The night before Kansas we were in Chicago. Goldust and I were doing a deal with the Godfather who was involved with an angle with Owen. So Goldust had the match with Godfather and doing the shtick we had done around the horn. This time around Owen was doing a run in at the end since they were in an angle and they were having a match the next night on the PPV. Sadly, that run in would mark the last time Owen would have stepped in the ring on a WWF event.
The next day we were flying from Chicago to Kansas City. Nothing out of the ordinary at the time. I strap myself in and settle in. Everyone else is doing the same and the person one seat over from me is........Owen. I said hello and Owen in his humorous way goes "Aw Great! I'm next to the Meanie. Now I know I won't find any sleep on the flight" and gave me the Owen smile. The Owen smile that anyone on the other side of an Owen joke has come to know and appreciate. If Owen played a joke on you it was more of a privilege than anything. Though he was kidding he did manage to fall asleep. I guess he heard stories from Mick Foley's encounters of sharing a room with me.
We land in Kansas City and head to baggage claim. I was traveling with Al Snow at the time and we did our routine of getting the rental car and finding our way around. After getting to the building everyone went to catering. On the way there Bob Holly and myself were talking and along comes Owen in his Blue Blazer mask and street clothes. He comes over to me and Bob and introduces himself. "Hello I'm the Blue Blazer." "Oh yes, Bob Holly. Nice to finally meet you." "BLUE Meanie eh? We may have to do something about that name." "Hey, have you guys seen Owen Hart? I'm supposed to be doing something with him tonight. I've heard some good things about him." Real funny stuff you'd expect from Owen.
Goldust and I look and see that we are working the Hardy Boys that night on Heat. I was happy with that since I really like them in and out of the ring. The 4 of us went down to the ring to see what we could come up with. We go over different ideas and when we were through they asked people to clear the ring. We all looked up and saw they were practicing Owen's entrance for later that night and things went fine. Heat rolls around and Dustin and I have our match with the Hardy's and it turns out to be one of the best matches I have had in the WWF. I was really happy for once with my performance and everyone was happy with each other.
We all went our ways and changed into our street clothes. When I wasn't getting ready or if I was finished for the night I would hang in the WWF.com room. They had a monitor in there and it wasn't as crowded and you could watch the whole show. I made sure to watch Al’s match cause he told me the shirt he was going to where in memory of the deer head he had named Pierre and some of the stuff he had planned. After Al's match I was going to get a bottled water from catering. I was almost out of the room when they said the next match was The Blue Blazer vs. The Godfather. So I didn't bother leaving cause I knew this match was going to be classic Owen. They has some funny stuff planned and were going to do something with a Mini Wrestler coming out as a Mini Blazer.
They go into the taped package giving the history of the feud and everyone in the dot com room is popping for Owen's stuff and his super hero promos. Then the moment that came that will be forever etched in my mind. The cameras are fixed on the crowd and JR tells the world the news they would never expect. There has been an accident and this isn't an angle. The room went silent. Everyone then jumped up and darted out the door and down to the Gorilla Position. Half way down the hall we encounter Sgt. Slaughter where he said "Owen fell..........doesn't look like he is going to make it........" In the back of my mind I am screaming "Don't tell me this!!" but I am still filled with a roller coaster ride full of emotions as I get closer to the entrance.
There wasn't a dry eye in the house and the pale, blank expressions on every face confirmed how dire the situation was turning out. I made my way to the curtain and saw that EMTs doing everything they could do work on Owen. The saddest part of all was not only was one of our comrades laying there in the ring having people trying to revive him but the people in the building thought it was all part of the show. Which brings up a point a lot of people still argue to this day............Should they have stopped the show?
Hind site is always 20/20 and there are a lot of unwritten rules in wrestling but no one would ever have fathomed that something like this could possibly happen. Maybe it’s fear of jinxing their well being or fear of karma by talking about it. At that moment in time the shock and disbelief was so thick in the air that no one knew what to do. People were crying, people were consoling each other and people were just hoping it was just a bad dream. As Owen was rushed to the ambulance with EMTs still rigorously working on him all the way, we all said a prayer.
Everyone waited around to hear any updates that would come. Eventually the word came that we dreaded and the weight sank in that Owen had left us. Al and I went to the dressing room to gather our gear to leave and head on to Moline, Ill. I went to my dressing area, closed my bag up and made my way to leave. As I turned around from where I had been sitting.......there was Owen's gear bag. Like a cold shot, my body went numb and tears welled up in my eyes. As we were going to our car the show had not finished and the news trucks were starting swarm outside of the arena.
The next day my phone rang off the hook. Family and friends called with great fear in mind. By now the news had spread about the incident and everyone I know, knew I was at the PPV. So when the news teasers broke with “Pro Wrestler dies in ring last night.....more after this commercial” everyone got concerned. Then as the news cast went on and they went onto to say “A Pro wrestler plunged to his death in the ring last night while performing his entrance. The Blue........” At that moment all my friends and family's hearts paused for a second until the words “Blazer” followed. Some of my friends driving to work only heard on the radio the words “Wrestler dies” , “Blue” .
They all panicked and called me right away. Like I said in the beginning it, it was mixed bag emotions for me. In one instance I am saddened by Owens death. In another I also found out how many people cared about and love me when they thought the news they heard was about me. Wrestling, with the fans and wrestlers involved lost one of its greatest performers and friends and the Hart family lost a cherished member that will be deeply missed.
Like Foo Fighters song says “It’s times like these you learn to live again. It’s times like these you learn to love again” and that’s exactly what I did. Now more than every I cherish the time with my loved ones just for the fear of not knowing what the next moment will bring. Now more than ever we STILL miss Owen Hart.....
R.I.P Owen......We are all richer for having known you!
Brian
