And it continues!

• Owen Hart & Bam Bam Bigelow vs. The Pegasus Kid & “Dr. Death” Steve Williams – (NJPW, Summer 1990)
  

We continue with Owen’s New Japan tour of 1990 with an interesting match. I didn’t originally intend to review this, but LOOK at the combination of wrestlers here! How could I not give this a look. JIP to Owen desperately trying to take Williams off his feet. He finally gets him down with a jumping lariat. Owen tries a bunch of fancy flipping out of a wristlock and Doc pops him in the face! AWESOME. Doc coaxes Owen into a test of strength. He powers Owen down, but of course he arches his back to prevent his shoulders hitting the mat. Owen stands back up and monkey flips Doc over. Another monkey flip from Owen, but Doc stands tall and shoves that away. HUGE press slam by Williams, but then Owen avoids an elbow drop and delivers THREE dropkicks to send Doc to the floor. Back inside, Doc hammers Owen down and tags Pegasus. They go counter for counter. PK takes Owen to the floor for a pescado and the crowd is ROCKING IN THE IMPACT ZONE! Back in, Owen explodes on PK with a German suplex for two. Tag to Bigelow, he KILLS Pegasus dead with a beautiful stalling suplex. Not sure what happened, but Bigelow collapses on a press slam. Pegasus FORCES Bigelow down with a clothesline. Back to Doc v. Owen. Doc applies a headscissors, but Owen rolls over into the ropes. Owen catches Doc with a crossbody block for two, then he makes the mistake of grabbing a headlock on Doc and then drilled with a back suplex. May I say that Doc is awesome. He throws Owen out for Pegasus to deliver a snap suplex on the floor. It’s what he does. Back in, Doc delivers a trapping suplex for two. Owen tries to mount a comeback, but Williams just runs him down. Powerslam by Doc, but Owen kicks out at two. OKLAHOMA STAMPEDE! During one of the turnbuckle smashes, Owen grabs the top rope and falls on top of Doc for 1-2-NO! Tag to Pegasus, they exchange a German suplex. Then PK delivers a tombstone piledriver and delivers the SWANDIVE HEADBUTT for 1-2-NO! Pegasus tries the BACK SUPERPLEX, but Owen collapses on top for the 1-2-3! (11:58 shown) That finish makes me wonder if that last match came before this one or after. I know this is an Owen mixtape, but there was not enough Bigelow here. This was mostly Owen just being the face in peril. Still, a fun match from what we saw. Just not exactly epic. ***¼

• Owen Hart vs. Jushin Liger –Top of the Super Jr. Tournament (NJPW, 4/26/91)

Great feeling-out process to start. Owen bridges out of a knucklelock and does his fancy flip bouncing off the top rope. He takes Liger to the floor for a pescado and some guardrail action followed by a dropkick. Back inside, Liger fights out of a chinlock and buries a few knees in Owen’s belly. To make things even worse for Owen, Liger gives him a suplex from the apron to the floor! Now Liger gives Owen a receipt for whipping him into the guardrail and a dropkick to the chin. Now that Owen has learned his lesson, back inside we go. Liger works on the knee with an Indian Deathlock, but Owen counters into a cross armbreaker. However, Liger makes the ropes before any hyperextending can happen. Hammerlock slam by Owen! He tries for a crossface chickenwing. Double-arm suplex gets two. Just CRAZY work on the arm. Owen will not let up for anything. Fujiwara armbar is applied, but Liger makes the ropes. Liger comes back as he counters a suplex into a Fujiwara armbar of his own. Now he applies the surfboard and stretches Owen REAL good. Owen does his best Rougeau flip to avoid a backdrop, but then Liger catches him with a Rolling Koppou Kick and clotheslines Owen to the floor. There’s a big dive by Liger. Back inside, Owen surprises Liger with a belly to belly suplex for 1-2-NO! A German suplex doesn’t do the job either. Liger delivers a crucifix for two. Crossbody block out of the corner by Owen is met with a dropkick! Owen delivers another flying bodypress, but Liger rolls through for 1-2-NO! The tombstone battle goes a little awry, but Owen wins and hits a flying headbutt for 1-2-NO! MOONSAULT! Cover, 1-2-NO! Owen heads up again, but Liger brings him down with a SUPER ELECTRIC CHAIR DROP! Cover, 1-2-NO! When that doesn’t put Owen away, the SUPER DDT will for the 1-2-3. (14:58) The execution looked a little off here and there towards the finish, but still a really good match from these two. Jushin Liger would go onto the finals, but would lose to Norio Honaga. Don’t know who Norio Honaga is? Yeah, me either. ****

• Owen Hart & Ricky Morton vs. Joey Maggs & Gregg Sawyer – (WCW Main Event, 4/28/91)

Let’s head back to America with a highlight from Owen’s little known run in WCW. They wanted Owen to move to Atlanta, but he wouldn’t and so they parted ways. Brian Pillman wearing the shoulder bandage appears on the split-screen and talks up Owen and Morton as two good friends of his, so PAY ATTENTION. That’s very interesting to me knowing Pillman’s history in Stampede. It should be noted that the classic Lance Russell and Diamond Dallas Page are on commentary here. Morton and Owen are all armdrags on Maggs. Sawyer receives the same fate – except he takes the brunt of a blind tag to Owen. Looks like Sawyer screws up the finish there, but Owen still catches him with a flying bodypress of sorts instead of the flying moonsault for the 1-2-3. (2:39) Can’t believe WCW let him go, but that’s wrestling for you.

• El Blázer Azul vs. El Canek –Mask vs. Mask Match (UWA, 5/29/91)

Okay, I promise that this will be the last match with foreign commentary in it. We’ve seen Owen wrestle in his native Canada, in England, in Japan, and in the United States. However, you can’t talk about international wrestling without mentioning wrestling in Mexico. El Canek is a legendary lucha libre figure and I’m sure it was an honor for Owen to have wrestled him under such huge circumstances. Canek put his mask on the line only nine times during his LONG career that started in 1972. Blazer goes right to the floor and takes out Canek with a pescado. He gets pretty rough with Canek here as he’s stomping and punching the legend pretty good. Canek mounts a comeback, but Blazer falls on top of a try at a tombstone. He locks on the SHARPSHOOTER, but Canek powers out. Blazer applies a bow and arrow, but Canek fights out and hits a suplex. Bad idea jeans for Canek. Blazer hits a butterfly suplex and a running legdrop for two. Flying headbutt to the back! Cover, 1-2-NO! German suplex by Blazer and he wins the first fall at around 5:00 shown.

Blazer pounds the back and delivers another backbreaker for two. Standing powerslam scores another nearfall. Blazer avoids a spinning heel kick and poses for the crowd, but then takes the spinning heel kick after all to the back of the head for the 1-2-3. (6:24 shown) Looks like we missed a fall in there somewhere. Anyways, the Blue Blazer unveils to be Owen Hart. SHOCKER, I know. Nevertheless, he is FREE from the mask of bondage! Wait, that didn’t come out right. **

• Owen & Bret Hart vs. Rick & Scott Steiner – (WWF Florence, SC – 1/11/94)

First off, I’m a HUGE Steiner brothers fan. I’ve known about this match for YEARS and I have no idea why it’s taken me this long to give it a recap. This one can be found most recently on the Hart & Soul DVD that came out in 2010. Gorilla Monsoon and Stan Lane are on commentary. Boy I wish one of them were JR. This starts out like a slow-paced tag match with everyone taking turns picking their spots and trying to wear the other team down showing off their amateur skills. Most of the wearing down in the first ten minutes comes courtesy of the Steiner brothers. Bret hits Rick with a DDT and grabs a sleeper. Rick backs him into the corner for the break, but Bret goes right back to the hold. The arm drops once, twice, but then Rick falls into the ropes for another break. What’s this? Bret lets go of the hold at the count of four! Bret delivers a suplex and comes off the second rope for the elbow, but Rick gets a boot up to block. Steiner Bulldog! Cover, 1-2-NO! Bret goes in for the chest-first corner bump for two. Tag to Scott, he delivers the tilt-a-whirl sideslam! That gets two. Bret misses a corner charge and runs shoulder-first into the post. Scott wants to suplex Bret back in, but Bret counters and takes Scott to the floor as he falls funny on his knee. Back inside, Owen gets a tag and delivers a flying headbutt to the back. Cover, 1-2-NO! Instead of going for the knee, the Harts go for the back. Awesome belly to belly suplex by Owen gets two. The Harts even work in a little HEEL stuff as Bret catches Scott with a knee off a whip from the apron. VINTAGE HART FOUNDATION~! Owen misses a dropkick and there’s the tag to Rick! Tilt-a-whirl backbreaker on Owen gets two. Tag to Scott, he gives Owen a release dragon suplex! SNAP! If you thought that was nuts, here’s the STEINER SCREWDRIVER SUPLEX! Cover, 1-2-NO! Anyone know if he had ever done that in the US before this? Scott tosses Owen to the floor. Once he’s back on the apron, Owen flips Scott over the top rope. Back in, Owen makes the HOT TAG TO BRET! Time for the Five Moves of Doom. Rick breaks up the SHARPSHOOTER. Owen runs in and tries to pick up where Bret left off before he took a forearm to the head, but Rick gives him a forearm shot as well. They go for the STEINERIZER, but Bret stops Rick up top as Owen victory rolls Scott for 1-2-NO! Rick and Bret fall out to the floor. Meanwhile, Scott stops Bret with a double ax handle on the floor as Owen takes out Rick with a pescado. And there’s the bell? (24:59) An amazing wrestling clinic, for sure. However to me, it just feels completely random. A tad overrated in my eyes, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a great match. In fact, it’s probably the last great match for the Steiner brothers as a team in the US. ****½

• WWF Intercontinental Champion Razor Ramon vs. Owen Hart – (Monday Night Raw, 1/9/95)
  

Owen grabs the IC title belt and poses with it before the bell, so Razor punches him real good for his antics. There’s a BAAAACK BODY DROP and we are on the floor. Vince mentions a no holds barred match set between Bret and Owen in Corpus Christi for the next night. You can catch that one on the Brawl in the Family Coliseum video. Back inside, Razor whips Owen from corner to corner for two. Owen runs shoulder-first into the post and Razor snaps on the arm. After an extended armbar, Owen backflips out of a hammerlock and runs right into the Fallaway Slam. Owen backdrops out of the RAZOR’S EDGE and sends Ramon to the floor for a tope suicida. Wild! Back inside, Razor rolls through a flying bodypress for 1-2-NO! Commercials! When we return, Owen whips Razor from corner to corner and connects with the ENZIGURI KICK OF EXTREME DISCOMFORT for two. Spinning Heel Kick scores another nearfall. Next up, there’s chinlocks and sleeper holds applied to Razor. He fights out with a back suplex for 1-2-NO! Owen can’t get the hiptoss and flips around into the Chokeslam. Owen elbows away the Back Superplex and crotches Razor on the top rope. Missile dropkick by Owen sets up the SHARPSHOOTER. Wait a minute, here comes Bret to attack Owen for the DQ. (11:12 shown) While Bret beats up on his little brother, Jeff Jarrett and the Roadie run down to post Razor Ramon. Jarrett then attacks Bret from behind to heat up their match set for next week’s Raw. Razor comes back as he and Bret clean house together on Jeff Jarrett. Great TV match from these two and I want to see more. ***

• Owen Hart vs. Bret Hart – No Holds Barred (Monday Night Raw, 3/27/95)
  

We had to get at least ONE of their matches on this mixtape. On the eve of WrestleMania 11, Bret meets Owen in one of the last times they would ever face each other on TV. JR and Gorilla Monsoon are on commentary. Like Owen loves to do, he attacks Bret before the lights come back on. Bret makes his brother pay with a barrage of right hands in the corner followed by a hair slam. There’s a DDT and we go to the floor for some ringside brawling. Bret is in TOTAL control. Back inside, Bret beats Owen’s face up and then delivers a headbutt to the groin. Owen claws the eyes to avoid a backbreaker and delivers a headbutt to Bret’s groin. Inverted atomic drop to Bret. WOOO! Owen delivers the ENZIGURI KICK OF EXTREME DISCOMFORT! Back to the floor. Owen bounces Bret’s face off the steel steps. That’s just nasty. There’s a trip to the guardrail and we need a commercial break. AND WE’RE BACK! Chinlock is applied, but Bret breaks loose and delivers a crucifix for two. Owen sets up Bret in the tree of woe. While the ref is busy trying to loosen up Bret, Owen takes one of the turnbuckle pads off. Why the distraction? You can’t get DQ’ed. Anyways, the exposed turnbuckle smash backfires on Owen and here comes the Five Moves of Doom. Here comes the SHARPSHOOTER, but Owen thumbs Bret RIGHT in the eye. Awesome! Bret takes the chest-first corner bump for two. Here comes the Missile Dropkick, but Bret sidesteps and catapults Owen onto the exposed turnbuckle! Bret locks in the SHARPSHOOTER and it’s all over. (10:27 shown) Great, hard-fought match that didn’t need blood, chairs or tables to be violent. ***½

• Owen Hart, Yokozuna & Hakushi (w/Jim Cornette & Shinja) vs. Bret Hart, Razor Ramon & Savio Vega – (WWF Wheeling, WV – 6/6/95)
  

This one came upon request. JR and Dok Hendrix are on commentary. We JIP to Owen caught on the wrong side of town. Fallaway Slam gets two. Owen goes to the eyes and then hits the Spinning Heel Kick. Reverse neckbreaker, but Owen misses a flying elbow. Tag to Bret, but just in time Owen tags Hakushi. Bret gives him a DDT and delivers the Vertical Flying Elbow for two. Backbreaker and a legdrop scores another nearfall. Hakushi sends Bret in for the chest-first corner bump. He follows up with a Bronco Buster and Bret becomes *your* face-in-peril. Here comes the ENZIGURI KICK OF EXTREME DISCOMFORT. Bret fights out of a chinlock, but runs into a belly to belly suplex for 1-2-NO! After a double slam from Owen and Yoko, Hakushi misses a flying headbutt. HOT TAG TO SAVIO! He clamps an Octopus Stretch (!!) on Hakushi. The tags champs come in to break it up, but Savio sees them coming and delivers the DOUBLE NOGGIN KNOCKER. While Savio is pounding on Yoko in the corner, he leaps back onto Hakushi for 1-2-NO! Razor wipes out Yoko, but Owen breaks up another Octopus Stretch. Owen and Hakushi try a double clothesline, but Savio ducks and comes back around to clothesline Hakushi down. Meanwhile, Bret pulls out Owen as Savio covers Hakushi for the 1-2-3. (9:16 shown) Fun southern-style six-man clearly booked by Jim Cornette. ***

• WWF Champion Shawn Michaels (w/Chyna) vs. Owen Hart – (Raw is War, 12/29/97)

When Owen returned after he took some time off after Survivor Series, he came for revenge on Degeneration-X and had been attacked them for weeks leading up to this match. Originally scheduled to be Owen v. HHH until Helmsley blew out his knee. Commissioner Slaughter then changed the European title match to a WWF title match. A FIRED UP Owen does NOT mess around as he jumps Shawn on the floor during his entrance. They go in and out of the ring as Shawn takes one of his signature backdrops over the top to the floor. Commercials! When we return, Owen is still beating the heck out of Shawn as we see Hunter Hearst Helmsley has come down to ringside on crutches. Chyna trips up Owen to distract him as Shawn shoves Owen off the apron onto the guardrail. NASTY! Back in, Shawn hits a piledriver for 1-2-NO! There’s a DDT as well. Cover gets two. HBK hooks on the sleeper. Owen backs him into the corner for the break, but it takes a back suplex to stop the sleeper for good. HERE COMES OWEN! Boy, he is intense. Shawn does his best Ray Stevens corner bump into a clothesline for two. Spinning Heel Kick gets 1-2-NO! Belly to belly suplex scores another nearfall! Owen misses a corner charge, but ducks SWEET CHIN MUSIC and hits the ENZIGURI KICK OF EXTREME DISCOMFORT! Snap! Owen hooks the SHARPSHOOTER! Oh, but HHH nails Owen with one of his crutches from the floor for the DQ. (7:55 shown) Owen’s chances at ever being the main event guy had come and gone in the WWF when Bret Hart left the company. For this short moment, he appeared super motivated to really beat up Shawn Michaels. ***¼

• WWF Tag Team Champions The Big Bossman & Ken Shamrock vs. Owen Hart & Jeff Jarrett (w/Debra) – (Raw is War, 1/25/99)

Enough is enough, and it’s time for a change. Owen and Jarrett had been on QUITE a win streak the last couple weeks as we see in the video with wins over the tag champs in a non-title affair, the New Age Outlaws, and the team of Gangrel and Edge mostly due to the distraction of Debra’s great personality. Bossman REFUSES her advances before the match and then fights off JJ. Jarrett misses the Bossman straddle on the Big Bossman, who then returns the favor as he slides under the bottom rope and pops Jarrett with an uppercut. Jarrett comes back and tags Owen for a double-team clothesline. Sharpshooter gets kicked away and in comes Shamrock. Since Owen is in trouble, Debra locks eyes with Shamrock. Owen nails Shamrock with the ENZIGURI KICK OF EXTREME DISCOMFORT. That only gets two. Shamrock fires back with a spin kick of his own. Powerslam by Owen scores a nearfall, but then he whiffs on a missile dropkick. Time for Debra to show off the goodies. Shamrock tries to ignore the puppies. JJ comes over and pulls her blazer completely off leaving the boys just tucked away in a black bra! But can Ken resist? He looks away as he clamps the ANKLELOCK on Owen. JJ breaks that up, but here comes Bossman to toss him out to the floor. HEY LOOK! It’s the Blue Blazer! But wait, that’s a black guy. Twenty bucks says its Koko B. Ware. Anyways, he runs down and KABONGS Shamrock while the ref was busy with Bossman and Jarrett as Owen jumps on top for the 1-2-3. (4:39) Afterwards, Kevin Kelly speaks with Owen, Jarrett, and Debra. Owen says he feels vindicated since he’s been saying all along that he’s not the Blue Blazer. Enough is enough! We did it! WOO! Look at Shamrock. He is clearly upset! ¾*

In a form of punishment, Owen would return to the Blue Blazer character that he started with at the beginning of his WWF career in the spring of 1999. While attempting an entrance where he would descend from the ceiling, he would fall to his death on the Over the Edge PPV on May 23 1999. He’s one of the finest performers ever in wrestling and I can honestly say that I’ve never heard anyone say a negative word about Owen Hart.

Oh, and this is for the guy who keeps voting for the Nasty Boys way past the point we decided to go with Owen.

Final Thoughts: Ahem, yes. Owen Hart is amazing. How do you not know that? Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this edition of the YouTube Mixtape!