SLAM! Readers remember Owen
OWEN HART - 1965-1999
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The death of Owen Hart has flooded the SLAM! Mailboxes.
More of your thoughts and prayers can be emailed to
slamwrestling@canoe.ca
Condolences may be sent to:
owenhart@stampedewrestling.com
IN MEMORY: OWEN HART 1965-1999
You come to this earth on the wings of angels.
Born out of the love between man and woman.
You are not just a baby..you are but a part of the universe, you learn from what those teach and begin to give life to a world in kaos.
You dream of being a superstar,a dream that would take
you far.
From within you is a heart beating with desire, nothing can
ever take away that fire.
You are and will always fly lke an eagle, soar like a hawk.
You are now a superstar, now and forever more, and now you are with the greats, high in the lord's golden arena..the ultimate superstar and forever more A
WINNER.
Rest In Peace in God's hands
Poem by Steve Baxley
I have always respected his ability in the ring
when I first saw him at Wrestlemania V to now. He was and always will
be a man's man in the ring ... like the Blue Blazer he will sore with
The Angels
Jon Tompos, Greensburg, PA
Over the past couple of years, wrestlers have died, yet, the
public doesn't
seem to take much notice to it. When Adrian Adonis died, it was a one
second newsflash, same with other wrestlers, including: Kerry Von Erich,
Dino Bravo, Andre the Giant, Brian Pillman and most recently Rick Rude.
I hope this freak accident, at WWF's "Over the Edge", that
cost Owen Hart's
life is a wake-up call for everybody... We'll all miss you Owen, you
were great to the sport
and will always be remembered!!!!
Paul Maes from Orangeville, Ontario
I had met Owen myself too a few times and found him just as you
described. He was a
fantastic parent, a great man and one hell of a performer who will be
sorely
missed. That is all that needs to be said.
CliqueHBK@aol.com
I wake this early morning and after yesterday's tragedy I come to
a
realization. Wrestler's are not the immortal warriors we as fans
perceive,
and make them out, to be.
Last night I walked into a friend's house just in time to hear
the words
escape from Jim Ross' lips: Owen Hart is dead. Someone in the room
immediately thought it was a work. I knew it couldn't be. The world of
wrestling uses many angles, including things like a heart attack, but
never,
EVER, mocks death.
Jayson Doak
On Sunday, May 23rd, 1999 the wrestling world lost a great
wrestler and
an even greater man.
When I called and told my friend of this incident moments
after it
happened last night, he said to me, "I knew this was going to happen
eventually." He went on to say that all this, 'excess show,' that the
WWF
does every week was going to get someone killed. Personally, I
wholeheartedly disagree. Owen's death was an absolute
fluke, a one in a billion occurrence. This kind of thing rarely
happens,
and to say that the WWF should tone it down a little is preposterous.
The
death was likely a result of some guy who didn't get the cable hooked up
right. With a little more care and caution, the WWF and for that matter
the WCW, could avoid these things definitely, and never see this happen
again.
Steve Evenden, Ameliasburgh, Ontario
Why is it that talented wrestling - mat technique and aerial
skills - has
been superceded by spectacle? The artistry of professional wrestling
has
been replaced with pyrotechnics, loud music and wild entrances in the
weekly
game of "Can You Top This?"
Goodbye, Owen. We thank you.
Tom Insley, Fort Erie, Ontario
I needed to express my shock and horror at the sudden passing of
one of
our beloved heroes of the wrestling ring.
I understand that it was among Mrs. Helen Hart's worst
nightmares that some
horrific accident should happen to one of her boys. I would imagine she
thought more on the lines of permanent disabilities and not a sudden
death
as gut wrenching as this.
My thoughts and prayers are with both Mrs. Harts , the
children, and the
rest of the Hart family in this very sad time.
Behind the pyrotechnics ,the lights, and the masks , there are
real men who
somebody calls Daddy...and waits for him to tuck them into bed at night.
God
Bless them, every one.
Janet Rossetti, Montreal
Being a Canadian, and having watched Owen when he was in Stampede
wrestling,
at the beginning of broadcasting of TSN,
It's a sad day not only for Owen's family, not only Canada but for the
whole
wrestling world. He was truly a high flyer as they come and despite his
size, seized every opportunity to have a great career and succeeded.
Yves Leroux
I work for Time Warner Cable, and
was watching when the tragedy occurred. I am watching the News right
now.
One thing that should be addressed. The WWF is not at fault for
continuing
the Event. I am not lying when I say three people called in demanding
credit
for the Whole Event! because they changed the camera *not showing Owen
plunging to his death!!*
If the WWF had cancelled the rest of the show...more people
would have
been hurt. I can almost guarantee there would have been people Drunk or
Stupid who would have possibly thought it was a work. There may have
been a
riot...it has happened before.
The wrestlers should be credited for still performing it
was obvious that
they were all emotionally stunned...especially Debra and Jeff, who both
were
crying during their interview.
I guess we will see tonight and in the next few weeks, how
well the WWF
handles this tragedy. I hope it is done with caring and nobility.
David E.
Wrestling has lost one of his finest and greatest and I hope that
the promoter will learn from this and get
his act together....Wrestlers are human being not invincible heroes.
I am deeply sorry for what has happened and I hope that this tragedy
will open some eyes..
Marc Dufour, St-Leonard,Quebec
I am a longtime Owen Hart friend from Germany and I thought I let
you share
some thoughts from here.
I met Owen Hart first in May 1990, when he was wrestling in Germany for
Big
Otto's CWA. Since then his family and mine became really close friends
(I
am proud to say, that Owen was one of my closest friends I ever had in
my
life and ever will).
Even Owen was famous in Japan and even in the WWF as Blue
Blazer he was a
jobber in Germany and lost almost all his matches (at this time also
Scott
Hall, Charles Wright aka Godfather, Chris Benoit and Fit Finlay were
wrestling for the CWA). But he was so happy that he could spend his
whole
time with his wife Martha (he and Martha lived almost six months every
year
until 1992 in trailers in Austria and Germany). Even he didn't had much
money and it was a small trailer both were happy staying together and we
all had a lot of fun, when I visited them at the weekends. They liked
visiting the beautiful Zoo's in Austria and Germany and all the many
hundred years old small towns in Nether Saxon with their old houses,
castles etc.
After Owen went to the WWF and became more and more successful over the
years he never changed. He always was the same nice, friendly and
helpful
guy I met in 1990. And he was always good for a joke. I remember when
Owen
introduced me to his father in the Dungeon and told him, that I don't
believe the story about the "famous tape" (when Stu wrestled with a
Karate
fighter; of course I knew that this story was true). I found myself
faster
in a submission move than I could thought and my head still was red for
the
next hour after Stu released me from the hold.
When the WWF was touring through Germany they always give permission to
Owen that he could drive with me. So sometimes we spend 10 days and more
in
a row (many times Owen took Martha and later also Oje and Athena
Christie
with him) and always had a great time.
Owen was the nicest guy you ever can imagine. Every evening after the
show
he called Martha. He never went to the bar for partying or going out
with
other women and he never drank alcohol, took drugs or even smoked a
cigarette. And, of course, Owen never took steroids. He hated all of it.
So
we went out for a late dinner or Owen stayed in his room listening to
Country music tapes (Country singer Collin Raye is a close friend of
him). I
can't remember, how many times we stayed in my apartment and taped
Country music tapes for hours.
I am so glad, that my wife Ingrid and I went to Calgary for vacation in
mid
of April this year. So we spend 2 beautiful days with Owen, Martha, Oje,
Athena Christie and his lovely mother-in-law Joan. I never would have
thought in my life, that this would be the last time I saw Owen (I
talked
to him once more at the end of April). He was so happy and he was really
looking forward for the time after the WWF and he wanted to spend as
much
time as possible with Martha, Oje and Athena Christie. He always was so
sad, when he had to leave them and always tried to take the latest
possible
flight.
The German wrestling fans are really shocked, because Owen was one of
the
most popular wrestlers in Germany, even as a heel. He always signed
autographs and had some nice words to everybody. I already got more than
100 emails, faxes and calls from people, who can't believe what happened
in
Kansas. Neither can I!
I am still shocked and I can't believe that one of the nicest guys you
can
imagine won't be with us anymore - OWEN HART! I miss you so much!
Wolfgang Stach, www.power-wrestling.com
I feel shocked by Owen's death (the last time was in 1985 in which three
wrestling members from Quebec died in a December car accident). As a fan of
his brother the HitMan, I must say here that Owen was indeed a talented
wrestler, working perhaps in the shadow of his brother, but still having won
major belts and his Slammy Awards (well deserved).
This morning, I have sent the great memories of Owen that I'll still
remember: the Brother-against-Brother feud in Wrestlemania X and the pride
to be Canadian to these American fans by hoisting the Maple Leaf along with
Bret and the rest of the Hart Foundation: Jim Neidhart, Davey Boy Smith and
the late Brian Pillman.
In my hometown of Montreal, one we still remember way before the Survivor
Series of 1997 was that Owen fought a special boxing match in a WWF event in the
Molson Center (I think the first one since the Old Forum closed) against
Raymond Rougeau (from another family dynasty) in which I beleive he lost in
some way...
My prayers and my sympathies to the HitMan's family and to the Dungeon's
alumni.
SALUT OWEN !
Regards,
Claude Leduc
More memories of Owen Hart after his death: PAGE 1 |
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