For The Record 5.24.09: Owen Hart as Transitional Champion

At the 1994 Survivor Series, Bret Hart defended the WWE Championship against Bob Backlund in a Submission Match. In order for that particular match to end, a wrestler’s cornerman had to throw in the towel. In Bret’s corner was the British Bulldog. In Backlund’s corner was Owen Hart.

The match concluded when Owen persuaded his mother Helen to throw in the towel on Bret’s behalf. She was put in that position because the Bulldog was incapacitated. Backlund had Bret locked into his Crossface Chicken Wing hold with virtually no hope of escaping. Upon Helen’s throw, Bob Backlund ascended to the “top of the food chain” as WWE Champion.

Owen’s actions weren’t surprising. He and Bret feuded throughout most of 1994. At the heart of their discord was Owen’s envy and contempt toward Bret. The envy came from the fact that Bret was given all the glory, while Owen was treated as a nobody. The contempt stemmed from Owen’s sentiment that Bret projected an heir of superiority over him. Throughout 1994, they engaged in classic battles at Wrestlemania X and Summerslam. They also put on a solid Lumberjack Match on Coliseum Video and a serviceable one-on-one contest on the premiere episode of Action Zone.

Owen Hart scored the victory at Wrestlemania X. It was one of Owen’s crowning achievements. As Jerry Lawler brilliantly said of Owen that night, “He didn’t step out; he jumped out of the shadow (of Bret).” Of course, the plot thickened when Bret Hart closed Wrestlemania as the newly minted WWE Champion. Owen stepped through the curtain, walked approximately halfway down the isle, stopped, glared at Bret, and asked without a microphone “What about me?”

It is one of my all-time favorite wrestling moments. It was a well-written and nuanced story, yet one that was easily relatable to many siblings. After that night, Owen emerged as a temporary main event player.

He went on to win the King of the Ring tournament by defeating Tatanka, the 1-2-3 Kid, and Razor Ramon. He was joined that night by Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart. Owen shortly thereafter dubbed himself the “King of Harts” and began his two-fold journey: to prove his supremacy over Bret and to seize the WWE Championship. Unfortunately, neither of those goals were met.

Owen went on to lose to Bret numerous times for the remainder of 1994. His push was for some reason derailed in the latter parts of 94′ as Diesel, Bob Backlund, and The Undertaker emerged as central figures. And in November of that year, WWE’s top title went from the hands of Bret Hart, to Bob Backlund, to Diesel.

A case could be made that Owen was more deserving of a long-term run than Diesel. Of course, WWE thought Diesel had great potential as a top “fan favorite” champion. They gave him the ball, made him the public face of the company, and made 1995 one of WWE’s most forgettable years. But the gripe in this article is not that Diesel was the wrong guy for the push. WWE took a chance, things went sour, and they righted the wrong by putting the strap back on the Hitman within a year. My gripe is about the three day period that Backlund was WWE Champion.

Backlund had a reputable background. He held the WWE Championship for five years from 1978 until 1983. However, most fans of the “New Generation” didn’t see him wrestle in the 70s and 80s. In fact, most fans were probably toddlers or babies when Backlund had his lengthy reign. They weren’t emotionally invested in his character. Backlund was merely a lower midcard talent when he returned to WWE in 1992 until his four star match with Bret Hart in the summer of 1994. Owen on the other hand was different.

The fans were invested in the Owen Hart character. Most fans may have hated him, but at least they recognized him as a major figure. His feud with Bret was the central storyline of 1994. A world title victory at Survivor Series would have been a logical payoff to the rivalry. Instead, Backlund won the gold, only to drop it to Diesel three days later at Madison Square Garden before an untelevised audience.

Some might say that Backlund was the right stooge to lose the title in 8 seconds. His loss made Diesel look dominant and put over the big man as a destructive, mega-face champion. However, WWE could have gone with a better option.

Owen Hart would have been the perfect transitional champion at that time. WWE obviously didn’t have any confidence in Owen as a long term world champion. However, Owen was certainly deserving of a world title reign. It is those types of wrestlers who should always be considered as prime candidates for brief, transitional runs.

And it’s not like an embarrassingly brief title reign would have diminished the Owen Hart character. Let’s look at four wrestlers that experienced successful careers despite brief world title runs:

*Yokozuna lost the WWE Championship within moments of winning it at Wrestlemania IX. He went on to win the title for a second time and headline pay-per-views throughout 1993.

*Kane was WWE Champion for only one day. And yet, he has been built as a dominant monster ever since.

*Andre The Giant won the WWE Championship and immediately gave the title to Ted DiBiase. His legacy wasn’t tarnished.

*Bob Backlund lost the WWE Championship to Diesel in a record-breaking eight second match. That particular reign lasted only three days. He went on to face Bret Hart at Wrestlemania XI in an “I Quit” match in one of the show’s featured attractions.

Owen Hart could have easily lost the title to Diesel in an 8 second match without diminishing his character. Fluke victories happen now and then in wrestling. For Owen’s part, he could have claimed that Diesel caught him off guard, or allege that he was injured before walking into the match, or claim that he shouldn’t have been forced to defend the title so quickly after winning it. He could have come off as a whiny, arrogant heel. It would have been consistent with the character he was portraying.

The most unfortunate part of all of this is that Owen never got to experience the joy of being a world champion. He earned it in 1994. That year, Owen outshined Bret in many ways with his athletic prowess. He cut entertaining promos, he galvanized the crowd, and he put on high quality matches every time he stepped in the ring. It doesn’t matter if a wrestler holds the WWE Championship for seven seconds or seven years. A world champion for one minute is still given the honorable designation of “former world champion” forever. Owen deserved that accolade, even if it was the result of a three day reign.

If Yokozuna was given a nine month reign from 1993 through 1994 and Diesel was given a twelve month reign from 1994 through 1995… Owen could have been given three days.