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REMEMBERING OWEN HART...

May 16, 2004

On May 23, the world remembered Owen Hart. Owen was tragically taken away from his family, friends, and fans in 1999. The moment has been talked about for the past five years. People have tried to place blame. People have sued people for large sums of money. Some people have just tried to move on in their life. People have argued on whether or not Vince McMahon should have ended WWF Over The Edge. There are some who have accused McMahon of exploiting his employees' feelings by airing them on the tribute show that followed the tragic pay-per-view, RAW is Owen.

This commentary is not to place blame on anyone. It's not going to talk about any lawsuits connected to the death either. I'm not going to try to figure out what Vince SHOULD have done. It's always easier to do that after the fact when you don't have a thousand emotions running through you and you're not in his position. No, this commentary is to REMEMBER Owen Hart. His career, memories, and legacy will only live forever if we, his fans, remember them.

I only saw Owen during his days with World Wrestling Federation and most recently I saw a match with him as The Blue Angel. This was right before he debuted on WWF TV as The Blue Blazer. Owen had a rocky WWF career until 1993 when he started feuding with his brother Bret"The HitMan"Hart. By this time, Bret had already captured the WWF Heavyweight Championship and at WWF Survivor Series, The Hart Family defeated Shawn Michaels and His Knights. However, Owen was the only one who was eliminated on his team and this did not set too well especially since he ran into Bret on the apron and then was rolled up and eliminated by Michaels.

The following week, Owen confessed he was tired of being "in the shadow of Bret" and challenged his older brother. Bret declined the challenge and by Christmas, it seemed like everything was okay between the two Hart brothers. In fact, they were deemed the number one contenders to the Quebecers' WWF Tag Team Championship and would receive their shot at the Royal Rumble'94 pay-per-view event. It was at this event where Owen turned on his brother with the "kick heard 'round the world" after Bret stayed in the match longer than Owen had wanted. Owen stated Bret was selfish and he would emerge from the shadow of his brother.

Owen would indeed emerge from the shadow of his brother at WrestleMania X when he pinned Bret cleanly for a 1-2-3. In June, Owen would enter the King of the Ring tournament and defeated Tatanka, The"1-2-3"Kid and Razor Ramon to win the crown. It was at this event where Owen and Bret's brother-in-law, Jim"The Anvil"Neidhart would turn on Bret to join Owen. During the next few months, Owen and Neidhart would make Bret's life a living hell. Owen received his first WWF Heavyweight Championship on television at the SummerSlam'94 pay-per-view when he would meet Bret inside a steel cage. Bret would go on to win that match.

Owen would be stuck in mid-card status during the next couple of years but would indeed win championship gold. Owen surprised the world by selecting Yokozuna as his special tag team partner at WrestleMania XI and they would defeat the Smokin' Gunns for the championship. They would hold on to the championship until Diesel and Shawn Michaels won the championship on September 24, 1995. This was a controversial match as Owen was missing before the match so Davey Boy Smith took his place. After Diesel and Michaels won the match, James E. Cornette stated Smith may have took Owen's place but he wasn't a rightful champion so the belts should be returned to Owen and Yokozuna and they were. However, Owen and Yokozuna's second championship reign would only last a few hours as The Smokin' Gunns would regain the championship.

Owen's next Tag Team Championship came when he teamed with Smith and defeated The Smokin' Gunns on September 22, 1996. Owen would become a double champion during this reign as he defeated Rocky Miavia for the Intercontinental Championship on April 28, 1997. Several weeks later, on May 25, 1997, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels would win the Tag Team Championship from Owen and Smith. After a backstage fight between Michaels and Bret, WWF officials deemed the championship to be vacant and created a tournament to decide the new champions. In the finals, Owen and Smith lost to Austin and Dude Love.

It was during the Spring 1997 period when Bret and Owen reconciled and created The Hartfoundation. The members were Bret, Owen, Brian Pillman, Smith, and Neidhart. The Canadians created trouble for any American wrestlers in the WWF and even WWF Owner, Vince McMahon. At one point Owen had to separate Bret and Vince during an on-camera fight. Owen would engage in a feud with Austin and would challenge him to a match where if Austin lost he would kiss Owen's butt. During the match, Owen set Austin up for a tombstone piledriver and tragedy was created when Owen landed on his butt which in turn, smashed Austin's neck against the ring mat. Austin would have neck surgery and then would still have so many neck problems, he would retire in 2003. During their battle, Owen argued with the crowd to give Austin a few moments. He then was rolled up during a very messy rollup, due to Austin's problem, and would lose the championship.

Due to the health problems, Austin had to go to a non-wrestling role in the WWF for a few months and was stripped of the two titles he held, the WWF Tag Team (with Dude Love) and the WWF Intercontinental Championship. The Tag Team Championship was determined in a Four-Corners match that featured Owen & Smith, The Legion of Doom, The Godwinns, and The Headbangers. In an upset, The Headbangers defeated Owen & Smith to win the titles. To decide the Intercontinental Championship, a tournament was created with Owen advancing to the finals of the tournament to face Faarooq at the October 5, 1997 pay-per-view, Badd Blood.

Tragedy hit the Hart Family and the WWF on October 5, 1997 when HartFoundation member, Brian Pillman was found dead in his hotel room. Owen, Bret, and Smith would all compete at the pay-per-view despite losing their very close friend. At the pay-per-view, Owen defeated Faarooq in the finals of the Intercontinental Championship Tournament after Austin, the former champion, hit Faarooq with the belt to help Owen win. Owen would capitalize on Austin's injury by creating T-Shirts called "OWEN 3:16 - I JUST BROKE YOUR NECK!" He would also defend and lose the championship to Austin at Survivor Series'97.