Ex-WWE Star Jim 'The Anvil' Neidhart Dies After Fall at Home

Neidhart, 63, may have suffered a seizure
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Aug 13, 2018 4:32 PM CDT
Ex-WWE Star Jim 'The Anvil' Neidhart Dies After Fall at Home
This April 7, 1986, file photo shows Chicago Bears' William Perry, right, landing a punch on pro wrestler Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart during the "Over-The-Top-Rope" battle royal at Wrestlemania 2 in Rosemont, Ill.   (AP Photo/Charlie Bennett, File)

Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart, who joined with brother-in-law Bret Hart to form one of the top tag teams in the 1980s with the WWE, has died, the AP reports. He was 63. The Pasco Sheriff's Office said Neidhart fell at home, hit his head, and "succumbed to his injury" on Monday in Wesley Chapel, Florida. No foul play was suspected. Neidhart's daughter, known as Natalya, wrestles for the WWE and is a former women's champion. Neidhart made appearances with his daughter in the WWE reality series, Total Divas. Neidhart, Bret "Hitman" Hart, and manager Jimmy "The Mouth of the South" Hart made up the Hart Foundation stable in the 1980s and 1990s and the tag team won two WWE championships. "What a great run we had. I couldn't believe how it took off," Jimmy Hart told the AP. "But the reason why was, Neidhart was such a great character back then. Bret was more cool, the girls loved him. Neidhart and myself were kind of the evil twins."

Neidhart married Hart's sister, Ellie, and became part of the famed family wrestling dynasty in Canada. Stu Hart trained his sons, including Bret and former WWE star Owen Hart, as well as Neidhart in the 1970s. Neidhart started his pro wrestling career in Stu Hart's Stampede Wrestling promotion and eventually signed with the WWE in 1985. Neidhart wrestled mostly for WWE from 1985 to 1997 and was known for his pink and black gear, maniacal laugh, and goatee. Ross Hart, his brother-in-law and a former pro wrestler, told the AP that Neidhart suffered from Alzheimer's disease and it was believed he suffered a grand mal seizure on Monday. "He got up (Monday) morning and went to lower the temperature on the air conditioner and he just collapsed and I think died pretty quickly," Hart said. "I was think this was stemming from Alzheimer's which he'd been battling for some time. It's a struggle he's been going through." According to TMZ, Neidhart's wife witnessed the incident and told authorities she believed her husband had a seizure. (More World Wrestling Entertainment stories.)

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