Owen Hart WWE Legacy and HOF consideration?

[kaneso14]

I was perusing the WWE.com alumni page and I noticed that Owen was not there. I thought he would have been, I mean, the guy died while working for them. Has it something to do with the lawsuit his wife brought against Vince and the WWE? It can't be because he was a Hart because Bret is on good terms with the WWE once again and even Davy Boy Smith is on the alumni page and he was part of the family.

Why isn't he part of their listed Alumni?

Do you think Owen should be inducted into the Hall of Fame?

 

[therockiswwf]

Martha (his wife) doesn't want his name to be associated with wrestling. Many have spoken out against her (Even Bret). She won a lawsuit that banned Owen from going into the HOF.

I know its a crappy simple answer, but really that is all there is to it.

 

[iamthegame]

Martha (his wife) doesn't want his name to be associated with wrestling. Many have spoken out against her (Even Bret). She won a lawsuit that banned Owen from going into the HOF.

What a joke, so his legacy will not be recognised because of his wife? Hart loved wrestling and his peers cannot show their appreciation publicly for a man who died for what he loved because of his wife?

It would be interesting to hear what the whole Hart family thought of this. My opinion is that she is being unfair to all the colleagues and fans that loved Owen for his contribution to wrestling.

 

[Awesomesauceinacup]

Thats pretty sad right there. It's like Owen's wife is mad at wrestling because of his death. He didnt die because of a wrestling move or during a match. His death was caused by a stunt gone wrong.

Owen definitely deserves that recognition.

 

[Richard]

It shouldn't take Owen Hart going into the WWE Hall of Fame for anyone to appreciate the work he done while he was alive.

If he's one of your faveourite wrestlers, just watch a DVD, go to YouTube, read Bret's book or something. I can understand wanting one of your faveourites to go into the Hall of Fame but that's his wife's decision and that should just be it. It's really not that bad, there are other ways for people to appreciate a wrestler besides a Hall of Fame induction.

 

[The_Reptile_]

It shouldn't take Owen Hart going into the WWE Hall of Fame for anyone to appreciate the work he done while he was alive.

If he's one of your faveourite wrestlers, just watch a DVD, go to YouTube, read Bret's book or something. I can understand wanting one of your faveourites to go into the Hall of Fame but that's his wife's decision and that should just be it. It's really not that bad, there are other ways for people to appreciate a wrestler besides a Hall of Fame induction.

The problem is that she won't let him be associated with wrestling at all. Outside of like one or two matches on other people's DVD's, there's nothing. She even filed another lawsuit when the documentary about the Harts came because it featured him prominently. This goes way beyond the Hall of Fame.

 

[therockiswwf]

What a joke, so his legacy will not be recognised because of his wife? Hart loved wrestling and his peers cannot show their appreciation publicly for a man who died for what he loved because of his wife?

It would be interesting to hear what the whole Hart family thought of this. My opinion is that she is being unfair to all the colleagues and fans that loved Owen for his contribution to wrestling.

Here is what Bret thinks
Martha Hart, the widow of Owen Hart, filed a suit over WWE’s use of the late wrestler’s likeness, and Bret feels an attempt to remove Owen from wrestling history would make him “turn in his grave.”

“I believe Owen would turn in his grave watching Martha erase every single thing he ever did, all for spite,” wrote Hart on his Facebook page. “Martha Hart needs to celebrate Owen’s memory as much as possible, not block it away forever. How stupid and selfish is that? In her own book, she wrote how even though she was angry at Vince, she didn’t hate him and that she felt he was truly sorry about what happened. She had written him a letter in order for her to move on and be at peace. Maybe she should practice what she preached.”

Bret notes that Owen was a “great [wrestler] and proud of it” and that “Martha Hart has done nothing to keep his memory alive and sadly, he fades from view a little more every year. I do suspect this lawsuit is more about publicity, ego, and small-mindedness than it is about pro-wrestling and all of those that are in it.”

“I know Owen was always proud of his body of work. His fans have never forgotten him and most of today’s WWE wrestlers and hundreds of employees have never forgotten him. They speak endlessly of loving memories that speak volumes on what kind of person he was,” added Bret.

In addition to putting WWE’s crew over as the most “wholesome bunch of athletes anywhere in any profession,” Hart adds that “The best thing I can do for Owen’s kids is take them backstage and introduce them to all the people who love and remember their dad. Owen is loved and missed everyday. Why Martha would insist they never know these people is sad and pathetic.”

I agree 100% with Bret. They would honor Owen, give him a dvd and the kids could find out how many other people loved and respected him. But Martha for whatever reason, just wont let that happen.

 

[KoC417]

To put it simple his wife is an angry woman. She lost her husband yes but it's time to get over the fact that a stunt went wrong. Bret did and I hate to say this.. but Martha you dumb b*tch if FLESH and BLOOD family can get over it so can you. Bret wants to celebrate Owen's career and life just like the rest of us. It's absolute nonsense that she is trying to essentially erase him from everyones life. Honestly who is she to tell the world what we can and can't do with Owens name. The dumbass judge that awarded that case needs to be seriously questioned. IMO Martha is money motivated, plain and simple. What's next? What if Bret wants to make another DVD celebrating the Hart Foundation? Owen won't be included!? I wish Bret would turn around and slap Martha with a lawsuit for the rights to his family and the usage. I'd kill for a DVD dedicated to Owen. I want to see the Raw Tribute in its full to Owen (I used to have it on VHS but the damn VCR ate it up. And the WCW Tribute and the match between Bret and Chris Benoit. But thanks to Martha f*cking Hart we can't enjoy this celebration. To me that is just simply SELFISH.

WWE DVDs are usually done very well and it would be a very touching/fine tribute. Plus as has been said can you imagine how great it would be for the kids!? They'd see that Owen was loved by millions of people. Instead of always wondering because you KNOW Martha won't let anyone talk about Owen's career. I mean just based on her general sh*tty attitude I bet she even threw out his Slammy Awards and ripped up anything WWF related. Martha Hart is essentially burying everything Owen did for himself, his family and the fans. She should be ashamed. Owen would def be able to go into the HoF if Martha wasn't such a douche.

 

[jacdnwarrior]

I would love to see Owen in the WWE HoF and A dvd done about him. He was a great performer, talented in the ring and amazing on the mike. That being sad, we're talking about an owner who made Owen's life hell in the months leading up to his accident and did the unthinkable and unforgivable act by continuing a ppv event while Owen's blood stained the ring after he fell to his death. If I were married to some one and my wife's boss treated her in that manner I wouldn't be rushing to have any association with the company either. No matter what any one thinks or says, Owen's family has lost more than any fan has, or any of his co-workers have. I think for Bret to speak against Martha publicly isn't the right way to go. You put her children, Bret's niece and nephew in a very awkward position.

 

[Yarrie]

I agree I would love to see Owen in HOF or in a DVD, but his wife is angry, I get that. It is not our place to say when she should get over it, and who are we to know what was said with the pillow talk? Maybe Owen ranted about how much he hated Vince and the WWE, maybe he said he wished he never got into the business, maybe he wished he could leave and in her mind if he could have then he wouldn't be dead. Bret has no right to say her emotion isn't real it is a publicity stunt, if this was the case she would want DVD's to be made and get the royalties. In everything I have read about Owen it went on about how much he loved his wife and kids so who are we to doubt her love. I am not belittling Brets love but her kids lost their Dad, I would be angry too. And Brets anger at Vince, how much was because Owen died and how much was because of the 'screwjob'? So we weren't in their marriage so we cant judge how she feels and why she feels that way.

 

[therockiswwf]

I would love to see Owen in the WWE HoF and A dvd done about him. He was a great performer, talented in the ring and amazing on the mike. That being sad, we're talking about an owner who made Owen's life hell in the months leading up to his accident and did the unthinkable and unforgivable act by continuing a ppv event while Owen's blood stained the ring after he fell to his death. If I were married to some one and my wife's boss treated her in that manner I wouldn't be rushing to have any association with the company either. No matter what any one thinks or says, Owen's family has lost more than any fan has, or any of his co-workers have. I think for Bret to speak against Martha publicly isn't the right way to go. You put her children, Bret's niece and nephew in a very awkward position.

I think you should see something KB wrote, it changed my whole view on the ppv. I don't know if this will be considered a spam post but I thought it would be good to put here. The full link is at the bottom

He reviewed the Over the Edge PPV

Honestly I had to get myself together to do this. It’s honestly hard to imagine having to write about a show where a man died. I’m writing this before I watch the show and based just on what I know coming into it but I’ll likely add in things after it. Vince was wrong to continue the show, period. The idea of the WWF was an entertainment company. Let’s say 15,000 people just saw a man die.

How do you just move on from that? How do you explain to a child in the audience what just happened? How do you ask your workers to go out there and stay in character? How do you ask them to go out there and work safely? I mean someone that they all know very well and travel up and down the roads with every day is either dead or likely will be dead very soon. As I watch this, the first talent other than Ross or King on camera is Jeff Jarrett along with Debra.

Debra more or less stays in character but you can see that Jarrett is forcing himself through every word he says, which are in character as well. I can’t imagine how hard this is for them to do, especially given how close Jarrett and Owen were. Now on the flip side, I can see where Vince was coming from in a few ways. Number one, he panicked.

That’s totally understandable. If someone that worked for you passed away or was in a serious accident like that, you have to make a split second decision and Vince very well may not have been in his right state of mind. I’m currently watching the show and the time between Ross saying we’ve got big problems out here and the time where it’s confirmed that the show will be continuing as we go to the next video package about the mixed tag team match is approximately two minutes.

In other words, Vince had approximately two minutes to determine what to do while at the same time figuring out what was going on with Owen and wondering how serious his injury was. Look at the size of this post.

It could possibly take two minutes to read. In that length of time, you have to make a decision about tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars while someone on your payroll may be severely or even critically injured as the entire company and 15,000 people that paid their money to you in exchange for you to entertain them for an evening waits for your decision.

In that case, I can certainly have a bit more understanding for perhaps a rash decision. I can also understand someone like Bret Hart that says that the show should have ended immediately. Number two, while Owen’s death was certainly tragic, Vince at the end of the day is a businessman. His first knee jerk reaction could have been that he didn’t want to have to refund everything and worry about legal issues with the PPV company.

Note: I am in no way saying that Vince intentionally immediately thought about money as the first thing. I’m saying it might have played a role though. It certainly is something that completely changes the mindset of everyone involved and the problem is that there more or less is no right answer. I mean there are going to be some people that want the show to continue.

Suppose someone had come from say here in Lexington for the show. It’s a four hour drive both ways which isn’t something you can just come back and do again in a few days. Also, a lot of people bought this on Pay Per View as the main event was clearly a big draw. With all of these factors, I think I can see why Vince went with it like he did, but at the same time I would have called off the show. I don’t think Vince did the right thing, but I think I can see what his mindset was, assuming it was sensible at all.

Link to review.
http://forums.wrestlezone.com/showthread.php?t=91875

 

[Shakin' Abe]

I'm very sorry for his tragic death but lets be real here people. Owen was a mid carder at best. He wasn't half the star his brother was and was trying to re-invent himself behind a mask with that stupid Blue Blazer gimmick. I've heard what a great man he was outside the ring, and I'm sure he was but would anyone really consider him for the Bogus WWE Hall of Fame if he were still alive?

 

[C.K.O.]

His wife is the same reason he hasn't been featured in any WWE video games.. smh

I admit I would creamed myself if in SvR2012 Owen Hart was in as a legend. Tired of having to look online to create him.

 

[waylonmercy]

Owen Hart didn't have a WWE HOF career. He got one main even push when Bret left that ended with DX making fun of him and then he joined up with Jeff Jarrett then his infamous reincarnation of the Blue Blazer gimmick. I don't know why people think he's HOF material. He never was considered anything more than a good mid-card talent and possibly marginal upper mid-card. His matches were excellent but he didn't have the look, build or mic skills to move up in the card.

Martha has every rights to stop the WWE from allowing htem to induct Owen there as WWE would probably only induct him for publicity and such. Their motives are rarely sincere.

That's my opinion.

 

[therockiswwf]

Owen Hart didn't have a WWE HOF career. He got one main even push when Bret left that ended with DX making fun of him and then he joined up with Jeff Jarrett then his infamous reincarnation of the Blue Blazer gimmick. I don't know why people think he's HOF material. He never was considered anything more than a good mid-card talent and possibly marginal upper mid-card. His matches were excellent but he didn't have the look, build or mic skills to move up in the card.

Martha has every rights to stop the WWE from allowing them to induct Owen there as WWE would probably only induct him for publicity and such. Their motives are rarely sincere.

That's my opinion.

I don't think the WWE wants any publicity from this because most of it would be "WWE kills employee, puts him in HOF to make up for it". I think they just want to honor him. People seem to forget this, the HOF isn't just about the in-ring stuff, but the backstage stuff and many other factors. He was supposed to win the title but he refused to (can't remember when). He is kind of like Kane, What has Kane done to be considered legendary? He helps backstage, puts over people and etc. The WWE, and this maybe shocking, is not an evil company. They offer free rehab to any employee past or present. I would say that is sincere. They give many, many, many people second chances. Martha does have the right and we have no right to tell her she is wrong. But his own brother has spoken out and said he wants Owen to be honored not blacked out.

 

[JJ15776]

Lol, anybody who thinks Owen is not HOF material doesn't know anything about the WWE, their HOF, or Owen Hart. There's no arguing (no legit arguing, anyway) that he's not HOF material. He is. Period.

But at the end of the day, his wife doesn't want him in. It's her choice, and we all have to respect that.

 

[S.J. Maximus]

I'm going to respond to everyone by saying Owen Hart is clearly HOF material and he did have a HOF career. Anyone who doesn't believe me should ask Koko B. Ware and Bob Eucker exactly what the HOF credentials are because they combined to have less impact than the King of Harts did during his career.

Correct me if I'm wrong but I'm pretty sure I've read before that Owen Hart was supposed to be 'The Game' right after the Blazer resurrection and dominate the main event. Who ended up doing that? 13-time Champion Triple H. Owen may have lacked in size but he had just as much (maybe arguably more) passion and in-ring ability than Triple H and definitely would've thrived in this position.

If I'm wrong about the above paragraph then I apologize but main eventing SummerSlam 94 in a Steel Cage Match is a pretty big deal to me, that opportunity isn't given to everyone. How about beating the face of the company cleanly at WrestleMania X? No, not yet? How about the fact that (just like Christian) he won every title that was possible to win besides the world title? Many people feel Christian's being robbed of his golden opportunity the way Owen was but who truly knows if Vince was going to change that had Owen stayed alive.

He's deserved a spot for years but his ignorant widow refuses any association with the company that "killed" him. I don't respect her decision - if Bret can move on so can she but no she's just a stubborn woman who refuses to let the WWE honor her husband

 

[XgringolocoX]

Listen, I grew up watching Owen wrestle on tv. His fued with Bret is one of my all time favorite feuds.
Yes, sadly it's true that Martha Hart will not allow Owen's career to be celebrated. I cannot speak badly of her as it wasnt my spouse that was killed for no good reason at all. While I disgree with Martha Hart, it's simply not my place to cut the woman down.
Owen's career as it stood when he passed was not HOF worthy. The arguement we Owen marks are making is that we feel he most definately would have. Own possesed the in ring skills and given a proper gimmick would have done good business. I'm probably in the minority of Owen marks in that I don't think he would have won the World Title. Only beacuse I think he would have left the business with a couple years.
Anyone with old VHS tapes might want to start DVDing them up if they have Owen footage.

 

[123NewChamp]

I remember when he first died, and it was hard to beleive, and was the most talked about story around. But let me say this, I may not know in detail about the Lawsuit, and I've always wondered why he wasn't in the Hall of Fame. But as a true Wrestling Fan, I would love to see Owen in the Hall Of Fame. And I may get some Heat for this, although Shawn Michaels is my Favorite Wrestler, and the most deserving to go to the Hall Of Fame, I'm a firm beleiver that Owen Hart will get a bigger Ovation than Shawn Michaels, if he was to be nominated to be inducted into WWE's Hall of Fame. He's the best wreslter WWE ever had to not have a World Title Reign. Outstanding Singles competitor, Great Tag Team Competitor, and the most respected guy in the business. Sometimes I wonder what wrestling would be like if he was around, but I know Martha problably still spooked about his death, but if she can lift up that ban, and let Owen have an induction, she will first hand see how much not just her but everybody appreciated her husband for everything he did in the business till his untimely death. Love ya Owen, May you Rest In Peace.

 

[lloyd7]

Owen Hart absolutely deserves to be in the WWE Hall of Fame.

Heres some of his achievements:

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship
Stampede British Commonwealth Mid-Heavyweight Championship
Stampede Wrestling International Tag Team Championship Stampede North American Heavyweight Championship
In the Stampede Wrestling Hall of Fame
USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship

In the WWE he was a 4 time tag team champion a 2 time Intercontinental champion, European Champion and the 1994 King of the Ring and also was scheduled to win the IC title the night of his death.

Owen was a part of 8 Wrestlemanias and only lost twice once in his debut at 5 as the Blue Blazer and the other to Triple H

Wrestlemania 10 was in argueably one of the best matches of all time where he defeated his brother Bret. Being a member of the Hart Foundation, The Nation of Domination his tag teams with The Bulldog and Yokozuna he definetaly deserves to be in even if still alive today. Hopefully someday soon he will get his dues

Owen was never talked about in negative light and Vince atleast now can respect that the Hall of Fame is more than just ur status as a wrestler but genuine good people that helped elevate the company to what it is today, and Owen definetaly was a huge part of that.

 

[THE SWAG]

she needs to chill out that is the memory we all have of him, and like someone said his peers also respected the guy, and he loved the business, and for his wife to take all that away from us, NOT COOL. and i am pretty sure he is flipping in his grave for her to do all that, and i am sure she has divided the family

 

[Kid A]

i think Owen definitely had a HOF career esp when you compare it to people currently in or up for consideration for the hall.

he wasnt a main eventer and probably never would have been unless Vince was desperate but what he was is a top of the line mid-carder(possibly the best at the time) that could work with seemingly anyone you put him with and do anything for the company.

he got legit heat from me growing up and his mic skills were alot better than people would say. especially when he was the Nugget and he was being so annoying, he really sold it, and while i dont agree with Vince making him the Blazer again and putting him thru the stunt that ultimately killed him, its just more of a testament to the type of worker he was.

it was stupid but Owen was willing to do it and had it worked he would have went on to hopefully have a great career. who knows maybe he would have jumped ship but wcw was sinking at the time and i just doubt it. i still think Owen was one of the best and when you look at the rosters from that era and look at guys in his range, alot of those guys flamed out fast while he stuck around even thru lack of creative angles.

 

[jacdnwarrior]

I've read the entire post. I saw very little thought about Owen's family in it, or am I wrong ?

In MLB, an umpire collapsed on the field, they stopped the game and every one went home. A guy dies in the boxing ring, they'll stop everything. So the fact is that Vince wouldn't have been setting a precedent if he decided to stop the show because some one died during the taping. He has made a shitload of money from ppvs previously and he could have done a number of things to make it up to those who ordered the ppv, including a rebate or a discount on future ppvs. The people in attendance who drove to the event for hours to see the event, give them their money back. Who in the audience would have a problem with the event being cancelled after realizing a performer fell to his death ? How hard is that ?

I personally won't buy a dvd or the encore presentation of the event knowing they continued the match in the same ring where a performer fell to his death. Why the hell would I want to see that ppv ? His co workers wrestling in the ring where a fellow performer's blood stains the ring. And as far as the PPV company or the arena suing him, after all the money they made from him before and would make afterwards, it's possible but not likely. I'm not in Vince's head, I'm not certain of his motives at that time but the decision to continue the event was, imo, a classless and calous act. It was wrong on too many levels personally. It might have been the right thing to do from a business perspective, but I thought it was disgusting to continue it.

 

[byrnside]

The fact that any of you would sit here and argue that Owen Hart was not worthy of being inducted into the Hall of Fame is absolutely ridiculous. It's actually disgusting. We're talking about a mutli time WWE tag team champion, an Intercontinental champion, A King of the Ring winner and a European champion.

Just what the hell do you think KoKo B. Ware did to deserve being inducted? Not to knock KoKo, he was quite entertaining in a business I have no first-hand experience with. He was NEVER above the mid-card, never won any titles, I can't even remember a note-worthy feud that he had. He was simply a colorful man, who danced to the ring with a bird. I bet there's not many people on the list of Hall of Fame inductees that wouldn't give up their spot for Owen. As for Bret being better than Owen, sure, no doubt, if you look at the numbers, Bret certainly has a much longer list of accolades than Owen. But if you look at the years they were actively wrestling, Bret wrestled nearly twelve years longer than Owen. If Owen had been given the same amount of time, and he stuck with it, he could've easily won a world title or two in there and deserved every second of it.

I am not one of those people that glorifies Owen's career because he died tragically in a WWE ring. I glorify Owen because he deserves it. Ever since he kicked Bret's knee out from under him at the 1994 Royal Rumble I was a fan. Although I am a big Bret fan, there were times I preferred Owen. I was glad he pinned Bret cleanly at Wrestlemania X.

I can certainly understand both sides of the equation as far as Martha and Bret are concerned, and I feel for both parties, truly I do. I do think it's silly that Martha refuses to let Owen be recognized for his accomplishments and be inducted into the Hall, no matter how "silly" some of you think it is. The fact that some of you are berating the poor woman because you seem to think it's our right as wrestling fans to be allowed to experience Owen's career. We know very little about his life. Period. Only what we read from other people's accounts.

As for Over the Edge, Vince should've stopped the show. I'm sure that's something he lives with everyday. But what would you have done in that situation? The excerpt from KB's review says it best. In the spur of the moment you wouldn't know which choice was right. For all Vince knew, Owen was just severly injured, not dead.

All I know is this is someone who is truly missed by the wrestling community who remembers him.

 

[therockiswwf]

I've read the entire post. I saw very little thought about Owen's family in it, or am I wrong ?

In MLB, an umpire collapsed on the field, they stopped the game and every one went home. A guy dies in the boxing ring, they'll stop everything. So the fact is that Vince wouldn't have been setting a precedent if he decided to stop the show because some one died during the taping. He has made a shitload of money from ppvs previously and he could have done a number of things to make it up to those who ordered the ppv, including a rebate or a discount on future ppvs. The people in attendance who drove to the event for hours to see the event, give them their money back. Who in the audience would have a problem with the event being cancelled after realizing a performer fell to his death ? How hard is that ?

I personally won't buy a dvd or the encore presentation of the event knowing they continued the match in the same ring where a performer fell to his death. Why the hell would I want to see that ppv ? His co workers wrestling in the ring where a fellow performer's blood stains the ring. And as far as the PPV company or the arena suing him, after all the money they made from him before and would make afterwards, it's possible but not likely. I'm not in Vince's head, I'm not certain of his motives at that time but the decision to continue the event was, imo, a classless and calous act. It was wrong on too many levels personally. It might have been the right thing to do from a business perspective, but I thought it was disgusting to continue it.

They never released the dvd or showed any encores, the only way anyone could have seen it was if they were watching it live. He didn't immediately die they found that out a little later. But you are telling me that you wouldn't have paniced? Vince had no idea what to do, no one did. Some of the audience didn't know that wasn't supposed to happen and trust me, there are very sick people in the world that would have asked for their money back. Who knows if the PPV company would sue them, who knows how much money they would have lost, ect. I wouldn't have continued it (I bet Vince woke up the next day and thought the exact same thing) but hindsight is always 20/20. Remember none of us knew what was going through his head and what people where telling him. Vince had no idea of what to do, he was probably clustered with emotions, people telling him to continue/not continue, didn't know right away that he died and he simply paniced.