Raw Is Owen - Raw recap for May 24, 1999

RAW

WWF Superstars, officials, referees, ring announcers, backstage staff and the McMahon family - some of whom are wearing black armbands with "OWEN" or "OH" in white on them (and in Goldust's case, around his neck) - line up towards the ring to pay tribute to Owen Hart. Ring announcer Howard Finkel asks the audience to please rise and join everyone as the bell is tolled ten times in tribute to Owen Hart. (The only two people who are noticeably absent are Kane and The Undertaker, the latter of whom flew to Calgary, Alberta, Canada to see Owen's brother and personal friend Bret "The Hit Man" Hart.) A video tribute to Owen is played on the TitanTron. Jim Ross announces that tonight will be a tribute to the life of Owen Hart. In addition to ten unique matches (with no angles behind them and with all Superstars involved voluntarily working in the ring that night), we will hear very real sentiments from Owen Hart's fellow WWF Superstars. (In addition, all storylines are cancelled for the week).
We hear from Mick Foley, otherwise known as Mankind, Dude Love and Cactus Jack. Mick says that Owen was his son Dewey's favorite wrestler, and for the first few years of his life, Dewey had long hair because of it. One day, his son Dewey was so proud as he looked like Owen Hart. Dewey and his sister Nicole also chanted "Nugget!" in the car for no reason, not knowing that it was a negative chant. Mick is proud that his son Dewey wanted to be like Owen, and says that if he could grow up to be a man like Owen, he would be even prouder. He says Owen was "the nicest, funniest person he has ever met, and talked about his family warmly and with love and affection. He says there is a special place in Heaven for Owen, and that the locker room will love and miss him.

Bradshaw says Owen Hart took a lot of kidding and ribbing from the guys in the back about how cheap he was on the road and how much money he saved, saying he saved in a month what most of the locker room spent in a few days. He says he did it because he wanted to retire early and spend time with his children. He is sad that his kids will never get to grow up with a father like Owen, and that they realize nothing can replace the loss of a father, especially one as good as Owen, and that they will realize how good a father they ahd. He says Owen was a terrific guy, and while he will not miss him as much as his family will, he will miss him a lot.

Before the next match, Jeff Jarrett says for the record that Owen Hart was never a nugget. It is also announced on commentary that memorial tributes to Owen Hart may be made directly to: The Alberta Children's Hospital, 1820 Richmond Road S.W., Calgary, Alberta, T2T 5C7. (The Alberta Children's Hospital was Owen's favorite charity.)

Jeff Jarrett beats Test with a reverse Russian leg sweep into a Sharpshooter following the distraction - and slap - by Debra from the apron. During the match, it is announced the rest of the week's live events starting Wednesday in Peoria, Illinois and ending Sunday in Ottawa City, Ottawa, Canada are cancelled in Owen Hart's memory.

"Sexual Chocolate" Mark Henry reads a poem dedicated to Owen Hart, breaking down in emotion halfway through.

Droz says he has not been in the wrestling business for very long and that he has only known Owen Hart for a year to a year-and-a-half, and in that time period, he was the one person who could walk into a locker room when things were not going right and liven everyone up. He mentions the little things he would do to entertain people and says that he would go out of his way to put himself down and pull a prank on somebody. He says Owen was one of the best guys around who could always lighten up the mood. He talks about an autograph session in Toronto, Ontario, Canada where he temporarily filled in for Jeff Jarrett and Owen interacted with the fans. He says that Owen loved the ring, and says that he feels for his family, hoping they can look back, remember what kind of person he was, and never look back. He knows he won't.

X-Pac and Kane beat The Brood (Gangrel and Edge).

"Triple H" Hunter Hearst Helmsley and Chyna think that Owen Hart would not be happy if he were to look down on them now, for he was constantly trying to get a laugh out of everybody and making people cry. Chyna calls Owen one of the truest, most honest, faithful guys that she knew and says he gave everyone a lot of happiness of memories. Chyna talks about how her hair would be extended completely outwards when she woke up, and how Owen would come to the building and try to get his hair to look like that. She says that Owen would always get people to laugh somehow, and says that if Owen were to hear everybody now, he would know he is loved and that he means an awful lot to everyone. Triple H says that in a business where you often see the worst of everything and the worst of everybody's personalities, everyone is a family is everyone is around each other at both their best and worst. He says that Owen was always at his best and was always up. He says that Owen was never a piece of trash and was always there for everybody to make them laugh and also make them mad. He also says Owen was the only one to have the balls to schoolboy him and not let him out at Royal Rumble. He says that Owen made him laugh more than anyone else in the locker room, and also says that Owen loved his family, whom he talked about all the time. He says that Owen was one of the guys who truly lived for them and was upfront about that. He says that always have a place in his heart, and that he will always be his friend. He says he love Owen and will never forget him.

WWF official Dave Hebner says he has been in WWF for 16 years and known Owen for 10. He says that Owen was that special person who could always make you smile and make sure you had a good day. He talks about how Owen cared for everybody, and would take out pictures, head to the back of the building, and sign them for the kids. He mentions that Owen was a big family man who loved his wife and two children to death, and says that he was one of the best. He talks about how he had fun with him, and how Owen tied his shoes together when he went down for the count. He says that Owen loved to play around, and that Owen's loss was a loss of one of the best.

The Hardy Boyz (Jeff and Matt Hardy) beat Kaientai (Taka Michinoku and Sho Funaki, who is known as Funaki at this point). During the match, it is announced that Martha Hart, Owen Hart's wife, would like to extend her gratitude to Owen Hart's fans and friends for their support during this time.

Bruce Prichard says Owen Hart will be remembered as a great practical joker as well as a tremendous performer in the ring who provided people numerous hours of entertainment in and out of the ring, and he will always remember Owen for being a great friend and a wonderful father and husband to his wife and kids. He says he will miss him very much.

Dustin Runnels mentions some memories of Owen Hart. He says that Owen loved his family tremendously. He also talks about how every time he would come to Kansas City, Harley Race would invite all the guys over for chili and barbecue. One time, Harley cooked an entire pot of chili, and as he checked on the barbecue, Owen took a whole bottle of hot sauce and dumped it all in the chili. Not surprisingly, everyone's mouths were on fire, Owen was laughing and Harley Race was mad. Harley Race then took a stun gun and went after Owen. He says that Owen was well known for his practical jokes, and says he will be missed and is in a better place.

"The World's Most Dangerous Man" Ken Shamrock beats Hardcore Holly with the ankle lock.

Faarooq says it is hard to put in words, but says that when he leaves his family at home, the locker room is his family away from his family. They all love each other, and they loved Owen Hart, and Owen knew it. It hurts a lot knowing Owen Hart is gone.

Test talks about a moment from a few months ago when they went to Chicago, Illinois to do a double shot (two live shows in one day) and the weather was so bad that the first show was cancelled. The office had told everyone to sit tight and that they would do the show later that night. At the hotel room, the phone rang, and he picked it up. At the other end was the guy who ran the arena where the show would take place, and that he was told that Test was the go-to guy to see whether the show would go on or not. Test kept telling him he had to talk to the office, as he was not the guy to talk to, but everyone said they were cancelling and that he was the last man to talk to, and wanted to know what he thought was happening. After a few times of telling him he didn't think much of it and that he was not the guy to talk to, the guy on the other end said "I'll tell the guys that Test said to cancel the show." Test said not to bring his name into it, and hung up. He just now found out that Owen was the guy on the other end. As funny as it was, it was a hard way to find out. All his memories of Owen are good, and he will never forget them. He thanks Owen for them all.

Before the next match, "Bad Ass" Billy Gunn says that if you're not down with Owen Hart, he's got two words for ya: Suck it.

WAR ZONE

Mankind beats "Bad Ass" Billy Gunn with the Mandible Claw when Gunn goes outside of the ring for a steel chair only for Mankind to catch him with the Mandible Claw before he can get back in the ring with it. During the match, Jim Ross talks about how Owen Hart hid his hat for three straight television tapings, and how he always saw Owen Hart in his wrestling gear with his hat. After the match, Mankind says "Owen, this one's for you! Woooooo!"

Jeff Jarrett says that in this business, you have a lot of acquaintances and very few friends. He calls Owen Hart one of those friends, and says there are a lot of funny stories regarding his personalities and some of the crazy things he used to do, and has told his wife and his daughter that he spends more time with Owen than he does with them, and goes on to say that Owen has said the same thing about his family. Now that Owen is gone, one tends to look at it almost selfishly, as he does not have Owen with him anymore. He knows Owen is in a better place, laughing and cutting up. When he thinks about Owen's life, he thinks about integrity, for the wrestling business is cold, callous, selfish, self-serving, unrealistic and a fantasy world, but Owen was real and a man's man. His wife and kids were three of the luckiest people in the world because he loved them more than anyone else in the world, which is why Owen did what he did to provide for them, and he did it with integrity. He says that integrity in the wrestling business is few and far between, and while not a good thing to know, it is the truth. Outside all the laughs, the fans get to see Owen for 15 minutes, but when you see him 24 hours a day for ten to twelve days at a time, he is one of the guys that made it fun and made coming to work entertaining off-camera, which is just as important as on-camera. Jarrett says that wrestling films will be the one thing Owen's son Oje and daughter Athena will have to fall back on to see what their dad was like, but he promised himself as the years go by to let them really know what a great man their father was.

Edge says Owen was the leader of a band of merry Canadians known as "The Canadian Mafia." To him, Owen was a guru who helped him on the road when it came to a match or traveling, but what he remembers most is Owen's ability to make anybody laugh. When he thinks of Owen, he smiles. Today, it is a little bit tough, but he looks back at some of the things Owen did and had the pleasure Owen in what proved to be his last match, a tag team match between him and Christian and the team of Owen and Jeff Jarrett. He knew Owen was in a good mood that night, since he came out with the blue-and-white boots and the silver, white and red outfit on with messed-up hair and a goofy grin on his face. He was also wearing the "It's time for a change!" T-shirt as he went to the corner and started posing and flexing. They got into the match, and he had Owen in an arm bar. Owen kipped up, wound up and gave him a big chop to the back with a "Hi-yah!" which knocked him down. They had a good time that night, and it was Owen's last match. He says it is nice to look back on things like that, and says that Owen made everyone laugh and that he will be sorely missed. Edge then talks about how he grew up watching Owen, and how he got to wrestle him in television and pay-per-views as well as all over the world as he also traveled with him. He wishes his family godspeed and says the locker room will miss him.

D'Lo Brown and "Sexual Chocolate" Mark Henry beats The Acolytes (Faarooq and Bradshaw) after D'Lo Brown dodges a big boot meant for him, which ends up hitting Faarooq in the face, allowing D'Lo to get the schoolboy pin on Bradshaw. During the match, Jerry "The King" Lawler talks about a time at the airport where he, Owen Hart and Jack Lanza watched "The Lethal Weapon" Steve Blackman and Bradshaw fight in baggage claim, and how Owen Hart had a laugh about it. It is also mentioned that Owen's funeral will be one week from today at 11 AM in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, with full details on WWF.com.

Pat Patterson says that with 40 years in the business, he has seen a lot of wrestlers, and Owen Hart was very special. Owen, in his estimation, was one of the best performers inside the ring. He goes on to say that not only was he good in the ring, but that he was a great person out of it, as he was great to be with. He says he will be missed by people all over the world, and that after all his time in the business and everywhere he has ever been, there has never been anyone quite like Owen. He thanks Owen for being the person he was, and says he will miss him.

Hardcore Holly remembers Owen as the guy who made you laugh regardless of what mood you were in. He also says he was "a big ribber," playing harmless pranks on everyone, including himself, just to get a laugh out of everybody. The one thing that sticks out in his mind is something he did for him three years ago in his hometown of Mobile, Alabama, where he volunteered to put him over (let him win) in the ring. He says Owen never had any enemies, and was the guy you always wanted to be around. He admits that Owen was aggravating at times, but he knew how to make you laugh. He says Owen may be gone, but he is not forgotten at all, and he will always be remembered.

Before the next match, "Road Dogg" Jesse James says everybody knows who he is and that it's all about Owen Hart tonight. When the match begins, Godfather proposes that instead of having their match for the WWF Intercontinental Championship, they go downtown in St. Louis, Missouri and blaze it up all night long. Road Dogg proposes they blaze one up and "tell some Owen stories." Both men leave along with the hos.

Paul Bearer says of Owen Hart: "He will not grow old like we who are left grow old. Age shall not weary him, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember him. Goodbye, old buddy."

X-Pac says that everyone will agree that Owen Hart is one of the funniest guys who ever walked the face of the earth, and is definitely one of the funniest guys he has ever met. He says that Owen had a different sense of humor, but he was so funny. In the ring, he was one of the best ever and one of his favorite guys to work with. He says that everyone walked in today and everybody was crying as soon as they got in, and it feels like a nightmare as it is unbelievable he is gone. He knows that he and everyone else in the locker room will miss him, and says a prayer for his wife and two children. He goes on to say that Owen Hart is one of the best guys he ever met in his life, and that he will miss him.

King of the Ring will take place June 27th, live on pay-per-view!

"Triple H" Hunter Hearst Helmsley beats Al Snow.

"Road Dogg" Jesse James says it's a little soon to ask him about Owen Hart, as he only got to really know him for the last six months of his life and learned that he was a lot like him. He knows he has two children, and that he was a good man who took part in the business to provide for his family. He says Owen is in a better place, and he will be missed. He says he will pray for his family.

Gerald Brisco says he always looked at Owen Hart with a lot of respect, and one of the reasons he looked at Owen was that he could relate to him, having also been the younger brother of a wrestling superstar and knowing the drive within Owen's heart to be an outstanding wrestler and give everything that he could for the fans. Looking back at Owen's career, he says that he did just that every night and never cut anything short. He says that Owen did it all for his friends, fans and family, and says he remembers him as a man who never cut corners. He says that Owen was a guy that you could have a laugh with it, but when it came time to get in the ring, Owen was able to do all the could to make the fans happy. He says Owen will always be remembered for that, and thanks him for those memories.

Big Show beats Goldust and The Blue Meanie in a 2-on-1 handicap match. (The match is supposed to be Big Show vs. Goldust, but when Goldust pushes The Blue Meanie into Big Show, it becomes a handicap match.)

As she says a few words for Owen Hart so that his children can see this message when they get older, Debra says that in the short time she has been in the WWF and traveled and worked with Owen, she has to admit that the world has lost a really great person and just wishes that all the people could have seen how funny he was. Whether it was a good day or a bad day, he knew how to make people laugh. She talks about the autograph sessions that they did together, and says Owen would always kid around. She says that people take others for granted because they are always around them, and remembers the last time she talked to him was backstage at Over The Edge, when she complained about her shorts. Owen said "maybe you should change" before he went out to the ring, and it ended up being the last time she talked to him. She looked at the schedule of her autograph sessions that she would have done with Owen Hart this week, and realized that life is precious and that people should not be taken for granted. She says that Owen has touched her life and brightened her day, and looks back on all the work they did together, especially with The Blue Blazer character. She says she will definitely miss Owen, and that she loved him as a friend and she cannot believe he is gone, as she is always looking for him. She admits it will be hard to walk out to the ring with Jeff Jarrett, especially at the house shows, since Owen will not be there anymore making all sorts of jokes and making them laugh. She admits she will miss Owen a lot, and wants to let his family know that he was a great guy and that she was honored to work with him all this time. She loves Owen, and says he will always be in his memories.

Shane McMahon says Owen Hart was always the prankster. If you did one to him, he always got one back on you. He remembers a time when he and Bret "The Hit Man" Hart were in Chicago, Illinois about ten years ago. He and Bret were at the bar, and Owen, who was The Blue Blazer at the time, went upstairs to get some sleep. He and Bret were hanging out and they decided to "wake up the Blazer," as Bret would say. They went upstairs and tackled him as he was asleep. The next morning, Bret's boots were missing and Shane's things were in the shower. Shane goes on to say that the relationship between the McMahon family and the Hart family goes back many years, and says Owen will be truly missed.

Before the next match, Val Venis tells the ladies to rest assured that he will have his time in the sun, but tonight, everyone is here to celebrate Owen Hart. When The Rock shows up, he says that it with great pride that he can come to the ring tonight and entertain in the name of Owen Hart, and that Owen would want him to kick some roody-poo candy ass. He says that this is Owen's night, and that he loved him like no other. He goes on to dedicates The People's Elbow to Owen tonight.

The Rock quickly beats Val Venis.

"Stone Cold" Steve Austin shows up. He grab two beers, then raises and drinks one for Owen, whose image is on the TitanTron and is shown-on screen to end the episode.