BRET HART vs.. OWEN HART

Bret "The Hitman" Hart vs. Owen Hart: The Hart's are the so-called, "First Family of Professional Wrestling." All 10 offsprings of Helen and Stu (who, may I add, is a legendary performer in the business, up there with Ernie Ladd, Buddy Landell, and Terry Funk) Hart either became wrestlers (all the males) or married wrestlers (all the females). Stu was a legendary performer in the '40's, '50's, and early '60's, and he passed down his legacy to his children. Stu produced wrestlers out of the Hart Family Basement, referred to as "The Dungeon," and to pass the grade in the dungeon, one needs to endure at least a few broken bones, extremely stiff submission holds, and straight-out stiff manuevers. Bret, Owen, and all of the other siblings passed the grade, and Bret and Owen eventually entered the World Wrestling Federation. Davey Boy Smith (a.k.a. The British Bulldog) and Jim Neidhart, who are real-life brothers-in-law of Bret and Owen, also entered the WWF. Bret won his first of five World Heavyweight Titles in the WWF in 1992, but, years before, in about 1988 or so, formed the Hart Foundation, which consisted of him, Owen, Davey, Neidhart, and Brian Pillman. They teamed together in various tag team matches and watched eachother's back. Owen wasn't a World-Title contender, but Bret was. Owen always seemed to live in the shadow of his legendary brother. In a tag-team elimination match at the 1993 Survivor Series, which pitted Bret, Owen, Bruce, and Keith Hart (the faces) against Shawn Michaels and three guys dressed up as knights (the heels), Owen inadvertantly nailes Bret off of the ring apron and into the steel guardrail at ringside. Bruce and Keith run over to make sure Bret's alright, and Owen watch them try to help Bret back on his feet, realizing the mistake he just made. The momentary distraction allows Michaels to sneak up on Owen and roll him up for the 1-2-3 count, eliminating the younger Hart. Owen blamed Bret for his elimination.

The tention eased in the next few weeks, so much that at the Royal Rumble 1994, Bret and Owen were able to challenge the Tag Team Champions, the Quebeccers, for the titles. Although the match was about ****'s, the Hart siblings lost when Bret's knee gave out on him and referee Tim White used his discretion and called for the bell, ending the match in a No Contest, thereby allowing the Quebeccers to retain their titles. After the match, when Bret had finally stumbled back up to his feet, Owen began yelling at him once again, blaming him for their loss and a waste of their Tag Team Title shot. Then, the famous sibling-betrayal happened: Owen bashed Bret's bad knee, and leaves Bret wailing in pain in the middle of the ring, and, just like that, Owen had become a mega-heel, and Bret became even a bigger face.

Later that same night, in the Royal Rumble Match, Bret (who's knee didn't seem to be giving him much trouble) and Lex Luger eliminated eachother at the same time, and therefore were declared, for the first-time ever, Co-Winners of the 1994 Royal Rumble. This meant that, according to then-WWF President Jack Tunney, they both would get a shot at Yokozuna's WWF World Heavyweight Title at WrestleMania X. On Monday Night Raw, a cointoss was held to determine who would get the first shot at 'Yoko's World Title. Luger won, which meant that he would get the first crack at 'Yoko at WrestleMania. Whoever won the match and the title would defend it later on that same night against Bret. Since Bret and his younger sibling, Owen, were having a bitter mini-feud at the time, the two would face off earlier that night, thereby making sure that Bret isn't fresh and doesn't wrestle the winner of the Yokozuna-Luger match (who would already be worn out due to their first title match of the night). One thing that the two brothers needed to make sure on is that Bret remained a mega-face and Owen a mega-heel. It would be easy to screw up this circumstance, with Bret seeming to be beating up on his younger brother, which could have been interpreted by the fans as Bret acting as a bully. This was the one thing that was always in the back of their mind. Leading up to this bout, Owen cut some excellent promos, focusing on how Bret was supposedly holding him down, and not giving him a chance to shine. He continually ranted, in typical heel-fashion, about how just because Bret's older than him doesn't mean he's better and that, for his entire career, he performed in the shadow of his legendary brother, promising that, at "The Grand Daddy of 'Em All," he was going to show the entire world just how great he was. Even with that, many saw the match as Bret, a mega-face and, at the time, already having cemented his legendary status, going up against his younger brother, a mid-carder who hadn't really had much experience in wrestling in the big-time matches (like main events), let alone his legendary brother. Most believed that Bret would win, and then go into the main event with even more credibility. No matter what the decision that match was, Bret would go on and face the Champion. It's a good thing that stipulation was there.

The referee for the match was Earl Hebner, Bret's then-close friend who would, a bit more than three years later, betray him and cooperate in the "screwing-over" of Bret at the Survivor Series. The match, which, back in 1994, was the first-ever brother vs. brother match in WWF history, was the first bout on the card, to the surprise of many. This didn't ruin it's psychology, as the two siblings went at it the entire match, showcasing every manuever in the book, along with a spectacular array of painfull submission-holds, which, they learned while training in their father's "Dungeon." For 20 minutes and 21 seconds, these two siblings showcased their amazing knowledge of pure-wrestling in what would go down as one of the greatest professional-wrestling matches of all-time (and, may I add, was undoubtedly a ***** classic), and would also help earn the Bret-Owen feud the Pro Wrestling Illustrated award of 1994's "Feud of the Year." Then, when least expected, one of the most cherished moments in the history of this great sport occured. Bret went up to the top-rope and climbed up onto Owen's shoulders. He then rolled down, hooking Owen's head in the process. He was attempting to lock Owen in a victory roll for the pinfall. Owen was one step ahead of him, though. In mid-roll, the younger sibling stopped the momentum and trapped his older brother in a pinning combination. Hebner's hands slammed down on the mat, counting the 1...2......3!!! A hush settled over the Madison Square Garden crowd, as Owen's music hit. Owen Hart had carried through with his promise: He had pinned his older brother, Bret. Owen's hand is raised as he and Bret make eye contact, staring straight into their own flesh and blood. Bret's in awe. No words, just the staredown. Then, Owen turned his back and walked back to the dressing rooms. Bret, after he had taken in what had just occurred, rose to his feet (albeit clearly a limp) and applauded his brother, who had just beaten him fair-and-square. The New York crowd still were uncertain, clearly surprised at, what was, at the time, a huge upset.

Yokozuna retained his title from Lex Luger earlier that night when Special Guest Referee Mr. Perfect (Curt Hennig) made a controversial call, disqualifying Luger for pushing him. Bret Hart unseated the Champion later that night, winning the World Heavyweight Title for the second time on, what some experts have called, the greatest 'Mania of them all. In a completely-unscripted and generously sincere moment that could touch even the most sinful individual, all of the faces in the lockerroom, one-by-one, appeared, shaking the hand of the new Champion, and the man that should have won the title one year earlier at the same event (the year before at WrestleMania, Bret lost the WWF Title to 'Yoko when the goliath's manager, Mr. Fuji, tossed dust in the eyes of Hart, blinding him and allowing Yokozuna to win the title; Hulk Hogan, competing at his last WrestleMania, defeated the champion in an impromptu match, winning the title for a then-all-time record, five times; However, the fact remained that Hart had been screwed out of the title.). First came Luger, who had, in essence, been screwed out of his title shot with a controversial ending. He shook Bret's hand. Next came Roddy Piper, the Special Guest Referee of the match and the man that made the three-count in favor of Bret, who did the same. Tatanka, Razor Ramon (now known as Scott Hall), The 1-2-3 Kid (now known as X-pac), Thurman "Spark-Plugg" Holly (now known as Bob "Hardcore" Holly), and Burt Reynolds all walked through the curtain and into the ring, each shaking Bret's hand and genuinely congratulating him on his title-win. Randy "Macho Man" Savage, making his last-ever appearance at WrestleMania, enters the ring and gives Bret a big hug. Gorilla Monsoon and Bret's future-real-life arch-nemesis, Vince McMahon take off their headsets and climb into the ring, also congratulating Bret. Then in a moment that will live on forever, the superstars in the ring lifted Bret, with the World Title belt strapped around his waist, onto their shoulders, showcasing the new champion to the entire arena crowd and the millions of fans watching on at home.

Owen, who had defeated Bret earlier that night, walked through the curtain a few steps, stopped, and stared into Bret's eyes. The two sibling's eyes met. Owen had defeated Bret on what turned out to be his best night of his career. It didn't matter, though. The accolades were going to Bret that night. The viewer could see the jealousy in Owen's eyes as he stared a hole straight through Bret's forehead. That night was Bret's. However, looking back on the opening match of that night, a fan knows that Owen Hart had finally defeated his brother, the legendary Bret "The Hitman" Hart. Just about every single expert agrees that March 24, 1994 was the night that Owen Hart stepped out of his brother's shadow, and was finally Owen Hart, and not just "Bret's brother." The match with Bret was undoubtedly the single greatest moment of the legendary career of Owen Hart. Not only that, but that same night featured Bret's second WWF World Title win, which was also the greatest single moment in the career of "The Hitman." The match that these two siblings put on will be looked back on as a ***** classic, and the match that put Owen James Hart on the map as a wrestler. Their feud was not over, though. Infact, it was just beginning.

At the 1994 King of the Ring, Owen defeated Tatanka in the first round to advance to the semifinals. In the semi's, he defeated The 1-2-3 Kid (X-Pac) to advance to the finals. His opponent ended up being "The Bad Guy" Razor Ramon. With the help of Jim Neidhart, mega-heel Owen Hart pinned Razor to become the 1994 King of the Ring. A few segments later, Owen was officially coronated as the King of the Ring, crown and all. Owen officially nicknames himself, "The King of Harts," a nickname that would stick with him his entire career. Anyway, Owen had followed in his older brother's footsteps and won the King of the Ring Tournament.

Winning the King of the Ring Tournament elevated Owen even higher up on the card, and earned him his first-ever World Heavyweight Title shot. It was against the same brother who he had upset in a classic ***** bout five months earlier: Bret "The Hitman" Hart. Not only that, but the match would take place withing the bars of a "Steel Cage." That's right: a WWF World Heavyweight Title Steel Cage Match. This was back when a Steel Cage Match was pretty rare. While the match definitely didn't beat their WrestleMania bout (which is nothing to be ashamed of), the bout was a definite ***** classic (once again), and most who've seen it call it the greatest Steel Cage Match in WWF, and, even more shocking, professional history. Bret escaped the cage to retain his title, ending the 32-minute, six-second classic bout. The two would have one other match on WWF Monday Night Raw on March 27, 1995. Bret defeated his younger brother via the Sharpshooter submission hold. This was the last time that the two Hart brothers wrestled in an official, one-on-one contest. On December 9th, 1997, Bret would leave the WWF under extremely controversial circumstances, and, due to contract agreements, Owen was forced to remain the WWF. On May 23, 1999, live on Pay-Per-View, Owen Hart was being lowered to the ring from the top of Kansas City's Kemper Arena via a harness. The harness broke, and Owen fell over 60 feet, crashing down in the ring. Owen James Hart died that tragic night in Kansas City. It was the end of an era. He and Bret Hart never got to look back on their legendary careers like they had planned to do. Owen and Bret provided fans with one of the greatest matches of all-time. R.I.P.

SuperCard/Pay-Per-View One-On-One Match Results:

WWF WrestleMania X (3/20/94): Owen d. Bret
WWF SummerSlam 1994 (8/29/94) Bret d. Owen in a "Steel Cage Match" to retain the WWF World Heavyweight Title
WWF Monday Night Raw (3/27/95): Bret d. Owen