WWE News: Jim Ross recalls Owen Hart's reaction to him hurting Stone Cold Steve Austin at SummerSlam

What's the story?

When two wrestlers face off in the ring, they put an immense amount of trust in one another. They must believe that their opponent is trained well enough and cares enough about the craft in order to do things the right way.

Even if they are both well trained, accidents still happen in the ring. One such case was when Owen Hart accidentally hurt Steve Austin's neck at SummerSlam. Jim Ross recalled Hart's reaction to the injury backstage on his Grilling JR podcast who was seemingly embarrassed.

In case you didn't know...

For much of his early career, Owen Hart wasn't treated with as much respect as his older and more prominent brother, Bret. He had endured gimmicks and teams like High Energy and the New Foundation but made his mark both against Bret and by his side.

The heart of the matter

When things don't go as planned in the ring, the results can be minimal or they can be severe. Hart's botch of a piledriver on Austin was the latter. Even though both men were veterans of the ring, accidents are still a part of the game.

Austin was on his way to becoming one of the top draws in the company, but after his neck was severely injured, some thought that his ascent was over before it truly got started. Jim Ross remembered a lot of what happened backstage after the injury, including how Hart reacted to accidentally injuring a co-worker.

"During Steve’s time off, I was in and out of San Antonio a few times. I’d see Owen at TV, he’s always pull me off to the side, didn’t fail, to ask about Steve. Because he knew I’d be talking to him. Not just because of my job, but also because of our friendship. And so I’d tell him how Steve was doing, but he never said to me, ‘Well, if you think about it tell him I said hello, or tell him whatever.’ He would never have got there. ’cause that’s kind of awkward. I know that Owen had been kind of reluctant about contacting Steve on the injury."

Instead of it being awkward or because Hart didn't know what to say to Austin, Ross felt that Owen's reluctance was for another reason.

"And I don’t think it was anything mean-spirited. I think it was strictly a matter of, he was embarrassed. He was a Hart. And to many people, wrestling equals the Hart Family. And Owen, unlike Bret — Bret would tell you he’d never hurt anybody in his life in a match he had. That’s a great thing to say. And he meant it, and it’s true. Owen could never say that now. Because he’d not only hurt somebody, he may have ended the career of the biggest star we looked like we were ever gonna have.” [H/T: 411mania]

What's next?

However it is looked at, Owen Hart must have had a truly hard time living up to the family name. Not only was he the youngest brother, but his older brother was one of the biggest stars in the business. It's a shame that he had that burden, but he is remembered as one of the most underrated stars in the business.