Owen Hart: An Incredible Person On and Off The Wrestling Mat

WWF Commentator Jim Ross was in a state of shock, and so was every other fan, wrestler and person that watched the events transpire on that dreadful night. It was May 23, 1999 and the World Wrestling Federation was holding its Sunday Night Pay Per View event "Over The Edge" at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri.

The night was running smoothly, until Owen Hart's match was about to start. There was a small delay, and then Jim Ross, also known as "JR" muttered that "we've got big problems out here."

The screen panned over to a previously recorded interview that Kevin Kelley had done with the "Blue Blazer" who at the time was portrayed by Owen Hart. After the interview ended, there was a series of random crowd shots around the arena.

JR then informed everyone at home that Hart had attempted to enter the ring from the rafters and his harness became loose, and Owen had fallen into the ring.

While everyone was still shocked at what had taken place, another match began after a brief intermission. Soon after the match ended, the worst news imaginable came.

JR announced that Owen Hart had died in the ring due to his injuries suffered from the fall. The whole world stood still for a moment.

I heard what happened later that night while watching the local news. I, like many other people couldn't believe it. I still can't believe it.

Owen was always one of my favorite wrestlers when I first started watching wrestling. He wasn't the most high-flying, strongest or even fastest, but he was one of the most fundamentally sound wrestlers that the business had ever seen.

Owen Hart was from Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and was from a large family that consisted of a no-nonsense father and mother, and a host of siblings that did not respect one another.

Owen had to earn his own respect, being one of the youngest kids in the legendary Hart family. He tried to do this by wrestling for his father's wrestling business in Calgary. Not too long after Owen began wrestling for his father, he met Martha Patterson, who later became Martha Hart.

Owen continued down the wrestling path to stardom and soon was in the WWF before he knew it. His wife, Martha was never a big fan of wrestling and could not stand the sexual story-lines, drugs, and drama that went along with the new version of WWF that Owen was involved in.

After a few attempts to find other jobs back home, and a few stints with the WWF, Owen decided he was going to stay a WWF superstar. Hart was destined for an even higher level of stardom as his career began to catapult its way up. Sadly, his life was tragically cut short due to an "accident" in 1999, after just 34 short years on earth.

Being a good fan of Owen while he was in the WWF, I recently came upon and purchased "Broken Harts" which was written by Owen' widow, Martha Hart.

From the beginning, the book talks about how great a man that Owen was during his life. For example, Owen Hart would crash at random people's houses while on the road, in exchange for a good seat at the Arena to watch him wrestle the next day. He would also buy fans' dinners in an exchange for proper lodging.

The best thing about Owen Hart might have been how he handled himself while he was in the wrestling business. He never once took steroids or human growth-performance drugs and never did drugs, nor drank alcohol excessively. There are not many if any professional wrestlers that could say that.

He was very loyal to the sport, his family and everyone around him. He wasn't out there to sleep around with women, or flaunt all of his talents to everyone.

He wrestled because he loved the sport. I've also heard and read many things regarding wrestling fans saying he was the nicest and most polite wrestler that they had ever met.

I believe it. I believe all of it.

You just don't hear about too many people like Owen Hart, today. In a dark world when many people cheat,lie, and have extreme greed, Owen was a shining light of honest, integrity and showmanship. 

He simply lived life and had enjoyed every minute of it. According to his wife, he was always calling her on the road to check-up on her and the kids, and he always put other people before him.

On May 23, 1999, the world became a much worse place.

The wrestling business without a man like Owen Hart is just simply not the same.

Calgary, Alberta, Canada will never be the same without Owen Hart

The world itself will never be the same without Owen Hart.

I still can't believe it has been 10+ years since this wrestling great has perished. May the legend of Owen Hart will live on and on.

Thanks to Owen Hart for giving me the inspiration to write this article, and thank you Owen for being the unbelievable human-being that you were.