Owen Hart : King of Harts

Owen Hart
Name: Owen Hart
From: Calgary, Alberta
Finishing Move: Sharpshooter




On May 23, 1999 the wrestling world was shaken to its core with the death of Owen Hart. The youngest child of the legendary Hart Family, Owen was known throughout the world as one of the most technically sound and charismatic wrestlers there was. Often overshadowed by larger and more popular wrestlers, as well as his monolithic brother Bret, Owen’s path to super stardom was not an easy one. Yet his career is forever etched in history, not only because of his untimely death, but also because of the success he achieved in the ring.
Growing up as a Hart, wrestling was Owen’s doctrine, handed down on high by his father, Stu, and enforced by his brothers. Regardless of his desires Owen would be trained in the art of professional wrestling, just like the rest of the family. His training in the Hart family Dungeon prepared him for his professional debut in his father’s Canadian Stampede Wrestling, a small but famous promotion based in Calgary, Alberta. His high-flying wrestling style was still quite unique to North American audiences in 1986 and he quickly became a popular competitor. It was not long after that he began winning gold in the Stampede organization. He and his tag team partner Ben Bassarab won the company’s International Tag Team Titles, and on the singles stage Owen captured the British Commonwealth Mid Heavyweight Title. He also made it to a tournament final for the North American Heavyweight Title. Although he lost the tournament to Makhan Singh, he won the title later, and on two separate occasions.
Unfortunately, Stampede Wrestling was loosing money and Owen Hart made the move to Japan, where the high-flying style of wrestling was more common, but more appreciated. He quickly climbed in popularity and in May of 1988 and won the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title from Hiroshi Hase. He became the first non-Asian to win the title and held it for one month before loosing it to Shiro Koshinaka. Owen’s tenure in Japan ended soon after, and he returned to North America, where he quickly learned of the interest the World Wrestling Federation had in him.


Upon arriving in the WWF, Owen was pushed as a high-flying, masked wrestler known as the Blue Blazer. Although his brother Bret was already a mainstay of the WWF it was never mentioned on television that the two were brothers. His aerial tactics were used as a foil for the larger, more physically dominant wrestlers, but because of his smaller size the Blazer often ended up on the losing end of his matches. At his first WrestleMania he lost to Mr. Perfect in one of the more exciting matches on the card. Owen left the WWF a few months later and spent the better part of the next two years touring Europe, Canada, and Japan; he also had a very brief and uneventful stay in World Championship Wrestling, all under the mask of the Blazer. However, on a tour of Mexico he lost a match and was unmasked by a wrestler named El Canek. His popularity continued to grow and soon the WWF wanted to sign him again, this time under his real name.

In the time between his two stints with the WWF his brother Bret’s popularity had grown immensely, and he was the reigning Intercontinental Champion. Bret’s former tag team partner, Jim Neidhart, however, was floundering in the mid-card. The solution the WWF offered Neidhart was a new tag team partner—the brother of his former partner—Owen Hart. They were christened the New Foundation, but it quickly became apparent that the fans would not accept this version of the Hart Foundation and the team was over almost before it began. Jim Neidhart left the Federation shortly after the 1992 Royal Rumble, where the New Foundation defeated the Orient Express.
Despite the team’s breakup Owen, now know as "The Rocket" was still seen as marketable by the WWF, and was given a quick victory over Skinner at WrestleMania VIII. Unfortunately, there was no real division Owen could compete in. He was far too small, young and unestablished to compete for the WWF Title, and the Intercontinental Title would be around the waist of his brother for the next six months. So with no direction to go, he was placed in another tag team known as High Energy. This time he teamed up with another high-flyer: “The Birdman” Ko Ko B. Ware. The team was less than a hit, and became fodder for tag teams like Money Inc. and the Beverly Brothers. So, when the WWF and Ko Ko agreed to part ways, no one was terribly disappointed and, by early 1993 Owen was a singles competitor once again.
While waiting to be brought back to WWF television, Owen was sent down to Jerry Jarrett’s USWA promotion. Once there he defeated Papa Shango for the USWA Heavyweight Title and had a brief run before loosing it to Jerry Lawler. Just as Owen was about to make his return to the WWF scene he injured his knee and was out of action for a few months. When he returned, his brother Bret, who had won the 1993 King of the Ring, was in a heated feud with Jerry Lawler. Lawler soon extended the feud to the entire Hart family by insulting Bret, Owen and their parents Stu and Helen. Owen was badly beaten by Lawler as means to further dramatize his feud with the Hitman, and while Bret beat him senseless at the 1993 Summer Slam their feud continued well into the fall. By the time promotion for the Survivor Series started Owen had returned to action and was placed in a Survivor Series match with his brothers.
The Family Feud match, as it quickly became known as, was marketed as Jerry Lawler and his three masked Knights against the Hart family: Bret, Owen, Bruce and Keith, the latter two coming out of retirement. Unfortunately just a few weeks before the event Lawler ran into some legal issues and had to leave the Federation, so the WWF substituted Shawn Michaels. At one point in the match Owen was coming off the ropes and bumped into Bret, sending him to the floor, when Owen looked back to see what had happened Michaels rolled Owen up for a three count. The Hart family went on to win the match with no more eliminations, but after the match Owen came back out and confronted Bret about being a deciding force in his elimination. The conflict was quickly averted, and Bret and Owen began teaming on a regular basis.
Owen Hart King of the Ring 1994 winnerAt the 1994 Royal Rumble Owen and Bret received a shot at the Tag Team Titles, held by the Quebecers. During the match the Quebecers concentrated on attacking Bret’s knee. Near the end of the match Bret had a chance to make the tag but went for the Sharpshooter instead. When he stepped over, his knee gave out and the referee stopped the match. Owen was livid that Bret did not tag him when he had the chance, and he began to attack his brother’s injured knee. As Bret was being brought out on a stretcher Owen ranted in the back about how selfish his brother was and always had been.
The sibling rivalry eventually led to match between the two that took place at WrestleMania X. Owen and Bret put on a classic match, going back and forth, pulling out innovative moves left and right. Owen pulled off one of the biggest upsets in WrestleMaina history when he pined his brother by reversing a victory roll. Bret went on to win the WWF Title in the last match of the night, but the final image of the night was Owen standing in the isle staring down Bret.
Owen Hart King of the Ring 1994 winnerWhile Owen was challenging Bret almost weekly for his title, Bret refused to fight his brother again. So, in order to one up him once again, Owen entered the 1994 King of the Ring. He defeated Adam Bomb in a preliminary match, and at the Pay Per View he beat Tatanka, the 1-2-3 Kid, and Razor Ramon, with help from his former partner and brother-in-law Jim Neidhart, who was brought out earlier on the card by Bret to be in his corner when he defended his title against Diesel. After winning the tournament Owen decreed himself the King of Harts.
The stage was now set for the dramatic rematch between the brothers at Summer Slam, but in order to keep the other family members, namely Jim Neidhart from interfering, the match was held inside a steel cage. The match was another classic, with many close escapes, but in the end the brothers were trading blows while hanging on to the outside of the cage. In the end Owen’s legs got caught between the bars and as he dangled just a few feet from the ground Bret was able to hit the floor and retain his title. However, Neidhart jumped out of the crowd and threw Bret back into the cage, locked it, and he and Owen began to take him apart until Davey Boy Smith, who was also watching at ringside helped out his brother-in-law Bret.
Owen still had not taken Bret’s title and became content to just have a hand in him losing it. In the meantime the crazed Bob Backlund had earned a match with the Hitman where the only way to lose was for your corner-man to throw in the towel, signifying that you have had enough. Backlund chose Owen as his corner-man and Bret chose Davey Boy Smith as his. At one point during the match Owen attacked Smith and he leaped at Owen who moved out of the way, resulting in Smith’s head crashing into the steel steps, knocking him out. Shortly after, with Bret’s towel-man out of action Backlund locked in the Crossface Chicken Wing, his painful submission hold, and wrestled Bret to the mat. Seeing his brother trapped in agony, Owen realized the pain he had caused, and pleaded with his mother, who was sitting at ringside to throw in the towel for him and free him from the torture. Tears ran down Owen’s face as he said that he never wanted it to come to this and he loved his brother. Helen, stricken with grief, threw in Bret’s pink and black towel, giving Backlund the WWF Title. Owen then dove into the ring grabbed the towel and celebrated his brother’s defeat.
His feud with Bret had pretty much come to an end but Owen continued tagging with Neidhart, and the two were entered in a tournament for the vacant Tag Team Titles, but were eliminated early in the tournament. Shortly after Neidhart left the WWF again and by the time WrestleMania XI rolled around Owen and a mystery partner had gotten a match with then champions the Smoking Gunns. His partner turned out to be the six hundred pound plus Yokozuna, who was managed by Jim Cornette. Victory was inevitable, and Owen walked out with his first piece of Federation gold. Late in the summer Davey Boy Smith had joined Jim Cornette’s stable, at the September In Your House event Owen and Yokozuna lost the Tag Team Titles to Shawn Michaels and Diesel. However, Owen had arrived late to the arena and the British Bulldog was put in his place. Owen ran down toward the end of the match and was pinned, giving the Dudes with Attitudes the belts. Because Owen had not been the legal man the Titles were returned to them, only for them to lose them the next night back to the Smoking Gunns.

Owen Hart with his Slammy AwardOwen embarked on another singles career, but was still managed by Jim Cornette. In December of 1995 Owen had a match with Shawn Michaels, who had suffered a real concussion earlier in the year in a parking lot fight. During the match Owen hit Michaels in the back of the head with his enziguiri kick, and shortly after Michaels collapsed in the ring. While the collapse was a work it established Owen has a dangerous competitor and it gave Michaels more the underdog persona he would need going into the Royal Rumble match. It also earned Owen a Slammy award for “In Ring Shocker” and he changed his moniker once again to the “Slammy Award Winning” Owen Hart.
At WrestleMania XII Owen teamed with the Bulldog and new Camp Cornette member Vader, against Yokozuna, Jake Roberts and Ahmed Johnson. Owen’s team emerged victorious and he and Davey Boy started teaming on a regular basis. Unfortunately Owen broke his arm soon after and Owen had to sit on the sidelines while his brother-in-law received WWF title matches against Shawn Michaels. Owen returned to wrestling before his arm had completely healed and brought his cast with him. Owen used his cast as a weapon for the next few months and the smell of it became a running gag in the locker room.
Owen and Bulldog reentered the Tag Team Title hunt and won the belts from the Smoking Gunns in September 1996. They also changed managers from Jim Cornette to Clarence Mason and they dominated weak team scene well into 1997, there only real competition came from Doug Furnas and Phil Lafon, who they met at the February 97 In Your House. Owen got his team disqualified when he hit Lafon with his Slammy award. Bulldog who thought they had the match under control was not too happy about it. The seeds for the breakup were planted and they were watered when Bulldog fired Clarence Mason. However, the tension between the two reached its peak when on a tour of Germany, where Bulldog and Owen met in the finals for the new WWF European Title. The match ended with Bulldog reversing a victory roll, the same way Owen had defeated his brother at WrestleMaina X. But the breakup did not occurred then and Owen and Bulldog met Vader and Mankind for the Tag Team Titles at WrestleMania XIII. The match ended in a double count out, and the tension between the two partners began to swell even more, until Owen challenged Bulldog for his European Title.


The Hart FoundationThe two met in the ring and were ready to tear each other apart, when Bret Hart came out and broke up the fight. Bret told them that he was tired of his family fighting, and that they needed to band together and stop giving in to the demented desires of the American fans, who boo role models and cheer villains like Stone Cold Steve Austin. The speech inspired both Owen and the Bulldog, who joined with Bret and created a new incarnation of the Hart Foundation. Soon after Brian Pillman, who had been trained in the Hart Family Dungeon and Jim Neidhart joined the group. Owen found immediate success in the Foundation and won the Intercontinental Title from an unpopular Rocky Maivia in April 97. Although reunited as a team, Owen and Bulldog could not over come the duo of Shawn Michaels and Steve Austin and they lost the Tag Team belts a few weeks later.
Stonecold Steve Austin vs. Owen HartDespite loosing the Tag Team Titles the Hart Foundation was dominating the WWF and although they were hated in the United States they were incredibly popular in Canada and Europe. The entire Hart Foundation teamed up for the July In Your House located in Calgary and titled Canadian Stampede. They took on Steve Austin, Ken Shamrock, Goldust and the Road Warriors. The end of the match saw Owen returning from the back, after having suffered an injury to roll up Steve Austin for the victory. This sparked a feud between the two that culminated in match for the Intercontinental Title at Summerslam. During the match Owen screwed up a piledriver and temporarily paralyzed Steve Austin. Austin managed to finish the match with a weak roll up and take the belt, but he was out for several months and as a result had to give up his newly won Intercontinental Title.
In October Owen defeated Faarooq in a tournament final for the vacant belt, with the help of Steve Austin, only to loose it to him a month later at the Survivor Series. Of course, this was also the, now infamous, night that Vince McMahon screwed Bret Hart out of the WWF Title because he was leaving for WCW. It is commonly known as the Montreal Screwjob. Torn between loyalty to his family and the opportunity to succeed out side of his brother’s shadow, Owen remained off television for a month. When he returned he attacked Shawn Michaels to a huge crowd reaction. Unfortunately what could have resulted in an incredible push to the main event was botched and Owen ended up in a side feud with European Champion Hunter Hearst Helmsley, Michaels’ partner in Degeneration-X. Owen was now known as the Black Hart, but D-X had another name for him: “The Nugget”
Just as the feud was starting to get off the ground Triple H injured himself and in a bizarre match, Goldust, dressed as Hunter defended the European Title against Owen. When Owen won, Commissioner Slaughter let the title change stand because the match had been sanctioned for the European Title. Owen held the belt for about a month, when Triple H returned and Owen injured his ankle. Goaded into fighting Owen lost the title back to Triple H and lost his to subsequent rematches at WrestleMania XIV and Unforgiven.
Frustrated by his losses Owen said, “Enough is enough, and it’s time for a change.” He did indeed change and became the newest member, and co-leader of the Nation, also led by the Rock. The Nation continued to do battle with D-X and at Over the Edge, Owen defeated Triple H with his own move: the Pedigree. He entered himself into the King of the Ring once again, and got himself into a feud with Ken Shamrock. The two had a “Dungeon Match” at Fully Loaded, which actually took place in the Hart family Dungeon and was refereed by Dan Severn. The match ended when Owen knocked Shamrock out with a dumbbell, locked in the Sharpshooter and manipulated his hand to make it look like Shamrock was tapping out. This cheep victory resulted in a rematch at Summer Slam in a cage known as the “Lion’s Den” which was similar to the UFC Octagon that Shamrock had become famous in. Although Dan Severn was in his corner Owen lost the match.
By the end of summer The Rock’s popularity had soared and the Nation dissolved leaving Owen to feud with Severn. In a match on Raw Owen set Severn up for the same piledriver that had paralyzed Steve Austin and dropped him on his head. Severn lay motionless in the ring; only this time his temporary paralysis was part of the story line. Owen, upset at himself for severely injuring another wrestler announced his retirement. Soon after his retirement, the masked wrestler known as the Blue Blazer returned to the scene. Blue Blazer
By this time it was common knowledge that Owen Hart had been the Blue Blazer and was portraying him again. Steve Blackman didn’t find it too fun that the man who had hurt his friend—Dan Severn—was running around like a superhero, and he began trying to unmask the Blazer. Jeff Jarrett, who had feuded with Blackman off and on throughout the year, came to Blue Blazer’s aid often preventing his unmasking. At one point Owen was unmasked and Jarrett ran out to cover his face. Other times, Owen would be wrestling and the Blazer would run down and it would be Jarrett under the mask. Even Ko Ko B. Ware made a cameo return as the Blazer while Jeff and Owen were teaming together.
Jeff Jarrett and Owen Hart The question of who was behind the mask of the Blue Blazer was put on the backburner and establishing Jarrett and Owen as a top tag team was pushed to the forefront. Jarrett and Owen captured the Tag Team Titles in January 1999 from the Corporation’s Boss Man and Ken Shamrock. The two held the titles through WrestleMaina XV defeating the hastily put together team of D’lo Brown and Test. They lost the titles a few days later to the team of X-Pac and Kane.
Jeff Jarrett began a feud with the ho pimping Godfather, and Owen donned the mask of the Blue Blazer one more time. He claimed to return to clean up the World Wrestling Federation and he interjected himself into Jarrett’s feud with the Godfather who was the reigning Intercontinental Champion.
The match was set for Over the Edge at the Kemper Arena in Kansas City, and Owen Hart, under the mask of the Blue Blazer set to make a superhero type entrance, and descend from the rafters on a cable. It is unknown what exactly happened next, the WWF had gone to a video montage bringing viewers up to date on the Blazer/Godfather feud and when it was over the cameras were panning the crowd, and Jim Ross explained that there had been a horrible accident in the ring. Whether his harness was not properly attached, or it just malfunctioned or he accidentally released it, Owen Hart fell from the top of the arena into the ring where he hit his head on a turnbuckle. The crowd knew it was not part of the show and any doubts were washed away when the emergency medical technicians ran out to the ring. The fans gave Owen a standing ovation, like fans do when other injured performers walk off the field, or are carried out. While the support was admirable, it was only support, and shortly after Owen arrived at the Truman Medical Center he was pronounced dead. Jim Ross announced to the viewers at home that Owen Hart had tragically died.


The next night the WWF put on a memorial show, where all of the superstars wore black band around their arms, with the initials O.H. imprinted on them. Owen’s former partner Jeff Jarrett set the record straight saying “Owen never was a nugget,” and he finished his match with Owen’s Sharpshooter instead of his trademark Figure Four. The other wrestlers did interviews out of character, remembering Owen Hart. Mark Henry wrote a poem, Triple H was unable to fight back tears, and the night was ended with a beautiful video montage of Owen’s career.
Although it is his heartbreaking death that will be remembered more than anything else, one cannot forget the smiles he so often brought to the faces of his fans. His stellar career, and matches are visual memories that can remind us of his skill in the ring and on the microphone, allowing us to relive his career and return the smiles. While that is little consolation for the people who knew him personally and his family: his wife Martha his son Oje and daughter Athena, it is a way to keep, as he once said “a little Blue Blazer in all of us.”

Title History

Owen Hart with the Intercontinental Title 04.02.95 - World Tag Team Titles - Owen Hart & Yokozuna Defeated Smoking Gunns
09.22.96 - World Tag Team Titles - Davey Boy Smith & Owen Hart Defeated Smoking Gunns
04.28.97 - WWE Intercontinental Title - Owen Hart Defeated The Rock
10.05.97 - WWE Intercontinental Title - Owen Hart (2) Defeated Faarooq
01.20.98 - WWE European Title - Owen Hart Defeated Goldust, as HHH
01.25.99 - World Tag Team Titles - Owen Hart & Jeff Jarrett Defeated Ken Shamrock & Big Bossman

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