Owen Hart

Early life

Owen was born on May 7, 1965, in Calgary, Alberta the youngest of 12 children to Canadian-born father Stu and American-born mother Helen Hart of the Hart wrestling family. His siblings included Smith, Bruce, Keith, Dean, Bret, Ross and Diana.

Hart's family background was Greek descent through his maternal grandmother and Irish through his maternal grandfather. His father was mainly of Scots-Irish descent, but also had Scottish and German ancestry.

Hart maintained dual American-Canadian citizenship.

Professional wrestling career

Early career (1983–1987)

Hart first gained wrestling experience in the amateur wrestling division at high school, through which he met his wife, Martha. Hart continued amateur wrestling for the Dinos at the University of Calgary. He placed 4th at the 1984 Canada West championships in the 76 kg weight class. Wrestling was not Hart's first choice for a career; as Martha explained in her book Broken Harts, Owen tried numerous times to find a profitable living outside of wrestling. Owen is quoted as saying, in the WWE Home Video "Owen Hart of Gold" that "during his time in the University, he wrestled incognito (under a mask) as the original British Bulldog. Then, after he graduated from the University, he wrestled as "Bronco" Owen Hart at Royal Albert Hall in London, England. As those attempts were unsuccessful, Hart was trained in his father's Hart Dungeon and worked for his father's federation, Stampede Wrestling and wrestled in England for Max Crabtree's Joint Promotions in matches that got broadcast on ITV's World of Sport and the later standalone wrestling program including a 1987 loss to former champion Marty Jones for the vacant World Mid-Heavyweight Championship.

In August 1986, Hart teamed with his brother-in-law, Ben Bassarab, to win his first title, the Stampede Wrestling International Tag Team Championship, from the Masters of Disaster (Duke Myers and Kerry Brown). They held the titles until October 1986, when they lost to the Viet Cong Express. In October 1986, Hart defeated Les Thornton for the British Commonwealth Mid-Heavyweight Championship. In January 1987, Hart briefly became a double champion by defeating Makhan Singh for the Stampede Wrestling North American Heavyweight Championship; he lost the title back to Singh later that month. In April 1987, Hart won the title back from Singh; he lost it back to Singh the following month. In August 1987, Hart lost his British Commonwealth Mid-Heavyweight Championship to Gama Singh. Hart' received Pro Wrestling Illustrated's Rookie of the Year Award for 1987.

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (1987–1988)

Hart had worked with Japanese wrestler Hiroshi Hase during Hase's foray to Stampede Wrestling in 1986-1987, leading to Hart receiving publicity from the Japan wrestling media. Following lobbying from Hase, in August-September 1987, Hart made his first appearances in Japan for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) as part of its "Sengoku Battle Series". In his debut bout, he and Mark Rocco lost to Keiichi Yamada and Keiji Muto in Tokyo's Korakuen Hall. During the tour, he primarily teamed with Rocco or Dick Murdoch. On September 17, he unsuccessfully challenged IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Kuniaki Kobayashi. Unlike many other gaijin wrestlers, Hart exclusively wrestled as a babyface in NJPW.

Hart returned to NJPW in January-February 1988 to compete in the inaugural Top of the Super Juniors round-robin tournament during its "New Year Golden Series". He placed fourth out of 12 wrestlers with 39 points. In May-June 1988, he returned to NJPW to take part in the "IWGP Champion Series". On May 27, 1988, he defeated Hiroshi Hase in Sendai to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship; the win made him the first non-Japanese wrestler to win the title. Following a single successful defence against Keiichi Yamada, he lost the title to Shiro Koshinaka on June 24 in Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium. In his final match of the tour, he defeated Yamada by disqualification in the Nagoya Rainbow Hall in front of more than 10,000 spectators.

World Wrestling Federation (1988–1989)

Hart's success in New Japan Pro-Wrestling and Stampede Wrestling's working relationship with the World Wrestling Federation led to Hart signing with the company in the summer of 1988, following a pair of dark matches in March 1988. Instead of promoting Owen as Bret Hart's younger brother, the WWF decided to create a masked "superhero" type gimmick for him which played to his high-flying style. In July 1988, he began wrestling for the WWF as "the Blue Angel", with his early appearances seeing him defeat the likes of Terry Gibbs, Steve Lombardi, and Barry Horowitz. In August 1988, his ring name was tweaked to "the Blue Blazer".

The Blue Blazer made his pay-per-view debut at Survivor Series '88, teaming with Ultimate Warrior, Brutus Beefcake, Jim Brunzell, and Sam Houston against The Honky Tonk Man, Greg Valentine, Outlaw Ron Bass, Bad News Brown, and Dangerous Danny Davis. The Blazer was eliminated by Valentine, but his team went on to win the match. He continued to wrestle in the midcard, defeating enhancement talent but often falling short against other name talent; he lost to Ted DiBiase on the March 11, 1989 Saturday Night's Main Event XX and was defeated by Mr. Perfect at WrestleMania V.

Hart left the WWF in June 1989.

Stampede Wrestling (1989)

Hart returned to Stampede Wrestling in July 1989, swiftly beginning a feud with Stampede Wrestling North American Heavyweight Champion Larry Cameron and vying with opponents including Dynamite Kid, Gama Singh, and Johnny Smith. He remained with the promotion until it closed down in December 1989.

Return to NJPW (1989–1991)

Hart returned to New Japan Pro-Wrestling for a fourth tour of Japan in August-September 1989 as part of its "Bloody Fight Series". Teaming with Pat Tanaka, he took part in the #1 Contender's League round-robin tournament to determine the number one contenders to the IWGP Tag Team Championship. Hart and Tanaka placed sixth out of seven teams. On his final night of the tour, Hart unsuccessfully challenged IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Naoki Sano.

In January 1990, Hart returned to NJPW for a sixth tour as part of its "New Spring Gold Series", taking part in a tournament to determine the number one contenders to the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship. Hart defeated Black Tiger and Hiro Saito before losing to eventual winner Jushin Thunder Liger. He returned in June-July 1990 as part of NJPW's "Burning Wave" series; during this tour, he lost to Pegasus Kid at the "New Kokugikan Densetsu ~ New Japan Pro Wrestling Explosion" event in Tokyo's Ryōgoku Kokugikan on June 26. He returned to NJPW once more on September 30, 1990 at the Antonio Inoki 30th Anniversary Memorial Festival event in the Yokohama Arena, teaming with Miguelito Pérez in a loss to Kengo Kimura and Osamu Kido; he went on to wrestler several more matches for NJPW in October 1990 as part of its "Fighting Spirit" series.

Hart made his final tour of Japan with NJPW in April 1991 as part of its "Explosion Tour", competing in the second annual Top of the Super Juniors round-robin tournament. He placed second out of 10 competitors, with wins over wrestlers including Dave Finlay, Flying Scorpio, and Pegasus Kid and losses to wrestlers including Negro Casas and Norio Honaga. He wrestled his last match for NJPW on April 28, 1991, losing to eventual tournament winner Jushin Thunder Liger.

Universal Wrestling Association (1990–1991)

In March 1990, Hart (wrestling as "the Blue Blazer") made his debut with the Mexican Universal Wrestling Association (UWA), teaming with Enrique Vera and Villano III to defeat Black Power, El Signo, and the Killer in the Toreo de Cuatro Caminos in Naucalpan. He returned to the UWA in November 1990, unsuccessfully challenging Villano III for the WWF Light Heavyweight Championship on November 18.

Hart made a further appearance with the UWA in February 1991, teaming with El Texano and Gran Hamada to defeat Los Brazos in Mexico City. He returned once more in May 1991; on May 19, he lost to El Canek in a mascara contra mascara match in Naucalpan. As a result, Hart did not wear the Blue Blazer mask again until 1998. he made his final appearances for the UWA in September 1991, unsuccessfully challenging El Canek for the UWA World Heavyweight Championship on September 3 in Pachuca.

Catch Wrestling Association (1990–1991)

In July to August 1990, Hart wrestled in Europe for the Catch Wrestling Association (CWA) as part of its "Catch World Cup" series. In his first match, in Vienna, Austria, he teamed with Tony St. Clair to defeat Cannonball Grizzly and Fit Finlay. Over the following weeks, he faced opponents such as Salvatore Bellomo, Rambo, and Dave Taylor. In one bout, he and St. Clair lost to Texas Scott in a handicap match.

Hart returned to the CWA in September to November 1991 as part of its "World Cup" series, with his opponents including Larry Cameron, Franz Schumann, and Bruiser Mastino. On November 29, he lost to Fit Finlay in a street fight in the Stadthalle Bremen in Germany.

During his time in Europe, he also wrestled again in the UK, losing to Danny Boy Collins in Bath in November 1991 in a match for the World Middleweight championship, as well as wrestling in France on TV matches for Eurosport's New Catch program.

World Championship Wrestling (1991)

Hart debuted in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) on March 5, 1991, teaming with Ricky Morton to defeat Greg Sawyer and Joey Maggs, then defeating Keith Stark in a singles match (both bouts were recorded and broadcast on WCW Pro later that month). Later that month, he wrestled a further four matches that aired on World Championship Wrestling and World Wide Wrestling, defeating opponents including Mark Kyle, Pat Rose, and Rip Rogers. Forming a short-lived tag team with Flyin' Brian, he had a handful of matches at house shows against the Fabulous Freebirds. He made his final appearance with WCW on April 6, defeating Joe Cruz in the Greensboro Coliseum.

Return to WWF (1991–1999)

Hart had been engaged in contract discussions with WCW but the deal was never struck, as Owen was not willing to move himself and his family to the company's headquarters in Atlanta. Instead, he returned to the WWF in November 1991.

The popular Hart Foundation tag team, composed of Owen's brother Bret and brother-in-law Jim Neidhart, had split up; Bret set out on a singles career while Neidhart was used sparingly. When Neidhart returned from a storyline injury, he joined Owen to form a team known as the New Foundation. Owen and Neidhart first feuded with the Beverly Brothers. They then had their only pay-per-view match at the Royal Rumble in January 1992 where they beat the Orient Express. Neidhart left the WWF in February 1992.

In February 1992, Hart was paired with Koko B. Ware (whom he had previously partnered while wrestling as the Blue Blazer) to form the tag team known as "High Energy". The duo went on to continue the New Foundation's feud with the Beverly Brothers. At WrestleMania VIII in April 1992, Hart defeated Skinner. Following WrestleMania, High Energy had a series of matches against the Nasty Boys. In June 1992, they challenged WWF Tag Team Champions Money Inc. on WWF Prime Time Wrestling, winning by count out. In October 1992, while under contract to the WWF, Hart wrestled four matches for Wrestle and Romance in Japan, including losing to Último Dragón in the Nakajima Sports Center. In November 1992, High Energy began a feud with the Headshrinkers, who defeated them at Survivor Series. At the Royal Rumble in January 1993, Hart competed in the Royal Rumble match, entering at number 28 and being eliminated by the eventual winner, Yokozuna. Later that month, High Energy challenged WWF Tag Team Champions Money Inc. on WWF Wrestling Challenge, winning by disqualification. The team quietly disbanded in March 1993 following a loss to the Headshrinkers.

Following the disbanding of High Energy, Hart resumed his singles career. In the middle of 1993, when Bret Hart's feud with Jerry Lawler ignited, Owen stood by his brother's side and fought against Lawler in the United States Wrestling Association (USWA) where most of the WWF talent were considered the heels. At King of the Ring in June 1993, Hart unsuccessfully challenged Papa Shango for the USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship. Later that month, at a USWA event in the Mid-South Coliseum, Hart defeated Shango for the title. He held the title until July 1993, when he lost to Jerry Lawler in the Mid-South Coliseum. At the USWA's "The Mother of All Matches" event in the Mid-South Coliseum in August 1993, the Hart Brothers defeated Lawler and Jeff Jarrett. At SummerSlam in August 1993, Hart defeated Barry Horowitz in a dark match.

Personal life

Hart met Martha Joan Patterson in 1982. They married on July 1, 1989, and had two children together: Oje Edward Hart (born March 5, 1992) and Athena Christie Hart (born September 23, 1995).

On May 28, 2011, Hart was inducted into the Legends Pro Wrestling "Hall of Fame" by Jack Blaze in Wheeling, West Virginia at their "LPW Hart & Soul Tour" event. The award was accepted by his brother-in-law Jim Neidhart, who was also inducted that night.

Death

On May 23, 1999, Hart fell to his death in Kansas City, Missouri, during the Over the Edge pay-per-view event. Hart was in the process of being lowered via harness and grapple line into the ring from the rafters of Kemper Arena for a booked Intercontinental Championship match against The Godfather. In keeping with the Blazer's new "buffoonish superhero" character, he was to begin with a dramatic entrance, being lowered to just above ring level, at which time he would act "entangled", then release himself from the safety harness and fall flat on his face for comedic effect—this necessitated the use of a quick release mechanism. It was an elaboration on a Blue Blazer stunt done previously on the Sunday Night Heat before Survivor Series in 1998. Before being lowered into the ring, Hart fell 78 feet (24 m), landing chest-first on the top rope (approximately a foot from the nearest turnbuckle).

Hart had performed the stunt a few times before. Hart's widow Martha has suggested that, by moving around to get comfortable with both the harness and his cape on, Hart unintentionally triggered an early release. Television viewers did not see the incident. During 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. Afterward, while Hart was being worked on by medical personnel inside the ring, the live event's broadcast showed only the audience. Meanwhile, WWF television announcer Jim Ross repeatedly told those watching live on pay-per-view that what had just transpired was not a wrestling angle or storyline and that Hart was hurt badly, emphasizing the seriousness of the situation. Hart was transported to Truman Medical Center in Kansas City. While several attempts to revive him were made, he died due to his injuries. The cause of death was later revealed to be internal bleeding from blunt force trauma. The impact severed his aorta, resulting in Hart bleeding to death just minutes later; he was 34 years old.

Aftermath

WWF and Vince McMahon drew controversy when the company chose to continue the pay-per-view event after Jim Ross announced Owen Hart's death on the live broadcast. Over the Edge was never commercially released on WWF Home Video, although it was available on the WWE Network in 2014 for the first time since its original air date. Other than a short memorial that was added before the show began, all footage and mention of Hart was edited out.

A special episode of Raw Is War that aired on May 24, 1999, the night after Hart's death, was dubbed Raw Is Owen. It was broadcast live from the Kiel Center in St. Louis. The tribute show scored a 7.2 Nielsen rating, making it the highest-rated special episode in Raw history and the third highest-rated episode of Raw overall. The next day, WWF taped the episode of Raw for May 31, 1999. During that show, Jeff Jarrett defeated The Godfather to win the WWF Intercontinental Championship, the title Hart was booked to win for a third time at Over the Edge. Celebrating his victory, Jarrett screamed Hart's name.

On October 4, 1999, five months after Hart's death, Bret Hart faced Chris Benoit on WCW Monday Nitro in a tribute to his brother. The match took place in the same arena in which Hart had fallen to his death.

After a lawsuit that lasted over a year and a half, a settlement was reached on November 2, 2000, which saw WWF pay the estate of Owen Hart US$18 million. Hart’s estate was represented by attorney Pamela Fischer. 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 Hart's widow Martha used some of the settlement to establish the Owen Hart Foundation.

In 2001, Hart's sister Diana released her first book named Under the Mat which discussed the Hart family. The book was written partially in response to Hart's death. Martha Hart pursued legal action, stating that the book was "filled with distortions, misstatements and unjustified slurs that attempt to destroy the reputation of my family and me, and undermine the memory of Owen."

In 2002, Martha wrote a book about Hart's life called Broken Harts: The Life and Death of Owen Hart.

Legacy

Fox Sports dubbed Hart a "genius".

Hart was set to be a playable character under his Blue Blazer gimmick in the video game WWF Attitude. The gimmick was subsequently removed from the game, though Hart remained a playable character. The PlayStation and Nintendo 64 versions of the game were also dedicated to him, featuring a tribute screen at the beginning that reads "Dedicated to Owen James Hart 1965 – 1999".

Hart is a playable character in Legends of Wrestling II (2002) and Showdown: Legends of Wrestling (2004), both published by Acclaim.

WWE released Owen: Hart of Gold on DVD and Blu-ray on December 7, 2015 in the United Kingdom, followed by the United States the following day.

Wrestler Kevin Owens named his son after Hart and incorporated the name into his own ring name as tribute to both of them.

On September 20, 2021, All Elite Wrestling (AEW) announced the Owen Hart Cup Tournament, in partnership with the Owen Hart Foundation, complete with a trophy called "The Owen". The company also announced production and distribution of original Owen Hart merchandise, action figures and Hart as a character in AEW's console game, AEW Fight Forever.

Championships and accomplishments

George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame

Class of 2018 (Posthumous Inductee)

Legends Pro Wrestling

LPW Hall of Fame (Class of 2011)

Prairie Wrestling Alliance

Prairie Wrestling Alliance Hall of Fame (Class of 2010)

New Japan Pro-Wrestling

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

Pro Wrestling Illustrated

Editor's Award (1999)

Feud of the Year (1994) vs. Bret Hart

Rookie of the Year (1987)

Ranked No. 10 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 1994

Ranked No. 66 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years" in 2003

Ranked No. 84 of the top 100 tag teams of the "PWI Years" in 2003 – with Davey Boy Smith

Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame

Class of 2019

Pro Wrestling This Week

Wrestler of the Week (July 5–11, 1987)

Canadian Wrestling Hall of Fame