WWE Hall of Famer Bret Hart spoke about his brother Owen Hart on the premiere episode of Confessions of the Hitman. Highlights, including Bret saying WWE never gave Owen a proper chance, can be found below.
Bret recalls fantasy booking Owen as the bad guy:
When I was a kid, I used to draw these [pro] wrestling magazines in these notepads, and I would have the cover, and I would write all these stories, and I had my kids from school as characters. I had this fantasy wrestling league with all these wrestlers and stuff. I made one brother as the bad brother. Like, the one Hart that had the dark side. That was Owen and it was funny how many years later when we were wrestling each other or we were getting ready to wrestle each other, he said, ‘remember those magazines you used to draw? I’m just like the guy in the magazines.’ And it was so true. I was actually the world champion in my wrestling thing and I had feuds with Owen in my wrestling magazine. It was just a funny little coincidence, but everything with Owen, there was a lot of real situations with Owen.
How WWE never gave Owen a shot so he agreed to feud with him to help show his talent:
I remember I didn’t want to do it. They came to me with the idea and I was like, they ran it by me and I said, ‘first of all, I can only do it with Owen, if I do this. And, I want to think about it overnight because I don’t know if I want to fight my own brother.’ I remember talking to my mom and saying, ‘this is what they’re thinking.’ I think she started crying on the phone being so disappointing, [saying] ‘I hope not’ and everything. I remember telling my mom, ‘but Owen needs a break!’ I needed to do this for Owen, so he could show everybody that he’s better than they give him credit for.” Bret added, “they didn’t understand how good of a talent Owen was.
Says he used his leverage and demanded that Owen get a push:
I remember I told Owen the night before, I said, ‘think about it overnight. We’ll come back tomorrow before I have my meeting with Vince,’” Bret recalled. “And I was in a good position with Vince. I had a little bit of leverage at that time, which you never have leverage for any kind of negotiation with [WWE]. But I had leverage at that time because they needed me and they had to re-sign me. And I had talked to them and I had said, ‘you need to give Owen a push. I’m not asking you. I’m telling you because he’s too good of a wrestler and he’s going to quit and become a fireman because you guys aren’t using him very [well]!
On him telling Owen to go to Japan:
I remember talking to Owen about it. I said, ‘quit, go home, go somewhere else. Go to Japan for a couple of years. Then, come back and you’ll get your break.’ They needed good wrestlers, but they obviously missed the boat with Owen. I think for a long time.
Full episode can be found here. (H/T and transcribed by Wrestling Inc.)
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