Owen 'The King of Harts' Hart: Worthy or Not?

[TheOneBigWill]

Owen James Hart (May 7, 1965 – May 23, 1999) was a Canadian professional wrestler who was widely known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). Hart was born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada the youngest of 12 children to wrestling promoter Stu Hart and Helen Hart. He was the younger brother of professional wrestler Bret Hart. A USWA World Champion, he was also a two-time Intercontinental Champion, one-time European Champion, and four-time World Tag Team Champion in the WWF. Hart was also the winner of the 1994 WWF King of the Ring. He died on May 23, 1999 when an equipment malfunction occurred during his entrance from the rafters of the Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri, U.S., at the WWF's Over the Edge pay-per-view event.

Owen’s success in Japan and Stampede’s working relationship with the World Wrestling Federation led to Owen Hart signing with the company in the fall of 1988. Owen debuted at the Los Angeles Sports Arena in August 1988 under a mask called the Blue Angel. Instead of promoting Owen as Bret Hart’s younger brother, the WWF decided to create a masked “superhero" type gimmick for Owen Hart known as The Blue Blazer. The Blazer caught the attention of fans with his unique look and exciting aerial maneuvers, but he didn't achieve much success against uppercard talent, being eliminated at Survivor Series 1988, losing to Ted DiBiase on the March 11, 1989 edition of Saturday Night's Main Event, and being defeated by Mr. Perfect at WrestleMania V.

Owen had been engaged in contract discussions with WCW but the deal was never struck, as Owen was not willing to move himself and his family to the company's headquarters in Atlanta. Instead, Owen signed with the WWF for a second time. In the WWF the popular Hart Foundation, comprised of his brother Bret and real-life brother-in-law Jim Neidhart, had split up; Bret set out on a singles career while Neidhart was used sparingly. Jim Neidhart was “injured" (kayfabe) by Ric Flair and the Beverly Brothers and put out of action for a while. When Neidhart returned from his "injury" he joined Owen Hart to form a team known as The New Foundation, who became instantly recognizable for their bizarre attire - baggy pants and bright jackets. Owen was also teamed up with Koko B. Ware to form the duo known as High Energy. To show team unity, Koko also adopted the trademark brightly colored baggy pants and the two added checkermarked suspenders to make the look even more distinct. While the team was exciting and certainly “kid friendly", it was never pushed as a serious threat to the tag team titles.

Bret tried to make amends with Owen, teaming with him on a regular basis. Bret even secured the two a shot at the WWF Tag Team Championship. They faced the Quebecers for the titles at the 1994 Royal Rumble. Initially everything was fine between the brothers, but when Bret hurt his knee (kayfabe) and was unable to tag Owen in for a long period of time, the younger Hart got frustrated. When the referee stopped the match due to Bret's damaged knee, Owen snapped; he kicked his brother in the knee and then walked off, starting his run as a heel.

The two brothers faced off for the first time at WrestleMania X, where Owen Hart shocked the world by cleanly pinning his older brother. Later in the evening, Bret Hart won the WWF Title while Owen Hart stood by and watched in jealousy as Bret celebrated in the ring. Owen won the King of the Ring Tournament with Jim Neidhart’s help (turning Neidhart heel in the process). After the victory, Owen took the nickname “The King of Harts."
Owen and Bret feuded throughout the summer of 1994, clashing many times both in singles and later in tag team matches (with Bret joined by the returning British Bulldog). Two matches stand out in this feud: first, their Steel Cage match at SummerSlam which Bret won after a hard fought match. The second was a lumberjack match on August 17 that Owen Hart initially won and was announced as World champion; Bret won the match after it was ordered to continue due to interference. At the Survivor Series, Owen struck the most damaging blow against his brother as he conned his own mother Helen Hart to throw in the towel for Bret. Owen was at his most manipulative and insincere as he pleaded with her to think of his brother's well-being. The ploy cost Bret the world title to Bob Backlund.

Owen also prevented Bret from regaining the title at the 1995 Royal Rumble when he interfered in the match between Bret and new champion Diesel. In the weeks after the Rumble, Bret and Owen clashed again with Bret soundly defeating his brother, thus putting an end to their feud for the time being.
Owen rebounded from the loss to Bret Hart by winning the WWF Tag Team titles from The Smoking Gunns at WrestleMania XI. Owen, who was joined by a "Mystery Partner," had challenged the Gunns to a title match; the partner turned out to be former world champion Yokozuna. After the victory Owen Hart took Jim Cornette as his manager, who already managed Yokozuna. The team defended the titles for 5 months until they lost them to Shawn Michaels and Diesel at In Your House 3. They would briefly hold the titles a second time when the belts were handed back to them before the Smoking Gunns regained the titles. Owen Hart and Yokozuna would continue to team off and on until the end of the year.

In 1995, Owen's brother-in-law Davey Boy Smith turned heel and joined Camp Cornette. During the summer of 1996 the two brothers in law started to team up more and more, sometimes alongside Vader who was also a member of Camp Cornette.

Bret Hart left the Federation after the Montreal Screwjob and both the British Bulldog and Jim Neidhart were granted quick releases from their contracts to jump to WCW. This left Owen Hart as the only Hart family member remaining in the WWF, due to his contractual obligations. Unlike Smith and Neidhart, Vince McMahon did not grant Owen a release from his contract and Owen remained with the company. However, in a later interview, Bulldog claimed that Owen voluntarily stayed with the WWF as he didn't want to pay a huge sum of money to get out of his contract.

Initially, Owen was known as “the Black Hart" as he fought against Shawn Michaels and Hunter Hearst Helmsley which was soon changed to “The Lone Hart" as a reflection of his “lone wolf" status. Owen had a very heated, very emotional feud with DX and won the European title from HHH, although not directly. Goldust dressed up as HHH in an attempt to swerve Owen, but Commissioner Slaughter considered him to be a legitimate replacement. Owen would later joined the Nation of Domination.

Owen Hart remained with the Nation of Domination throughout the year until the stable slowly dissolved, leaving Owen without much direction in the WWF. Owen was seldom seen after SummerSlam 1998 until he teamed with Jeff Jarrett. Owen and Jeff were long time traveling companions and real life friends, a fact that was reflected in their teamwork as they gelled from day one. The two had Jeff’s manager Debra in their corner. During this time a storyline was proposed that Owen Hart was supposed to have an on-screen affair with Debra, something which Owen turned down, because he didn't want to disrespect his wife and young children.

After a match in which Owen “accidentally injured" Dan Severn, Owen seemingly quit the WWF. Playing off the legit injury Owen had inflicted on Steve Austin about two years before, the angle blurred the lines between reality and “storyline" enough to make people notice. Yet as soon as Owen “quit", the Blue Blazer appeared in the WWF claiming to in no way be Owen Hart despite it being very obvious who was under the mask. Unlike the first run of the character, the Blazer was now an overbearing heel. The gimmick was seen by many as punishment for Owen refusing the love-triangle storyline proposal but Owen and Jeff made it work in such a comical fashion that it was turning both of them face in the process. To prove that Owen was not the Blazer, he showed up besides the Blue Blazer, figuring that’d put an end to it, until someone asked where Jeff Jarrett was (he was under the mask). In a later attempt to prove that neither Owen nor Jeff was the Blazer, they both appeared next to a man in the Blue Blazer mask; however, it was obvious that a black man was under the mask (Owen’s former partner Koko B. Ware wore the Blazer mask that night). On January 25, 1999, in the midst of the Blue Blazer angle Owen and Jeff defeated Ken Shamrock and The Big Boss Man for the tag team titles.

On May 23, 1999, Hart fell to his death in Kansas City, Missouri during the Over the Edge pay-per-view event. Hart was in the process of being lowered via harness and rappel line into the ring from the rafters of Kemper Arena for a booked Intercontinental Championship match against The Godfather. In keeping with the Blazer's new "buffoonish superhero" character, he was to begin a dramatic entrance, being lowered to just above ring level, at which time he would act "entangled", then release himself from the safety harness and fall flat on his face for comedic effect – this necessitated the use of a quick release mechanism. It was an elaboration on a Blue Blazer stunt done previously on the Sunday Night Heat before Survivor Series 1998. This time, something went wrong with the stunt harness, apparently triggering the release mechanism early as he was being lowered. Hart fell 78 feet (24 m) into the ring, landing chest-first on the top rope, approximately a foot from the nearest turnbuckle, throwing him into the ring. In Mick Foley's autobiography Have a Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks, he claims that following the fall, Hart attempted to sit up and did so before falling back.
Hart had performed the stunt only a few times before and was worried about performing the stunt at the Kemper Arena due to the height involved. Hart's wife Martha has suggested that, by moving around to get comfortable with both the harness and his cape on, Hart unintentionally triggered an early release. TV viewers at home did not see the incident or its aftermath – at the moment of the fall, a pre-taped vignette was being shown on the pay-per-view broadcast as well as on the monitors in the darkened arena. After, while Hart was being worked on by medical personnel inside the ring, the live event's broadcast showed only the audience. Meanwhile, WWF television announcer Jim Ross repeatedly told those watching live on pay-per-view that what had just transpired was not a wrestling angle or storyline and that Hart was hurt badly, emphasizing the seriousness of the situation. Hart was transported to Truman Medical Center in Kansas City, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. (Hart had actually died while still being tended to in the ring.) The cause was later revealed to be internal bleeding from blunt chest trauma. His list of accomplishments and Championships (according to Wiki) are as follows:

New Japan Pro Wrestling
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

Pro Wrestling Illustrated
PWI Editor's Award[62] (1999)
PWI Feud of the Year[63] (1994) vs. Bret Hart
PWI Rookie of the Year[64] (1987)
PWI ranked him #10 of the 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 1994
PWI ranked him # 84 of the 100 best tag teams of the PWI Years with Davey Boy Smith in 2003.

Stampede Wrestling
Stampede British Commonwealth Mid-Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
Stampede Wrestling International Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Ben Bassarab
Stampede North American Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
Stampede Wrestling Hall of Fame

United States Wrestling Association
USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

World Wrestling Federation
Slammy Award winner (2 times - Squared Circle Shocker, 1996; Best Bow Tie, 1997)
WWF European Championship (1 time)
WWF Intercontinental Championship (2 times)
WWF Tag Team Championship (4 times) – with Yokozuna (2), British Bulldog (1), and Jeff Jarrett (1)
King of the Ring (1994)

Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
5 Star Match (1994) vs. Bret Hart in a cage match at SummerSlam 1994
Best Flying Wrestler (1987, 1988)
Feud of the Year (1997) with Bret Hart, Jim Neidhart, Davey Boy Smith, and Brian Pillman vs. Steve Austin

Owen 'The King of Harts' Hart: While this has been the mainly focused on-going topic since his death, the question of whether or not Owen Hart deserves a "pass" into the Hall of Fame has been widely debated over the course of years.

Some would say yes, and list his accomplishments out-beating some that are already in the H.o.F., while other's would say his greatest defining moment was (unfortunately) his death within the business. I would honestly side with the group of people that believe he deserves to be in the Hall of Fame, yet likely won't ever get inducted simply because of his Family and more namely, his Wife.

After the Owen Hart tragedy, it became a huge law-suit that ultimately didn't end entirely the way Martha, Owen's Wife, had apparently wanted it to. (or so I'm lead to believe) As a result, the only logical way for Owen to be inducted is if either she, or brother Bret, would accept the award on his behalf. I'm very doubtful Martha would ever accept that, and it's highly likely that Bret wouldn't either, especially if he blames the company for Owen's death.

In the end, this is a true tragedy and Owen's "swan song" may very well be his special edition of Monday Night Raw. I would like to see him inducted into the Hall of Fame for the work he's done in 1994 as one of the top heels, to 1996-98 as a top Tag Team performer. However, yet again, I doubtfully believe it'll ever happen and that in itself, is yet another tragedy that will befall the late, great, Owen Hart. What are your thoughts and opinions on Owen Hart being a Hall of Fame inductee? Worthy or Not?

 

[Mr. TM]

It is an example of how the political atmosphere of professional wrestling can deny the fans and the wrestler themselves the true recognition that they deserve. Owen Hart is worthy of the Hall of Fame. He never reached the top, but he could have. How many wrestlers can you say beat a man at Wrestlemania, just for that man to go on and win the World title?

Owen, the youngest of the Harts, was, with his brother Bret, the greatest of the Harts in wrestling. Bret accomplished a lot in his time, and Owen was in line to do the same. What Owen did accomplish in the ring before his death will always be noticed.

I know that Martha and the WWE would nto work together in this. But with the bettered relationship between the WWE and Bret, you would almost think that the WWE and him would get together to have Bret's worthy brother be selected to the Wrestling Hall of Fame.

 

[klunderbunker]

Owen is perhaps the epitome of boarderline. As far as the titles he's won, he easily gets into the HOF, but think of it like this: when someone says the name Owen Hart, does Hall of Famer sound right with it? I don't mean after thinking about it. I mean immediately. With guys like Bret, Hogan, Austin etc it certainly sounds right. With Owen it sounds like a bad joke. He has the resume but overall, he just doesn't seem to fit into that list. WIth the way he passed away though, and being as boarderline as he is, I'd have no issue with putting him in, but I wouldn't push for it either if that makes sense.

 

[NSL]

I think Owen should be in the Hall of Fame. He had a very impressive run as a heel, and as a tag champion, and got the biggest push ever in his feud with Bret. I was at Wrestlemania X, and the excitement in the building during the match with Bret was incredible. It's rare that a feud's biggest match is one of it's earliest, but this one pulled it off. His time with Yokozuna worked well for him, as did his time with the Nation Of Domination. When he won the King of the Ring, it was huge. It didn't seem possible, but he did it. Then he won the Slammy, and he started carrying it everywhere. Then there was "I...am NOT...a nugget!". I was watching the show that he died at, and I was excited to see the Blazer in action, and was crushed when the news came in that he had passed, and i'm sure I wasn't the only one.

I don't think he ever will get in, but he does deserve a spot.

 

[IrishCanadian25]

Owen is perhaps the epitome of borderline.

No better sentence can describe this debate. Cheers, KB.

Owen is pretty borderline, since he won titles and captured the fans with one of the greatest feuds in wrestling history - against his brother Bret - for an entire year. Between the match at WrestleMania 10, the Cage Match at SummerSlam, and the "throw in the towel" masterpeice at Survivor Series, Owen carved his way OUT of Bret's Shadow and made his own way.

But is he a Hall of Famer? I say no.

I don't want to keep bringing this up, but had Owen not died in the manner he did, we wouldn't be having this discussion. People seem to feel that inducting Owen into the HOF will placate that nagging guilt, or provide closure to the situation. I don't have that dillemma.

Unlike other people, though, if WWE does induct Owen as a form of closure on the most tragic moment in company history, it WILL NOT devalue the HOF. I don't think he's a Hall of Famer, but the argument could be made.

I still say no.

 

[Slyfox696]

Borderline? Owen Hart is borderline? I take it Duke the Dumpster Droese is borderline as well? While we're at it, let's make Savio Vega a borderline as well. Why not Nailz? By a show of hands, where's the love for Sean Waltman?

Owen Hart being in the Hall of Fame is a joke. It's not borderline, it's not even discussion-worthy. I mean, let's take inventory of what he's remembered for. He's remembered for wearing a ridiculous superhuman costume, a feud with his own brother who just happened to be world champion, being called a nugget, and for falling to his death. Hardly an impressive legacy.

I'm sure Owen was a great person, and was a solid performer, but trying to say he's a Hall of Famer is beyond ridiculous.

 

[Miko]

I dont know really, it's been reported that Owen was in line for a World Title before he died but they also said Eddie was in line for another before he died, so it could be just something WWE say about dead guys I dont know.

On the one hand he was a solid performer, has the list of accomplishments to warrant a place and he's also dead which is usually a HUGE bonus for the HOF. On the other hand his accomplishments are matched by many people who arent really worthy, he's had some ridiculous gimmicks and fell to his death before the supposed "World Title push" came about. You cant induct someone based on things that were supposed to happen to them before they died.

That being said if it does happen I'd be happy enough, there have been many shitter enter that Hall. Not that that is a good argument for him to merit a place.

 

[IrishCanadian25]

Borderline? Owen Hart is borderline? I take it Duke the Dumpster Droese is borderline as well? While we're at it, let's make Savio Vega a borderline as well. Why not Nailz? By a show of hands, where's the love for Sean Waltman?

Owen Hart being in the Hall of Fame is a joke. It's not borderline, it's not even discussion-worthy. I mean, let's take inventory of what he's remembered for. He's remembered for wearing a ridiculous superhuman costume, a feud with his own brother who just happened to be world champion, being called a nugget, and for falling to his death. Hardly an impressive legacy.

I'm sure Owen was a great person, and was a solid performer, but trying to say he's a Hall of Famer is beyond ridiculous.

What's beyond ridiculous is you trying to compare Owen Hart to the likes of Droese, Nailz, and Waltman. I know you're intentionally dramatizing, but you're doing so to the detriment of your point.

Now let's get one thing out of the way - you and I both agree than Owen is out.

He acheived the Junior Heavyweight Title in IWGP. He won the 1997 Feud of the Year Award with his brother, and no you cannot say that feud was 100% Bret's work. Owen damn sure did his part, both in the ring and outside the ring. He's a 2-time IC Champ and a 1-time European Champ. He won 4 Tag Team Titles with 3 different partners, NONE OF WHICH was his brother Bret. He was the 1994 King of the Ring.

I mean, shit, the guys you mentioned to discredit Owen don't combine to have a quarter of the resume Owen has.

His part in the Canada vs US / New Hart Foundation feuds were also appreciable, as was his role in the Hart vs Backlund conflict. Come on, Sly, give credit where it is due. Dismount the high horse for once. You're so dead wrong here.

Accept in the fact that Owen isn't a Hall of Famer. There, you're right.

 

[agentmichaelscarn]

I gotta agree with Sly on this one. I thought Owen was a great performer and who knows what would have happened to him if it wasnt for that tragedy but as it stands he isnt a hall of famer. Im a little more strict when it comes to getting in the Hall and Owen doesnt fit any of my criteria. I feel you should have been World Champ atleast once, if not you should have consistently been around the main event or top heel/face depending on your character or really left your mark on the business like being a huge draw. For example Piper or Andre were never WWF champs but I thought they were worthy because they were both huge stars and both were at one point either the top heel or face for the company. Owen really only had one main event push and I think that was in large part because of his brother and that didnt last long. Other than that he was stuck in the mid card. If you let him in you open the doors for so many other guys from that era and this era that quite frankly dont deserve to be in.

 

[CCS]

I'm torn on this one. Owen was without a doubt an awesome wrestler who had a lot of talent. But the thing that he's most know for is his unfortunate demise. One could argue that he would barely be known if he wouldnt have died so tragicly. Even though most people only know him for his death, most true wrestling fans know him for his great in ring work. So that gets him in.

 

[Big Sexy]

Owen Hart being in the Hall of Fame is a joke. It's not borderline, it's not even discussion-worthy.

That might be true, but the same can be said about Eddie Guerrero. If Eddie is in then there is still a possibility that Owen can get in. The biggest thing that's working against him is the fact that his death was so long ago. When Eddie was inducted it was a spur of the moment thing because he had just passed away, but I still wouldn't say that Owen making the Hall of Fame would be ridiculous, especially considering some of the people who are already in.

 

[klunderbunker]

Sly's conclusion may be right but the way he arrived at it is wrong. Aside from Waltman, and if he ever makes the HOF I'll take my own life, none of those people ever won a title in WWE that I recall, save for maybe Savio. Owen may not have the big defining moment or anything like that to get in, but he's won several titles. Also, for a large part you can blame Shawn Michaels or Austin for him not getting his big shot. Does anyone remember D-Generation X In Your House? It was a month after Montreal and Owen had a run in after Shawn finished with Shamrock. If that wasn't the money match for the Rumble, I don't know what was. Shawn more or less said he wasn't working with Owen, likely because he was afraid of what Owen might try to do to him, and wound up getting his back crushed instead. Owen was trapped in the mid card until his death a year and a half later. Factor out Shawn being afraid to work with him, and he could have taken the title off Shawn for a fast run with it.

 

[Slyfox696]

What's beyond ridiculous is you trying to compare Owen Hart to the likes of Droese, Nailz, and Waltman. I know you're intentionally dramatizing, but you're doing so to the detriment of your point.

Droese and Nailz I agree. Vega and Waltman I disagree.

What makes Owen better than those guys? Nothing really. I would even say that Waltman played a bigger role in wrestling's history than Owen did, as he was a crucial member in both DX and nWo, two organizations which did their part to usher the more mature themed wrestling that so many people loved. Waltman was big time attitude in both of those groups. He was a multiple time champion, and was fun to watch.

Why Owen and not X-Pac/Syxx-Pac?

He won the 1997 Feud of the Year Award with his brother, and no you cannot say that feud was 100% Bret's work.

Yes, he won the '97 feud of the year...along with Bret, Anvil, Davey Boy, Pillman, and Austin. And the only reason that happened was because of Austin's greatness (bet you thought I was going to say Bret).

Owen damn sure did his part, both in the ring and outside the ring. He's a 2-time IC Champ and a 1-time European Champ. He won 4 Tag Team Titles with 3 different partners, NONE OF WHICH was his brother Bret. He was the 1994 King of the Ring.

*yawn*

Savio Vega won the WWC main-event belt, and you're talking about the European title, a belt that was so ridiculous that it lasted only five years? Hell, the NWA Six-Man Tag Team Championship lasted for 15 years, and the European barely made it five? *yawn*

I mean, shit, the guys you mentioned to discredit Owen don't combine to have a quarter of the resume Owen has.

I would argue that both Waltman and Vega are comparable, not to mention surpass Owen when put together.

Come on, Sly, give credit where it is due.

Funny, I was thinking the same thing.

I prefer to give credit to people who have earned and deserved it, not to people just because they got killed.

For example Piper or Andre were never WWF champs

Actually, Andre was champion...for like 2 minutes. But, he was champion.

That might be true, but the same can be said about Eddie Guerrero.

Except that Eddie was a World Champion, something that Owen never was. And outside of the one feud with his brother, Owen wasn't even a serious contender to the title.

 

[Cena's Little Helper]

No, I do not think that Owen Hart deserves a spot in WWE's Hall of Fame. While I believe he had moments that should be considered Hall of Fame worthy (specifically, his feud with Bret Hart in 1994 and his feud with Steve Austin in 1997), they were just too few and far between.

As for his championships in WWE, I think the only reigns that could be considered noteworthy were his ones as Intercontinental Champion in 1997. As posters before me have stated, the European Championship was a joke, so I wouldn't even count that as being anything of import with respect to Owen's career. As for his Tag Team reigns, sure, he had three different partners. But, three of his reigns (two with Yokozuna and one with the British Bulldog) were during times when the Tag Teams meant nothing. It was only his reign with Jeff Jarrett that meant anything, and this was due to the New Age Outlaws finely restoring some value to the belts.

 

[Pickle]

He held 8 mid-card championships, was consistently good in the ring, had two of the greatest feuds of all time, a few amazing matches, and was always entertaining. Every point after the first one are what set him apart from X-Pac. However, I'm not sure if that qualifies him for the HOF. He's definitely more deserving than 70% of the wrestlers currently in the HOF. Overall, I think he's worthy of the WWE HOF, but not worthy of the Professional Wrestling hall of fame.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

I think it really depends on how much WWE and the fans want Bret Hart to appear back in WWE. He'd induct him, and it would probably be very similar to The Rock inducting his father. It'll be a case of the person doing the inducting being more over than the inductee.

I'd induct him because he made Over The Edge 1999 into a very intresting show, and his influence is still around today when a roster wrestler dies. I might be joking, or am I?

 

[TheOneBigWill]

Owen Hart deserves to be in the Hall of Fame, because simply put.. it's not the Hall of "Main Eventers only". It's meant to be an induction for Wrestlers who've in one way, shape or form, made an impact on the sport itself.

His death not included, because if it were he'd of already been in by now, Owen's career was a huge deal overall. He may not of ever been World Heavyweight Champion on paper, but he did technically and unofficially win it. Jake even posted a youtube video regarding it a while back.

Furthermore, Owen Hart was the end-all, be-all to solid Mid-card level Wrestlers. Who ever said or made the statement that the Hall of Fame was for the Super Powers in the Main Event division, ONLY? I don't recall that being mentioned when guys like Johnny Rodz and Pete Rose were inducted. So of course Owen Hart deserves to be in.

He carried the mid-card division for years and was a great Superstar within it. He was a great Intercontinental Champion, and for the love of everything, he made the Slammy's mean something by carrying that trophy around everywhere. Not to mention, he was a better King of the Ring than over half of the winners, including Bret Hart, Triple H., and Steve Austin. Why? Because he made the tournament victory mean something by adapting it into his gimmick.

Sly's post of Savio Vega, Duke 'The Dumpster' and Sean Waltman is a blatant slap in the face of Owen's entire career, which ultimately rivaled that of all three of those individuals combined. So what if he didn't Main Event all the time. So what if he wasn't "Immortal" and rub lotion on his Daughter's crotch. And who gives a shit, if he didn't attempt stealing the spotlight every chance he got, regardless of whether he still had the talent to do so, or not.

Owen Hart did a LOT, and I mean A LOT of things within his career that makes him more than worthy to be a Hall of Fame inductee someday.

 

[Mighty NorCal]

Not even close. as has been said before, he did nothing of note to earn it. His most famous feud, albeit a great one, was also had with possibly the best wrestler of all time, Bret Hart, and had the cheap heat advantage of being a sibling rivalry feud. People will call his match with Bret at WM 10 great, which I wont dispute. I will dispute however, ,that it was mostly due to Bret's ability to sell, other than anything Owen did. I await IC to run in here screaming about all the titles he won in a bunch of promotions that no one gives a shit about, with a ton of long ridiculous acronyms for their names. As if im supposed to be impressed, or even know what the fuck he is on about. There is a reason for that. Owen was merely a party to all of the major, memorable feuds he was in. Not the focal point. the feud jobber Hall Of Fame is what he could be inducted to, I would be fine with that.

 

[WillYouStopIt!]

Seeing that the WWE Hall of Fame is very politicized and not much is known about what criteria are judged when deciding who gets in, I will judge Owen by what I see as most important, wrestling ability. Pro-wrestling is scripted, so the winners and losers are determined beforehand, differentiating it from other competitive sports. For example if a country wins the world cup or some championship in a sport, they do so because they were the best and deserve to be remembered as being the best for that period. It's not like that in professional wrestling because unfortunately, being a good worker/wrestler often times doesn't get the attention it deserves. This fact is very strange because it would seem that wrestling should be the top priority in a sport called Wrestling. The fact is that most champions in the past and even many today weren't always the best wrestlers or best workers, in fact they were most often big, muscular, charismatic individuals with a limited set of moves.

I have always placed in ring ability over everything else because I watch wrestling for wrestling. I also enjoy the promos, interviews and all that great stuff, but without wrestling, none of that shit means anything. And for that reason alone, Owen Hart easily gets inducted in the Hall of Fame. Here we have one of the greatest technical wrestlers ever. Just because he wasn't given a push to be world champion or whatever some people think one needs to be a Hall of Famer, shouldn't distract anyone from all of the great matches he presented wrestling fans with throughout his great career. His bouts with Bret, the match with Bulldog on Raw for the European championship, his King of the Ring which included that tremendous match with 123 Kid are all matches that the majority of people currently in the Hall of Fame could only dream about having in their careers. And I'm not even including the phenomenal matches he had in Japan with wrestlers like the Ultimo Dragon. Owen had a great personality as a heel and was very gifted in the ring.
His year long feud with Bret ranks among the best feuds I've ever seen.

Jerry the King Lawler is in the Hall of Fame. This fact alone should make any argument about whether Owen deserves to be in there unnecessary.

 

[GameOver]

He was an intrical part of that era. Was a mega heal for the pure fact that he looked and acted like such a prick. And that winy voice. OMG!!!!!

Sure alot of that had to do with the fued between him and his brother and then tagging with Jeff Jarrett well not that part but the puppies that escorted them to ringside every time.

IMO he had just as much ring expertise as Bret, if not more. Bret was awesome but he had that main eventer limited move syndrome, Owen had a much bigger repetoir of moves and was alot better on the mic.

Eddie Guerrero got in straight away because of his death, to leave out Owen after all this time would be a disgrace, much the same as inducting Randy Savage will never happen despite him having a huge impact on the mid 80's - early 90's.

As for Bret blaming WWE for owen's death, i'm pretty sure atleast in interviews i've seen with Bret he said it was an accident. Unfortunate as it was and at the time he fealt his family was being screwed. Regardless he himself is inducted in the HOF with a company that he blames for his own life failing and death of his brother & brother-in-law, Bit of a hippocrit if ya ask me if that was the case.

As for the matter of his wife. well thats her discression.

Pitty though.

 

[Slyfox696]

Owen Hart deserves to be in the Hall of Fame, because simply put.. it's not the Hall of "Main Eventers only". It's meant to be an induction for Wrestlers who've in one way, shape or form, made an impact on the sport itself.

Going by this theory then, we need to induct the Brooklyn Brawler then. After all, he made a great impact on the sport, by putting over every guy that was asked of him, and making them look good in the process.

By the way, what's Barry Horowitz doing these days?

He may not of ever been World Heavyweight Champion on paper, but he did technically and unofficially win it. Jake even posted a youtube video regarding it a while back.

Owen Hart never won the title. Ever.

That match that Jake posted, I'm guessing, did not show what happened after. The referee reversed the decision, and ordered the match to continue because of what happened. Thus, Owen never won the match, and Bret went on to beat Owen. Owen NEVER won the title, technically or unofficially.

Jerry the King Lawler is in the Hall of Fame. This fact alone should make any argument about whether Owen deserves to be in there unnecessary.

This...this is a joke right? Jerry Lawler has done more for wrestling as a color commentator than Owen did as a wrestler.

Oh yeah, he was kind of important as a wrestler and promoter to.

Bret was awesome but he had that main eventer limited move syndrome, Owen had a much bigger repetoir of moves and was alot better on the mic.

Not even close.

Number of moves have NOTHING to do with wrestling ability, never have and never will. And Owen was a lot better on the mic? Than who? A mime? Owen was TERRIBLE on the stick.

 

[Pickle]

Owen Hart never won the title. Ever.

That match that Jake posted, I'm guessing, did not show what happened after. The referee reversed the decision, and ordered the match to continue because of what happened. Thus, Owen never won the match, and Bret went on to beat Owen. Owen NEVER won the title, technically or unofficially.

But the belt was handed to Owen. Even if the decision was reversed, that still technically counts as a break in lineage, and makes Owen an unofficial champion. It doesn't really mean much to the pro-owen arguments, since he only won it for storyline purposes, but in a kayfabe sense he did unofficially win it.

Slyfox edit: No it doesn't. A win is not recorded if the decision is reversed.

 

[Shocky]

As much of an Owen Hart fan as I am, there is a no from me. I love Owen Hart, and think he is much better then what Sly is giving him credit for, but in the end, he's a damn good mid carder that never made it to the next level. Owen was good, but guys like Jake Roberts and Rick Rude are much more memorable, and they are probably more comparable to Owen then others.

Owen Hart, won a bunch of mid card titles, but never made it on the main event level. Unfortunately he's known for dying, and breaking Steve Austin's neck more then anything.

 

[Skillz]

Owen Hart is remembered for three main things; his feud with Bret, breaking Austin's neck, and dying. And out of those three things, the only positive thing to remember him for is the feud with Bret. He made zero impact during his decade-long run in the WWE.

Well actually, he did make an impact. He was the reason that the WWE's biggest draw of the past 15 years (Austin) had years taken from his career. Austin could have still been wrestling today if it wasn't for Owen. The WWE may never have had the dip in ratings that it's had in the past 6 years if Austin was around. So yeah, you can thank Owen for that.

No doubt, Owen was involved in two of the best matches in WWE history at Wrestlemania 10 and Summerslam 1994. But that alone does not make him worthy of being in the Hall of Fame. He won no world titles. None of the mid-card title reigns he had were memorable. He wasn't very charismatic, he didn't have great mic skills, and in the two great matches he had, it was mainly because of Bret's amazing selling and storytelling ability that the matches were so good. Owen was the epitome of mid-carder for life. Definitely not Hall of Fame material.

 

[Tastycles]

I want to begin by stressing how good I think Owen Hart was as a worker and how it must be commended that nobody ever said anything bad about him as a man. I've been watching all of the old Royal Rumble ppvs lately and I think it was either the 91 or 92 one where the new foundation have a match, and Owen is absolutely superb. He brought a style that was not very common at all at the time, and was fantastic to watch.

But.... that's not enough. Yes, he had a big feud with his brother, but that was ready made for him. If you have two brothers, they will inevitably feud. What made the feud interesting was that it happened as Bret was winning the championship, wheras it would usually happen earlier in the career cycle.

But Owen never really got above that. I was watching wrestling at the time he died, and there was absolutely no sense that he was on his way up. By the time he died, he was well into his thirties, and the next generation were being pushed. His career had peaked, and he just didn't acheive enough.

If he didn't die, and if his surname wasn't Hart, we wouldn't even be having this discussion. Goldust won about the same amount of championships he did, probably garnered more of a reaction than he did, and certainly was a far more interesting character than him. He also main evented in the mid nineties. However, nobody would want him in.

Not to mention, he was a better King of the Ring than over half of the winners, including Bret Hart, Triple H., and Steve Austin. Why? Because he made the tournament victory mean something by adapting it into his gimmick.

I'm not being funny, but he was hardly the only person to do that - King Harley Race, Macho King, King Mabel, King Booker - all of these people adapted their gimmick because they were the king. If anything it shows a lack of direction from creative so the're thrown into the world's most obvious gimmick. It didn't happen to Austin or HHH because they got a proper push instead.

Eddie Guerrero got in straight away because of his death, to leave out Owen after all this time would be a disgrace, much the same as inducting Randy Savage will never happen despite him having a huge impact on the mid 80's - early 90's.

Savage is a multiple time world champion and one of the most recognisable wrestlers of all time. Owen Hart is Bret Hart's brother who died young. There is no similarity between them, except for the fact that they, or the people that represent them, are on bad terms with the WWE.

Jerry the King Lawler is in the Hall of Fame. This fact alone should make any argument about whether Owen deserves to be in there unnecessary.

Jerry Lawler is one of the wittiest colour commentators ever. He also slapped Andy Kaufman on national television, one of the only instances were wrestling met popular culture before Hulkamania started running wild.

Owen Hart had one good feud and won a few mid card titles. He did not change wrestling at all.

was consistently good in the ring

As I've already said, I found some of his work quite remarkeable, but part of being good is not putting your opponent in danger. I know accidents happen, but breaking someone's neck is a fairly big mistake to make, and it is a serious blight on his consistency.