AEW star Julia Hart recently appeared on the “AEW Unrestricted” podcast, offering a comprehensive look at her four-year journey with the company, including her TBS Championship reign, creative endeavors, injury recovery, and a humorous childhood story connecting her to wrestling royalty. Hart, who has undergone a significant character transformation from her early days as a cheerleader, emphasized her continuous learning process and ambition.
One of the most charming and funny moments came when Hart discussed her participation in the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament and her feelings about sharing the “Hart” surname, despite not being related to the legendary Hart wrestling family. “Oh, I love it, just because, like, my last name is Hart. So I feel like even though I’m not related, I’m not related, but, like, I still do feel a connection,” she explained. She then shared a lighthearted family anecdote: “Because growing up, my dad said his uncle was Bret Hart, and I was just like, ‘Yeah, I’m just gonna agree with that.’ So people thinking cool, but just being in that really meant a lot, just to have the same last name, even though not related, but yeah, it’s still really cool.”
Hart also provided valuable insight into how she approaches her character, particularly the cinematic vignettes that have become a hallmark of her presentation. She credited fellow AEW star Darby Allin for pivotal advice on taking creative initiative. “A lot of people ask me, like, ‘How did you go do that?’ Or ‘How did you go about that?’ And I got my advice from Darby with that, he told me, he was like, ‘If you have a vision, you need to go do it yourself and show you and show them,'” Hart recounted. She explained that as a visual person, this approach helped her translate complex ideas, like “shooting myself with a bow and arrow, and then I come out of a dream,” into compelling content that she then presented to AEW President Tony Khan after filming and editing it herself with her videographer.
This creative spirit was evident even as she navigated her first significant injury—a torn labrum in her right shoulder, an injury she had previously experienced in her left shoulder during her cheerleading days. “When it happened, I knew exactly what it was,” Hart said, admitting she was “sad that it happened when I was champion” but was “really happy for Willow [Nightingale] to get that moment.” Her recovery was relatively swift, returning to the ring in approximately four months to face Jamie Hayter, a match she was both nervous and excited for.
Her TBS Championship reign, which began at Full Gear 2023 just weeks after her wedding and a birthday, was a period of rapid growth. “It was like that last end of 2023, was, like, felt like I jumped like, five years of my life,” she reflected. As the youngest TBS Champion at 22, she focused on learning, stating, “I’m still so young… I still have so much more after this… So it was just like, ‘Okay, how can I make this one the best that I can?’… not like, going over my head, like, ‘Oh, I’m the TBS champion. I know everything now.’ Like, No, I still have so much to learn.”
Hart also spoke about her alliances, particularly with Brody King and Buddy Matthews of the Hounds of Hell, describing Brody King as her “wrestling dad.” She values the support system, advising newcomers to “just finding good people. And I definitely found my good people.” Her connection with her theme music, “The Heart Always Wins,” is another source of strength and confidence, admitting it was her second most-played song on her phone in 2022. “When I hear people saying that it’s just, like, just the flames going, and I’m like, I’m on top of the world right now,” she said.
Looking ahead, for a potential second TBS title reign, Hart has clear goals: “Probably I want to talk more… If there was be a moment where I could talk in front of the crowd and not be nervous too and just, you know, full throttle,” she shared. “I would love to be the one people are like, ‘Oh, wow. Like I learned something from Julia.’ So hopefully I just strive to do that… and hopefully always, like, pulling someone else up with me as well.”
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit AEW Unrestricted with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
