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WWF Raw is War May 24, 1999
Posted by Retro Rob on May 23, 2003, 10:34
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WWF Raw is War May 24, 1999
Before we get to the actual show I would like to look back at the past Raws that took place during this week. For whatever reason stuff like that always interested me. I would imagine it�s just nice to see how much better/worse the shows have been from year to year.
1993 (Six Years Earlier)
- King of the Ring Qualifying Match: Mr. Perfect d. Doink the Clown (This was the final match after two inconclusive ones)
- Money Inc. d. Mike Bell & Tony DeVito (Afterwards DiBiase brought back the �People will do anything for money� gimmick. Some guy shines his shoes for $100, but I.R.S. takes 70% out of it for taxes. Funny shit)
- Crush d. Bobby Who
- Adam Bomb d. Phil Apollo (This was both Adam Bomb�s and Johnny Polo�s debut)
1994 (Five Years Earlier)
- King of the Ring Qualifying Match: Owen Hart d. Doink the Clown
- Duke Droese d. Barry Horowitz
- I.R.S d. Gary Sabaugh
- The King�s Court with Lex Luger
- Nikolai Volkoff d. Matt Hardy
1995 (Four Years Earlier)
- Razor Ramon d. Mike Bell
- Hunter Hearst Helmsley d. John Chrystal
- The Allied Powers d. Tony DeVito & Bill Payne (Tony DeVito has sure propelled up the card since 1993)
- Kama d. Barry Horowitz
- Shawn Michaels d. King Kong Bundy
1996 (Three Years Earlier)
- Steve Austin d. Marc Mero by DQ
- Savio Vega d. The 1-2-3 Kid
- Mankind and Goldust lock the Undertaker in a casket
- Davey Boy Smith DREW Jake Roberts
1997 (Two Years Earlier)
- Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels scuffle in the ring (Owen Hart challenges them to a tag match next week)
- Hunter Hearst Helmsley d. Crush
- Bob Holly d. Owen Hart (Keep this match in mind while reading actual review, it becomes relevant)
- Jim Ross has a sit down interview with Mankind
- Scott Taylor d. Leif Cassidy
- Bret Hart challenges Shawn Michaels to a match at King of the Ring
- Rockabilly d. Goldust
- Faarooq d. Rocky Maivia
- Paul Bearer threatens to reveal the Undertaker�s secret next week.
- Steve Austin NC Jim Neidhart
1998 (One Year Earlier)
- Val Venis d. 2 Cold Scorpio
- Terry Funk d. Marc Mero (Sable purposely costs Mero the match)
- The Disciples of Apocalypse d. LOD 2000
- #1 Contender�s Match: Dude Love d. Dustin Runnels (Dustin had to work the next 30 days without pay)
- The Headbangers d. Dick Togo & Men's Teioh
- WWF Tag Team Titles: The New Age Outlaws d. Rocky Maivia & Owen Hart
- Paul Bearer proves that he is Kane�s biological father
- Steve Austin d. Pat Patterson and Gerald Brisco
I�m not going to bother with the episodes that came after that one, but those six shows brought back some memories for me.
As for Raw is Owen, I had been planning on reviewing this show for a while now, but I figured I should wait until the four year anniversary. For those of you waiting to hear the WWE mention Owen�s death, don�t hold your breath. It looks like all we are going to get is a dedication on Byte This. Does anyone actually listen to that show? On top of that, there is a very good column by Dr. Tom Prichard that you can find HERE.
The show opens with all the Superstars and staff standing on the entrance ramp for the 10 bell salute. From there Howard Finkel introduces a video package that includes clips of Owen Hart's career and life with Vince McMahon doing a voice over.
"If the legacy of a man's life is measured by the lives he's touched and how much he is loved, then a big piece of Owen Hart will live on in all of us."
Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler introduce us to the "most unique broadcast in the history of sports entertainment". The only wrestler who was absent from the 10 bell salute and the entire event as a whole was The Undertaker. Reason being, he was in his "Devil Worshipping" phase, so it was thought to be a better if he wasn't part of this broadcast. That is understandable considering he had just recently "crucified" Steve Austin on that "symbol".
Before and after each commercial break a different Superstar will share their thoughts on Owen Hart.
Mick Foley
Owen was Mick's son Dewey's favorite wrestler. Mick called home from the road one day and Dewey said that he looked like Owen Hart now since Owen had just gotten a crew cut and he had done the same. Mick remembers how proud his son was to look like Owen, and he could only hope that Dewey would grow up to be a man like Owen Hart was.
[COMMERCIAL BREAK]
Bradshaw
Bradshaw recalls how the boys would always rib Owen for being so cheap on the road. Most of the other wrestlers would spend in a few days what Owen would spend in a few months. He was saving his money so he could retire early. Bradshaw adds that he will not pretend to miss Owen like his family will, but he will miss him a lot.
OK, now before we get to the opening match, let me make one thing clear. I *DO* plan on rating the matches. I know that some people may take issue with this, but if I'm going to write play by play for a match, you can bet your bottom dollar that I'm going to tack a rating onto it. Now obviously this show is not actually about the wrestling and none of the matches are expected to be anything special, so for most it is probably a moot point. Anyhow, I just wanted to get that out of the way.
Jeff Jarrett w/Debra vs. Test
Jeff was Owen's tag team partner and traveling buddy, so out of all the wrestlers in the back he probably had the toughest time performing on this show. Nonetheless, I'm sure he is only competing by choice (like everyone else), so there is no need to point any fingers. Debra was the Women's Champion at this point. Has that title come a long way since 1999 or what? For whatever reason, Jeff feels the need to remind us that "Owen NEVER was a nugget". I'm pretty sure that is one of those things that you shouldn't feel the need to say since it is implied, not to mention that fact that it sounds inappropriate. Test was still part of the Union here. Sadly he was not accompanied by that trending music they were sporting. Jarrett jumps him before the bell. Jarrett with a facebuster. Test misses the blind charge, but connects with the big boot. A sidewalk slam gets 2. He plants Double J in the ring and goes up top. Test flies off, but Jeff gets his foot up. Jarrett catches him with an armbar takedown. Test comesback with a gutwrench powerbomb for 2. Debra hops up on the apron. Test walks over to her and squeezes HIS OWN nipple. Utterly baffling... Debra slaps him across the face giving Jeff the chance to hook him in the reverse russian legsweep. Jarrett wins it with the Sharpshooter. (2:41) 1/4* Extremely rushed, but I liked that Jeff chose to go with the Sharpshooter instead of his usual Figure Four.
Mark Henry
Mark tearfully recites a poem that he wrote about his reaction to Owen's passing.
[COMMERCIAL BREAK]
Droz
He remembers Owen as one of the few people in the locker room that could lift everyone's spirits no matter what the situation was. Owen would even put himself on the line if it meant someone else would get a good laugh out of it.
WWF Tag-Team Titles: X-Pac & Kane vs. Edge & Gangrel w/Christian
X-Pac and Kane had just recently started teaming, so they didn't have their cool remixed entrance yet. JR goes on to compare The Brood to the Freebirds. I don't care how much you want to manipulate that one, it just ain't happening. X-Pac and Edge kick this one off with some stalling. Edge supposedly hits a spinning heel kick, which looks like it missed by a mile. Some more slow counter/reversal stuff follows. X-Pac with a back heel kick. Both Gangrel and Kane tag in. Edge and Gangrel get Kane with a double DDT. Kane sits right up. Tilt-a-Whirl back breaker for Edge. Gangrel gets backbody dropped and Christian also falls victim to a tilt-a-whirl. X-Pac tags in, but gets shoved by behind to the floor courtesy of Edge. Gangrel and Christian get a few shots and roll him back in. Edge misses a crossbody in the corner. X-Pac connects with an enziguri. Both men tag out. Kane flies off the top with a clothesline on to Gangrel. A big boot for Edge follows. X-Pac hits the bronco buster on Edge. Meanwhile Kane plants Gangrel with a chokeslam. Kane drops X-Pac on top of Gangrel for the pin. (4:02) DUD This was simply four minutes of nothing. Moving right along.
Triple H & Chyna
Chyna's sentiments are similar to that of Droz. She adds that in the morning her hair would be HUGE and each day Owen would try to make his hair look like her's. That was their "thing". Triple H notes that in this business you see the best and the worst of everyone. Owen Hart though was always at his best. He was never down, and thus was there for everyone else. He remembers Owen as one of the funniest guys to work with in the ring. Particularly the time Owen school boyed him during a Royal Rumble match and wouldn't let him go. He adds that there will always be a special place in his heart for Owen.
[COMMERCIAL BREAK]
Dave Hebner
Dave gets right to point and says that Owen Hart was one of the best. He was always there for the wrestlers, the fans and most of all his family.
The Hardy Boyz w/Michael Hayes vs. Taka Michinoku & Funaki
Whoever�s idea it was to have Michael Hayes share a wardrobe with Matt and Jeff must have been on crack. The guy looks so fucking bloated. Taka and Funaki had been on hiatus from the WWF for awhile, so for all intents and purposes this was their return match. Taka and Funaki storm the ring. Jeff dumps Taka, leaving Matt to suplex Funaki. Taka tags and catches him with a spinebuster. Funaki holds Matt in place with a chinlock as Taka dropkicks him in the face. Taka attempts a tornado DDT, but Matt flings him across the ring. Jeff gets the tag and delivers a somersault plancha to the floor. Back in, Jeff gets Taka with the whisper in the wind. The Hardyz connect with a double facebuster. Jeff goes up top and misses the corkscrew moonsault. Taka catches him with the Michinoku Driver. Funaki gets the tag and is a house of fire up until Matt clotheslined him to the floor. Michael Hayes whips Funaki into a Jeff Hardy dropkick off the top. That was pretty innovative when it comes to manager interference. Taka with a HUGE crossbody off the top onto both Matt and Jeff. Back in, Matt delivers the Twist of Fate and covers for the 3 count. (3:19) *1/2 This was pretty much your typical spotty, energetic, yet also disjointed, three minute special from the Hardyz before they started to suck. This match template is hurt by a lack of psychology, selling, etc. You know the drill.
Bruce Prichard
Bruce doesn�t really say anything of note. Owen was a great entertainer in and out of the ring and he will never be forgotten.
[COMMERCIAL BREAK]
Dustin Runnels
Dustin tells a funny story about a prank Owen played on Harley Race. Whenever the WWF would stop over in Kansas City, Harley would invite all the boys over to his house for a big BBQ. Harley would always serve his famous chili, so one time Owen decided to dump a whole bottle of hot sauce into the chili while no one was looking. Everyone who tried it was going nuts. Harley is noticeably pissed and sees Owen laughing in the corner. Harley goes inside and comes back out with a stun gun. All of a sudden he starts chasing Owen all over the yard with the gun in hand. As a brief aside, the night of Owen�s death Harley Race was backstage. Before Owen was set to go out Harley said something to the effect of, �Whatever you do, don�t kill yourself.� To this day he still regrets saying that. Back to Dustin, who ends his reflection with �I know you are in a better place.� Now I�m not an idiot or anything. I know what Dustin was saying with that line, but I always wondered what everyone has against the world we are currently living in. It really isn�t half-bad and it�s probably a hell of a lot more interesting than heaven. I should probably stop myself now, as this isn�t really the time or the place to go off on THAT tangent.
Hardcore Holly vs. Ken Shamrock
Ken Shamrock is the first wrestler to not have the OH armband on tonight. I understand that many people tend to read into things like that, but I don�t think anything derogatory was meant by it. The King debates over whether Shamrock is dumber than Holly or vice versa. I would call that one a draw Jerry. Shamrock quickly disposes of Holly with a northern lights suplex followed by a rana, capped off with the anklelock for a submission. (1:48) DUD That was quick and painless to say the least.
Faarooq
Ron Simmons has trouble putting it into words. He compares Owen�s death to losing a family member because that is what they are while away from home.
[COMMERCIAL BREAK]
Test
Several months earlier the WWF was running a two shows on the same day. So in between shows the wrestlers were told to take it easy at their hotel. While relaxing Test gets a phone call from the guy who runs the arena�s events. He asks Test whether or not they were going on with the show that night. Test tries to tell him that he is not the guy to talk to. Before hanging up the guy said, �OK. I�m gonna tell them that Test said to cancel the show.� The morning before this show, Test found out that guy was actually Owen Hart. He admits that although it makes for a funny story, this was a tough way to find out just who was behind the whole thing.
Billy Gunn vs. Mankind
Billy Gunn makes sure to tell the crowd that if they aren�t down with Owen Hart they could �SUCK IT!� Well that was pleasant. JR promises us a �nosebreaker�, which means that the match is not a guaranteed slobberknocker, but it has slobberknocker potential. Be sure to add that one to your Okie Dictionary. The match starts off slowly so JR tells a story about how Owen Hart stole his cowboy hat at three TV tapings in a row. Gunn pounds away in the corner. It�s a full moon in St. Louis. Mankind takes this opportunity to deliver a backbody drop followed up with a clothesline to the floor. Foley sends him face first to the steps. Back in, Gunn dropkicks Mick�s knee. The King starts talking about how much Mankind has gotten into his sponsorship deal with Chef Boyardee. Just the other day Mankind covered himself in tomato sauce and ran around the locker room yelling, �LICK ME!� Mr. Ass goes to work on the knee for a little while, but for whatever reason decides to get a chair. Meanwhile, Mankind pulls out Socko. Gunn gets caught with the mandible claw on the ring apron as the ref calls for the bell. (2:59) 1/4* Mick gives us one last WOOOOOOOO, Owen Hart style that is. I had to give the match a little something for the bit of psychology that was worked into it.
Jeff Jarrett
A professional wrestler has many acquaintances, but not a lot of friends. Owen Hart was one of Jeff Jarrett�s friends. Over the last few months Jeff had spent more time with Owen than he had with his wife and daughter. In a way, he looks at Owen Hart�s death selfishly because now he doesn�t have his buddy anymore.
He knows that everyone else probably mentioned funny stories that they will remember about Owen, but Jeff will remember his integrity more than anything else. In a business as cold, callous, and self-serving as this one, integrity comes far and few between. Jeff makes a promise to himself and Owen that as Oje and Athena grow older, he will make sure to let them know what a great father that have because otherwise all that have are old wrestling tapes. Although I don�t believe Jeff would go against his word, I would be curious as to whether or not he followed through on that promise. This segment is easily the most emotional part of the show thus far for me personally, but I�ll get to that a little later.
[COMMERCIAL BREAK]
Edge
Owen Hart was like a mentor for Edge. He helped out Edge when it came to travelling, being on the road and his in-ring work. Edge had the pleasure of facing Owen Hart in his last match. He will always remember that match because Owen was acting very goofing and was hamming it up for the crowd.
D-Lo Brown & Mark Henry w/Ivory vs. The Acolytes
Mark Henry is fresh off double knee surgery, so he wrestles less than he usually does. I know that may be tough to imagine for most, but it is the truth. Faarooq and Henry start. Faarooq tries to take his knee, but concedes with a shoulderblock. Henry catches him with a powerslam and tags D-Lo. Faarooq with a quick jawbreaker and he also tags out. Bradshaw with the big boot. He sends D-Lo to the floor, where Faarooq rams him into the steps. Back in, Bradshaw gets a russian legsweep. Faarooq is back, but gets caught with a facebuster and a legdrop. Faarooq comesback with a DDT. Bradshaw tags in and hits a flying shoulder tackle for 2. Faarooq is in, but D-Lo connects with a spinning heel kick. Both men tag out. Mark Henry clotheslines the hell out of the Acolytes until the 2 on 1 odds take affect. D-Lo makes a blind tag, which ends up being meaningless when the Acolytes deliver a double neckbreaker. Henry makes the save at 2. Bradshaw accidentally boots Faarooq, leading to a D-Lo rollup. (4:01) 1/2* And to think, I was expecting a DUD. The match was going alright considering the participants, but fell apart towards the end.
Pat Patterson
Pat didn�t know anyone that did not like Owen Hart. He continues on with the usual.
Next up is a video recap of The Undertaker winning the WWF Title from Steve Austin at Over the Edge due to the usual McMahon screw-job. Well they had to touch on this at some point so may as well have been during a commercial break. At least that is probably the most tactful way of doing it.
[COMMERCIAL BREAK]
Hardcore Holly
The one memory that stands out for Hardcore Holly took place two years prior. The WWF was running a Monday Night Raw taping in Mobile, Alabama (Holly�s hometown). In 1997 Holly was nothing more than a jobber with a contract. Nonetheless, Owen Hart volunteered to put Hardcore over cleanly in the middle of the ring. Oddly enough, that episode of Raw took place exactly two years ago, so it is in my list at the top of this column. Quite the coincidence there, heh?
WWF Intercontinental Title: The Godfather w/The Hoes vs. Road Dogg
The Road Dogg makes sure to work an Owen Hart reference into his opening spiel. Sadly I cannot say the same for the Godfather. Well at least all his ladies are dressed in black. JR tells us how on the Wrestle Vessel he was hanging around in the shallow end of the pool. Then all of a sudden Owen Hart came up from behind and pulled his bathing suit off. �Wait for it�Wait for it� Yes ladies and gentlemen, there was major shrinkage. The opening bell rings, but instead of fighting they decide to smoke some L�s and swap Owen stories. (0:47) DUD Although that may seem inappropriate for a Tribute Show, it undeniably fits their gimmicks. It is also nice to see that the WWF understands that different people cope with grief in different ways. Plus, did anyone really want to see that match? I�m sure the WWF�s rationale at the time was that Owen would get a kick out of it.
Paul Bearer
Paul has one of those deep, poetic messages. I suck when it comes to interpreting things like that, so lets just keep on rolling.
[COMMERCIAL BREAK]
X-Pac
X-Pac jumps all around during his reflection. He calls Owen the funniest man ever and one of his favorite opponents. He sums this whole tragedy up as �A frickin nightmare�.
Al Snow vs. Triple H w/Chyna
It�s so sad to see how far Triple H�s entrance themes have fallen. His 1999 theme kicked all kinds of ass. The one that followed in 2000 (with lyrics) was also pretty damn good. The one guy with consistently great theme music has to be Vince McMahon, mostly because he has been using the same song since 1998. Hey, if it ain�t broke don�t fix it, right? Al Snow was the Hardcore Champion, but this is a regulation match so the title is not up for grabs. They trade some early offense. Al knocks HHH to the floor and hits him with a baseball slide. Back in, Triple H gets a high knee. He works Al over in the corner. While HHH is with the referee Chyna gets a shot in. A suplex and a kneedrop get 2. Al Snow mounts a mini comeback with his rapid-fire headbutts. HHH moves out of the way of a moonsault attempt. Triple H quickly puts him away with the Pedigree. (3:42) 1/4* Given more time this match actually could have been pretty good. The circumstances in this case though prevented the two from meeting their full potential.
Road Dogg
He thinks that it is still too soon to reflect on Owen Hart�s life, but either way this is the time. He just started to get to know Owen about six months ago. It turns out the two had a lot in common. For instance, both men had two kids. The Road Dogg feels for his family and will miss him.
[COMMERCIAL BREAK]
Gerald Brisco
Brisco decided to go another route with his interview and not mention Owen as a person at all. Instead he focuses entirely on Owen�s work. He goes on to say that every night Owen gave it his all and he never cut corners. I understand that everyone knew him in a different light, but this seemed kind of out there. Seriously, the man just plummeted to his death, leaving a wife and two kids, and all Jerry Brisco has to say about it is that Owen never took any shortcuts. It sounds more like a speech that a coach would give after one of his players retired.
Big Show vs. Goldust & Blue Meanie
This was originally scheduled as a singles match, but the Meanie took it upon himself to try and defend his �mommy� by punching the Big Show. As Show picks the Meanie up for a chokeslam, Goldust comes in from behind with a low blow. The Big Show breaks through a double clothesline attempt and hits one of his own. Chokeslams for everyone. (1:03) DUD Damn are there a lot of squashes on this show or what? I�m sure Owen Hart wouldn�t have minded a couple of balanced matches on his tribute show. Hell, I bet he would have enjoyed a few competitive encounters.
Debra
Debra wishes that the fans could have seen Owen the way he acted backstage because he was so much fun. For the last few months the two of them had been doing many autograph signings together. He would always brighten her day. Right before his match at Over the Edge, the last thing she said to him was, �Do you think my shorts are too tight?� Life is precious and you shouldn�t take people for granted. You don�t really know how much you cared for someone until they are gone. This morning she looked at her schedule for the week and she saw that her and Owen were scheduled for more autograph signings. I�m not exactly sure why, but this was the only segment in which I actually got teary eyed. I�ll talk about my general emotions while watching this show at the end of the review.
[COMMERCIAL BREAK]
Shane McMahon
Shane recalls a time 10 years ago where he and Bret woke up Owen Hart late at night. The next day Bret�s boots were missing and Shane�s bags somehow wound up in the shower. He goes into how the McMahons and Harts go way back. Interestingly, this was the first and last mention of Bret Hart by name all night.
Val Venis vs. The Rock
Instead of his usual introduction, Val lets Owen have the spotlight, for he will have it at a latter date. The Rock dedicates tonight�s People�s Elbow to Owen. They trade armbars for about 30 seconds at which point the Rock hits the Rock Bottom followed up by the People�s Elbow. (0:55) DUD It is quite obvious that they were running low on time.
JR and the King have their turn to reflect on this tragedy.
JR: �I hope to be as good a man as Owen Hart this way I can be with him again one day.�
King: �I held Owen�s head in my hands last night and at that point I knew that if he could have anything, it would be to spend one more day with his family and tell them how much he loved them. I realized, don�t ever leave home without telling the people that you love what you think of them.� WOW, that struck a chord with me probably because I rarely ever do that.
Steve Austin comes down to the ring. A couple cans of beer are thrown to him; he says a few words to himself and toasts to Owen Hart one last time. It seems like this is the bit that bothers people the most about this show, but I thought this final farewell was actually right on many levels. Before we even get to that though, I just want to get one thing out of the way. I HIGHLY DOUBT that Steve Austin did not sincerely care about Owen Hart due to the mishap from SummerSlam 1997. Let�s get serious here for a second. It had been two years! Not to mention the fact that the two men worked with each other several times afterwards. I�m pretty sure that Steve understood that accidents happen. This is professional wrestling we�re talking about. Therefore, I don�t believe that Steve still held a grudge against Owen. Even if he did, I would like to think that he was able to put it aside for this night.
Now as for the actual toast, this show was a little strange because although it had a different feel to it, while in the ring everyone stayed true to his or her gimmicks. For example, the Road Dogg decided to smoke pot, the Godfather had his ladies, and Billy Gunn pulled down his trunks. YET, all these men also paid tribute to Owen Hart through their characters. During the 10 bell salute and reflection pieces the men behind those characters paid their respects. So, was it really so wrong that Stone Cold Steve Austin drank a beer as a final tribute? I don�t think so. Also keep in mind that Austin was the WWF�s biggest star, so they had to squeeze him in somewhere. It was only fitting that their biggest star be the man to close a show of this magnitude.
Now this issue is obviously debatable depending on your personality, morals, and attitudes. Thus, there is really no point in telling someone that you are right and they are wrong. Personally, I could care less how you in particular felt about it, but since this is a controversial segment I felt it was necessary that I voice my opinion and the reasoning behind it.
THIS IS IT
I thought I would spruce up my conclusions a little, so here goes a new format. It should be self-explanatory, but essentially it�s just a list of the shows positives and negatives. Generally I would have more interesting stuff in each category, like maybe some matches, but this show is in a league of it�s own.
+
- The reflections with the Superstars were very well done, especially the ones from Jeff Jarrett and Debra.
- JR and the King handled the show very professionally. They were able to more or less keep their composure throughout the entire show, which is pretty amazing considering how close they were to the situation. The King�s final comment also hit me pretty hard.
- The show itself was handled respectfully. Personally I would have done it differently (I�ll get to that), but the way that the WWF did it worked.
-
- If you are a WRESTLING fan this show is not for you. Don�t expect good or lengthy matches. Once again, it is understandable as to why the wrestling wasn�t superb, but that doesn�t change the fact that most of the matches weren�t anything special.
- Getting back to how the show should have been done; I think that some of the reflection interviews could have been cut out. Quite frankly some people didn�t have anything original or of interest to say. On top of that, it would have been nice if memorable clips of his career were shown throughout the show. That would have been a really nice touch and it shouldn�t have been that hard to pull off. If you want to see a real Owen Hart Tribute Show that actually puts the focus on his career, don�t look here. Instead I would suggest taking out all your wrestling tapes with matches including Owen and make yourself a compilation.
- Lastly, I think I should touch how the show impacted me personally. When I first watched the show live in 1999 it was pretty tough to get through. But as with any tragedy, as time goes on you become desensitized to it. Four years is a long time. It is definitely more than enough time to get past someone�s death. Going into this show I was expecting to feel the same way I did back in 1999. Truth be told, I felt nothing like that. Save a couple of the reflections, this show really didn�t do anything for me. Then again maybe I�m one of the few people that feels that way. I tend to keep my composure in just about every situation. In other words, I�m not an emotional guy. It�s not that I put up a front, it�s just that things don�t hit me as hard as they hit other people. Because of this, I usually feel strange when something horrible happens and I react very differently than majority of the people around me, so maybe it was my personality that prevented me from emotionally getting something out of this show.
When I first decided to review this show, I didn�t even think about the recommendation because Raw is Owen is a no-brainer, right? Well, turns out it isn�t. Unless you have NEVER seen this show, I don�t suggest picking it up. If you saw it back in 1999, don�t buy it now and expect it to have the same effect on you as it did four years ago because it won�t. Instead of watching this show, pull out WrestleMania X or SummerSlam 1994 or even King of the Ring 1994 because at least on those shows give you the opportunity to remember Owen Hart for being the great wrestler that he was. This show on the other hand, which was originally a good idea didn�t age very well at all. After sitting through two hours of Raw is Owen I felt more depressed than anything else and that isn't the right way to pay tribute to the life of man like Owen Hart.
This is going to sound weird coming from me, but sometime today just take a second and think back to all the great moments that Owen Hart gave us each and every Monday night. He busted his ass day and day out like no other, so it is kind of sad to see that the WWE has maybe mentioned him by name four or five times since May 24, 1999. Maybe that�s the way all of our lives are defined in the grand scheme of things. We are born and we die. In-between those two occurrences billions of other people both come into and depart from this world, so it is understandable that how once we are gone we can easily get lost in the shuffle. It�s kind of odd though how even after someone dies they are still alive through the thoughts of others. But what happens when we are no longer remembered by anyone else? I guess that is when we all really die. Once no one else takes the time to remember you, what do you really have left? I would imagine the real message here (and no I didn�t even plan to have a message, it just sorta happened) is to try and think back every now and then to the people in our lives who have passed away this way they could live vicariously through each and every one of us. If you think about it that might be the key to immortality, for if you are remembered in death, you are never really gone.
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