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May 23, 2006 – Owen…

Welcome to this potentially emotional edition of the Ace of Aces' column written on May 23, 2006. Some of you will recognise that date immediately. For those that don't, it was this day in 1999 that Owen Hart tragically died. This week I will focus on his career and his untimely death.

Firstly, I am not going to pretend that I was a huge fan of Owen Hart. I always enjoyed watching his matches and when he turned heel in 1994, I started to enjoy watching his character too. His feud with his brother Bret will always be remembered. I had been watching wrestling for about two years at that point and there hadn't been a feud like it to my knowledge - two real-life brothers trying to tear each other apart on screen. And who will forget his victory at WrestleMania X when he cleanly pinned Bret 1-2-3. Bret went on to win the WWF World Championship later that night but Owen had a rightful claim as number one contender.

In June that year he won the King of the Ring tournament and christened himself, "the King of Harts." His feud with his brother led to an excellent steel cage match at SummerSlam '94. Bret won the match and continued his run as champion, but Owen proved that he could work as a main eventer. Jim Neidhart and the British Bulldog (as well as several other Hart brothers) got involved at the end of the match, leading to some great tag matches between Owen and Neidhart vs Bret and Bulldog. Unfortunately, in my opinion, Owen was always in his brother's shadow and was never given the opportunity to rise above Bret in the rankings. I don't believe this is in any way Bret's fault, it's probably the fault of the bookers at the time who were scared to elevate Owen in case Bret got upset. That's my opinion anyway.

At WrestleMania the following year, Owen teamed with Yokozuna in an odd-couple sort of tag team. They won the Tag Team Championship from the Smokin' Gunns and although I was never a big fan of either man, it certainly was entertaining to watch. Both Owen and Yoko could do the business inside the ring (in their own, very different ways). Add James E. Cornette and a tennis racquet into the mix and it makes for great television. They traded the belts with Shawn Michaels and Diesel before losing them back to the Gunns in September on RAW. The 1995 Survivor Series saw Owen take part in a match that was a great idea but for some reason never worked. He teamed with Yoko, Razor Ramon and Dean "Shane" Douglas vs Shawn Michaels, Ahmed Johnson, Sycho Sid and the British Bulldog in the first ever "Wild Card" Survivor Series match. WrestleMania XII saw him take part in a six man tag team match which he won, but it wasn't until later this year that his career started down a path that would lead to the most infamous moment in the entire history of pro wrestling - the Montréal screw job.

Towards the end of 1996, he started teaming with his brother-in-law, "the British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith. Davey and Owen formed another tag team where both members were very different. Davey was the powerhouse, who liked the head-on approach and Owen was much quicker and sneakier. They won the Tag Team Championship in September and held them until the following May, losing to Shawn Michaels and Stone Cold Steve Austin. Owen and Bulldog then began to argue, both men wanting the limelight, until Bret returned to unite them all and re-form the Hart Foundation. Jim Neidhart (the other original member along with Bret) and Brian Pillman joined soon after and the group began a feud with Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels, who were both feuding with each other at the same time, even when they won the belts from Owen and Bulldog.

In the spring of 1997, Owen won the Intercontinental Championship for the first time in his career, defeating a soon-to-be eyebrow-raising, catchphrase-spouting most electrifying man in sports entertainment, The Rock (then known as Rocky Maivia). If I remember correctly, Owen (even though he was the heel) was cheered when he won because Rocky Maivia was one of the most hated babyfaces in company history. Oh how things can change!

SummerSlam '97 saw Owen face Steve Austin for Owen Intercontinental Championship. Owen accidentally broke Austin's neck with an inverted piledriver which left him motionless for several minutes. Austin was scheduled to win the belt that night and barely managed to roll-up Owen with one of the most feeble pin attempts ever. It wasn't either man's fault of course, Owen was simply doing his job and Austin still hadn't been able to stand up. Austin had to vacate the title and Owen won the tournament that followed. Owen began to wear an "Owen 3:16" t-shirt to mock Austin 3:16 until Stone Cold won the belt back at Survivor Series. That was the one in Montréal where his brother was double-crossed by Vince McMahon, Shawn Michaels and Earl Hebner, while several others also knew what was going to happen. Afterwards, Owen wanted out of his contract, but McMahon refused to let him go, even though he let the British Bulldog and Jim Neidhart go almost immediately after their requests.

Owen became known as "the Black Hart" and feuded with DX, firstly Shawn Michaels over the WWF World Championship and later Triple H over the European Championship. Before long, he joined the Nation (now led by The Rock) and continued to feud with DX and also Ken Shamrock. He returned to being the Blue Blazer later that year which led to him teaming with Jeff Jarrett. Owen and Jarrett quickly became one of the best teams around and won the Tag Team Championship in January 1999. They remained a team when Owen also started to wrestle part-time as the Blue Blazer.

At the May 1999 pay-per-view, "Over the Edge," the Blazer was scheduled to wrestle the Godfather and win the Intercontinental Championship. He was supposed to enter from the ceiling and fly to the ring in super-hero fashion. Owen, as we all know, fell from the ceiling and suffered injuries that led to his death moments later. I remember watching this live on television. They had cut to a pre-taped interview with the Blazer and when that ended, all we saw was the camera panning the crowd. Jim Ross explained what had happened and told us this was "not a wrestling angle." I continued watching, shocked and hoping he'd be okay. The more JR told us this wasn't a wrestling angle, the more it started to sound like one. I ended up not knowing what to think until I realised that this WAS real. The show continued and after an eight man tag team match ended and Mankind was celebrating his win, JR began to speak again. He reiterated what had happened and told the world that Owen was gone. I could not believe it. I felt so sad. I had never felt this way about someone who was, in truth, a complete stranger to me and I didn't feel this way again until six years later when Eddie Guerrero passed away.

The following night was the most emotional RAW to date. It was known as "RAW is Owen" and served as a tribute to his life and career. All the WWF superstars had the option to wrestle that night or not if they didn't want to. The parts of this night I still remember are the videos of other wrestlers and employees paying tribute to Owen, most notably Jeff Jarrett's and Triple's as both men wept with sorrow. Also, I will remember Jarrett defeating Test with the Sharpshooter and Stone Cold's final salute to Owen to end the show.

I am not qualified to talk about what Owen was like as a person, but everyone who did has had nothing but praise for him. I can, however, comment on his career and, looking back over time, he was one of the best. I didn't realise it at the time but Owen always played a great heel no matter who he was facing or who he was with. The wrestling world lost one of it's finest on May 23, 1999. It should never have happened.

I just can't believe it was seven years ago. So long, Owen. You will always be remembered.