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

[berlinbrawler]

Don’t feel bad if you never thought much about Owen when he was alive. That doesn’t make you an asshole.

Sheesh, no one ever said or thought that before you just now. In the end it's still but a wrestling show.

I first noticed Owen when he wore those horrible baggy pants. Those made it difficult to like him, but from a technical wrestling standpoint he was undeniably talented. I even liked his tag team with Koko B. Ware, High Energy, and remember being somewhat upset when they lost decisively to the Head Shrinkers at some PPV (Survivor Series I think). It's safe to say I liked him from early on.

Of course when he turned on Bret Hart at Royal Rumble '93 it was a done deal for me. Little brother being pissed at his overachieving older brother? I'M IN! If there was ever a wrestling storyline I could relate to, that was it. Owen vs Bret almost stealing the show at Wrestlemania X (if it wasn't for that gosh darn ladder... ) sealed the deal for good: Owen was my favorite. Owen winning King of the Ring was one of my favorite PPVs of all time.

 

[Nate DaMac]

*sigh* its really sad that this thread has turned into trashing someone who passed away tragically.

Too soon?

Come on, son it's been over a decade. I think people being honest about their feelings is actually quite refreshing as opposed to the usual barrage of fake, overly emotional bullshit we get in threads like these. It's not like anyone is saying that he was worthless and deserved what he got. I'm sure that at the very least, most who have posted in this thread feel bad for what his family had to endure. But why does the fact that the man died dictate that we can't have an honest discussion about his career objectively instead of the usual "He was an awesome wrestler OWEN FOR HOF!!!1" bullshit?

It's pretty much the same thing with Eddie Guerrero. Now I happen to think that Eddie is vastly superior to Owen in every way, but I certainly don't think his career merited this legendary Hall of Fame status that he's seemed to garner after his death. People tend to over embellish someone's legacy after they pass, it's just the way people operate. But not doing so and discussing their career from a realistic perspective is not trashing a man and I find it a bit offensive that you'd try to play that bullshit card.

Get over yourself.

 

[TheFuture]

My personal opinion, Owen Hart was the Chris Jericho of that era. He was someone you could throw in to a match and have the ability to pretty much make anyone look like gold. Eventually he may have gotten at World Title run, but he would more often than not be in the mid-card fold until retirement.

The problem with Owen would always be he was Bret's brother, and with that he would always be stuck in the shadows of the clearly more memorable brother. Could he have reached the "hall of fame" talk without his death? Certainly he was capable, but it would have never been to the extent it is due to it.

 

[DanTheMan3:16]

I thought at age 4 (in 1998 when i started watching) That one day he would be a world champion, I thought he was excellent and yes He was a nugget, awesome in the ring and on the mic. If he didnt died hed win a world title, hed be what christian is now.
matter of fact both of them have similar careers if you look at it

 

[justinsayne]

I didn't really watch wrestling all that much while Owen was alive, in fact I'm pretty sure I didn't even know who he was until he fell from the rafters. So I really had no opinion either way on Owen at that time. Having seen several of his matches & promos on DVDs, & whatnot since, I can say that I never saw this great wrestle everyone else saw after his death.

 

[Davi323]

The same as I do now...a guy who rode the coattails of his more successful brother to get a little success. I never thought Owen Hart would be a WWF champion before he died, and I still don't think he ever would have been. That doesn't mean that I hated him, he just did nothing for me. He wasn't as good as some make him out to be, in my opinion. He was a good mid-card level wrestler, which is perfectly fine, I am not going to inflate his legacy beyond what I think he actually was just because he is dead though.

 

[AnthonyM4]

Good topic for a thread. Owen wasn't one of my favorite wrestlers. I liked him, but he wasn't even in my top 10. I don't think he would have won the wwf title had he lived like some people like to think since he passed. He was pretty much a very talented mid-carder. He was a solid hand in the ring, but nothing past IC title level.

 

[Flip36]

I was like 14 when Owen had passed, I had yet to truly understand professional wrestling as I do today, I knew it wasn't "real", but still didn't get it. I wasn't a fan of Owen at the time, but i'd say a few years later, when I really was all over the internet with wrestling, I came to the conclusion he was underrated and held back and deserved a push, i mean, he was the spawn of Stew Hart, and younger brother to a wrestling legend, he deserved more in his last months with the WWE.

 

[Mustang Sally]

It's refreshing that honest feelings can now be expressed. For several years, political correctness demanded that we say nothing bad about Owen......and nothing good about Chris Benoit. I'm glad this is changing; honesty is always better.

Owen was a good ring worker, but without his brother, he wouldn't have achieved a major title run. His wrestling spoke for itself, but for vignettes and other verbal routines, he needed a stronger personality to play off of.

Upon his death, when other WWE performers had filmed quick tributes, wasn't it remarkable how many of them slipped in references to his pranks and practical jokes? I remember Edge saying that Owen was "aggravating." In fact, he was probably a royal pain in the ass to have around in a troupe that traveled the world together and needed to keep things as peaceful as they could to keep the pressure from building. Comments from some of the other performers made me think Owen kept them on edge and cautious far more than he should have.

Also, WWE had to adapt to Owen on at least a couple of occasions we know of. He played a rather unique character in his first run as Blue Blazer, but injury "grounded" him and took away that aspect of his repertoire, which wasn't Owen's fault, but must have disappointed the powers to be.

More serious was Owen refusing to play the last role Creative developed for him, involving a hinted affair between him and Debra McMichael. We're told he turned down the part because, as a family man, he didn't like the implications. Hopefully, that's exactly what it was, but the fact remains that had he done the affair angle, he wouldn't have been Blue Blazer again......and wouldn't have been 90 feet above the ring on that fateful night. Yes, it's easy to look at in hindsight, but I wonder how many other times Owen thwarted the company's plans for him.

Of course, there's also Owen's careless approach to applying that piledriver to Stone Cold. Since Austin's career path was never the same afterward, you could say that Owen did more to change the course of pro wrestling than you'd think it possible for one man to do in a single night. Not good.

 

[D-Man]

It's no big secret that I've always been a fan of Owen Hart. I was able to relate to his feud with Bret from the early 90's and have been on his bandwagon ever since. I know that most don't agree with me, but I honestly feel that Owen Hart might be one of the most underrated in-ring workers, ever. But, he can also be categorized as one of the most OVERrated wrestlers, at the same time, due to his death and his accidental categorization as somewhat of a pro-wrestling martyr.

People constantly think that he was nothing more than a mediocre personality after his memorable feud with Bret Hart ended. But if you truly look at his accomplishments during that "mediocre" time period, they are on the same level as many of today's stars that broke through the glass ceiling. Not to mention that Owen achieved these accomplishments during one of the most popular periods in the history of pro-wrestling and during an era when the main event scene was over-saturated by legends and powerhouse stars such as the Undertaker, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, the Rock, and Stone Cold Steve Austin. I truly believe that if these men weren't owning the main events during that time period, Owen would have been elevated to that level and would have flourished.

One of the most recent happenings in pro-wrestling that people seem to overlook (in comparison to Owen Hart's career) is the push of Mark Henry. Just like Owen Hart, Henry spent the majority of his career in mediocre limbo. Henry arrived in the WWE during the same time period as the mid 90's wrestling boom and was stuck in the same black hole as Owen.

Presently, Mark Henry is one of the most dominant world champions in recent history and Owen Hart is lying in a wooden box. In every category besides physical prowess, Owen Hart buried Mark Henry. In-ring skill, mic skills, personality, charisma... Owen was leaps and bounds above Henry in these categories. Henry put in his time and paid his dues, persevered during and after the wrestling boom, and is now being rewarded. What makes everyone think the same wouldn't have happened for Owen Hart??

And that's been my #1 argument for years. If Owen's accident didn't happen and he was able to pay his dues, he'd currently have a world title push... PERIOD. I've been unable to back up this claim because it's tough to speculate something like this. However, in lieu of Mark Henry actually grabbing that brass ring and running with it, how can you argue against it? Mark my words; if Owen didn't die, instead of worshipping Henry as a great world champion, you'd all be supporting Owen. If Henry did it then hell... ANYONE could do it.

 

[RicoLen]

I disagree on the timing, D-Man, but I agree with most everything else. At this point in time I think Owen would have retired. As is well documented, Owen was a family man and I think, even if he hadn't retired by now he'd be on a much lighter schedule. I think Owen's push would have come in 2004-ish, and Owen might have saved us from years with Cena on top.

I just watched THIS interview. And you'll notice the fans were very strongly behind him following the Screwjob. Signs could be seen saying "Give Owen A Title Shot" and the popular consensus at the time was that Owen should have gotten a WWF Title shot instead of The Undertaker at the '98 Royal Rumble. It appeared that most people, imediately following the screwjob wanted Owen to step into the vacancy left by Bret, and became "The Real Hitman" as so many promos at the time called him, due to taking out Shawn and Austin.

Eventually, he WOULD have been WWF champion and face of the company, of that I've no doubt, probably right around the time Cena came onto the scene would be my best guess, but maybe he would have gone over instead of Kurt Angle. Who knows.

 

[Larry]

It's a weird thing for me. I was a little kid and going into adolescence back in the early 90's and into the turn of the century so I viewed wrestling a lot different than I do now. I remember when he was "The Rocket" Owen Hart, teamed with Coco B Ware and I liked him a lot at that time because A. He was with Coco B Ware, and B. He was a high flying fast paced wrestler who also happened to be the brother of one of my favorites at the time Bret Hart. I didn't care for him much in the New Foundation because I thought that if there was going to be a Hart Foundation, Bret should be the guy in it, and I didn't like Anvil at all so I was just lukewarm on that one. When Owen turned heel on Bret though, that was it, I hated him. I was a kid and Bret was one of my favorites, what do you expect? I hated him so much. I hated his whining speeches, I hated how he tried to dress like Bret, took his finisher, how he tried to act like he was better than Bret, and I hated that he wanted to take out my hero(keep in mind I was 8 years old in 1993).

Now, a little later down the road when Bret turned heel and formed the Hart Foundation again with himself, Bulldog, Anvil, Pillman, and Owen I STILL hated him from the years prior. I loved Bret, hated the rest of the group. I figured they should only be so glad to be with him and be in HIS group(Again, at this time I'm about 10-11 and not "In" on any of this stuff, and it was very rare for anyone to have the internet in their homes at this time, 95-96). I always just thought that he was Bret Hart's less talented younger brother who was always going to be in his shadow and second best. Then when the attitude era came around and he was in The Nation of Domination I hated him even more because I REALLY hated the NOD. I couldn't believe that he would join that group or that he even could since they were basically like the Nation of Islam/ Black Panthers. Then the incessant whining that I hated years ago became more prevalent again and I disliked him even more, Bret was gone to kick his ass so that made me dislike him more, and I just didn't get why he was even around anymore since I didn't know anyone else who liked him either.

I knew that people come and go, but he had somehow managed to stick around, and everyone I knew hated him just as much as I did and didn't want him around either, so it was actually rather confusing to be quite honest. I thought returning to the Blue Blazer gimmick was ridiculous and stupid as well, which didn't help matters of me liking him anymore, and then when he died I was like "Oh, that's pretty fucked up. I didn't like him but I didn't want that to happen to him". Since then I've looked back at his career as I became older and more knowledgeable about everything wrestling and concluded that he was actually a REALLY good wrestler in all aspects. He was a great heel and that's what suited him best, and his feud with Bret was monumental. Now days, I look back and I really like his stuff from when he was "The King of Harts" and throughout that whole run before he turned heel again and joined the NOD, and feel now more so than ever what a great loss it truly was. Looking back, he really was underrated in his time and still accomplished a lot which should tell everyone how good he was, even being overlooked for the top spot. He was a guy they went to on numerous occasions to put over top guys and carry feuds. It's a shame he died the way he did, and a shame that we didn't get to see him break out back then to be a champion at least once.

 

[Dagger Dias]

I really enjoyed his feud with Bret. I always liked Bret more but I enjoyed seeing the feud between the two brothers. The Blue Blazer on the other hand, I didn't like much and I remember wanting Owen to go back to being himself during the time that gimmick was in use. Then his tragic death happened. Up until then I really only liked him for the Bret feud, and now as an adult I can look back on his work and appreciate it more. At the time, I wasn't as big of a fan. I did want to see him succeed like his brother, but as himself and not the Blue Blazer.

 

[byrnside]

I've always been a big Owen fan. And no, not because of his tragic end. Like the Brain, I think that had more to do with my best friend, whom I always watched wrestling with, loving Bret so much. Plus, I always identified with Owen because he was a smaller guy. Plus, he was an awesome heel, and I've always been a sucker for a good one. I don't know what would have happened if he hadn't died. To be honest, I would say that I probably do put Owen on a pedestal. I was never a huge fan of his mic work, then again I was never a huge fan of Bret's either. I was also a huge fan of Chris Benoit and his mic work was awful. Those two had one thing in common and that was that they could go in the ring with just about anybody and put on a pretty damn good match. Sure, Owen had his run with "The New Foundation" and "High Energy," but his feud with Bret put him on the map as a main eventer. I think with Bret leaving and the whole screw job, it tarnished Owen's possibilities just a little bit simply because I wouldn't doubt that Vince was bitter and took it out Owen. So at the first sign of his "push" failing, Vince aborted it. Sure he had his chance and some of you say he wasn't interesting. Maybe he wasn't. But I also think that the WWE had a big opportunity to push Owen after Bret left and they really didn't run with it. I thought the Black Hart gimmick worked well, but again I could've been jaded because I was a fan. Owen was a classic dastardly, cheating heel. If nothing else, he could've easily gone on to do what Christian is similarly doing these days hanging between the mid-card and main event scene and putting on great matches with guys who either need the rub or guys that are already solidified. Owen would've been a huge asset regardless.

 

[god-soldier]

Well too hear everyone honest opinion of Owen doesn't surprise me. I had been Owen Hart fan ever since he turned heel in 94 and I always wanted to see him be the WWE CHAMPION!!! Why well he could draw a lot of heat from the fans, and he was a great wrestler who gave great promos and could really push the fans buttons. In 1998 Owen should have gotten the push that Mick Foley had received we never got a full blown out feud with Owen and Austin due to his neck injury Owen leading McMahon's faction after McMahon screwed his brother would been must see TV with a lot of great matches to back it up with an Owen Hart title run in the mix you would have had a huge blown over heel. Owen 3:16 says I broke your neck and took your belt WOOOOO!!

 

[Twiztid Rodimus]

I personally was a fan, but not in the belief that he was a future heavyweight champion. I enjoyed his stuff against Triple H, I was really into his tag time with Yoko/Jarrett respectively. But, I wasn't on the list of people that felt he was better than Bret.

His in ring was great, his promo's below average.

As the blue blazer in the early wrestlemanias, I won't lie, I marked the hell out before I knew what that over used term ever was. He was a superhero to me. But they didn't do much with him at that point.

Bottom line of this topic for me, I thought he was good, but not the greatest

 

[BigThunder]

I loved Owen from the moment he first debuted in Stampede. Not the most charismatic man on the mic, but a great in ring performer. I loved his whiny brat persona in his feud with Bret was great, and before the accident, I really hoped that the Blue Blazer would be pushed.

 

[Tree Of Woe]

I was always a fan of Owen if he was a heel, but couldn't stand him as a face mainly. because in the mid-late 90s I only rooted for heels. As far as in ring work goes, I think he was a great technician, and the feuds with Bret were classic.

 

[Poop Master Flex]

I'll be honest, I wasn't that interested in Owen while he was alive but I sure thought he could perform in the ring with the best of them. One thing I will say is that I often got the impression that Owen was just going through the motions when he was out there, sure he put on good matches but since we are talking '98 he seemed more like a filler than anything else.

Owen was what you call a utility guy, you could put him out there and put him in any position, he could carry his own weight but while he was alive he often seemed bland and could easily get lost in the shuffle. I thought he was OK on the mic but nothing special, there were times where he had a tremendous match (like Wrestlemania X and Summerslam) but usually he was someone who was just there.

I would be able to respect his abilities in the ring but he often came off as stale, would put on a good match but very few times you actually remembered that match 10 minutes after it happened. He was a midcarder and honestly that was the best place for him at the time.

 

[The Idiot]

As an in-ring performer Owen was one of the best. He always had excellent matches, especially in singles competition. I never liked him paired with Yoko or Bulldog. I thought they were holding him back, even by putting the tag titles on him....I think he could have done so much more. But at the same time, I don't think his character was main event material.

His career peak will always be the feud he had with his brother Bret. He did an amazing job by acting as the young, snotty, whiny sibling who was always in the shadows of his famous brother. When that feud ended he seemed to keep that annoying attitude and he wasn't going anywhere with it. Vince knew it, the WWF knew it. Hence the eventual return of the Blue Blazer.

Talent and skill wise, he was a main eventer. Character and having the "IT" factor...sorry, mid-card for life. Can't say I ever really liked him, but since his death and all the stories coming out....he was obviously a really good guy. It's too bad he couldn't really find his niche.

 

[thrashtastic]

I'll start off saying I wasn't a massive Owen Hart fan. I liked him, but he wasn't at the top of my list as far as favorites. As far as his place in the business, I always saw Owen as a guy that could do really great things in the ring and be reliable to put on good matches, but I didn't see him as the next big face of the company or anything. That's not a bad thing as most guys don't end up being that anyway nor do most guys have the talent he did.

I was watching Over the Edge when Owen Hart died. It was absolutely shocking, and I had no idea how to react. I was 13 and never even had to deal with death before, let alone it popping up while I was watching a wrestling PPV. In the years since, I've watched some old Raws and things like that and realized how much I took him for granted as a wrestler when I was a kid, so I can see why he's been built up higher since his death. I know I have a bit, but I've also gotten older and seen more of what he did.

Do I think he deserves to be in the Hall of Fame? Yeah, I do. I don't question that at all. If they can put celebrities in their own "wing" and they can put in people that never even worked for the WWF/WWE, they should put in a guy that consistently did good work in the ring and literally died doing his job for them. I know his wife won't allow it, but it would be nice if she did. It's a very deserving induction.

 

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

This might sound a bit odd to you but Owen's death did not even register me until about a year till it had happened. I was 9 when it happened and while I did like watching wrestling, I was not all that regular. To cut a long story short, I missed Over The Edge 1999 and his memorial show. And a few shows that preceeded and succeeded them. Owen did not even fly under my radar back in those days. My favorite wrestlers were Austin, Rock, Kane and Undertaker in that order and it was their exploits that I followed devotedly. So I did not notice anythig amiss when Owen did not perform ever again. It was only when I discovered pro wrestling on the internet that I came to know about Owen's tragic death.

I have very faint recollections of Owen prior to his death and like Nate said, I remember him as a huge tool. I remember him gloating after breaking Austin's neck and I seriously wanted to punch him that day. I remember him stealing the victory over Triple H by doing a Pedigree on him onto the title at Over The Edge 1998. I also remember DX imitating the Nation of Domination and Road Dogg( I think) being dressed as Owen. I loved that. What was most annoying about Owen were his mannerisms and I liked them being shoved down his face by DX. In a nutshell, I did not like Owen.

Even today I feel that while the nature of his death was very tragic, Owen did achieve the most he could have in pro wrestling. He was destined to be a career midcarder with the skills he had as a below average mic man and a slightly above average average in ring talent. I believe that he is even more overrated than Eddie Guerrero who in my opinion could have had at least one or two more title reigns had he lived. Or it could be that I like Eddie more than Owen and that colours my thoughts. Either way, Owen wasn't anyone special.

 

[Max Moon]

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?

Firstly, calling someone a troll for not spending hours a day, posting thousands of comments on a message board is a funny thing to do. Is there a minimum amount of time I need to spend on here to get the respect I so desperately need from the highly informed and respected IWC?

Secondly, while defending yourself in a debate, using that language makes you sound dumb, and desperate. Just saying.

Thirdly, I'll apologize for the spot monkey remark. I don't know you. That was unfair.

Lastly, I understand your point. But Eddie and Owen haven't been overrated since their death by anyone who actually watched them when they were alive, young and at their peak. Specifically they haven't been overrated by people who understood wrestling when they were alive. Everyone knew Owen's/Eddie's place at the time of his death, to posthumously overrate them is just a lie. And it says a lot about the source (overcompensating/bandwagon "I liked him too!!" usually). Agree to disagree.

 

[Max Moon]

I fucking hated Owen. I was like what, 10 years old when it happened? I was still at that age when I bought into wrestling and Owen was always a bad guy, thus, I hated him.

I can't say that he didn't do his job though. He was annoying as shit and it worked to perfection. Looking back on his work, he, much like Eddie Guerrero, is vastly over-rated. But I still think he was a better worker than half of the shitty roster we have now.

Wait a tic here. Saying Eddie or Owen is overrated is bonkers. Yep, bonkers. Be serious here. Owen, while obviously having a famous brother was a fantastic performer. I also remember his brother fumbling through lines in promos with the anvil. Bret was an awkward young talent once too. Then he was given the ball. Owen was never given the ball. He was one of the top tier talents at the time. Except for the Blue Blazer gimmick, which was just another sign that he would never get the ball. Also think about it, Owen was one of the guys that made a lot of the top tier stars of the time look good before they hit the top. He'd carry them through a match, and theyd look like a main event guy.

Don't get me started on Eddie Guerrero. Overrated? You must be used to watching some over choreographed spot monkeys who wouldn't know how to tell a story with a book in their hand. Give me a break.

 

[Nate DaMac]

Wait a tic here. Saying Eddie or Owen is overrated is bonkers. Yep, bonkers. Be serious here. Owen, while obviously having a famous brother was a fantastic performer. I also remember his brother fumbling through lines in promos with the anvil. Bret was an awkward young talent once too. Then he was given the ball. Owen was never given the ball. He was one of the top tier talents at the time. Except for the Blue Blazer gimmick, which was just another sign that he would never get the ball. Also think about it, Owen was one of the guys that made a lot of the top tier stars of the time look good before they hit the top. He'd carry them through a match, and theyd look like a main event guy.

Don't get me started on Eddie Guerrero. Overrated? You must be used to watching some over choreographed spot monkeys who wouldn't know how to tell a story with a book in their hand. Give me a break.

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?