Owen James Hart (May 7, 1965 – May 23, 1999) was a Canadian-American
professional wrestler
Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...
who worked for several promotions including
Stampede Wrestling,
New Japan Pro-Wrestling
(NJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV Asahi and Amuse, Inc. own minority sha ...
(NJPW),
World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Nati ...
(WCW), and the
World Wrestling Federation
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and var ...
(WWF). He received most of his success in the WWF, where he wrestled under both his own name and the ring name The Blue Blazer.
A member of the
Hart wrestling family
The Hart wrestling family, sometimes known as the Hart dynasty, is a mainly Canadian family with a significant history within professional wrestling. The patriarch of the family was wrestling legend Stu Hart (1915–2003). An amateur and profes ...
, he was born in
Calgary
Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, maki ...
,
Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest T ...
, the youngest of twelve children of Stampede Wrestling promoters
Stu and
Helen Hart. Among other accolades, Owen was a
one-time USWA Unified World Heavyweight Champion, a
two-time WWF Intercontinental Champion
The WWE Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE, currently defended on the SmackDown brand division. It is one of two secondary championships for WWE's main roster ...
, a
one-time WWF European Champion, and a
four-time WWF World Tag Team Champion, as well as the
1994
File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nels ...
WWF
King of the Ring. He headlined multiple
pay-per-view
Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast.
Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program g ...
events for the WWF, and was widely regarded as one of the company's best in-ring performers.
Hart died on May 23, 1999, during his entrance from the rafters of
Kemper Arena in
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the List of United States cities by populat ...
, United States. The equipment that was lowering him to the ring malfunctioned and he fell to his death in front of a live audience and live on Pay Per View during WWF's
Over the Edge event.
Early life
Owen was born on May 7, 1965, in
Calgary, Alberta into the
Hart wrestling family
The Hart wrestling family, sometimes known as the Hart dynasty, is a mainly Canadian family with a significant history within professional wrestling. The patriarch of the family was wrestling legend Stu Hart (1915–2003). An amateur and profes ...
and was the youngest child of Stu and Helen Hart.
He grew up in a household with eleven older siblings:
Smith,
Bruce,
Keith
Keith may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Keith (given name), includes a list of people and fictional characters
* Keith (surname)
* Keith (singer), American singer James Keefer (born 1949)
* Baron Keith, a line of Scottish barons i ...
,
Wayne,
Dean, Ellie, Georgia,
Bret, Alison,
Ross and
Diana.
He was of
Greek descent through his maternal grandmother and Irish through his maternal grandfather. His father was mainly of
Scots-Irish descent, but also had Scottish and German ancestry.
Because his mother, Helen, was born in New York, Hart held American citizenship in addition to Canadian citizenship, which he acquired due to birth in Canada to a Canadian-born father.
Professional wrestling career
Early career (1983–1988)
Hart first gained wrestling experience in the amateur wrestling division at high school, through which he met his wife,
Martha. Wrestling was not Hart's first choice for a career; as Martha explained in her book ''Broken Harts'', Owen tried numerous times to find a profitable living outside of wrestling.
Owen is quoted as saying, in the WWE Home Video "Owen Hart of Gold" that "during his time in the University, he wrestled incognito (under a mask) as the original British Bulldog. Then, after he graduated from the University, he wrestled as "Bronco" Owen Hart at
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...
in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
. As those attempts were unsuccessful, Hart was trained in his father's
Hart Dungeon
The Hart Dungeon or Hart Family Dungeon, otherwise known simply as The Dungeon, was the gym and wrestling school located in the basement of the Hart mansion. The school was created by Stu Hart, patriarch of the Hart wrestling family and is known ...
and worked for his father's federation,
Stampede Wrestling and in England for Max Crabtree's
Joint Promotions in matches that got broadcast on
ITV's World of Sport. He remained with Stampede for the next couple of years while honing his skills. During 1986, Hart teamed with
Ben Bassarab
Benjamin Bassarab (born March 3, 1960) is a Canadian former bodybuilder and professional wrestler, best known for his appearances for Stu Hart's Stampede Wrestling promotion throughout the 1980s. Bassarab is a two time Stampede International Tag ...
and won the Stampede Wrestling International Tag Team Championship.
The success of the team and Hart's in-ring skills earned him ''
Pro Wrestling Illustrated''s
Rookie of the Year Award
A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year).
In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...
in 1987. After he and Bassarab lost the tag team title,
he feuded with
Johnny Smith
Johnny Henry Smith II (June 25, 1922 – June 11, 2013) was an American cool jazz and mainstream jazz guitarist. He wrote "Walk, Don't Run" in 1954. In 1984, Smith was inducted into the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame.
Early life
During the Great D ...
and
Dynamite Kid.
In 1987, Hart branched out to Japan where he wrestled for
New Japan Pro-Wrestling
(NJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV Asahi and Amuse, Inc. own minority sha ...
(NJPW) on several tours. In NJPW, he wrestled Keiichi Yamada, both before and after he debuted the
Jushin Liger gimmick
A gimmick is a novel device or idea designed primarily to attract attention or increase appeal, often with little intrinsic value. When applied to retail marketing, it is a unique or quirky feature designed to make a product or service "stand ou ...
. On May 27, 1988, Hart defeated
Hiroshi Hase for the
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship, becoming the first non-Japanese wrestler to win the title.
His reign would end nearly a month later, as he lost the title to
Shiro Koshinaka on June 24, 1988.
World Wrestling Federation (1988–1989)
Hart's success in Japan and Stampede's working relationship with the
World Wrestling Federation
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and var ...
led to Hart signing with the company in the summer of 1988. Instead of promoting Owen as
Bret Hart
Bret Hart (born July 2, 1957) is a Canadian-American retired professional wrestler, currently signed to WWE under a legend's contract. A member of the Hart wrestling family and a second-generation wrestler, he has an amateur wrestling back ...
's younger brother, the WWF decided to create a masked "
superhero
A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...
" type gimmick for him which played to his high-flying style. He broke into the WWF as The Blue Blazer (initially The Blue Angel), with his early appearances seeing him defeat the likes of Terry Gibbs,
Steve Lombardi and
Barry Horowitz. The Blue Blazer made his pay-per-view debut at
Survivor Series '88, teaming with
The Ultimate Warrior
Warrior (born James Brian Hellwig; June 16, 1959 – April 8, 2014) was an American professional wrestler and bodybuilder. Best known by his ring name The Ultimate Warrior, he wrestled for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) from ...
,
Brutus Beefcake,
Jim Brunzell and
Sam Houston
Samuel Houston (, ; March 2, 1793 – July 26, 1863) was an American general and statesman who played an important role in the Texas Revolution. He served as the first and third president of the Republic of Texas and was one of the first two i ...
against
The Honky Tonk Man
Roy Wayne Farris (born January 25, 1953), better known by the ring name The Honky Tonk Man, is an American retired professional wrestler. He previously wrestled for World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE ...
,
Greg Valentine
Jonathan Anthony Wisniski (born September 20, 1951) is a retired American professional wrestler, better known as Greg "The Hammer" Valentine. He is the son of wrestler Johnny Valentine.
Over five decades, Valentine held more than 40 championships ...
,
Outlaw Ron Bass,
Bad News Brown
Allen James Coage (October 22, 1943 – March 6, 2007) was an American judoka and professional wrestler. He won medals for the United States at several international judo competitions, including the heavyweight bronze medal at the 1976 S ...
and
Dangerous Danny Davis. The Blazer was eliminated by Valentine, but his team went on to win the match. He continued to wrestle in the midcard, defeating
enhancement talent
In professional wrestling slang, a job is a losing performance in a wrestling match. It is derived from the euphemism "doing one's job", which was employed to protect information related to kayfabe from being revealed. The term can be used a numbe ...
but often falling short against other name talent; he lost to
Ted DiBiase on the March 11, 1989 ''
Saturday Night's Main Event XX
''Saturday Night's Main Event'' is an American professional wrestling television program that is produced by WWE (known at the time of launch as the World Wrestling Federation). Premiering in 1985, it originally aired on NBC in the United Stat ...
'' and was defeated by
Mr. Perfect at
WrestleMania V.
Various promotions (1989–1991)
Shortly after WrestleMania, Hart left the WWF to tour the world both with and without the Blue Blazer gimmick. He also returned to Stampede, until it shut down in December 1989. In 1991, Hart lost the Blue Blazer mask in a ''
mascara contra mascara'' match against Mexican wrestler
El Canek, and would not utilize the gimmick again until 1998.
He also returned to
New Japan Pro-Wrestling
(NJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV Asahi and Amuse, Inc. own minority sha ...
(NJPW). In 1990 he went to Germany and worked
Catch Wrestling Association
The Catch Wrestling Association (CWA) was a professional wrestling organization based in Austria and Germany that was founded in 1973. It was run by Otto Wanz. The CWA featured a traditional brand of mat wrestling mixed with various “Strong Man ...
.
Hart debuted in
World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Nati ...
's self-titled TV show on March 16, 1991, the first of five TV matches he competed in, all of which were against preliminary talent such as
Mark Kyle. One of the bouts saw him team with
Ricky Morton.
World Wrestling Federation (1991–1999)
The New Foundation; High Energy (1991–1993)
Hart 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, he signed with the WWF for a second time. In the WWF the popular
Hart Foundation, composed 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. When Neidhart returned from a storyline injury, he joined Owen to form a team known as The New Foundation. Owen and Neidhart first feuded with the
Beverly Brothers. They then had their only pay-per-view match at the
Royal Rumble in January 1992 where they beat
The Orient Express
The Orient Express was a professional wrestling tag team in the World Wrestling Federation in the early 1990s composed of Pat Tanaka and Akio Sato, who was later replaced by Kato.
History
American Wrestling Association
After Badd Company ...
. Neidhart left the WWF shortly afterward, and Hart set out on a very short run as a singles wrestler, including a victorious match at
WrestleMania VIII when he faced off against
Skinner. Shortly after WrestleMania, Hart was teamed up with
Koko B. Ware
James W. Ware, Jr. (born June 20, 1958), better known by his ring name Koko B. Ware is an American retired professional wrestler. He debuted in 1978 and became widely popular in 1986. He later went on to the World Wrestling Federation, where he ...
to form the duo known as High Energy. They had only one pay-per-view match as a team, at the
Survivor Series where they lost to
The Headshrinkers. The team was quietly dropped at the start of 1993 with Hart starting a singles career. Owen suffered a knee injury on March 9, 1993, in a match taped for Superstars, against
Bam Bam Bigelow, which kept him sidelined for nearly two months.
Feud with Bret Hart (1993–1995)
In the middle of 1993, when Bret Hart's feud with
Jerry Lawler
Jerry O'Neil Lawler (born November 29, 1949), better known as Jerry "The King" Lawler, is an American color commentator and professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, although he has not performed as a full-time commentator since Ap ...
ignited, Owen stood by his brother's side and fought against Lawler in the
United States Wrestling Association
The United States Wrestling Association (USWA) was a professional wrestling promotion based in Memphis, Tennessee. The company was founded when the Memphis-based Continental Wrestling Association merged with the Dallas-based World Class Wrest ...
where most of the WWF talent were considered the
heel
The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower leg.
Structure
To distribute the compressive forces exer ...
s. Owen won the
USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship from
Papa Shango.
Owen's participation in the WWF vs. USWA feud was cut short when he suffered a knee injury in the summer of 1993 and was forced to take some time away from the ring.
Hart returned to the WWF ring in the fall of 1993, at a time when Bret's feud with Lawler was temporarily sidetracked. Bret, along with Owen and their brothers
Bruce and
Keith
Keith may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Keith (given name), includes a list of people and fictional characters
* Keith (surname)
* Keith (singer), American singer James Keefer (born 1949)
* Baron Keith, a line of Scottish barons i ...
, were scheduled to face Lawler and his team at
Survivor Series. However, Lawler was unable to make it to the show, and as a result could not appear on WWF television. Lawler was replaced with
Shawn Michaels
Michael Shawn Hickenbottom (born July 22, 1965), better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE as Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative. Widely regarded as one ...
. During the match Owen and Bret inadvertently crashed into each other, causing Owen to be eliminated from the team. Owen showed up after the match and had a heated confrontation with Bret, while Keith, Bruce and Stu tried to calm things down. This confrontation resulted in Owen leaving the ring to boos while his brothers and father watched in dismay and mother Helen cried at ringside. The following night Owen adopted the pink and black tights, sunglasses and Sharpshooter finisher to send a message to his brother. Owen, angry with being in Bret's shadow, challenged his brother which Bret declined. Instead the brothers seemed to reunite by the holidays.
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
The Quebecers were a professional wrestling tag team in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) from in between 1993 to 1994 and again in 1998 who consisted of Quebecer Jacques and Quebecer Pierre. They also worked as The Amazing French-Canadians i ...
for the title at the
Royal Rumble in January 1994. Initially everything was fine between the brothers, but when Bret hurt his knee (
kayfabe
In professional wrestling, kayfabe, as a noun, is the portrayal of staged events within the industry as "real" or "true", specifically the portrayal of competition, rivalries, and relationships between participants as being genuine and not staged. ...
) 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, berating Bret on the Titantron shortly after as Bret was being helped backstage. This started his run as a
heel
The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower leg.
Structure
To distribute the compressive forces exer ...
. After the act, an infuriated Owen accused his brother of being selfish and holding him down. Owen admitted that it felt good to take out his brother. The two brothers faced off for the first time at
WrestleMania X
WrestleMania X was the 10th annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It took place on March 20, 1994, at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York. The ce ...
, where Owen cleanly pinned his older brother. Later in the evening, Bret won the
WWF Championship while Owen stood by and watched in jealousy as Bret celebrated in the ring. Owen won the
1994
File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nels ...
King of the Ring tournament
The King of the Ring tournament is a men's professional wrestling single-elimination tournament held periodically by WWE, a Connecticut-based professional wrestling promotion. Established in 1985, the winner of the inaugural tournament was Do ...
turning back Razor Ramon in the finals with an elbow drop to the back and with an assist from Jim Neidhart. After the victory, Owen dropped "The Rocket" nickname and 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 prominent matches took place in this feud: first, their
steel cage match in the co-main event of
SummerSlam for Bret's WWF Championship, which Bret won. This match later received a five-star rating from
Dave Meltzer. The second was a
lumberjack match on August 17 that Owen initially won and was announced as WWF 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 to throw in the towel for Bret. The ploy cost Bret the WWF Championship to
Bob Backlund
Robert Louis Backlund (born August 14, 1949) is an American retired amateur and professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances in the World Wide Wrestling Federation/ World Wrestling Federation from 1976 to 1984 and in the 1990s, whe ...
. Owen also prevented Bret from regaining the WWF Championship at the
Royal Rumble in 1995 when he interfered in the match between Bret and new champion
Diesel
Diesel may refer to:
* Diesel engine, an internal combustion engine where ignition is caused by compression
* Diesel fuel, a liquid fuel used in diesel engines
* Diesel locomotive, a railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engi ...
. In the weeks after the Royal Rumble, Bret and Owen clashed again with Bret soundly defeating his brother, thus putting an end to their feud for the time being.
Camp Cornette; Tag Team Champion (1995–1997)
Owen rebounded from the loss to Bret by winning the WWF Tag Team Championship 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 took
Jim Cornette and
Mr. Fuji as his managers, who already managed Yokozuna. The team defended the title for five months until they lost them to Shawn Michaels and Diesel at
In Your House 3. They would briefly hold the title a second time when the belts were handed back to them
before the Smoking Gunns regained the title.
Owen 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 the Camp Cornette stable. 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. Owen also won a Slammy Award for injuring Shawn Michaels and began using the nickname "Slammy Award Winner" and the "King of Harts" nickname was rarely used, Owen was also a color commentator for the
1996 King of the Ring (exhibiting clear partisan support for Vader and Smith) and during this time wore a
cast
Cast may refer to:
Music
* Cast (band), an English alternative rock band
* Cast (Mexican band), a progressive Mexican rock band
* The Cast, a Scottish musical duo: Mairi Campbell and Dave Francis
* ''Cast'', a 2012 album by Trespassers William
...
on his right forearm for several months, feigning a nagging injury to subsequently use his cast as a weapon during his matches.
In September 1996, Bulldog and Hart earned a pay-per-view shot at the tag team titles at
In Your House 10. Owen and Bulldog left with the gold after defeating the Smoking Gunns.
They also left with a new manager as
Clarence Mason
Herman Stevens Jr. (born June 17, 1965) is an American attorney and former professional wrestling manager, best known for his attorney gimmicks as Clarence Mason in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and as J. Biggs in World Championship Wrest ...
had conned Jim Cornette into signing over the contracts of the new champions. Signs of dissension, however, slowly started to show. One occasion where this was evident was at the
Royal Rumble when Hart accidentally eliminated Bulldog. After the Rumble, they had miscommunication in matches against
Doug Furnas
Dwight Douglas Furnas (December 11, 1959 – March 2, 2012) was an American professional wrestler and powerlifter. He was an APF National and World Powerlifting Champion, who set multiple world records in the 275 pound weight class. As a wrestler, ...
and
Phil LaFon
Philippe Lafon (born September 16, 1961) is a Canadian professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation as Phil Lafon and with All Japan Pro Wrestling and Extreme Championship Wrestling under the rin ...
and Bulldog fired Mason after losing a match to
Crush who was also managed by Mason, something which did not sit well with Hart. Another bone of contention between the two was the newly created
WWF European Championship; both men had fought their way to the finals to crown the first champion with Bulldog coming out as the victor.
After retaining the tag team title against
the Headbangers by disqualification on the edition of March 24, 1997 of ''
Monday Night Raw
''WWE Raw'', also known as ''Monday Night Raw'' or simply ''Raw'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that currently airs live every Monday at 8 p.m. ET on the USA Network in the United States. The show ...
'', the tension between the two bubbled over. An incensed Hart demanded a shot at Bulldog's European title the next week. The match was booked for March 31; on the night, the two went at it with such intensity that many thought the tag team champions had finally gone their separate ways. Then in a shocking moment, the recently turned heel Bret Hart appeared at ringside and stopped the match. Bret appealed to both Owen and Bulldog, talking about the importance of family. They agreed to put their differences aside and join with Bret to form the new Hart Foundation, an anti-American
stable
A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals and livestock. There are many different types of stables in use today; the ...
that also included Hart in-law Jim Neidhart and Hart family friend
Brian Pillman.
Hart Foundation (1997)
After forming the Hart Foundation, Owen quickly gained singles gold of his own as he pinned
Rocky Maivia
Dwayne Douglas Johnson (born May 2, 1972), also known by his ring name The Rock, is an American actor and former professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, he was integral to the developm ...
to win his first
WWF Intercontinental Championship.
This meant that the Hart Foundation held every WWF title except the WWF Championship, cementing their dominance over the federation. It was not all success for Owen, though, as he and the British Bulldog lost the WWF Tag Team Championship to
Stone Cold Steve Austin and
Shawn Michaels
Michael Shawn Hickenbottom (born July 22, 1965), better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE as Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative. Widely regarded as one ...
on May 26, 1997.
He began feuding with Austin shortly thereafter.
Owen and Bulldog got a second chance at regaining the tag team titles after Michaels vacated his half of the championship due to an injury. On the edition of July 14, 1997 of ''Raw'' the two entered a tournament and won to face Austin and a partner of his choice that evening for the vacant titles. That partner turned out to be
Dude Love, who declared himself to be Austin's partner and helped him defeat Hart and Bulldog for the tag team championship.
At
SummerSlam in August, Hart was to defend his Intercontinental Championship against Austin in a "Kiss My Ass" match, where Hart put the title up against Austin having to kiss his buttocks if he lost. During the match, Hart
botched a piledriver and dropped Austin on the top of his head, injuring his neck. Austin won the title from Hart that evening,
but due to the injury was forced to vacate the title. Although the entire situation was an accident, the WWF decided to make it part of the storyline as Owen began wearing a T-shirt patterned after Austin's that read "Owen 3:16/I Just Broke Your Neck". Hart was then entered into a tournament to crown a new champion.
Hart fought his way to the finals of the tournament to crown the next Intercontinental Champion and was set to face
Faarooq at
Badd Blood: In Your House. Owen beat Faarooq with Austin's help.
Afterward, Austin explained that he wanted to beat Hart for the title when he returned and would not allow Faarooq or anyone else to beat him. After Hart retained the title twice by disqualification between Bad Blood and
Survivor Series in Montreal, Austin got his wish and defeated Hart for the Intercontinental Championship again.
Later that night, the
Montreal Screwjob took place. Bret left the WWF after Survivor Series and both the British Bulldog and Jim Neidhart were granted quick releases from their contracts to jump to WCW. This left Owen as the only Hart family member remaining in the WWF, due to his contractual obligations.
The Black Hart; Nation of Domination (1997–1998)
Hart was not seen or mentioned on WWF programming until he made a surprise appearance after Shawn Michaels retained his title following a disqualification loss to
Ken Shamrock at
In Your House: D-Generation X where he attacked Shawn Michaels. Now a fan favourite, but with a new edgy, antisocial attitude, Hart became known as "The Lone Hart" and also "The Black Hart". Owen had a feud with D-X and challenged Shawn Michaels for the WWF Championship on the December 29, 1997 episode of ''Raw Is War'': Hart had Michaels locked in the Sharpshooter when
Triple H
Paul Michael Levesque (born July 27, 1969), better known by the ring name Triple H, is an American business executive, actor, and retired professional wrestler currently serving as the chief content officer for WWE. He is widely regarded as ...
interfered in order to save Michaels' title, giving Hart the victory by disqualification. He later won the European title from Triple H, although not directly.
Goldust dressed up as Triple H in an attempt to
swerve Hart, but
Commissioner Slaughter considered him to be a legitimate replacement.
Hart later suffered a
kayfabe
In professional wrestling, kayfabe, as a noun, is the portrayal of staged events within the industry as "real" or "true", specifically the portrayal of competition, rivalries, and relationships between participants as being genuine and not staged. ...
ankle injury during a match against
Barry Windham
Barry Clinton Windham (born July 4, 1960) is an American retired professional wrestler. The son of wrestler Blackjack Mulligan, he is best known for his appearances with the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and World Championship Wrestling (WCW). ...
involving Triple H. When Hart joined the commentary at ringside, Triple H managed to draw Owen into an impromptu title match and regained the title.
Chyna
Chyna (born Joan Marie Laurer; December 27, 1969 – April 17, 2016) was an American professional wrestler, bodybuilder and television personality.
She first rose to prominence in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) in 1997, where s ...
interfered while the referee wasn't looking and while Triple H was distracting the referee, she struck Hart behind the left knee with a baseball bat, picked him up and threw him back into the ring where Triple H put Hart in a reverse ankle lock to his injured right ankle to win the European Championship under referees discretion in controversial fashion.
Four weeks after WrestleMania, during a tag team match with Ken Shamrock against
Mark Henry and Rocky Maivia (later known as
The Rock), Hart turned on Shamrock, "snapping" his ankle and "biting his ear" in the process, and becoming a heel once again. After the attack on Shamrock, Hart became the co-leader, with
The Rock, of the Nation of Domination, claiming that "Enough is enough and it's time for a change". The Nation's first big feud after Hart joined was against DX. It was during this feud that D-Generation X parodied the Nation of Domination. The imitation was complete with an actor dressing up as Hart and uttering the phrase "I am not a
nugget"; this was in response to Shawn Michaels referring to Owen as a nugget of feces in a toilet bowl that, no matter how many times Michaels flushed, he was unable to get rid of. "Nugget" became a derisive term that followed Hart for the rest of his career. Hart's participation in the DX feud was sidetracked when Shamrock returned from injuries dead set on getting revenge on Hart. The two split a pair of specialty matches on pay-per-view, but nothing was ever conclusively settled between them.
Teaming with Jeff Jarrett; the Blue Blazer (1998–1999)
Hart remained with the Nation throughout the year until the stable slowly dissolved. After
SummerSlam, he teamed with
Jeff Jarrett. Hart and Jarrett had Jarrett's manager
Debra
Debra is a feminine given name.
Debra may refer to:
People
* Debra Adelaide (born 1958), Australian writer
* Debra Allbery (born 1957), American poet
* Debra R. Anderson (1949-2022), American politician
* Debra Austin (born 1955), American bal ...
in their corner. During this time a storyline was proposed that Hart was supposed to have an on-screen affair with Debra, something which Owen turned down.
After a match in which Hart "accidentally injured"
Dan Severn
Daniel DeWayne Severn (born June 8, 1958), nicknamed "The Beast", is an American professional wrestler, retired mixed martial artist and amateur wrestler. A UFC Hall of Fame member, Severn is considered one of the leading pioneers of mixed mart ...
, Hart seemingly quit the WWF.
Playing off the legitimate injury Hart had inflicted on Austin the year before, the angle blurred the lines between reality and "storyline". Yet as soon as Hart "quit", the Blue Blazer appeared in the WWF claiming to in no way be Hart despite it being very obvious who was under the mask. Unlike the first run of the character, the Blazer was now an overbearing, self-righteous heel who treated the edgy
Attitude Era WWF with disdain. Hart and Jarrett ended up making the storyline comical. To prove that Hart was not the Blazer, he showed up beside the Blue Blazer, who was a masked Jarrett. In a later attempt to prove that neither Hart or Jarrett 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 (Hart's former tag team partner
Koko B. Ware
James W. Ware, Jr. (born June 20, 1958), better known by his ring name Koko B. Ware is an American retired professional wrestler. He debuted in 1978 and became widely popular in 1986. He later went on to the World Wrestling Federation, where he ...
).
On January 25, 1999, in the midst of the Blue Blazer angle Hart and Jarrett defeated Ken Shamrock and
The Big Boss Man for the WWF Tag Team Championship.
The pair successfully defended the belts against Test and D'Lo Brown at
WrestleMania XV. They lost the titles to the team of Kane and X-Pac on the (pre-taped) episode of ''Raw'' that aired on April 5, 1999. However, Hart and Jarrett continued to team together until Hart's death in May during the
Over the Edge pay-per-view event.
Personal life
Hart met
Martha Joan Patterson in 1982. They married on July 1, 1989 and had two children together: Oje Edward Hart (born March 5, 1992) and Athena Christie Hart (born September 23, 1995).
On May 28, 2011, Hart was inducted into the Legends Pro Wrestling "Hall of Fame" by Jack Blaze in Wheeling, West Virginia at their "LPW Hart & Soul Tour" event. The award was accepted by his brother-in-law Jim Neidhart, who was also inducted that night.
Death
Over the Edge 1999
On May 23, 1999, Hart fell to his death in
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the List of United States cities by populat ...
, during the
Over the Edge pay-per-view event. Hart was in the process of being lowered via
harness and grapple line into the ring from the rafters of
Kemper Arena for a booked
Intercontinental Championship match against
The Godfather
''The Godfather'' is a 1972 American crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mario Puzo, based on Puzo's best-selling 1969 novel of the same title. The film stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caa ...
. 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
''WWE Heat'' (formerly known as ''Sunday Night Heat'' and also known as ''Heat'') is an American professional wrestling television program that was produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and aired from August 2, 1998 to May 30, 2008. Ori ...
'' before
Survivor Series in 1998.
While being lowered into the ring, Hart fell 78 feet (24 m), landing chest-first on the top rope (approximately a foot from the nearest
turnbuckle), throwing him into the ring.
Hart had performed the stunt only a few times before. Hart's widow Martha has suggested that, by moving around to get comfortable with both the harness and his cape on, Hart unintentionally triggered an early release. Television viewers did not see the incident. During 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. Afterward, 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
James William Ross (born January 3, 1952) is an American professional wrestling commentator currently signed with All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a commentator, analyst, and senior advisor. Ross is best known for a long and distinguished career a ...
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
The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more th ...
. While several attempts to revive him were made, he died due to his injuries. The cause of death was later revealed to be
internal bleeding from
blunt force trauma. The impact severed his aorta, resulting in Hart bleeding to death just minutes later; he was 34 years old.
Controversy
WWF management controversially chose to
continue the event.
Later, Jim Ross announced the death of Hart to the home viewers during the pay-per-view, but not to the crowd in the arena.
While the event went on, it has never been released commercially by
WWF Home Video. In 2014, fifteen years after his death, the
WWE Network aired the event for the first time. A small photo tribute is shown before the start informing fans that Hart died during the original broadcast. All footage of Hart was edited out of the event. The statement reads: "In Memory of Owen Hart May 7, 1965 – May 23, 1999 who accidentally passed away during this broadcast."
In the decades that followed Hart's death, much attention was focused on the harness Hart used that night, especially on the "quick release" trigger and safety latches. When someone is lowered from the rafters in a harness, there are backup latches that must be latched for safety purposes. Four weeks after the event, the Hart family sued the WWF over how dangerous and poorly planned the stunt was, and that the harness system was defective.
After over a year and a half into the case, a settlement was reached on November 2, 2000, which saw the WWF pay the Hart family US$18 million.
The manufacturer of the harness system was also a defendant against the Hart family, but they were dismissed from the case after the settlement was reached.
[ Martha used millions of the settlement to establish the Owen Hart Foundation. Martha wrote a book about Hart's life in 2002 called ''Broken Harts: The Life and Death of Owen Hart''.]
In his DVD set, Bret Hart
Bret Hart (born July 2, 1957) is a Canadian-American retired professional wrestler, currently signed to WWE under a legend's contract. A member of the Hart wrestling family and a second-generation wrestler, he has an amateur wrestling back ...
said that he wishes he had been with the WWF the night Owen's accident happened, as he would have discouraged his brother from performing the stunt.
Aftermath
A special episode of '' Raw Is War'' that aired on May 24, 1999, the night after Hart's death, was dubbed ''Raw Is Owen''. It was broadcast live from the Kiel Center in St. Louis. It included shoot interviews from his fellow wrestlers.[ According to ''Raw Exposed'' (a special that aired upon ''Raw'' returning to ]USA Network
USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madi ...
on October 3, 2005), all storylines and rivalries were put aside, and WWF management gave all wrestlers on the roster the option of working or not. Nevertheless, ten matches were booked with no angles.
The show began with all the wrestlers, managers, referees and agents of the WWF (except WWF Champion The Undertaker
Mark William Calaway (born March 24, 1965), better known by the ring name The Undertaker, is an American retired professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Calaway spent the vast majorit ...
and Kane – both as a means to keep kayfabe
In professional wrestling, kayfabe, as a noun, is the portrayal of staged events within the industry as "real" or "true", specifically the portrayal of competition, rivalries, and relationships between participants as being genuine and not staged. ...
) standing on the entrance ramp. Howard Finkel
Howard Finkel (June 7, 1950 – April 16, 2020) was an American professional wrestling ring announcer, best known for his appearances in WWE. He began working for Vincent J. McMahon's World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) in 1975, and was a Madi ...
called for a ten-bell salute. A tribute video narrated by Vince McMahon
Vincent Kennedy McMahon (; born August 24, 1945) is an American media proprietor and retired professional wrestling promoter, executive, and performer. From 1982 to 2022, he served as the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of WWE, the ...
then played on the Titantron. Throughout the broadcast, personal thoughts on Hart in the form of shoot interviews with various WWF wrestlers were played. Hart's former Nation of Domination comrades were emotional, most notably Mark Henry, who wept as he read a poem that he wrote in memory of Hart. Before the first commercial break, such thoughts were aired from Mick Foley and Bradshaw. Foley said that Hart was his son's favourite wrestler and had proudly gotten a haircut like Owen's, although he also said his son did not quite understand that "nugget" was not a term of endearment.
Bradshaw talked about how Hart spent less money on the road than most wrestlers because he wanted to retire early and spend time with his family. Owen's friend and Nation of Domination partner The Rock also made a short speech before engaging in a short match against Val Venis. Test
Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to:
* Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities
Arts and entertainment
* ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film
* ''Test'' (2014 film), ...
then spoke about a rib Owen pulled on him. The broadcast ended with Stone Cold Steve Austin coming out for a special salute to Hart by climbing the turnbuckle and performing his famous "beer-bash" routine, ending with him giving a toast to Owen (whose picture was displayed on the Titantron throughout the entire show) and leaving one beer in the ring (for Owen). The tribute show scored a 7.2 Nielsen rating, making it the highest-rated special episode in ''Raw'' history and the third highest-rated episode of ''Raw'' overall. Shawn Michaels, in his ''Heartbreak and Triumph'' autobiography, notes that "Owen is the only guy you could have a two-hour show for, and no-one would say a bad word about him." The next day, WWF taped the episode of ''Raw'' for May 31, 1999. During that show, Jeff Jarrett defeated The Godfather to win the WWF Intercontinental Championship, the title Hart was booked to win for a third time at Over the Edge. Celebrating his victory, Jarrett screamed Hart's name.
On October 4, 1999, five months after Owen's death, Bret Hart faced Chris Benoit
Christopher Michael Benoit (; May 21, 1967 – June 24, 2007) was a Canadian professional wrestler. He worked for various pro-wrestling promotions during his 22-year career including most notably the World Wrestling Federation/World Wrestlin ...
on '' WCW Nitro'' in a tribute to his brother. The match took place in the same arena in which Owen had fallen to his death.
In 2017, Ross referred to Hart's death as the single most shocking moment he had ever witnessed in wrestling.
Legacy
Hart was widely regarded as one of the best in-ring performers in the WWE; Fox Sports dubbed him a "genius". He would go on to be considered one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time by many industry colleagues.
In 2001, Hart's sister Diana released her first book named ''Under the Mat
''Under the Mat: Inside Wrestling's Greatest Family'' is a book co-written by Diana Hart (daughter of Stu and Helen Hart, ex-wife of Davey Boy Smith and mother of Harry Smith) and journalist Kirstie McLellan. The subtitle, ''Inside Wrestling' ...
'' which dealt with their family. The book was written partially in response to Owen's death and became very controversial. Owen's widow Martha Hart
Martha Joan Hart (née Patterson; born October 31, 1966) is a Canadian philanthropist and researcher who is the widow of professional wrestler Owen Hart. After her husband's death in an accident at Over the Edge, Hart sued the World Wrestling Fe ...
pursued legal action over the work and claimed that Diana made inaccurate and irresponsible statements about her and her family. She stated that the book was "filled with distortions, misstatements and unjustified slurs that attempt to destroy the reputation of my family and me, and undermine the memory of Owen."
In June 2010, Martha filed a lawsuit against the WWE over WWE's use of Owen's name and likeness as well as personal photos of Hart's family in the ''Hart & Soul'' WWE DVD, as well as the failure to make royalty payments. The matter was scheduled to go to trial in June 2013 before the settlement was reached in April 2013 for an undisclosed amount.
The WWE released ''Owen: Hart of Gold'' on DVD and Blu-ray on December 7, 2015 in the United Kingdom, with the United States release the day after.
The season two finale of '' Dark Side of the Ring'' revealed details about Owen's wrestling career, legacy and death.
WWE wrestler Kevin Owens named his son after Hart and incorporated the name into his own ring name as tribute to both of them.
During Mark Henry's WWE Hall of Fame induction in 2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
, Henry asked Martha Hart to allow her late husband to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Martha has been critical of the WWE Hall of Fame, stating: "They don't even have a Hallway of Fame. It doesn't exist. There's nothing. It's a fake entity. There's nothing real or tangible. It's just an event they have to make money. They put it on TV and have a celebration, and it's just so ridiculous. I would never even entertain it. It's garbage."
On September 20, 2021, All Elite Wrestling (AEW) announced the Owen Hart Cup
The Owen Hart Foundation Tournament, is a series of professional wrestling tournaments produced annually by the American promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW) in partnership with The Owen Hart Foundation. It consists of two single-elimination tourn ...
Tournament, in partnership with the Owen Hart Foundation, wherein the winner will receive a trophy called "The Owen". The company also announced production and distribution of original Owen Hart merchandise and Hart as a character in AEW's upcoming console game, ''AEW Fight Forever''.
Championships and accomplishments
* George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame
** Class of 2018 (Posthumous Inductee)
* Legends Pro Wrestling
** LPW Hall of Fame (Class of 2011)
* Prairie Wrestling Alliance
The Prairie Wrestling Alliance (PWA, formerly Prairie Wrestling Association) is an independent wrestling promotion based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, since 2001. The PWA is co-owned, operated, and promoted by Kurt Sorochan. Lance Storm is a form ...
** Prairie Wrestling Alliance Hall of Fame (Class of 2010)
* New Japan Pro-Wrestling
(NJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV Asahi and Amuse, Inc. own minority sha ...
** IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time)
* '' Pro Wrestling Illustrated''
** Editor's Award (1999)
** Feud of the Year (1994)
** Rookie of the Year (1987)
** Ranked No. 10 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the '' PWI 500'' in 1994
** Ranked No. 66 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years" in 2003
** Ranked No. 84 of the top 100 tag teams of the "PWI Years" in 2003 – with Davey Boy Smith
* Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame
**Class of 2019
* Pro Wrestling This Week
''Superstars of Wrestling'' is a nationally syndicated professional wrestling television program that aired throughout the United States from 1986 to 1992. Created and produced by Joe Pedicino, the series broadcast eight hours of wrestling from ...
** Wrestler of the Week (July 5–11, 1987)
* Canadian Wrestling Hall of Fame
**Individually
** With the Hart family
* Stampede Wrestling
** Stampede British Commonwealth Mid-Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time)
** Stampede Wrestling International Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) – with Ben Bassarab
Benjamin Bassarab (born March 3, 1960) is a Canadian former bodybuilder and professional wrestler, best known for his appearances for Stu Hart's Stampede Wrestling promotion throughout the 1980s. Bassarab is a two time Stampede International Tag ...
** Stampede North American Heavyweight Championship (2 times
"2 Times" is a song co-written and recorded by British Italian-based singer Ann Lee. It was released in 1999 as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999). The single entered and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Outside ...
)
** Stampede Wrestling Hall of Fame (Class of 1995)
* United States Wrestling Association
The United States Wrestling Association (USWA) was a professional wrestling promotion based in Memphis, Tennessee. The company was founded when the Memphis-based Continental Wrestling Association merged with the Dallas-based World Class Wrest ...
** USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time)
* World Wrestling Federation
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and var ...
** WWF European Championship ( 1 time)
** WWF Intercontinental Championship (2 times
"2 Times" is a song co-written and recorded by British Italian-based singer Ann Lee. It was released in 1999 as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999). The single entered and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Outside ...
)
** WWF Tag Team Championship ( 4 times) – with Yokozuna (2), The British Bulldog
David Smith (27 November 1962 – 18 May 2002) was an English professional wrestler. Born in Golborne, Lancashire, Smith is best known for his appearances in the United States with the World Wrestling Federation under the ring names Davey Bo ...
(1) and Jeff Jarrett (1)
** King of the Ring (1994
File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nels ...
)
** Madison Square Garden Royal Rumble (1994)
** WWF World Tag Team Championship Tournament (1997) – with The British Bulldog
** WWF Intercontinental Championship Tournament (1997)
** Slammy Award (3 times)
*** Biggest Rat (1994
File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nels ...
)
*** Squared Circle Shocker (1996
File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 800, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone o ...
)
*** Best Bow Tie (1997
File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...
)
* ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter
The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts.
Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four W ...
''
** Best Flying Wrestler
This is a list of both active and inactive ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' awards created by professional wrestling and mixed martial arts (MMA) journalist Dave Meltzer. The first fourteen awards were created in 1980 as an informal poll between ...
(1987, 1988)
** Feud of the Year (1997)
''Luchas de Apuestas'' record
See also
* Deaths in sports
* Hart wrestling family
The Hart wrestling family, sometimes known as the Hart dynasty, is a mainly Canadian family with a significant history within professional wrestling. The patriarch of the family was wrestling legend Stu Hart (1915–2003). An amateur and profes ...
* List of premature professional wrestling deaths
Notes
References
Further reading
*
*
*
*
External links
*
Owen Hart's Funeral
*
at the Wayback Machine
The Wayback Machine is a digital archive of the World Wide Web founded by the Internet Archive, a nonprofit based in San Francisco, California. Created in 1996 and launched to the public in 2001, it allows the user to go "back in time" and see ...
(archived March 5, 2016)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hart, Owen
1965 births
1999 deaths
Accidental deaths from falls
Accidental deaths in Missouri
American male professional wrestlers
American people of Canadian descent
American people of English descent
American people of Greek descent
American people of Scotch-Irish descent
Canadian male professional wrestlers
Canadian people of American descent
Canadian people of English descent
Canadian people of Greek descent
Canadian people of Ulster-Scottish descent
Expatriate professional wrestlers in Japan
Filmed deaths in sports
Hart family members
IWGP Junior Heavyweight champions
Masked wrestlers
Professional wrestlers from Calgary
Professional wrestling deaths
Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum
Sports deaths in Missouri
Stampede Wrestling alumni
Stampede Wrestling British Commonwealth Mid-Heavyweight Champions
Stampede Wrestling International Tag Team Champions
Stampede Wrestling North American Heavyweight Champions
The Hart Foundation members
The Nation of Domination members
USWA Unified World Heavyweight Champions
WWF European Champions
WWF/WWE Intercontinental Champions
WWF/WWE King Crown's Champions/King of the Ring winners