Owen Hart Face to Face with Vince McMahon

[metfan51]

If there was ever a time that Owen Hart could have been a World Champion, it was during this period. Owen was never has popular as he was during this time and this promo was great. These are the kind of promos the WWE needs more of to help gain viewers.

[Goldie79]

Given the time period he was in and given that there was only one world title at the time.... great as he was, I don't think Owen would have seriously been considered for the world title.
Today numerous guys who are genuine midcarders.... have had their mitts on a World title (say Jack Swagger, Christian), because theres now 2 champions, and the talent pool also lacks the depth of Owens era.
From the time of this clip (1998 or early 1999) .... you had Steve Austin, The Rock, Undertaker, Mick Foley, Kane, Triple H..... and to a degree a pre-injured Shawn Michaels... all in the top tier mix, all competing for just one world title.

I think that Owen was actually closer to a world title when he turned heel on Bret in 1994.

[Shockage]

Had Owen not died in 1999, I think he would've made a more believable World Champion than Eddie, Benoit and Jericho.

[WWE Gary]

I think this was Owen's best gimmick also . The bitter , angry, little broher of the guy Vince screwed over . Why they put him in the Nation of Domination I have no idea . He could have been a ' don't trust anyone ' loner and played a similiar role to Austin if you ask me . As for the Blue Blazer stuff , ridiculous . It's awful when the WWE screw up someone's career by missing the opportunity they could have had given them .....it's even worse when they kill them in the process .

If Hart had continued this role he'd have no doubt been a champ and probably still alive today .

[Goldie79]

.As for the Blue Blazer stuff , ridiculous . It's awful when the WWE screw up someone's career by missing the opportunity they could have had given them .....it's even worse when they kill them in the process . .

Revising the 1989 Blue Blazer gimmick was punishment for Owen, after he refused to go ahead with a storyline where he'd be lusting over Deborah (his then valet) and her large puppies. Like Bret he felt uncomfortable with the sleazy storylines upsetting his kids watching at home

If Hart had continued this role he'd have no doubt been a champ and probably still alive today .

If Owen was this age in the current era.... then possibly. But as I said above the talent pool was too deep in the Attitude era with just the one world title.
By the time the 2 world titles were shopped around the midcarders.... assuming Owen was still alive he'd be well into his 40s by that point

[metfan51]

I watched Owen's WWE Title match with Michaels on the last Raw in 1997 yesterday. That crowd was electric and when Owen slapped the Sharpshooter on, the people went crazy. If Austin wasn't around at the time, you never know how far Owen could have gone.

[Goldie79]

If Austin wasn't around at the time, you never know how far Owen could have gone.

Yeah this is my point about the deep talent pool in the late 90s/early 2000s.
Vince is gonna build the company around the guy who draws him the most money.

I would say by 2004, some of the longstanding midcarders in Benoit and Eddie Guerro got their reward with a run with the title.
It was a transitional period, after Rock, Austin and Foley were gone as regular wrestlers..... and before Cena and Batista were ready for their runs as the top.
There was just too many biggers stars at the top of the roster before then.... however by 2004, had he not died.... Owen would have been 39

[Shockage]

Owen was one of those wrestlers who wasn't forced down our throats. He would've become World Champ;ion a lot sooner before 2004 as he would've exposed a lot of the newer guys that took a while for people to warm up to. Owen and Angle would've made a pretty good pair as tag team champions before moving Owen onto the World Title scene.

[Goldie79]

I am a fan of Owen.... I'm not knocking his ability of talent.... I just don't see him being world champ in the era he was in. In todays era? ... no sweat!

However Shock... even in the early 2000s.... the era I assume you are referencing to above, aside from the latter stages of Austin/Rock.... you have Kurt Angle and Triple H getting their countless world title pushes.... and lets face it, Brock Lesnar was always going to get given that monster push from 2002-2004. Theres even Hulk Hogan in the picture (remember he was the first ever champion when the company changed to WWE?).

I just don't see Owen getting a look in.... till possibly midway through the decade, at which point he'd be around the 40 mark in age