Jason Sensation was supposed to make his return to WWE television after his initial Attitude Era success, but everything changed following Owen Hart’s tragic death in May 1999. According to Sensation, WWE had plans to bring him back before the company ultimately decided his connection to Owen made that return too complicated.
Speaking during an interview with Chris Van Vliet, Sensation opened up about how his WWE career lost momentum after immigration problems prevented him from continuing his regular appearances on Monday Night RAW. The Canadian performer had become a recognizable part of WWE programming thanks to his impersonations, particularly his portrayal of Owen Hart during DX’s famous Nation of Domination parody. However, after being stopped at the United States border without the proper work authorization, his regular television appearances came to an abrupt end.
Despite that setback, WWE eventually started making plans to bring him back. Sensation explained that the company wanted him to resume hosting live events, which would eventually lead to another opportunity on television.
“And then when they were bringing me back, it’s so unfortunate, but they were bringing me back. They had me hosting again, being the host of all of these different shows.”
Sensation revealed that he had been booked for a Canadian tour that was supposed to serve as his official comeback. Unfortunately, those plans fell apart when Owen Hart died following his fatal accident at WWE Over the Edge in May 1999.
“There was this whole Canadian tour that I was booked to return on and it was going to put me back on TV and that’s when Owen passed away and they canceled all the Canadian shows after Owen passed away and that was my whole comeback.”
The cancellations weren’t the only problem. Sensation explained that his association with Owen Hart became another obstacle because his most recognizable WWE character was an impression of the late wrestler. According to Sensation, WWE officials believed bringing him back would serve as a reminder of Owen during an already difficult period involving the Hart family and ongoing legal issues.
“And then at that point they were like, ‘You’re a connection to Owen. You’re a reminder of Owen. There’s all this litigation right now going on with the family and we just got to leave you in the bank right now.'”
Instead of returning to RAW, Sensation remained under contract while receiving limited opportunities. He continued working occasional events in Canada alongside WWE Canada executive Carl DeMarco, but the television comeback he had been promised never happened.
“And I was, you know, getting paid to stay home. I would do events with Carl DeMarco in Canada, just local stuff, entertaining the crowd.”
Sensation spent some of that downtime attending wrestling school and trying to improve his abilities in hopes of finding another role within the company. However, despite those efforts, WWE never managed to restore the momentum he had enjoyed during his initial run.
“But then, yeah, we never got the ball really rolling again.”
Sensation’s account shows how quickly circumstances changed for someone who appeared to have found his place during WWE’s biggest boom period. What began as a promising comeback through a Canadian tour ended with the company keeping him away from television, leaving him without the opportunity to rebuild the career he had started.
Do you think WWE could have found a way to bring Jason Sensation back without relying on his Owen Hart impersonation, or was keeping him off television the right decision at the time? Share your thoughts and feedback in the comments below.
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