WWE’s 10 Greatest Canadian Wrestlers of All Time
By Tim Sherry
credit: WWE.com
3. Owen Hart
Undoubtedly the most heartbreaking story in the history of the WWE is that of Owen Hart. At 34 years old his life came to a tragic end when his safety harness malfunctioned and he plummeted to the ring underneath at the Over The Edge pay per view in May of 1999. It was a sickening blow to the entire professional wrestling world as a young man was struck down in what seemed like the prime of his career.
Owen, unsurprisingly trained at the aforementioned Dungeon run by his father Stu in Calgary, Alberta, spent the first five years of his career training and working the independent circuit before joining brother Bret in the WWF permanently in 1991. From there he found success as a tag team specialist before broadening his horizons and challenging Bret for the WWF title through the first half of 1994. Their matches to this day still stand up as some of the best of all time. When it was all said and done, Owen won 2 Intercontinental titles, 4 tag titles, a European title, and a King of the Ring.
Before his death Owen was widely regarded as one of the best in-ring workers in all of the then WWF and the rumor was that he was destined for bigger things. In the years since his passing rumors speculated that Triple H’s eventual “The Game” gimmick was supposed to be for Owen. Had that been the case and with still 6 years before turning 40, the sky may have been the limit for “The Lionheart”. All we can do is now is speculate and reflect on the genius that was Owen Hart.