Professional wrestling makes us feel a variety of emotions: excitement, anger, and laughter to name a few...but rarely does it deliver us heartache. However, on May 24th, 1999, Raw was a heartbreaking two hour episode that celebrated the life and career of Owen Hart, who tragically passed away in a WWF ring just 24 hours earlier. Owen's death came at a time when we were dealing with a series of deaths in the sport, and it was his who hit many the hardest. He was young, a family man and a fan favorite. The wrestlers were absolutely devastated by his loss. There would have been no shame at all in cancelling the pay-per-view, and just airing old matches of his the next night. But McMahon firmly believes in the age old adage "the show must go on." Not only did the pay-per-view continue after word of his death got out, but an entire live episode of Raw went on live the next day. The show opened solemnly with the roster standing at the top of the entrance. A ten bell salute rang in his honor, and a video aired with photos and videos of throughout Owen's life. Over the course of the night, wrestlers were not in character as they talked about their love for their fallen colleague. By all accounts, he was one of the most well-loved men in the business. Many tears were shed. His tag partner Jeff Jarrett choked up as he talked about his friend, Mark Henry wrote an incredibly sad poem for him and Mick Foley told a touching story about how his son cut his hair to look like his idol Owen's. Of course, the wrestling was a distant thought on anyone's mind that night, but it's amazing how anyone was able to perform at all. It's rare to see a finishing move and want to cry, but when Jeff Jarrett locked Test in the Sharpshooter and pointed towards the sky it was hard not to. Raw was topped off by Steve Austin (who was legitimately nearly paralyzed by Owen a few years earlier on a botched piledriver) cracking open a couple of beers and saluting him. http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xf2zj_wwe-owen-hart-tribute-show-part-1_sport Most episodes of Raw are about wrestling matches, and absurd or exciting storylines. That was all dropped the night Raw is Owen aired, as the men and women of the company showed us the people behind the characters. It's far too often that a wrestler's death is ignored by the WWE, but that night they put on an amazing tribute that was the ultimate send-off for The King of Harts. It was filled with genuine emotion that was bravely performed, and touching. It remains Raw's greatest episode.
As Rust Cohle from True Detective said "Life's barely long enough to get good at one thing. So be careful what you're good at."
Sadly, I can't solve a murder like Rust...or change a tire, or even tie a tie. But I do know all the lyrics to Hulk Hogan's "Real American" theme song and can easily name every Natural Born Thriller from the dying days of WCW. I was once ranked 21st in the United States in Tetris...on the Playstation 3 version...for about a week.
Follow along @AndrewSoucek and check out my podcast at wrestlingwithfriends.com
