There's one thing I noticed today that really dumbfounded me:
When Bret was as old as Owen when he died, he hadn't even won the Intercontinental Championship and was just a two time tag champion in the WWF.
That in mind: If the fall never happened, would Owen have gone on to become a main eventer and world champion?
On one hand he was incredibly talented, had a good background and was well respected, on the other there where a lot of new guys rising (Rock, HHH, Show, Angle, Edge, Jericho (soon), Benoit (soon), ...), Owen wasn't really an attitude guy and it may be an indication that he got a comedy gimmick.
Another thing that struck me today:
Dynamite Kid lives? I could've sworn he died about 20 years ago.