Shanghai Kid Posted March 9, 2005 Report Posted March 9, 2005 I thought the whole problem between Austin and Owen stemmed specifically from the incident at SS 97. But reading Martha Harts book, she said even before that Owen and Austin not only didn't like each other, but that Owen suspected that Austin might even fake an injury in the match. She also says Owen never felt like he did anything wrong in the match, he didn't take responsibility for it at least and I guess Austin rightfully resented that. So on the 'Owen' dedicated Raw, what was the point of Austin coming out last and saluting Owen? Austin not only didn't like the guy, he was one of the few wrestlers not to show up to his funeral. Also, did Davey Boy Smith really use Owen's death to get himself a job again in the WWE? The whole Hart family seemed to split over Martha's lawsuit. And I had no idea about the whole Max Mini thing, good thing they aborted that idea.
Guest LooneyTune Posted March 9, 2005 Report Posted March 9, 2005 Austin didn't "hate" Owen. He wasn't too happy (I can't think of the word I was going to use here) that Owen wasn't more "upset" over nearly crippling him, which people seem to think means "hatred". The beer salute was just his way of saying good bye to him I guess.
The Decemberists Posted March 9, 2005 Report Posted March 9, 2005 So on the 'Owen' dedicated Raw, what was the point of Austin coming out last and saluting Owen? Depends how you want to look at it. It's either evil Vince having Austin go out at the end as he was the top guy etc, or Steve feeling genuine sadness at the loss of a co-worker. Considering he didn't go to the funeral my leaning is more on the first.
Guest krazykat72 Posted March 9, 2005 Report Posted March 9, 2005 I thought the whole problem between Austin and Owen stemmed specifically from the incident at SS 97. But reading Martha Harts book, she said even before that Owen and Austin not only didn't like each other, but that Owen suspected that Austin might even fake an injury in the match. She also says Owen never felt like he did anything wrong in the match, he didn't take responsibility for it at least and I guess Austin rightfully resented that. So on the 'Owen' dedicated Raw, what was the point of Austin coming out last and saluting Owen? Austin not only didn't like the guy, he was one of the few wrestlers not to show up to his funeral. Also, did Davey Boy Smith really use Owen's death to get himself a job again in the WWE? The whole Hart family seemed to split over Martha's lawsuit. And I had no idea about the whole Max Mini thing, good thing they aborted that idea. Around the time of the Owen lawsuit, the WWE started trying to divide the family and it ended up with people like Elle (Neidhart's wife) and Diana (Davey Boy's wife) siding with Vince with Bret and Martha (Owen's wife) on the other side. Davey Boy was largely given the job to appease that side of the family (though I don't know who approached who). Check out some Observers from that time. Dave covered it really well. -Paul Jacobi-
Guest LooneyTune Posted March 9, 2005 Report Posted March 9, 2005 I assumed it was a "hand out", since Davey Boy was fucked over by WCW when he injured his back, and his career was basically dead. The catering to the Hart family is a much better one for me to use now.
BUTT Posted March 9, 2005 Report Posted March 9, 2005 Didn't they also rehire Neidhart around the time, but never use him?
Guest BrokenWings Posted March 9, 2005 Report Posted March 9, 2005 They were going over the spot in the back before the match, Austin asked if he'd drop to his knees, Owen smiled and said he drops to his ass. They never came to a resolution. If they couldn't agree on the spot, I don't see why they didn't come up with anything else. Yes, I realise Austin's head was still too far down. But he wasn't protecting himself as well as he should have been. Also, I believe the friction basically stemmed from the fact they were basically complete opposites. Austin drank, and Owen didn't. Owen also felt bad for Debra since she was in an abusive relationship with Mongo, but I don't know if Austin was abusive at that time. But I digress.
Guest Sturgis Posted March 9, 2005 Report Posted March 9, 2005 It's either evil Vince having Austin go out at the end as he was the top guy etc, or Steve feeling genuine sadness at the loss of a co-worker. Considering he didn't go to the funeral my leaning is more on the first. I belive the reason was because Austin doesn't do well at funerals.
Guest Arnold_OldSchool Posted March 9, 2005 Report Posted March 9, 2005 And I had no idea about the whole Max Mini thing, good thing they aborted that idea. ---- What am I missing here?
MillenniumMan831 Posted March 9, 2005 Report Posted March 9, 2005 It's either evil Vince having Austin go out at the end as he was the top guy etc, or Steve feeling genuine sadness at the loss of a co-worker. Considering he didn't go to the funeral my leaning is more on the first. I belive the reason was because Austin doesn't do well at funerals. I don't think anyone does well at funerals. You show up to pay your respects to the family. A simple "I'm sorry about your loss" is suffice. Maybe he was afraid someone may catch him crying and thought that would be death to his gimmick or something . . . I dunno.
iliketurtles Posted March 10, 2005 Report Posted March 10, 2005 He didn't go to Pillman's funeral either. It's really hard to tell the whole situation with Austin and Owen. I think any bitterness Austin has towards Owen was gone after he passed away. I mean, Austin could of been the one that broke his neck and died after the piledriver.
Highland Posted March 10, 2005 Report Posted March 10, 2005 Bret Hart said on OTR that Austin was upset at Owen for not being more responsible during that match. Austin feels Owen didn't protect him and screwed up the move. It happens. As for not attending the funeral, I don't think there was any malice in that, since he didn't attend Pillman's funeral either. Perhaps he feels that something so personal as mourning should not be displayed to the public?
Hunter's Torn Quad Posted March 10, 2005 Report Posted March 10, 2005 Austin was also upset at Owen not calling him after the neck accident, and seeing how he was. A couple of years ago he even said something about how Owen should have been calling him all the time. Funny thing is Austin did the same thing to Masahiro Chono that Owen did to him, and I don't think Austin was calling Chono a lot to see how he was.
Placebo Effect Posted March 10, 2005 Report Posted March 10, 2005 And I had no idea about the whole Max Mini thing, good thing they aborted that idea. ---- What am I missing here? They wanted Owen to fly down to the ring with Max Mini strapped to his chest. Owen showed up to rehearsal late that day, though, so they couldn't plan it out right.
Guest LooneyTune Posted March 10, 2005 Report Posted March 10, 2005 Thank god for Owen being late... although it still cost him his life. Whatever happend to Max Mini, by the way?
Guest Sturgis Posted March 10, 2005 Report Posted March 10, 2005 Backstory: Vince put a $100,000 bounty on Austin in the 99' Rumble. Whoever eliminated Austin would get $100,000 cash. Vince eliminated Austin, but since The Rock helped he'd get the money. Vince had guards protecting the money and Foley attack them(because of the "1 Quit match against The Rock) and took the money. Foley then bought Max Mini for his kids. He also bought Debra a sweater with the classic line:"Hey Debra I got something for your boobs." Max Mini was never seen again. Psuembly he is still in Mick Foley's house.
Steve J. Rogers Posted March 10, 2005 Report Posted March 10, 2005 It's either evil Vince having Austin go out at the end as he was the top guy etc, or Steve feeling genuine sadness at the loss of a co-worker. Considering he didn't go to the funeral my leaning is more on the first. I belive the reason was because Austin doesn't do well at funerals. I don't think anyone does well at funerals. You show up to pay your respects to the family. A simple "I'm sorry about your loss" is suffice. Maybe he was afraid someone may catch him crying and thought that would be death to his gimmick or something . . . I dunno. Can't break kayfabe for a few freaking minutes?
Shanghai Kid Posted March 10, 2005 Author Report Posted March 10, 2005 Actually as far as breaking kayfabe goes, Undertaker was I believe the only other guy who didn't give any comments on the 'Owen' Raw. To this day I think Undertaker didn't want to break his deadman gimmick and show any kind of emotion. Of course just a year later he would say screw all of that and become a biker who pimped Limp Bisket music.
Guest LooneyTune Posted March 10, 2005 Report Posted March 10, 2005 Most people who wrestled didn't say anything (Kane, the Hardys, The Brood to name a few), but The Undertaker wasn't there period, unless he was hiding behind someone during the 10 bell salute.
CBright7831 Posted March 10, 2005 Report Posted March 10, 2005 Actually as far as breaking kayfabe goes, Undertaker was I believe the only other guy who didn't give any comments on the 'Owen' Raw. To this day I think Undertaker didn't want to break his deadman gimmick and show any kind of emotion. Of course just a year later he would say screw all of that and become a biker who pimped Limp Bisket music. The WWE didn't want Taker, Bearer, or Kane out when they were giving the ten bell salute, because their characters represented death. Although later in the night you did see Kane wearing an O.H. band when he and X-Pac wrestled against someone.
TheOriginalOrangeGoblin Posted March 10, 2005 Report Posted March 10, 2005 Taker attended the funeral though.
iliketurtles Posted March 10, 2005 Report Posted March 10, 2005 Same with Paul Bearer, who also made comments on the show itself.
CBright7831 Posted March 10, 2005 Report Posted March 10, 2005 Yeah, I forgot Bearer was on the show. But that was the official reason why you didn't see them during the 10-bell salute. I don't know why they were asked to stay in the back. They could have came out as Mark Calloway, Glenn Jacobs, and William Moody instead of their on-air roles.
Guest Sturgis Posted March 10, 2005 Report Posted March 10, 2005 Most people who wrestled didn't say anything (Kane, the Hardys, The Brood to name a few), but The Undertaker wasn't there period, unless he was hiding behind someone during the 10 bell salute. Edge did talk. Sable didn't talk either but that's because she was being a bitch at the time.
Guest LooneyTune Posted March 10, 2005 Report Posted March 10, 2005 Kane and Paul Bearer might've been on stage for the salute (I'm pretty sure Kane was), but it's been years since I've seen the show, so it's all a blurr.
The Niggardly King Posted March 10, 2005 Report Posted March 10, 2005 The only people I really remember while talking about Owen that night were Jeff Jarrett, Mark Henry, Triple H, and The Rock really.
CBright7831 Posted March 10, 2005 Report Posted March 10, 2005 And Big Bossman, who broke down as he read what would be put on Owen's tombstone.
Epic Reine Posted March 10, 2005 Report Posted March 10, 2005 Wasn't that Mark Henry who read the poem then started crying? Jarrett really got to me as he tried to hide his emotion but then just started breaking down and crying. Really sad stuff. I remember Edge, Debra, Mick Foley, and Shane McMahon talking about Owen too.
Nightfall Posted March 10, 2005 Report Posted March 10, 2005 I remember Shamrock being one of the only guys that wrestled that didn't have an armband on. I always wondered about that.
TheOriginalOrangeGoblin Posted March 10, 2005 Report Posted March 10, 2005 Debre, Jarrett, Henry, Foley, HHH and Bossman were by far the most emotional speeches.
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