Remembering Owen

My memories of Owen are many and so vivid as if they occured five minutes ago. I can still recall the first time I saw him in 1993. He was The Rocket then and I thought he was never finer a wrestler (other than my beloved Bret) . I feel that Owen had the special sort of talent as an entertainer and an athlete that simply said ...in the process of doing his job whether acting or wrestling, he not only made himself look good he made OTHERS look good as well. Which is hard to do.

Owen has been called many many things in memorium and in life. Dedicated family man. Dedicated athlete and worker. Prankster. Friend. Son. Are all the adjectives I have heard said by many who were close to him or worked with him. To me Owen is like a favorite little brother who you feel very safe with. Confiding, sharing and you know he is behind you no matter what happens. He though wasn't my little brother which is my loss . But he was like one to me. Which is why I will always love him.

The tragedy that occured in Kansas City May 23, 1999 at Kemper Arena during a WWF ppv has affected a whole body of people worldwide. Not only is it a Hart family loss (one of which this brave family has had to overcome and endure) and a loss to Martha and their kids...but the world as a whole is definately a lot sadder without his special being. Owen James Hart was a true angel that walked among us...if only for a short while. I will keep the light on for you .

Below is a photo of Bret and Owen's widow Martha as they appeared on The Larry King Show shortly after Owen's tragic death.

Below are photos taken at Owen's funeral. Owen was so well loved by everyone~ including the big names in the sport. He is and was such a tremendous spirit and human being. Below are photos of Hulk Hogan, Davey Boy, The Rock, and The UnderTaker who came to pay last respects to this genuinely beautiful spirit. Rest in peace Owen, may you forever prank us!

And lastly Owen's widow Martha Hart with Oje and Athena recently

Owen Hart on becoming a wrestler:

"I wanted to be a phys ed teacher. I wrestled only to appease my father. I was compelled to get into the ring. Once I started there was the pressure of having the Hart name---I was expected to be good....."

Win my best Owen Page Award! If you have a tribute or personal page that is dedicated to the memory and or career of Owen or his family feel free to email me with the URL, name of the site and your full name so I can present your page with this award. Nothing has to be perfect , just a simple gesture page is fine also. As long as it honors Owen as best you can. I will award ALL Owen based pages PERIOD.

Bret shortly after the tragedy that claimed his younger brother, soulmate, and friend.

Real name: Owen James Hart
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 227 lbs.
Hometown: Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Date of birth: May 7, 1965
Date of death: May 23, 1999
Trained by: Stu Hart, his father
Pro debut: May 30, 1986
Family: Wife - Martha, two children; son Oje, & daughter Athena,

Career OverView:

Owen had many great matches in Stampede, the Calgary based promotion owned by his father Stu. Most memorable was his feud with Mike Shaw (best known in the WWF as Bastian Booger).

Together with Ben Bassarab, he became International Tag Team champion.Owen also showed his skills in singles competition by winning the British Commonwealth Mid Heavyweight title.

Hart was voted PWI Rookie of the Year in 1987

On May 27, 1988, Hart defeated Hiroshi Hase for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight title in Japan.

Owen debuted in the WWF as the Blue Blazer, dawning a hood and cape.

Owen left the WWF for tours in Mexico, Canada, Japan, and Europe.

He lost the Blue Blazer mask to El Canek.

Owen returned to the WWF, where he joined his brother-in-law, Jim Neidhart, in the New Foundation. When Neidhart left the company, Hart formed a new team called High Energy with Koko B. Ware.

His new gimmick became "The Rocket" Owen and Koko were sent to Memphis . Owen proceeded there to beat Papa Shango to win the USWA title. He dropped the title two weeks later to his current tag team partner, Jeff Jarrett.

Owen started feuding with his older brother Bret, wanting to be recognized as an equal to Bret.Turning on him during the Royal Rumble 1994 ppv. Attacking Bret after a tag team match loss.Asking "What about me"?

At WrestleMania X, Owen and Bret had a classic match, which to this day is a favorite of most fans. Owen emerged victorious, but at the same event, Bret became WWF Heavyweight Champion for the second time, which made Owen even more jealous. I still recall Owen's standing there in the aisle looking on as the wrestlers congratulated Bret at the end, the look of sheer disbelief and envy on his face.

Owen defeated Razor Ramon (now WCW's Scott Hall) to become in the 1994 King of the Ring. After the win, Owen adopted the gimmick the "King of Harts."

Bret and Owen squared off at the 1994 SummerSlam for the WWF title inside a cage. The elder Hart prevailed.

My memories of that feud were seeing the two wrestle in January 1994 at The Hartford Civic Arena in Hartford CT. It was a very hard fought match.

Hart vs. Hart was voted the PWI Feud of the Year for 1994

In 1995, Owen aligned himself with the master of the tennis racket, Jim Cornette. Hart teamed with Yokozuna to defeat the Smoking Gunns for the WWF tag team champions. I will never forget how excited he was as he jumped around the ring!

After winning a Slammy in 1996, he dubbed himself the Slammy Award Winning Owen Hart, sporting the trophy.

Owen switched managers, and aligned himself with Clarence Mason. Then started teaming with another brother-in-law, The British Bulldog. The duo captured the WWF tag team titles on September 22, 1996, by defeating the Smoking Gunns.

Following a loss to Crush (now WCW's Brian Adams), The Bulldog fired Mason.

Owen met the Bulldog in the finals to crown the first ever European Champion. Davey Boy was victorious.

Owen challenged the British Bulldog to a European title match on the WWF show Raw. Bret Hart , his older brother, made his way to the ring , pleading for the two not to fight and to remember they are family . The trio of Bret, Davey and Owen reformed the Hart Foundation.

In April 1997, Owen defeated Rocky Maivia to win the Intercontinental title.

Stone Cold Steve Austin challenged Owen for the IC title at the WWF ppv 1997 SummerSlam. Stone Cold won the match and the title, but as a result was injured when Owen nailed him with a piledriver.

Now with Stone Cold Steve Austin injured, the IC title is declared vacate. Owen won the title back at the WWF ppv "Badd Blood" by beating Faarooq.

After the Montreal incident where Bret was "screwed" by McMahon and company at the 1997 Survivor Series, Owen felt very betrayed by the way his brother was treated. So he threatened to quit. To keep him in the WWF McMahon promised Owen a raise and a push.

Owen won the European title on January 26, 1998, on the WWF show RAW.

Owen's character did a role change and next turned heel. Turning on Ken Shamrock in a tag team match vs. Rocky Maivia and Mark Henry. Owen then joined the ranks of the then Nation of Domination.

Owen defeated Shamrock in a submission match fought in Stu Hart's family Dungeon during the WWF ppv called Fully Loaded.

Ken Shamrock defeated Owen at last year's SummerSlam in a Lion's Den Match. Dan Severn, who was in Owen's corner, refused to throw in the towel when Shamrock applied his ankle lock submission hold.

During the taping of RAW in East Lansing, Michigan on September 29th, Owen announced his "retirement" after he "injured" Dan Severn with a piledriver.

Owen once more was The Blue Blazer on the October 12th episode of the WWF show RAW attacking both Shamrock and Steve Blackman.

At the end of 1998, Owen formed a tag team with Jeff Jarrett, managed by Debra McMichael.

The night after the WWF ppv "Royal Rumble," Hart and Jarrett defeated Shamrock and Big Bossman to win the WWF tag team titles.