What If?: Owen Hart Had Lived

What If?: Owen Hart Had Lived
March 29, 2026
By Ryan Porzl

1999 was a big year in American Wrestling. The business was experiencing a boom period and wrestling was cool and part of pop culture again. The WWF was riding high and seemingly getting hotter especially with the debut of Smackdown. WCW would start it's downward spiral that eventually would culminate in the WWF purchasing them two years later. ECW was trying to survive with reports of checks bouncing and talent looking for greener pastures all the while seemingly getting the lifeline it needed when they struck a deal with TNN (now The Paramount Network) which ultimately didn't work. 1999 saw names like Jeff Jarrett, Paul Wight, The Dudley Boyz, and Chris Jericho make big jumps. Kurt Angle would make his first appearances for the WWF before officially debuting at Survivor Series 1999. "Macho Man" Randy Savage had his last big year in the business. 1999 also saw future superstars such as John Cena, Batista, Samoa Joe, and Trish Stratus begin their journey's in the business. Vince Russo went from head writer for the WWF to famously jumping to WCW. 1999 also saw the passing of legends including Rick Rude, Giant Baba, and Gorilla Monsoon to name some. 

However, in spite of all this and more, one event clearly outshined all of them and for the wrong reasons. That event occurred on May 23, 1999 when Owen Hart tragically fell to his death during the WWF's PPV Over The Edge while attempting a superhero like entrance from the rafters. The aftermath was huge. A man lost his life at the young age of 34 all the while leaving behind a young family and career that had yet to reach it's peak. The WWF lost a beloved member of their roster and were in an ugly scandal. A wife lost her husband while two children lost their father at young ages. Two parents not only had to bury a child but their youngest of twelve while not only a family, but one of wrestling's royal families, would fracture and be divided in the aftermath. Owen Hart's passing is unquestionably one of, if not, wrestling's biggest tragedy. Perhaps the only tragedies that come close or even beat it is the 1988 murder of Bruiser Brody and the 2007 Chris Benoit double murder-suicide. However, one definitely has to wonder "What If?"? What if Owen had lived and that accident never happened? Could he have reached his potential? What big matches could he have still had? In this article, we'll look at Owen leading up to 1999 as well some possible scenarios if he had lived.

Note: I don't own the photo. Credit to WWE

WWF Wrestlers Who Had a Bad 1996

WWF Wrestlers Who Had a Bad 1996
March 10, 2026
By Ryan Porzl

As I covered and is well known, 1995 was not a good year for the WWF. They reportedly lost money that year, business was down, creative was weak, some of their shows were among the worst in company history, and WCW began breathing down their neck with the debut of WCW Monday Nitro and the start of the Monday Night Wars. 1996, in some ways, was almost worse. The product would begin to turn around and it was certainly considered better but at the same time, WCW only got stronger and by the end of the year, there were legit fears on the WWF's future. However, the WWF itself wasn't the only thing to have a lousy 1996. In this article we'll look at ten wrestlers/teams who also had a bad year.

Note: I don't own any photos, credit to WWE or whomever own them.