Owen Hart’s Legacy Will Live On

Between various factors I won’t get into, I’ve had a hard time getting myself back here to write something. But when I saw this press release sitting in my Inbox after waking up, I knew I had to do something here.

You can find the full text of the press release here.

I’m not going to go into all the sordid details about what happened to end the life of the late, great Owen Hart. I strongly recommend looking up Vice’s Dark Side of the Ring Season 2 finale for all the details there. If you don’t have access to Vice, then you can watch it legitimately on YouTube for about three bucks.

Owen Hart was one of my favorites back in the day, and I consider him one of my all-time favorites now. I was watching the pay-per-view, WWF’s Over the Edge, when Owen fell to his death. It wasn’t shown on the program itself, of course, but it was still the sort of thing that shook me to my core. Afterwards, I mourned, as many wrestling fans did.

You know, I thought writing this would be easier, but thinking back and trying to find the right words… it’s still difficult. Anyway…

It wasn’t very long after that the WWF became the only game in town. Despite this, Dr. Martha Hart, Owen’s widow, was not especially keen on allowing the company to continue using her late husband’s image for things like inducting him into their Hall of Fame or making a DVD honoring his memory (that they would no doubt profit off of). Many fans of Owen’s were upset by this, as they wanted to be able to remember and honor Owen in their own way. Heck, I was one of them. I almost never buy wrestling DVDs, but a collection of Owen’s best moments and matches? Just try to stop me.

While I was sympathetic to Martha’s plight, as a fan, I didn’t really understand it… until I watched that Dark Side of the Ring episode. Though I’ll admit, getting out of WWE’s ecosystem probably helped, too, but I don’t want to get into all that here.

Suffice to say, I came to accept the way things were. And then I saw the news.

I don’t really know how to describe my feelings upon reading the news. “Joy” seems like a good descriptor, but it was such an odd and unique sense of joy that I’m not even sure how to place it.

It’s an odd partnership, to be sure. The majority of Owen’s career and biggest matches and moments — as far as I’m aware — were in WWE, and I can’t imagine them playing a part in this. And of course, Owen would sadly not live long enough to see the creation of All Elite Wrestling (I think he’d have liked it), so having him as an action figure or video game character alongside other AEW stars will be… interesting, to say the least.

It also raises the question of how much of the imagery and such Owen has been associated with they can use. WWE probably owns all his old theme songs; AEW had to create their own version of a Bret Hart theme a couple of years ago, so they’ll probably have to do the same for Owen’s video game appearance. Do they own the “Black Hart” insignia? The King of Harts iconography? Will we see a “King of the Ring” Owen Hart action figure with a different crown and cape from the ones that he wore upon winning the tournament? Will there be a “Two-Time Slammy Award Winning” figure that uses more generic awards statues? Is anything resembling the Blue Blazer completely out of the question?

The likely answer to all of these questions is “probably,” but only time will tell for sure. But even if they end up having to substitute a lot of what we associate with Owen?

I’m okay with that.

The impression I get is that while honoring Owen’s legacy is part of the intent, the main driving force is to honor the person. I feel like that is perhaps embodied most not by looking to the past, but the future, with the Owen Hart Cup Tournament and its prize, dubbed “The Owen.”

As far as that goes, I have seen one suggestion that I really, really hope comes to pass. There is a man in WWE who is a modern favorite of mine — probably above anyone else currently active in that organization. He loved Owen Hart, and even went so far as to not only name his son after him, but also adopt that name into his ring persona within the organization. And word is that his contract with WWE will be done very soon, making him a free agent.

I can think of few things in wrestling today that would make me happier than to see Kevin Owens be the first winner of The Owen. It just feels right.

…though I’m seeing a groundswell of support for Brian Pillman Jr., whose family has been close to the Harts, as well. I can get behind that, too.

So if possible, I feel like Kevin Owens vs. Brian Pillman Jr. would have to be the final round. From there, I think that whoever wins, we all win.

Thanks for reading!

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David Oxford is a freelance writer of many varied interests. If you’re interested in hiring him, please drop him a line at david.oxford (at) nyteworks.net.

David Oxford

David Oxford, or “LBD ‘Nytetrayn’,” as he is sometimes also known, is a freelance writer of many varied interests who resides in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. If you’re interested in hiring him, please drop him a line at david.oxford (at) nyteworks.net.

For a full list of places to find him online, click here.