk, Jr. at the "Funkin' Conservatory".

However, he was later released by the WWF, due to alleged attitude problems.

In 2000, he wrestled for and was a key creative figure in the Matrats promotion.

At the age of 16, he wrestled in the opening match of a World Wrestling Federation house show in Calgary, teaming with his cousin, Harry Smith, against Andrew Picarnic and T. J. Wilson as a tribute to his brother, Matthew, who had recently died.

On September 20, 2003, Teddy wrestled for Ring of Honor in Philadelphia on their September event Glory by Honor II, where he defeated partner and friend, TJ Wilson.

Backstage, however, the Special K faction confronted Hart, and mocked him for not being a good high-flying wrestler.

On November 1, 2003, Hart competed at a Ring of Honor show in Elizabeth, New Jersey as part of a Scramble Cage match.

After losing the match, he began to perform moonsaults and executed a shooting star press from the top of the cage rather than selling the moves he had taken.

Hart then vomited at ringside.

His actions attracted the ire of many wrestlers, as he endangered some wrestlers by performing moves on them which they were not anticipating.

In August 2003, he defeated Jonny Storm and then lost to Juventud Guerrera in the course of the Super X Cup Tournament.

Hart attributes his actions to a concussion suffered during the match, and has since only wrestled at two ROH shows, At Our Best, on March 13, 2004, and Final Battle on December 19, 2009, against Jack Evans.

Hart made several appearances with NWA Total Nonstop Action.

He returned in March 2004 as a member of Team Canada, and represented them as its original captain in the second America's X-Cup, where Hart defeated Mr. Águila in the first match.

He was released from the promotion following an altercation in a restaurant with CM Punk stemming from the Elizabeth ROH show, where Sabu had to separate the two.

The Hart Foundation stable would later compete in Major League Wrestling, where Hart teamed with Evans as The Hart Foundation 2.0, as well as being labeled "The New Hart Foundation".

MLW's TV series, MLW Underground would be the first appearance for Hart, Smith, Evans and TJ Wilson on a major cable television network.

On January 9, 2004, Hart defeated Bryan Danielson in a match billed as "Shawn Michaels' top protégé (Danielson) vs. the last student of the Hart family dungeon (Hart)”, playing up the Montreal screwjob and bitter real-life rivalry between Michaels and Bret Hart.