Hey Scott...
I emailed you last week about how in your book Tonight in This Very Ring: A Fan's History of Professional Wrestling
, I felt you were too pro Bret Hart. After reading some more I can now see where you are coming from. I would never understand how Vince was letting Shawn hold his house shows hostage, and not punish Shawn. Yes he was champion and yes he was over and yes he was putting on great matches. But at that time without Bret, he couldn't get any worse. Plus he was still in his gimmick crazy stage, so why not put the strap on , say, Owen? Just a thought. If you look at it, he was just as good as anyone else Shawn was facing at the time and those matches drew. If I was Shawn , that would put me in my place knowing that even though Bret was gone, I would have to put over his younger brother. Then again Shawn was high as shit at the time.
On a side note, what was your opinion of Super Brawl 3? I am getting back around to watching it and wondered if you ever recapped it? Pretty good card, even if the White Castle of Fear headlined the show.
To answer the sidenote first, Superbrawl III was awesome. Great main event, pretty darn good undercard, a very enjoyable show (stupid promos aside). Well worth checking out.
As for the other topic, I have no doubt that had Owen not died, he would have gotten the World title more than a few times once the talent pools thinned out and everyone started getting it. Back at that time, however? I don’t think he would have drawn on top. He didn’t connect with the fans as a main event guy and I was always fine with that, as not everyone is meant to be a top guy. I would have been perfectly happy with a non-title blowoff win over Shawn in 1997 rather than the treatment he ended up getting.
Being world champion doesn’t mean anything these days anymore. The only time I think Owen could’ve drawn money was against Bret in 1994. After that Owen was pretty much turned into a jobber, despite getting over as a main event threat.
I remember one of Hyatte’s columns years back when he did an article of a bunch of stuff that would’ve happened if Owen was alive today and one of them was Owen complaining about being treated as a fat cruiserweight, and sadly I could totally see WWE giving Owen that angle.
I think, more than anything, they should have ran Owen vs Shawn Michaels in the December 1997 PPV and let Owen have his one victory. Do a non-title match and let Owen win and then transition him into a feud with HHH under the logic that HHH wants to avenge Shawn’s defeat while he concentrates more on Undertaker.
Had Owen not died? I think Owen probably would have lingered for a while as a JTTS, maybe with him instead of Mick Foley, becoming the guy HHH has a placecard holder feud with leading up to WM 2000, complete with a big fangled retirement match where HHH “retires” Owen.
I like where you are going with this… but I would keep IYH: DX the way it was, as the whole PPV has the aura of a company in turmoil … then Owen makes his surprise return and gets the pop of the night.
So, instead, I’d book Owen v. HBK at Royal Rumble with screw job ending and HHH/Chyna interference. Then have Owen demand a rematch, only to get the shaft from both HBK and Vince (who is just getting into his Chairman groove). Owen claims more conspiracy because he’s a Hart, and begins to work his way to HBK by feuding with HHH and the Stooges.
Meanwhile, no casket match at the Rumble = no back injury for HBK. Owen and SCSA could do the unlikely duo against Vince and DX. That way Owen can get the rub from SCSA (while they dont have to combat e/o) and Steve can rest his neck up for WM while Owen does all the work.
Then, after HBK takes time off after his WM loss, you can do SummerSlam ‘98 with Taker/Austin, HHH/Rock, and Owen/HBK rematch… and finally give Owen a clean win over HBK (as a face), without giving him the title.
Personally, I think he would have followed Bret to WCW once his contract expired, maybe gotten a small push as the promotion collapsed, and retired soon after. The only reason Vince kept him on after 1997 was to fuck with Bret.
Just think, if Owen went to WCW, maybe he would’ve been the one to send Sid into retirement by kicking his leg from under his leg.
Owen going to WCW is a scary thought in hindsight. On one hand Bret had no power and was a midcarder in WCW so he couldn’t protect Owen so Owen probably would’ve been turned into a jobber since that’s what they did to the Bulldog, yet he still be alive today.
Owen going to WCW would’ve meant completely losing his passion for wrestling and getting lazy in the ring, while smarks would crack jokes at his expense, yet with him dying Owen is remembered as a legend.
During the past few years, the WWE has put up with a lot of problems from Jeff Hardy and Randy Orton (very different problems but still headaches for the company). Yet they’re willing to give them a break because of how important they are, even though they now have an enormous roster with main-event talent galore and no competition.
So you can imagine why Vince was even more reluctant to punish Shawn Michaels in 1996-97 when his roster was depleted, there were hardly any other main-eventers and they were getting their ass kicked by WCW.
As for Owen, I agree that he should’ve fought Shawn at the Rumble. The match with Undertaker seemed to exist solely to advance the Kane-Undertaker feud and they could’ve done that in any other situation.
Sadly, much as I would have loved to have seen it I don’t think Owen would have won the world title had he not passed away. He wasn’t anywhere near the title picture in 1999, Austin wouldn’t work with him and he wouldn’t have broken the stranglehold HHH and Rock had on the main event for most of 2000. His only chance would have been if he carried on wrestling past 2003 when they put world titles on guys like Benoit, Guerrero, Rey and RVD, but I’ve heard Owen didn’t plan on wrestling that long.
Having said that, maybe Owen wouldn’t have been as disillusioned with wrestling once 2000 came around and WWE cut back on the Russo booking and placed more emphasis on wrestling. One can only think about how awesome his matches against Angle, Jericho, Benoit, Guerrero, Edge, Hardy etc. would have been. Not to mention some comedy skits with Angle!
I dont think Owen would had gotten a World Title. And one of those reasons I believe would be Austin would be against it. I heard for the longest Austin never really forgave nor forgot that Owen nearly paralyzed Austin at Summerslam 97.
And two I think Owen would had retired anyway when Bret retired.
I think Owen might’ve gotten some main event level shots at the title had he stuck around but I can’t see him ever winning the belt during that era. Triple H and The Rock pretty much had a stranglehold on it for most of 99-00 until Angle was ready and Austin came back from his neck surgery and then after that it was Brock. His best bet maybe would’ve been to take over Benoit’s slot in 04 as the “guy who’s fighting to complete his 18 year journey” thing.
I just always assumed Vince chose Shawn over Bret because he knew that WCW wouldn’t know what to do with Bret. However, if Shawn ended up in WCW and the nWo…that seriously might have been lights out for the WWF. I remember the Internet just going crazy with Shawn to the nWo rumors from really about the moment the group started into 1998.
I also totally agree that Shawn v. Owen should have been the title match at the Royal Rumble. I didnt like Shawn/Taker because you knew the ending was Kane costing Taker the match. At least with Shawn/Owen, there would have been a chance they would put the title on Owen because the WWF could have teased us with Owen/Austin at WrestleMania even if it wouldn’t happen.
And that way Kane can cost the Undertaker the Royal Rumble match and Austin winning the Rumble can be the show’s final moment. I thought it was so dumb to have the show end with BY GAWD the Undertaker’s casket is on fire!
I think he also chose Shawn over Bret because of how times were-a-changing. The attitude era was starting to kick in and both Austin and DX were on the money, whereas Bret wasn’t happy with the direction of the company. Add to the fact that Bret was 40 and Shawn was 32, it was probably an easy decision for Vince.
As Bret himself now admits in interviews, after his first world title run he was only given the world title as a placeholder while Vince tried to find the next big star. Luger and Yoko failed, then Diesel, then babyface Shawn – hence why Vince gave Bret such a big and contract in 1996. But then Vince finally got his golden ticket with Austin, and Bret wasn’t needed anymore.
If Shawn went to WCW, I think somehow Shawn would had became the leader of the nWo after Starrcade 97. Hall and Nash kick Hogan out the nWo and Shawn becomes the new leader saying something like “Dinosaurs are not welcomed in the nWo”
[On a side note, what was your opinion of Super Brawl 3? I am getting back around to watching it and wondered if you ever recapped it? Pretty good card, even if the White Castle of Fear headlined the show.]
–If only it wasn’t for that damn Vader vs Sting strap match!