Be Honest, How Did You Feel About Owen Before He Died?

[MondayNight90s]

I always thought that Owen was the most annoying wrestler in WWF. Anytime he was on the mic, I changed the channel to Nitro. In the ring he was talented but I always knew when the enziguiri was coming every single time. The only time I ever felt he had matches that I HAD to see were against Bret Hart. I was always a Bret fan and I always felt like Owen was where he was because of his brother. I felt that way all the way back to his High Energy days with Koko B. Ware. Haha Koko B. Ware. Whatever happened to that guy? But I never saw Owen as anything more than a solid mid-carder, an Intercontinental champion at best. I used to think about whether I could see guys holding the World title and I never could picture Owen as a World Champion. It is tragic what happened to him but I think there's been some revisionist's history on how good he was in the ring because everyone loved him in the locker room.

 

[HBsam31]

I am glad this thread was made because I have always wondered what the consensus would be. When Owen and Bret first feuded I thought he was great. That feud was one of my favorite of all time and was actually rooting for Owen to win the title from Bret in the cage match at Summerslam. I was young then, and I actually thought he had a chance. After that feud was over he was just kind of lost on me. The slammy thing got old, and he just seemed to float around. He had spurts of interest for me like when he feuded with HBK, and later Stone cold, but by the time Bret left I agreed with DX in that he was a nugget that would not go away. I always respected his technical ability but he just didn't do it for me on a regular basis. I would also be curious on the general consensus of Eddie to because he like Owen only interested me from time to time. Again a great wrestler no doubt but just not my cup of tea. I do believe Owen is HOF worthy just because of his contributions and hell he died for his craft for God's sake, but he isn't even in my top 20 favs of all time.

 

[SinCityBlitz]

You're definitely barking up the wrong tree here. You're missing the entire point. I never questioned how good he was, I know Eddie was a fantastic worker. I'm just saying that he, along with Owen Hart, have been incredibly over-rated since their death. Saying that someone is over-rated is not the equivalent to saying that someone sucks, just that they're not as great as they're made out to be. Owen Hart was a solid mid carder who could move up and be a decent main eventer for a filler feud. Eddie was a bit more than that, but still, he was basically just an upper mid carder who had a lot more crowd support but still never reached the top tier level.

I suggest you figure out what the fuck you're talking about before you start insulting someone, troll. Accusing me of loving spot monkeys and not understanding storytelling?

I know this is old but Eddie never reached the top tier level? Compared to who, Hogan? Eddie was a main event guy. He was getting the World title again before his death. That pretty much says he was a ME guy.

Owen was great in the ring but his biggest problem was he was the polar opposite of his brother Bret. Bret took things wayyyy too seriously. Including himself. While Owen didn't take anything serious until his brother left for WCW. That is why I don't think he ever became more than he was. Owen wanted to do his time and get out. Sadly he didn't get out in enough time.

I don't think either one is over rated because of his death. Eddie was known world wide as one of the best wrestlers and he was over before his death. Owen was very good in the ring and mediocre on the stick. But I have yet to run into anyone who thinks he was the best ever.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

I I wanted Owen to win at WMX and cheered like mad, but figured he would apologise and stay face. He was a great heel for the next year but lost his way after the feud with Bret. You could tell that Austin's injury also knocked his confidence badly.

When he was teaming with Davey Boy and was part of The Hart Foundation, he was my 2nd fave behind Davey Boy but again he lost his way and the whole Nation/Debra/Jeff Jarrett stuff totally sucked. I was actually happy to see The Blue Blazer gimmick back, as him v Perfect was the first WM match I ever saw.

Genuinely I was always fond of Owen, but once the screwjob happened and his pals were gone, you could tell his heart wasn't in it anymore...and I started to lose respect for him.

 

[Self High 5]

I think - and I'm sure others may have said similar over the course of this thread - that the reason Owen's death evokes such a reaction in people to this day, is because the circumstances of it were unlike anything before or since. By absolutely ALL accounts, Owen was a good hearted, clean living family man, who died for NO reason whatsoever. Owen Hart was killed by a shoddily prepared, pointless, dangerous stunt. It's only natural that people will critically re-evaluate his career, but frankly it's irrelevant. It could have been Steve Lombardi that took the fall and it would have been equally tragic.

Anyway, in my opinion, Owen was a talented, amusing, mid-card heel. Nothing wrong with that. The world needs talented, amusing, mid-card heels. Not everyone can be a Bret or a Shawn Michaels.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

Owen had potential to be more... At various times he was the most dynamic and exciting of the Hart clan, even more so than Dynamite. But in reality he was always in Bret's shadow, in the fans perception and as many have said, he wanted out... by the time he died he didn't want to be wrestling at all. I actually think had Vince let him go in 97 he would have won the WCW title before Bret did... but that's exactly why Vince wouldn't let him go. Owen still had that potential untapped...

 

[Mantis]

I was still a young "mark" at the time of Owen's career, so I absolutely hated the heels and loved the faces. I realize now that Owen was a good heel because I couldn't stand him during his feud with Bret. I remember being really upset whenever Owen got the upper-hand on his brother. 1997 was a confusing year because it felt like everyone was a tweener, so I didn't know what to think of Austin, HBK, the Hart Foundation, etc. And by 1999, I was completely swept up in Austin/Rock fever, so I didn't really care about mid-carders like Owen. It did sadden me when I saw the reactions of various wrestlers to his death, but I still didn't appreciate his talent until I became older and watched his mid-90s segments on Youtube several years later.

 

[Police Penis Sucking Goat Fucker]

I always liked Owen as a wrestler I knew that one day he was going to hold the title. He wasn’t as good as Bret but he was still decent in the ring better than most of the wrestlers on the current roster. If he never died I think he would have been retired by 2005. It's a shame how he died, he was going to win the intercontinental champion that night too. Vince McMahon and Vince Russo are two guys that feel are somewhat the main cause of his death. One Owen Hart didn't need that Blue Blazer gimmick to get him over if anything I'm sure WWE just wanted to make him look dumb after Bret left. The bringing back was Vince Russo's idea and so was him coming down from the ceiling. Deep down Owen Hart wanted nothing to do with it, but he didn't say anything to the boss because he just recently turned down several angles there brought to him before his death, when this idea was brought to him he didn't turn down since he turned down those other angles. So many stunt doubles and stunt coordinators told Vince that the harness they were using for Owen wasn't good enough because Vince ended up using a different zip line that wasn't safe for any human being to use. When Owen jumped something caused an early release dropping him 80 ft to the ring. I wish that whole thing never happened.

If I could go slightly off topic don’t you think its weird how Owen Hart died the night he was supposed to win the IC Title. Eddie died the day he was supposed to win the heavyweight title and Chris Benoit died the night he was supposed to win the ECW title

 

[ShinobiMusashi]

Honestly I was a big fan of all the Stampede guys. Those were my guys, kind of like now in MMA I have "My Guys" like anyone ever to come out of Brazil's Chute Boxe(Wanderlie Silva, Shogun, Anderson Silva), or the Gracie family(Royce, Renzo, Rickson).

Back in the day the Canadian Stampede guys were my guys in pro wrestling. Bret, Owen, Benoit, Malenko, et al.

I was in a stage when I knew wrestling was fake, so I really was actually sad that Owen had died. I hated the Blue Blazer gimmick comedy act he was doing, and wanted to see him in legit matches for titles, or even go to WCW.

It was really a lesson to me though. I learned how truly fickle people can be. Everyone hated Owen, and chanted that he sucked night in, and night out, but after he died, he all of a sudden had all of these fans. It was like, why didn't he get this much respect when he was alive?

 

[Monkey_Mania]

I felt Owen was right where he belonged on the card. While he was a good wrestler he never really had the "it" factor that his brother Bret did. He was a solid mid-card wrestler who could handle the mic and look comfortable doing it, but that's where it stops. People tend to overrate him a little because of the fact that he died. They always say that he deserved so much more and that he was destined for more, but I think he would've ended up in WCW before that ever happened.

 

[Ken_Shamrock]

A solid enough midcarder that was it. I tended to watch his matches because he was, as others have said, a decent wrestler.

Yeah he had a great feud with Bret and their matches at Wrestlemania X and Summerslam 94 were awesome. But after that, as he was before the feud, he was punted about various tag teams with the only difference being that post Bret feud he won the belts a series of times.

 

[FlairFan2003]

a talented in ring performer, probably a little on the small side size wise to excell long term with Vince, slightly better on the mic and more entertaining than Brett. Thats it.

 

[Kenny Powers]

Growing up wrestling with friends in the backyard and watching Owen on Raw every week, I hated Owen. I also hated Jerry Lawler too. I was a huge Bret Hart fan and hated anyone that tried to ruin the Hart legacy like Lawler and Owen turning on his brother. My best friend's favorite wrestler was Owen Hart and mine was Bret. Later on in the attitude era I got a kick out of Owen's new character. It wasn't anything special but I thought he was on the verge to break out and be a top heel. There was just so much star power in WWE with Rock, Austin, DX, Undertaker, Kane, and Mick Foley.

I thought the Blue Blazer gimmick was a joke, even though I remember and enjoyed Owen's WM debut at Wrestlemania 5 against Mr.Perfect. Its a shame that Owen went out the way he did. He probably wouldn't have stayed around much longer if he did live. He would have probably gone to WCW or even retired early. At least he would be able to enjoy life with his family. I enjoyed Owen Hart's ability to entertain and put on great matches inside the ring. I was even able to see him live at the first WWE event I ever saw. I think Owen was in the main event tag match that night against DX at the Louisville Gardens in 1997.

His match at Wrestlemania X against Bret Hart is probably the best match he has ever been in. Besides the ladder match, that was the best match of the PPV. I loved to hate Owen as a child and even admired him later on. He could have gone either way in WWE. Either a top heel or a midcard jobber that faded off into the obscurity.

 

[DirtyD79]

I actually thought Owen Hart was a great bad guy and that whole blue blazer stupidity was uncalled for.

 

[thebarber]

Owen Hart was an excellent talent and played the cowardly heel well. The Blue Blazer gimmick was hilarious. The problems Owen faced were threefold.

1. He was Bret Hart's brother. Regardless of how great Owen was, he was NEVER Bret.
2. When Owen died, he had come off the greatest run of his career, was floundering in a mid card tag team with Jeff Jarrett and on and off in a comedy gimmick as Blazer. He was never going to be WWE Champion, his best days were behind him.
3. Owen Hart had no plans of having a long term stay in wrestling. Owen wanted to be coem a fireman and was awaiting getting permitted to join and he was leaving pro wrestling. That is the tragic part of the Owen hart story, he wasnt going to be a lifer selling his soul on the independant circuit ior embarrassing himself like Piper and Snuka etc.

Owen Hart was a solid wrestl;e,r great high flyer, funny as fuck and an all round good talent. I dont think he deserves a Hall of Fame spot based on him dying or being a Hart. Sure he deserves to be in their over KOKO B WARE and BOBO BRAZIL, but guys like Jake Roberts, Rick Martel, Ultimate Warrior, Bob Backlund, Bruno Sammartino and of course Randy Savage are guys who are thoroughly more deserving than Owen hart