Bret Hart’s tribute match for Owen Hart almost never happened because WCW pulled it from the card after he arrived at the arena.
While speaking with Inside The Ropes, Hart opened up about his October 1999 match against Chris Benoit at Kemper Arena in Kansas City. The match became one of the most emotional moments of Hart’s WCW run, but company officials nearly killed the entire idea before the show.
The location carried enormous weight. Kemper Arena was the same building where Owen suffered his fatal accident months earlier, and Hart believed returning there offered a chance to honor his brother properly.
Hart personally pitched the match after learning WCW was running the building. He wanted to face Benoit in a clean babyface wrestling match dedicated to Owen, and he made it clear that the winner did not matter.
“Why don’t you put me with Chris Benoit and put us in Kansas City, and we’ll have a babyface match and dedicate it to Owen? We can do whatever finish you want. I’ll put him over if you want, or whoever you want to win. We could have a beautiful match.”
WCW initially agreed, but that changed once Hart reached Kansas City. The match was suddenly removed from the lineup without a reasonable explanation.
“I remember the day I got to Kansas City, they canceled it. They told me the match was not on. They erased it from the thing, and I was like, ‘Why would you do that?’ It would be something different for WCW to do something that makes sense.”
Hart said officials did not want to give him and Benoit enough time for the long, technical match they had planned. The company apparently had no interest in making room for a clean wrestling match that could have gone around 25 minutes. That decision pushed Hart over the edge.
“They were adamant that me and Chris were not going to wrestle that day and that they didn’t have time for a long, scientific or clean babyface wrestling match. I think it was going to be 25 minutes in the ring or something, and they put the kibosh on it.”
Hart viewed the cancellation as another example of WCW management getting in its own way and rejecting an idea that actually had meaning.
“I remember I was furious. I was really pissed. To me, it was just typical WCW. I was kind of getting used to them shooting good ideas down.”
Chris Benoit refused to let the match disappear without a fight. Hart said Benoit confronted management, demanded answers and successfully convinced them to reverse the decision. Benoit later found Hart in the dressing room and delivered the news that the match had been restored.
“It was Chris Benoit that went and complained and said, ‘What the hell are you guys doing? Why wouldn’t we do this?’ Chris Benoit came back, found me in the dressing room and goes, ‘We’re back on. I talked them into it.’ That’s life in WCW.”
The match went ahead and became one of the most respected bouts of Hart’s WCW career. Benoit had worked for Stu Hart in Stampede Wrestling, was close to the Hart family and had been one of Owen’s best friends. Hart said Benoit gave everything he had to make the tribute feel special.
“The match itself was a beautiful match. He was a Stampede Wrestling guy. He worked for my dad, and him and Owen were best friends. He was very close with my family. He gave me so much in that match. I wanted to make it a really special match, and to me, it always will be.”
Hart also said he felt Owen’s presence while the match was happening and even told Benoit that Owen was watching them.
“I always felt like I could feel Owen’s presence. I really did feel Owen’s presence in the match. I remember telling Chris, ‘He’s watching right now.’”
WCW nearly threw away one of the most meaningful matches the company ever produced, and it only happened because Benoit pushed back after management tried to cancel it. What became an emotional tribute to Owen Hart came dangerously close to being erased before the bell ever rang.
Do you think the Bret Hart vs. Chris Benoit tribute match is one of the greatest matches in WCW history? Let us know what you think in the comments.
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