wrestling / Columns

It’s Time For Us to Free Owen Hart

May 2, 2015 | Posted by Dino Zee

What started off nice and innocent quickly got weird. What could be perceived as a company slowly dipping its toes into troubled waters, soon became a giant mistake that was probably blown out of proportion. You could hear it in the awkward, semi-silence that followed. Cole still tried to call the match, but you could just tell that things weren’t great at the booth.

All because of an innocent comment. All because of “He didn’t defy gravity.”

At this point, I’m sure most- if not all- are at the very least familiar with Booker T’s call from this past Monday while Neville and Luke Harper went at it in a King of the Ring matchup. What started as JBL simply making a point that WWE had never had a King of the Ring that could fly like Neville (while admitting that, yes, Owen Hart was a bit of a high flier as well), ended with Booker T’s unfortunate phrasing.

And just like that, we were reminded that we’re still not free when it comes to Owen Hart. Nearly 16 years after the terrible accident that took him from us, and we as fans still find ourselves not completely free from the shadow of that absolutely horrible day.

As a fan, it makes me sad to see. As a fan, I wish we could just talk about Owen, to tell stories, to relive his matches, and to be able to do it without some awkward cloud of shame hovering over us. Like we’re supposed to feel bad mentioning him, because behind the scenes, things aren’t great between WWE and his widow.

And really, that’s what drives me crazy here. This isn’t like Chris Benoit, where someone did something bad, and for that, has effectively been wiped from the record. This is a man who died in a freak accident. A man who was, by nearly all accounts, beloved by his fans, by his coworkers, and by his boss. And yet, here we are nearly two decades later, waiting for everyone to finally come to an agreement that pleases everyone.

But what makes this difficult, of course, is the widow. And I don’t mean that in an accusing tone — really, I don’t. But so far, it’s only been about what she wants. Which, don’t get me wrong, I can understand. No one knows the pain she felt, or the hurt she’s dealt with, waking up day after day, without Owen there. None of us, even those who would say they were “Owen’s biggest fan,” can possibly understand that time of her life.

No, my issue is not with how she feels (or has felt), but rather, how she’s let those feelings poison the entire well. Booker T is now being called out for not being sensitive, because a comparison he made that would work with 99.99999999% of all wrestlers ever didn’t quite work with Owen. Do we say “Ah, that’s just an unfortunate slip of the tongue,” or do we overreact? Of course, because of who we was talking about, we overreact.

And don’t get me wrong, I’m absolutely included in this. Watching Raw live, I interrupted a discussion we were having on something completely different with: “Holy shit! Holy… shit. Dude, did you hear what Booker just said?” We rewound, we watched again, and all of us reacted in shock. Because yeah, of course, hearing someone say that Owen Hart “didn’t defy gravity” is definitely something that makes you stop for a second. Maybe you have one of those uncomfortable laughs that you give when someone makes a super inappropriate joke that you still take some enjoyment from.

But it’s because we’re not free to enjoy Owen Hart that makes this possible. And really, it’s not that we’re not free to enjoy Owen Hart; it’s that Owen Hart, still, isn’t free to be enjoyed.

Because a widow still can’t get over the hurt she carries in her heart, everyone else suffers. In trying to make sure that Vince McMahon and WWE never profit from Owen Hart, everyone else has been deprived. Sure, it’s a somewhat selfish stance to take, but that doesn’t make what I’m saying incorrect. Again, I don’t blame the widow for feeling the way she does. I don’t blame her for the hurt, the anger, and the lack of trust. At the same time, she’s one of two parties that can be blamed for the lack of Owen Hart in a Hall of Fame, or in action figures, or a Blu Ray on his career; and I’m pretty sure that one of those two parties would be more than happy to provide the fans with any of these.

At some point, we have to forgive. We do not have to forget, and we do not have to suddenly forge new friendships. I don’t expect to see the widow at the next Hall of Fame giving out an Owen Hart Memorial trophy if they were to finally be able to come to terms. It would be cruel to expect such an incredible turnaround. Still, would it be so bad to give the fans- the ones that loved watching the man perform- something to remember him by? Would it be so bad to simply give the blessing on a collection of his greatest matches? One where she could effectively be the creative control on the project, okaying match choices, and who gets to speak about him, and okaying the topics to be covered? Who would that hurt?

By keeping Owen locked up, weird moments like Monday night take place. When Neville first mentioned Owen in his “If I were to be King,” speech, my ears perked up. Owen just isn’t a name you hear getting thrown around. It was cool. It was nice to hear his name simply mentioned, without anything concerning Over the Edge 1999. It was almost like he was just another one of our favorite wrestlers from an era that has passed.

And then Booker turned an unfortunate phrase, and just like that, what looked like a long-locked door slowly creaking open, instantly became a door slamming shut once again.

We need to make peace with Owen Hart. We need to make peace with Over the Edge. We need to make peace with Vince McMahon. We need to make peace with Martha Hart. Holding on to the ill will for so long can only further degrade the person holding it in. No one gains when the only goal is punishment. And when the method of punishment harms innocent parties far more than the intended party, then really, what’s the point of it? We loved Owen. All we want to do is enjoy him again.

Instead, a feud with WWE makes this impossible. And with parasites like Bruce Hart always looking for a way to keep his name in the headlines, instances like Booker T’s mistake allow scum to take advantage of these moments and make them out to be more sinister than they ever truly were, and only helps to stir the pot. We don’t need this anymore. Owen Hart shouldn’t be someone’s way to leverage a disagreement with a company; he was a performer, a damn good one, and he was a man. A far better man than he was a performer. And we’re not able to ever properly pay him our respects. Us, the wrestling fans, the collection of wayward souls who enjoyed every “WOOOO!” and every Slammy Award and every other moment he provided us.

Instead, we have to settle for looking up videos on the net, or hope he pops up in a bit part on someone else’s dvd, or play our old N64 games that have him on the roster. Nearly 16 years later, and we’re still waiting for some sort of agreement to be reached so that we can have him back. No one wants to take Owen from his family; but a section of his family absolutely wants the chance to give him our love again.

In the end, I mean no disrespect to anyone. I loved Owen Hart. I miss him still. I think of all the guys he could have had fun matches with, and think about what a sad loss his death was. Like I said, I can also understand why his widow feels the way she does. At the same time, I am one of my wrestling fans who feels like we’ve been punished enough for something of which we had nothing to do. Seeing the hubbub over Booker T only reignited this thought in my head, because really, if one commentator making an innocent comment is going to be completely blown out of proportion, just how long IS it going to take to finally free Owen? Owen Hart isn’t a dirty word, and it’s time we stopped treating him as one.


PUT OWEN IN THE HALL OF FAME!!


PUT SLICK IN THE HALL OF FAME!!


It’s All Wrestling. It’s All Stupid. We All Love It.

article topics :

Booker T, Owen Hart, Dino Zee