Owen Hart
Pro wrestling’s Most Tragic Legend

Owen Hart was the youngest child of Stu Hart, who had 12 children. All of the Hart children were involved in pro wrestling. A Pro Wrestling fan since childhood Owen was trained by his father to become a pro wrestler and under his guidance. The young Hart worked in promotions all over the world; including his father’s promotion (Stampede Wrestling), New Japan Pro Wrestling, WCW and WWF.

After wrestling for just two years in smaller promotions Hart was signed by the WWF. He ditched the family name and made his debut with a super hero gimmick known as The Blue Blazer. Eventually Owen Hart formed a stable with his real life brother-in-law Jim Neidhart. After two years of staying a mid card level talent Owen Hart earned the elevation to superstar status he needed thanks to the popularity of his feud with his bother, Bret. The feud was sparked when Owen and Bret inadvertently crashed into each other in the ring, causing Owen to be eliminated from the match. After the match Owen and Bret had a heated confrontation, while brothers Keith and Bruce and father Stu tried to calm things down. This confrontation resulted in Owen leaving the ring to the crowd shouting “boos” while his brothers and father watched in dismay and mother Helen cried at ringside. During the feud Owen emerged on his own to win several titles, accolades, respect and love of his peers and fans.

Eventually, he patched things up with Bret and the two, along with another brother-in-law, British Bulldog, formed The Hart Foundation, which is still regarded as one of the biggest stables in pro wrestling. With the Hart Foundation Owen headlined in several main event feuds until the “Montreal Screwjob” incident where Vince McMahon double-crossed the defending WWF Champion, Bret Hart. On November 9, 1997 at in Montreal, Quebec, Canada a secret change of the match's pre-determined finish was devised by McMahon and discussed with Hart's match opponent, Shawn Michaels but never mentioned a word to Bret. The plan was executed when the match referee, Earl Hebner, under orders from McMahon, called for the bell to ring and ended the match as Michaels held Hart in the Sharpshooter submission hold (which was Hart's signature finishing move), even though Hart had not submitted. Michaels was declared the victor by submission and crowned as the new WWF Champion.

In the aftermath, Bret Hart, who was a 14-year veteran with the WWF, and nearly all members of the Hart family, left the company; with the exception of Owen who McMahon refused to release from his contract. After that Owen struggled to capture his past glories. Jut as he started to climb the ladder of success again he died in an entrance malfunction accident that to this day remains one of the most tragic events in pro wrestling news.

On May 23, 1999, Owen Hart fell to his death in Kansas City, Missouri during the Over the Edge pay-per-view event. He was 33 years old. Hart was in the process of being lowered via harness and grapple line into the ring from the rafters of Kemper Arena for an Intercontinental Championship match against The Godfather. Many suspected the harness was made for lowering small tools to carpenters, not for any human being. The harness contained a quick release mechanism that Hart was to use when he was lowered close to the ring. Instead the release triggered early and Hart fell 78 feet (24 m) into the ring, landing chest-first on the top rope, approximately a foot from the nearest turnbuckle, throwing him into the ring.

TV viewers at home did not see the incident or its aftermath - at the moment of the fall, a pre-taped vignette was being shown on the pay-per-view broadcast as well as on the monitors in the darkened arena. While Hart was being attended to by medical personnel inside the ring the live event's broadcast showed only the audience. Meanwhile, WWF television announcer Jim Ross told viewers watching live on pay-per-view that what had just transpired was not a wrestling angle or storyline and that Hart was hurt badly. Hart was transported to Truman Medical Center in Kansas City, where he was pronounced dead on arrival; some believe he died in the ring. The cause was later revealed to be internal bleeding from a severed aorta.Surprisingly, the 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 show did go on, WWF Home Video has never been released it commercially.

Three weeks after the event, the Hart family sued the WWF over how dangerous and poorly planned the stunt was. The wrestling rumor was that the harness system did not contain the requisite safety measures. After over a year and a half of legal discussion, the WWF settled and provided the Hart family an $18 million payment. 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. Owen’s widow, Martha, used a sizeable amount of the settlement to establish the Owen Hart Foundation. She also wrote a book about Hart's life in 2002 called Broken Harts: The Life and Death of Owen Hart.

Owen Hart was a 2 time Intercontinental Champion, 1 time European Champion and 4 Time World Tag Team Champion. He also won the 1994 King of the Ring. If not for his untimely death Owen would have definitely been a World Champion. Extremely talented Owen was a shining example of how a true Pro Wrestler should be.

Finishing moves
Bridging Northern Lights suplex – Early career; Used as a regular move from 1994–1999
Missile dropkick – Early career; Used as a regular move from 1994–1999
Reverse piledriver, sometimes while kneeling – 1997–1999
Sharpshooter– 1994–1999

Owen Hart Stats
Height: 5 ft 10 in
From: Calgary, Alberta Canada
Born: May 7, 1965
Trained by: Stu Hart