This is the worst match, I've ever been in... #4 - Owen Hart

[tiger_rick]

So we take someone who has had a cracking career and point out the worst match they've even been in. The absolute height of shitarsery from someone who should be or would be far, far better than this.

Owen Hart

Hopefully this one isn't too obscure. Hard to believe he's been dead 15 years, still seems like yesterday. Hopefully that doesn't exlude too many people from contributing.

Here's my pick:

Owen vs. Diesel (In Your House 5)
 

As usual, my memory doesn't stretch to meaningless TV matches so I've gone with a PPV match. Despite Owen/Davey breathing life into a dead WWF Tag Division in 96, there are some poor tag title matches with Furnas/Lafon, Fake Diesel/Razor, LOD and Ahmed/Jake that are probably technically worse. However, i had no expectation of them.

 

This one looked a great match on paper with Owen having the ability to sell for Big D like Bret & Shawn did and having enough unique offence to cause problems in return. In the storyline, Diesel was out for revenge after Owen was blamed for HBK's collapse on Raw.

 

What we get is a 4 minute squash that does neither guy any good. Owen's momentum dies ahead of his program with HBK and Diesel looks like a fucking idiot for refusing to pin Owen and then chucking the ref for the DQ.

 

High expectation plus good build plus shit squash plus shitter finish = Awful.

 

Previous: #3 - The Undertaker #2 - Steve Austin #1 - Randy Savage

[Grecian]

I'm really struggling with this one - all I remember are the great matches he had, against Bret, 123-Kid at King of the Ring, HBK where he played his role perfectly in the concussion angle...

 

I'll have to go with Steve Austin, Summerslam 1997.

 

I don't remember the match itself being awful, just the piss-poor finish where Austin with a broken neck somehow puts the weakest roll-up on owen to win. I know the finish was due to the injury, but I'd also argue that Owen cocked up the piledriver causing it.

 

In the absence of any absolute stinkers that i can think of, I have to go for this one.

[wandshogun09]

I thought the Austin SummerSlam match was really good up until the botched tombstone. If the injury hadn't happened it'd probably be remembered among Owen's great PPV matches.

 

But I'll throw in their rematch from Survivor Series 97. Austin was coming back off neck surgery so it was kept short enough not to be really shit but it was an ugly match. Felt like a letdown after waiting for Austin's big return to the ring for months.

 

Owen vs Farooq from Bad Blood the month before was cack as well from the little I remember of it. And the Shamrock 'Stu Hart's Dungeon Match' was crap and a really poor concept, especially for a PPV. As a throwaway bit on Raw fine, but on PPV it was pretty turd, I thought.

[WyattSheepMask]

That stupid 'Dungeon Match' he had against Shamrock, made ok only by him going "Yes! And I did it on my own, WHOOO!" at the end.

 

I'm seem to remember his match with Vader at one night only being fairly rancid at the time, but I haven't watched that in forever

[wandshogun09]

I thought Owen vs Vader was fantastic myself. Great big man vs little man match and at the time with Owen being a heel in the US for years, it was cool seeing him play the babyface underdog for once. It was one of the only times Vader looked a bit like WCW Vader in his WWF run. It reminded me a bit of Vader's matches with Sting actually, where the smaller guy fights bravely but ultimately comes up short. Great match.

[tiger_rick]

I thought Owen vs Vader was fantastic myself. Great big man vs little man match and at the time with Owen being a heel in the US for years, it was cool seeing him play the babyface underdog for once. It was one of the only times Vader looked a bit like WCW Vader in his WWF run. It reminded me a bit of Vader's matches with Sting actually, where the smaller guy fights bravely but ultimately comes up short. Great match.

 

Yep, that's an absolute corker.

[WyattSheepMask]

Like I say, I've not seen it in forever. In fact, It might have even been jut after the event that I last saw it, so we're talking 17 odd years since I've seen it.

[IANdrewDiceClay]

Austin vs Owen at Survivor Series 97 was the one I least enjoyed. Austin was working like Randy Savage did at that TNA PPV in 2004. Austin couldn't take a bump yet, and Owen always had this lack of subtly about him which made it obvious he was doing his best not to injury him. It was just an odd match to watch. Not very enjoyable and there's nothing worse than two great wrestlers not having a good match.

[The Reverend]

Vs Skinner at Wrestlemania 8. Waste of Owen's talents at such a big event. I know there wasn't much more choice but him vs Michaels would've been better!

[Reznor]

I think Owen's generally overrated to hell, but he was always consistently decent at least, so there really isn't much of his stuff that fell below that sorta level. As the original post mentions, there's no doubt plenty of worthless throwaway tv matches, like there would be for any wrestler, but those tend to be forgettable.

 

On the big stage, the one that springs to mind initially for me is Summerslam 96 v Savio Vega. Absolute mind numbing stuff.

 

And as far as shite matches on PPVs go, the thrown together tag at WM15 probably deserves a mention too, not that they coud've done very much under the circumstances. His tag team with Jarrett was generally crap though.

[air_raid]

The worst matches Owen had were the ones that were bad on purpose on house shows because he was having a lark.

[PSF]

I think Owen's generally overrated to hell

 

I always think that this is in the "Cena Suckz" band for me and people think its just the cool thing to say. He is my favourite of all time and was before he died. Just because he's dead and people like him, doesn't make him overrated. I know plenty of people that loved Owen and I think the only thing that held him back from the big time was his size. He was loyal to the company, had terrific matches, and was far better than he had any right to be from a very young age.

[tiger_rick]

 

I think Owen's generally overrated to hell

 

I always think that this is in the "Cena Suckz" band for me and people think its just the cool thing to say. He is my favourite of all time and was before he died. Just because he's dead and people like him, doesn't make him overrated. I know plenty of people that loved Owen and I think the only thing that held him back from the big time was his size. He was loyal to the company, had terrific matches, and was far better than he had any right to be from a very young age.

 

 

Honestly think any suggestion that Owen was over-rated or under-rated is stupid. About 90% of people seem happy to accept that he was an incredibly talented guy who lacked the vital ingredients to make anything other than fleeting appearances at the very top of the card.

 

That may have changed because 3 years after he died, the whole industry was different and within 5-6 years we'd seen the top WWE titles held by guys you'd put at Owen's level like Chris Benoit, Rey Misterio and Eddie Guerrero.

 

The "Owen was over-rated" people are a tiny number. The "Owen should have been World Champion" peeps are a small number. The argument is pretty redundant.

[The King Of Swing]

The worst matches Owen had were the ones that were bad on purpose on house shows because he was having a lark.

On that note I nominate his match against Brian Pilman from an episode of Raw, I think it was an IC Title tournament match during The Hart Foundation days so it mostly consisted of both men faking a match until I believe Teri Runnels (who Pilmam had "won" in a match against Goldust) waffled Owen and made it look like Pilman which was when they started having an actual match.

 

Could have been good too but then I think Goldust ran in for the DQ shortly after or something that caused a non finish.

[Reznor]

 

I think Owen's generally overrated to hell

 

I always think that this is in the "Cena Suckz" band for me and people think its just the cool thing to say. He is my favourite of all time and was before he died. Just because he's dead and people like him, doesn't make him overrated. I know plenty of people that loved Owen and I think the only thing that held him back from the big time was his size. He was loyal to the company, had terrific matches, and was far better than he had any right to be from a very young age.

 

Uhm, ok.. thanks for telling me why I think what I think.

 

Here was me thinking it was because there are so many people with similar thoughts to yourself, who think he deserved to be a genuine main eventer (or at least be a lot closer to that position than he was), whilst I think the spot he found himself in at pretty much all times after the failed 1994 run (as fun as he was during it) was exactly where he belonged. And my opinion is about as low as you'll ever hear.

 

He was a midcard workhorse. Useful to have around, entertaining in most of what he did - but ultimately, a million miles away from being money making, main event material.