8 Dropped Ideas That Could've Helped WWE Ratings
1. The Black Hart
You have one of the hottest stars in the business at your disposal, with an extremely raw and real story to play off of, and an emotional no-brainer of a feud at your fingertips. But rather than that, you decide to cool that star off, have him feud with a supporting player, and then turn him heel.
That, ladies and gentlemen, is the story of Owen Hart in the aftermath of the infamous Montreal Screwjob.
After brother Bret was screwed at the Survivor Series in November 1997, WWE held Owen off TV for a month. Upon returning, Owen attacked Shawn Michaels at the In Your House: D-Generation X PPV, seemingly setting up the logical, natural feud between Michaels and the brother of the man he’d screwed months prior.
Taking on the moniker of The Black Hart, Owen had a badass new edge and the fans were behind him like never before. This was wrestling gold, this was real life blurring into engaging television, and this was the perfect way for WWE to maximise the Screwjob.
With Shawn fearing Owen may be unsafe to work with at this time, Michaels had a word in Vince McMahon’s ear and The Black Hart was soon transitioned into a feud with DX’s second-in-command, Triple H. Not just that, but Owen would soon turn heel and join The Nation of Domination.
At a time when the then-WWF was taking a beating in the ratings by Ted Turner's WCW, not making the most of Owen Hart's Black Hart character is inexcusable.