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WrestleMania is an institution, and this year, as the WWE gets prepared to put on their 31st WrestleMania Event, It would be a good time to write about some of the best Wrestlemania matches.Here we are looking back at Bret Hart vs Owen Hart at Wrestlemania X which is quite possibly the greatest opening match at any WrestleMania, and one of my favourite WrestleMania matches of all time.
#1 The Build
It all started at Royal Rumble 1994, It saw Bret Hart and Lex Lugar simultaneously go over the top rope. As a result, at Wrestlemania X, both would face the champion, Yokozuna. A coin toss determined that Lugar would take on Yoko first then Bret would face the winner of that match to close the show.
However, Bret still had two matches that night, the first against his younger brother Owen. The story went that Owen was tired of living in the shadow of his brother Bret and things came to a head at the Survivor Series. In their match Owen was the only member eliminated from the Hart family team owing to a collision with Bret. They patched things up to face the toag champions The Quebecers at the 1994 Royal Rumble but Bret failed tag his brother and the match was stopped due to his knee injury. Owen then kicked that same knee from under Bret after the match setting up this brother v brother match that kicked off Wrestlemania X.
#2 The Event
This event was held at the Famous Madison Square Garden. The major highlight of the event were the WWF Title match between Lex Luger- Yokozuna and Bret Hart- Yokozuna, it was defended two times on the show and Intercontinental Title match between Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon.
The 1994 WrestleMania was the first time Hulk Hogan won’t grace us with his presence or compete in a match with anyone! It’s odd to know that WrestleMania X was the first WrestleMania without the Hulkster. Vince McMahon, the WWE, and WrestleMania, didn’t need Hulk Hogan for future WrestleMania’s here-on-out. Yes, the first few Hogan were needed to help get WrestleMania on the map as the Super Bowl of professional wrestling and the Super Bowl of the World Wrestling Federation.
#3 The Match
When Owen’s theme hit, the fans showered him with boos, and who can blame them? Something that helped Owen to gain more heat was he walked out with a Hitman shades on and once he got to the ring, he ripped them into pieces. When the Hitman’s theme song played, the crowd jumped to their feet and welcomed Bret to his first match at WrestleMania.
One of the most arduous tasks in wrestling is opening the show at WrestleMania. There’s always a great deal of pressure when you’re the first performer the crowd sees, when its WrestleMania that pressure is multiplied by a thousand. Blood brothers Bret and Owen Hart were given that exact task at the tenth anniversary show and did not disappoint. They took center stage and put on a clinic. From bell to bell the match was virtually flawless, and on any other night easily would’ve been the best match.
Starting off in the early going with Owen countering his brother's every attempt at asserting himself, this one very quickly ascended into the all-time classic fans still rave about some 20 years later. With McMahon and Lawler divided over which brother was 'ahead on points,' Bret eventually got the better of his brother with a stiff clothesline to the outside. The Hitman continued with a couple of nearfalls and a series of arm-bars. It wasn't long before Owen regained the advantage, abandoning the technical wrestling approach employed in the early moments and attacking his older sibling on the outside. Back and forth they went, each man taking turns to punish the other in a thrilling contest well deserving of its five-star status. Towards the climax, Bret dove over the top rope onto Owen, yet damaged his knee in the process. Back inside the ring, The Rocket took advantage by kicking Bret's leg out of his leg again and working over the injured knee, but still the resilient Hitman battled on. Eventually making a comeback, The Hitman took control, shooting his brother face-first into the corner and dropping a leg for a two count. A bulldog and a piledriver followed, yet when Hart attempted a victory roll from the top rope, the younger Hart countered, pinning the former champion's shoulders to the mat for a three count.
This is one of the greatest WrestleMania matches ever, and is definitely the best WrestleMania opener ever. Hell, it is one of the greatest matches ever. The hype for this match was very high, as were the expectations, and the two brothers delivered big time. What makes this match even more memorable is that Owen won in a huge upset. I don’t think anyone in their right mind expected him to beat Bret that night, as Owen was not even seen as being in Bret’s class at the time. The Harts put on a clinic in mat wrestling, selling and psychology and would have single handedly made this show awesome. Anyway, this is a must see for wrestling fans and is the match that Made Owen a star and poured more fuel into the searing Hart Family fire. This match is the absolute definition of pure wrestling.
#4 The Aftermath
Later that night, Bret def Yokozuna to win his second WWF Championship. Luger congratulated him, and then nearly all the babyfaces came down to the ring to throw an impromptu celebration – even Vince McMahon was in the ring! And Burt Reynolds! And Owen came down – wait, Owen came down? And he stood in the shadows of the entrance tunnel. Symbolism, perhaps? Despite beating Bret and figuratively “getting out of his shadow,” Bret was once again champion with the spotlight firmly in his direction; Owen was back in the shadow of his older brother. That’s how I’ve always seen it.
Later on in 1994, Owen would go on to win the King of the Ring Tournament and would also compete in a classic Steel Cage match with his brother once again, this time with the WWE Championship on the line. It was again another classic and allowed fans to witness a steel cage match that was so intense without it being bloody or unnecessarily violent.
Sadly, Owen died tragically in 1999 and is no longer with us; legal issues have reportedly kept him out of a well-deserved place in the WWE Hall of Fame to this point. Bret retired in 2000 following a severe concussion suffered in WCW in 1999, but made some sporadic appearances in the ring in recent years. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2006.
I think if Owen were still with us today, he may be retired by now but I believe towards the end of his run he’d be doing what Chris Jericho is doing today and that is helping the future superstars of the wrestling industry, competing for the fun of the business while helping make new stars. Owen just appeared to have that genuine desire to make others happy and a heart of gold. I think this is what made his death so difficult for his peers and fans alike because in this world we need more people like Owen Hart; someone who loves his family, loves his co-workers, loves his supporters and in turn allows others to pour out love to him as well.
