The King of destiny
It was June of 1994 and I remember like it was yesterday. Owen Hart who was pushed into the shadow of Bret 'the hitman' Hart had tried to jump out of his brothers lingering shadow that just refused to let him go.
First, Bret lost the match for Owen in the tag team title match at Royal Rumble 94 by being selfish and thinking he could 'Hulk Hogan' his way to victory. Bret would win the Royal Rumble with Lex Luger that very night guaranteeing him a world title shot. Next, Owen would finally go one on one with his brother at Wrestlemania 10, defeating him cleanly and becoming the best Hart. What does Bret do? He wins the world title the same night. Typical Bret Hart.
Owen knew he had to do something amazing, even better than beating Bret, maybe doing something his brother did the year prior, maybe, just maybe win the king of the ring and he could some how get out of that damn shadow.
Owen put his name into the king of the ring, knowing destiny was calling and he would take that destiny by the reigns and manhandle it into submission.
First things first, Penny Wise the Clown....wait. No. Doink the Clown came to town with his midget crazed looking sidekick Dink. I'm not really a fan of clowns and I felt Owen needed to take down that nightmarish character. Owen, a man of honor, fought the psycho clown and easily disposed of him by a roll up. I mean, the assist did go to Double J for attempting to kidnap Dink, but that doesnt matter, what matters is Owen was now in the tourney.
June 19, 1994, The King of the Ring was here and he had no small task in the first round as his opponent was none other than Native American Tatanka, who had like two losses up until this point in this career. (I think it was a conspiracy) No one gave Owen Hart a chance to win this match, even me as a fan had a hard time thinking he would beat Tatanka. The match was all Tatanka, he literally controlled the entire match, throwing Owen Hart around like a rag doll.
Owen would stay on course and take the beating, waiting for a moment to take advantage of, just one simple mistake. Tatanka made one mistake and it cost him. He went for a sunset flip and Owen dropped down and grabbed Tatankas legs for the 3 count getting one of the least likely wins of the night.
The second round was just brutal and fast paced as he had to wrestle against 1-2-3 kid after he was injured by Double J....(common theme here) Owen tried first slid under the ropes and kicked the kid so hard, he tried to kick him back to the locker room. The kid, thinking he was Ralph Macchio in the karate kid continued to fight, thinking maybe a crane kick would end this battle. Owen said this isnt Cobra Kai you son of a bitch and simply put him in the sharpshooter to make him tap out, it was a mercy submission hold. The kid didnt want to stop, Owen did the right thing.
After watching his brother defend his world title against Intercontinental champion Diesel and see family friend Jim Niedhart interfere to give Bret Hart the DQ loss, Owen knew he had to do what ever it took to win the King of the Ring, for his families sake, for his families name.
The finals were here, two of my favorites Owen Hart and Razor Ramon going one on one. Who do I root for? Who do I want to win?! It was tearing me apart, but I stayed vigilant. I stood behind Owen Hart, rooting for him to kick out of that shadow of his brother.
Owen did everything he could to defeat the former Intercontinental champion Razor Ramon but he was just to powerful to stop at points. After getting tossed outside the ring, Razor dazed and confused stood up as Jim Niedhart came to help and I guess he must of said some mean stuff to him, because Jim clotheslined Razor and threw him into the post possibly giving the 'bad guy' a concussion. As he rolled in the ring thinking of machismo stuff, Owen Hart might as well pointed to Macho Man Randy Savage who was commentating and said, "This is what a real elbow drop looks like!" He planted a top rope elbow drop into the chest of Razor Ramon making him think he was in middle school again.
Owen would get the pin fall and the King of the Ring Crown. It was Destiny. He defeated Tatanka, 1-2-3 kid, and Razor Ramon in one night. All three were great pro wrestlers. Much like Bret Hart defeated Razor Ramon, Mr. Perfect, and Bam Bam Bigelo the year before.
He did this for his family name, he did this for himself, and he did this, to hopefully, finally get the respect that he deserved.
Owen Hart did what Bret Hart couldnt that night. He won.
#WWE #OwenHart #KingOfTheRing #TheRocketOwenHart #Sharpshooter #TheKing