BRET 'The Hitman' Hart has been out of the ring as a competitor for almost 25 years but the WWE Hall of Famer says it's always amazing how people in Australia recognise and appreciate what he has achieved.
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The Canadian, who is one of the biggest names in professional wrestling, has touched down in Ballarat ahead of internationally-renowned wrestling convention Starrcast, to be held for the first time outside the United States.
Hart is representing Dungeon Wrestling and will be hosting the Australian Stampede wrestling show at Selkirk Stadium on Saturday, April 13. There are meet-and-greet opportunities and a premium stage show event with Hart at Civic Hall.
When asked why Ballarat for a global event, Hart remains passionate about his sport being accessible to all.
"I'm one of those kind of guys that, what I've always loved about pro wrestling, is that it's for everybody," Hart said.
"You know, it's for kids, older people can come - it's a real bonding kind of thing where everybody in the family can go to a wrestling show and enjoy some part of it for themselves and it's a little bit for everybody."
This is the third time Hart has visited Australia.
A five-time WWE champion, largely under the company's previous branding as WWF in the 1990s, Hart knew he had a huge following in Australia but the company did not travel here.
The Ballarat convention follows WWE Elimination Chamber in Perth in February, the company's second premium live event in Australia and with Australian Rhea Ripley as defending women's world champion.
"I always wished I could have been here and wished I could have wrestled for the great fans down here because I know they had a great history of wrestling here - we're going back to the '50s and the '60s and all that kind of time period," Hart said.
"So I always knew there was wrestling fans in Australia and I like to think I was the kind of wrestler that they would be a fan of.
"I stand here today and I feel like I was right.
"So I'm sorry, I didn't get to wrestle here, but I'm also grateful for the response I've got from all the fans."
Chris Masters, representing Dungeon Wrestling, is the Stu Hart champion - an honour named after Hart's legendary father and Stampede Wrestling founder.
Hart was confident that, as the independent wrestling scene goes, Masters was a good main eventer and one fans will get to see in action in the Australian Stampede.
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The event, along with the Mickie James-led all-female HER promotion, will feature a mix of seasoned and emerging talent. WWE fans might recognise the likes of Shelton Benjamin and Mike Rallis, while All Elite Wrestling (AEW) fans can see Powerhouse Hobbs in action.
With the rise of companies such as AEW and streaming services for people to watch independent brands live, Hart said there was something in professional wrestling for everyone to enjoy.
"Wrestling's sort of undefinable, you know, it's always moving, always changing, turning it into something else," Hart said.
"I kind of find that the people today who love wrestling, love almost all different kinds of it and they have this real joy for it.
"But for me, I'll take the '90s - I'll take my era - over anybody else's."
Hart said being Canadian, he was "held on the bottom" for a long time and the best thing about his story was in finding a way to climb to the top. He hoped that could be an example for anybody, that if they had the same heart and passion.
Hart was proud of everything he did in wrestling, being a five-time champion and being the guy who knocked out his boss Vince McMahon in one punch.
The punch came in one of the industry's most notorious unscripted incidents in which Hart was blindsided in a championship match he had been supposed to win in November 1997.
The controversial double-cross changed the professional wrestling industry.
Hart said this was not something fans tended to ask him about much, all these years later.
"It was a bit of an annoying question for a while," Hart said.
"A lot of people used to ask me over and over and over if it ever happened or if it was even real.
"It was hard to justify your position sometimes and like, who really beats up their boss in any job, you know.
"In hindsight now, looking back, I've always been really proud of it in the sense that there was a concerted effort to try to tear me down and, and really ruin me and I'm glad that I stood up for myself.
"I wouldn't take anything back. It was such a great punch. It was only one punch - but he'll never forget it."
Hart missed his first Wrestlemania to come to Ballarat. The WWE phenomenon was in Philadelphia at the weekend when he was en route to Australia.
He appreciated what the global juggernaut had done for his career, but the trip to Ballarat would be worth it.
Hart said the industry was changing, athletes were taking wrestling to a whole new higher-level. He looked forward to CM Punk's return, he enjoyed watching the "Tribal Chief" Roman Reigns and had great respect for Cody Rhodes picking up on a legacy that he had been part of helping create.
