Over Christmas holidays I had a chance to dive in and watch this wonderfully produced set on one of my top five favorite wrestlers of all time. This set was actually released a few years back, but I had kind of forgot about it before picking it up online last year.
As with anything related to Owen, I had to be in the right frame of mind to watch this. It’s emotionally tough to hear the stories and relive the memories knowing the horrible end to his life. It’s almost impossible to watch any of this without shedding a tear or two. For a guy who loved life and his family to go out the way he did is absolutely heartbreaking. Owen was and still is one of my all-time favorites, and I was absolutely devastated and gutted by his death. It’s a day I’ll never forget, something that’s always in the back of my mind even when watching Owen’s best moments. As great as the memories and stories are, Owen’s end is the most horrific thing to ever happen in a WWF ring. Also knowing the hatred Owen’s widow Martha has towards the WWF and the Hart Family and her opposition to these types of projects makes for very conflicted viewing.
The three disc set is extremely well done however and handled with care; easily one of my favorite WWE DVD productions. They interview a wide variety of Hart family siblings and wrestlers who knew Owen best, painting an intimate portrait of the person and wrestler. They spend only a little time on Owen’s childhood, but the main focus was almost entirely on his wrestling career. Other than being mentioned in stories, there’s no time spent on Owen’s family or children. Again, given the sensitive nature of the subject, they truly did a great job of telling a well rounded story at least about the wrestling side of Owen’s life.
They spend a lot on each era of Owen’s career, from his stunning, pioneering style in Calgary, to finally getting the call up to the WWF. Bret admits that it was his suggestion for Owen to debut under a mask, thinking it would help him get over in the colorful landscape of late 80s WWF. I really enjoyed the discussion and focus on Owen’s early career.
Interspersed throughout the set are hilarious stories of Owen’s notorious pranks. Most of these are laugh out loud funny, as Owen would get hotheads like Hacksaw Jim Duggan and even his own dad all riled up up and ready to raise hell. All of the Owen stories are told with such genuine fondness, as he was one of the most well loved members of the wrestling fraternity. Owen’s practical jokes brought much needed levity to life on the road.
Also included in the set is a lot of candid, handheld footage of Owen, either goofing off or doing an informal kayfabe style interview in a restaurant. All of this footage of Owen is absolutely wonderful to see and really add something special to the documentary.
I really liked that they also included a small piece on Owen’s short and forgettable stint in WCW in 1991. I was so shocked in the early internet days when I discovered that Owen was once in WCW. My mind was completely blown! Bret touches on this run, saying that WCW just didn’t know what to do with the talent they had, much like the WWF. Owen was so ahead of the North American game in the late 80s and early 90s, emulating the styles of Japan of Mexico, which he was also travelling to to compete. I also loved hearing the stories about the New Foundation and High Energy. The Anvil admits to blowing his shot with the team, especially with how over the New Foundation were in early 92.
A big portion is dedicated to Owen’s best WWF years, 94 – 97, detailing his turn on Bret (including hilarious stories from Bret about him and Owen selling the hatred even over family dinner). So many great recollections and stories from this era, and of course the absolute peak of my fandom. Lots of great and hilarious clips of the “Slammy Award Winning” era and the Camp Cornette days.
They breeze through his 98 – 99 run, not even really mentioning his run in the Nation of Domination or this tag team with Jeff Jarrett. They sadly show some tribute footage and talk about his death, which I still find so hard to watch. Such a senseless and awful tragedy, taking the life one of the best guys in the business.
Both disc 1 and 2 are PACKED with bonus stories on Owen’s life, career, and especially his ribs. This stuff is gold! I could listen to these stories all day. All of this stuff is outstanding. I loved the stories from the wrestlers you normally don’t hear a lot from, such as Lex Luger. As bad as Owen got some of these guys, there was no hatred or grudges, as it always done for a laugh and to pop the boys. It was a testament to Owen’s good nature and warm personality.
The one big annoyance on this set, which I find irritating on a lot of these sets, is that they waste a chunk of time tying in Owen’s legacy with a “current WWE superstar” in this case Kevin Owens. They waste a segment talking about how much Owens loves Owen, which is where he took his WWE name, and how he prays to Owen before every match. That’s great, but I don’t fucking care. I want to watch a documentary on Owen Hart, not on how Beth Phoenix watched his Wrestlemania X match before wrestling in MSG. Fuck off with this shit.
1) Owen Hart vs Viet Cong Express #1 (12/5/86; Calgary, AB)
Man, I would have loved a disc dedicated entirely to Owen’s formative years in Stampede. The promotion was clinging on to life by the late 80s, but were buoyed by hot young stars like Owen, Pillman, and Benoit. Owen was a true student of the game, incorporating the moves and styles of the Mexican and Japanese stars that came to learn North American wrestling in Stampede. Owen was a pioneer and way ahead of the pack in the late 80s, pulling out moves that wouldn’t be known to mainstream American audiences until the mid 90s. Bret suggests this is one of the reasons Owen failed to land a permanent stay in either the WWF or WCW, as he was simply too far ahead of the game. This is an outstanding mat-based battle. Under the mask is young rookie Hiroshi Hase, who wrestled some fucking awesome matches in New Japan and WCW. I can’t find the finishes for these Stampede matches, and it’s been over a month since I watch this, but I believe Owen won this match. Excellent work from a young Owen and what a glimpse of the future.
2) Owen Hart vs. Makhan Singh (5/88; Calgary, AB)
I’ve read that all the Stampede master tapes are almost all lost or destroyed, so these matches are all pulled from VHS copies of the TV show. And the majority of these matches are joined in progress and no longer exist in complete form, which is too bad. Makhan Singh is the future Norman/Bastion Booger, but here he’s an evil member of Karachi Vice. Man! What a mega memory! I started watching Stampede on this new sports channel – TSN – right around this time. I have great memories of watching Stampede early in the morning on TSN, throughout 88 and 89, right before the promotion shut down. I remember Owen, Benoit, the Bulldogs, Karachi Vice, etc. Such great memories! For a big man, Singh was great in the ring, keeping up with Owen and holding his own. Owen even gets to show off his strength, slamming the big monster. We get all kinds of interference from Vulcan Singh on the outside. And again, I don’t remember the exact finish, but this was still a really fun match!
3) The Blue Blazer pinned George South at 2:02 with a moonsault off the top 8/24/88; Hartford, CT)
The Blazer debuted on Wrestling Challenge just months after leaving Stampede. He went through a few name changes, like the Blue Angel (which I think is better than the Blazer), and wrestled on various house shows before appearing on TV. The early Blazer costume looks so primitive, more like his Stampede tights. Owen wows the crowd, by showcasing his lucha influenced offense and finishes with a beautiful moonsault, jaw dropping for 1988.
4) Mr. Perfect pinned the Blue Blazer with the Perfect Plex at 10:59 (5/8/89; Meadowlands)
This is the opening match from a New Jersey house show in spring of 89. Blazer and Perfect had a run together around this era of Wrestlemania V. Loved seeing this match get 10 minutes. Imagine how damn good the Mania V match would have been with some extra time. This match was great, with Perfect being one step ahead of the Blazer all the way through. At one point the Blazer tries to dive off the top on to Perfect on the floor, but Perfect casually sidesteps him and Blazer crashes hard on the concrete. Perfect plants Blazer with the plex to win convincingly. Perfect and the Harts had phenomenal chemistry together.
5) Owen Hart defeated Mark Kyle (3/12/91; Center Stage Theatre)
Woah! A rare Owen match from WCW! Owen was only in WCW for a few months before heading back abroad. Much like his Challenge debut, Owen busts out all kinds of cool and impressive moves against his jobber opponent. He was doing shit that would come to define WCW in just a few years. It’s so amazing to see how far ahead he was.
6) Owen Hart defeated WWF IC Champion Shawn Michaels (w/ Diesel) via disqualification at 7:15 when Diesel tripped Owen from the outside (7/25/93; Alexandria Bay, NY)
I love seeing these weird rarities included! This was an All American Wrestling feature match, from the Raw taping in that ugly ass industrial looking building in Lake Alexandria. What a fucking dump! Anyway, the match itself is great! Is this the earliest Owen-Michaels match? They would go on to have fantastic matches over the next few years. I really enjoyed this fast paced battle, as Owen and Shawn already had such great chemistry. 93 is a highly underrated year for WWF workrate. There were so many great matches flying under the radar. Diesel interferes for the DQ, leading to a great beatdown on Owen. Loved this match.
7) Owen Hart pinned Bret Hart by blocking an attempted victory roll at 20:21 (WrestleMania X – 3/20/94; Madison Square Garden)
I’ve seen this match a thousand times, so I only watched for the first few minutes before skipping ahead. They included some AMAZING never before seen footage during the documentary from the overhead cam. Bret and Owen chain wrestling was a thing of beauty. Too bad they didn’t include more of that view.
8) KOTR Finals: Owen Hart pinned Razor Ramon at 6:35 with a elbow drop off the top after Jim Neidhart attacked Razor at ringside, hitting a clothesline and sending him into the steel ring post (King of the Ring 94 – 6/19/94; Baltimore, MD)
King of the Ring 94 is a PPV I’m itching to watch some time soon, so I passed this over for now.
9) WWF World Champion Bret Hart pinned Owen Hart in a lumberjack match at 13:50 with a roll up after the challenger collided with Jim Neidhart on the ring apron (8/17/94; Portland, ME)
I’ve seen this before on an old Coliseum Video, but its been years since. I loved this wacky lumberjack match! Owen seemingly wins the title 3 minutes in, thanks to the Anvil’s interference (man do I love the EVIL New Foundation!), but another ref runs down and orders the replay on the video screen. They were so random about video replay and second ref decisions. The match continues, with all the weird jabronies like Well Dunn and Kwang getting their shots in on Bret. The Anvil’s interference eventually backfires and Bret rolls up Owen for the pin. Super fun match.
10) Owen Hart defeated Nick Barberri via submission at 2:19 with the Sharpshooter (3/28/95; Times Square, New York City)
Woah! Super weird to finally see this! I had a poster in my room from this match for years, of Owen locking a jobber in the sharpshooter in downtown NYC. I had no idea what show it could possibly have been from. Turns out this was a warm up event for Wrestlemania 11, truly taking place right in Times Square. The wrestlers have to cross the street to even get to the ring! So weird and crazy to see this. Owen easily dispatches the jobber, while traffic and NYC life goes on around them. Owen cuts a promo after the match until Luger and the Bulldog eventually chase him away. Man this was so cool! I’d love to see this whole broadcast.
11) WWF Tag Team Champions Owen Hart & Yokozuna (w/ Mr. Fuji & Jim Cornette) defeated Lex Luger & Davey Boy Smith at 10:54 when Yoko pinned Luger following a double axe handle off the top by Owen behind the referee’s back after Yoko sustained a double back suplex from the challengers (In Your House 2 – 7/23/95; Nashville, TN)
12) Shawn Michaels pinned Owen Hart (w/ Jim Cornette) with the superkick at 15:57 after avoiding the enziguri (In Your House 6 – 2/18/96; Louisville, KY)
I skipped over these two In Your House matches, as I’m really itching to get caught up on watching a whole lot of these PPVs in the coming months.
13) Mankind pinned WWF Tag Team Champion Owen Hart with a piledriver after Owen hit the turnbuckle (12/30/96; Albany, NY)
I totally remember this Raw match! It was a rare heel vs heel match from the dying days of the Federation era, as the WWF was about to drastically change in the next few months. This Owen/Bulldog-Mankind/Vader feud surprisingly stretched all the way to Wrestlemania XIII. The spot I remembered best from this match is Owen blasting Foley with a plastic bucket of ice and drinks. I just loved how things were starting to get more out of control in the WWF. I’m sure why they included this match, other than Foley and Owen being good friends, but it was highly enjoyable. Surprised to see Mankind get the clean pin out of nowhere.
14) WWF European Title Tournament Finals: WWF Tag Team Champion Davey Boy Smith pinned WWF Tag Team Champion Owen Hart with a roll over out of a victory roll at 22:43 to win the title (2/26/97; Berlin, Germany)
An all-time classic. But I’ve seen it a ton of times so I passed it over for now. Such an excellent match though. Hmm.. maybe I’ll have to go back and watch it regardless.
15) Owen Hart pinned WWF IC Champion Rocky Maivia with a leg backslide at 8:26 to win the title (4/28/97; Omaha, NE)
Man this match is a huge memory! I’m pretty sure I watched this Raw at Matt’s house, as I remember both of us being excited to see Owen win the IC title from that overpushed loser Maivia (lol). Rocky was still so green so this match was kind of a clunky mess, but it was still so great to see Owen win the IC title in the early weeks of the Hart Foundation era.
16) Bret Hart, WWF IC Champion Owen Hart, WWF European Champion Davey Boy Smith, Jim Neidhart, & Brian Pillman defeated Steve Austin, Goldust, Ken Shamrock, & the Legion of Doom at 24:30 when Owen pinned Austin with a roll up as Austin was distracted by several of the Hart brothers at ringside (In Your House: Canadian Stampede – 7/6/97; Calgary, Alberta)
Another all-time classic, but I’ve seen it a million times. Some of these matches are just recycled over and over on various WWE DVD releases.
17) Owen Hart defeated TAFKA Goludust (w/ Luna) (sub. for WWF European Champion Hunter Hearst Helmsley) via submission with the Sharpshooter at around the 7-minute mark after avoiding the Pedigree; Goldust came to the ring dressed as the champion while Luna was dressed as Chyna; after the bout, WWF World Champion Shawn Michaels, Triple H, & Chyna appeared on the Titantron, proud of getting out of the title defense, until Sgt. Slaughter came out and ruled that Hart’s victory over Triple H’s stand-in would constitute the title changing hands (1/20/98; Davis, CA)
This was fucking awful, the height of the terrible Russo Attitude era that just has not aged very well. Owen comes out to a MASSIVE pop and it’s such a shame that this was the beginning of the end for him. Shawn Michaels has admitted to burying Owen’s push and refusing to work a main event program with him at this point. I remember Owen-Michaels was once a rumored main event for Mania XIV, but Michaels buried Owen backstage, leading to Owen feuding with Triple H for half the year in the mid-card. This was garbage, but is notable to see the crowd react so big for Owen and for him winning the European title from “Hunterdust”. Triple H’s reaction to Slaughter awarding the title to Owen is pretty fucking fantastic too.
18) Owen Hart defeated Ken Shamrock in the Dungeon match at 4:53 with a crossface after using a hand weight as a weapon; Dan Severn was the special referee and the bout took place in the Stu Hart Dungeon in Calgary, Alberta (Fully Loaded 98 – 7/26/98)
I remember this Owen-Shamrock feud was a product of the Shamrock-NOD feud, and there was some weird Owen-Dan Severn feud also going on at this time. Man, 98 was pretty much fucking garbage. Regardless, this match was a wacky great time! I remember being excited to rent the Fully Loaded tape just to see this Dungeon Match. It truly takes place in the basement of the Hart house. It’s a fun novelty, and Owen and Shamrock manage to pull off some wacky moves in tight quarters. Owen pulls off an amazing headscissors takeover using the pipes and even drives Shamrock’s head through the ceiling in another funny moment. I loved how Owen cheated to win. So campy and ridiculous.
19) Owen Hart pinned Edge at 9:17 with a reverse sunset flip after Edge became distracted by someone who came out of the crowd (Breakdown – 9/27/98; Hamilton, Ontario)
This was a really nice match to conclude the set. It’s weird to see Owen in the ring against a future star of the attitude era. Imagine how amazing the trio of Edge, Christian, and Owen would have been! I started looking up some of Owen’s matches in late 98 and 99 and he even wrestled the likes of the Hardy Boyz. This was an EXCELLENT match, one I enjoyed so much. Edge was still so new, and Owen made him look like a million bucks. Great reactions for both wrestlers from the home crowd in Hamilton. Really good back and forth action. Fun finish, with Christian making a weird surprise debut and distracting Edge, leading to Owen rolling him up for the pin.
the RepoDan Wrestling Institution 