Matches That Time Forgot #42

I've posted matches from WWE/F, WCW, ECW, TNA and even New Japan. I doubt that I'll get to every wrestling promotion under the sun, but if this column is going to travel abroad, why not head north? Let's peek at Stampede Wrestling, the Canadian promontory where mat technicians such as Bret Hart, Owen Hart, The British Bulldog and The Dynamite Kid cut their teeth. It's a doctrinal vestige of tradition. Nevermind the fact that I'm choosing to floodlight a one-fall contest over the WWF Intercontinental Championship. That's not the point. The point is, this is a Stampede skirmish involving Owen Hart and Razor Ramon.

There is no year listed, but a heelish 1-2-3 Kid run-in indicates that this match took place in the fall of '95. Owen was out of the heavyweight title picture at this juncture, having feuded with The Hitman throughout most of '94. To be perfectly honest, I never saw him as a main event guy. His tragic death cemented him as an arcane legend, but smarks forget that he labored in the midcard. He was only relevant in '94 and '97. In both instances, he was enmeshed in a program with his brother. Before you send me hate mail, I will say that I'm a fan of Owen Hart. He was a fantastic villain, and he could school just about anyone inside the ropes. Hell, I'm one of the (very) few High Energy advocates traversing this mortal coil.

Owen was a decent talker. As a matter of fact, his promos usually exceeded Bret's where conviction is concerned. But at the end of the day, he didn't have "the look." Daniel Bryan suffers from the same malady (if you ask me, D-Bry and Punk are the modern day equivalents of the Hart brothers). I veered off course a bit...this is a crowd-pleaser. The referee restarts the match towards the end without notifying said crowd, but nonetheless, those in attendance seem to be enjoying themselves. See, the New Generation wasn't so bad, was it?