Owen Hart: Wrestling In Shadows
Today,
when I heard about the death of Owen Hart, I had mixed emotions.
Anger- At the WWF for being so callous with the safety of their
wrestler, for continuing the PPV even after this travesty and
grief- For his wife, two little kids, ten siblings and two very
distraught parents, not to mention his extended family of fellow
wrestlers and fans. But as time passes and reality sinks in, it
is time we remember a man of many facets, the man who wrestled in
the shadow of his family and when it looked like he was finally
emerging from it, fate dealt him this cruel blow.
In his career, Owen had adopted many gimmicks. The Blue Blazer, The Rocket, The King Of Hearts and The Black Heart. But he was always in his older brother's shadow. There were so many times in his career when it looked like finally he was going to become a main eventer- The revolt against Bret, the King Of the Ring victory, the reigns as Intercomtinental Champion and then Bret Hart's controversial exit from the WWF. But everytime something or the other thwarted him from climbing the last step to superstardom, to stop him from emerging from his family's shadow.
He is, arguably, one of the greatest tag-team wrestlers of all time. Tagging with an array of partners like bothers-in-law Jim "Anvil" Neidhart and Davey Boy Smith, the 600 lbs. Yokozuna, the Birdman Koko B Ware and finally Jeff Jarrett, Owen reigned thrice as tag-team champion. In every one of those reigns, his team was totally dominant, with Owen holding the tite for a combined 18 months. He was also a two time Intercontinental Champion, beating none other than Rocky Maivia and then Farooq for the titles. Even with all these acheivements, it was clear Owen had not reached his full potential. As the Black Hart it finally looked like he had made it, but Shawn Michaels' cliques power politics ensured that this potential rise was nipped in the bud.
Owen Hart never did emerge from the shadows. Recently, it did look like he was going to make it. Jeff Jarrett and Debra looked like his ticket to the main events. The new Blue Blazer gimmick was taking off and the only way he could have gone is up. We'll probably never know if the Godfather was going to drop the Intercontinental title to Owen, in what could have been his third reign. Like his entire carrer, this too is a 'what-if'.
The fans called him a nugget after Shawn Michaels' infamous December '97 speech. Every time Owen made his way down to the ring, the fans would chant 'Nugget, Nugget'. Thinking about it in retrospect, I think Michaels description of him was in a way correct. No matter how many times Owen was down, he always came back, refusing to be swallowed up by his family's shadow.