My Return - and RIP Owen

So it is official - I am back online. It's 10:30 pm after a weekend of camping etc. so I will write tomorrow about Raw, about William Regal's suspension, about what a baby Nick Hogan is, and you know, just the general things going on in the world of wrestling tomorrow when I'm less tired and bug-eaten, but I thought just for tonight I'd drop in, let you know I'm around, and say something I've been wanting to say since Friday:

Friday was the 9th anniversary of the in-ring death of Owen Hart, arguably one of the most tragic days in wrestling history superceded perhaps only by the Benoit family tragedy. I have to admit I was a bigger fan of Owen's older brother Bret through most of their careers - but Owen was a solid hand who was always there, who I always enjoyed, and much like Benoit, quietly went about building one of the most respectable oeuvres of work in wrestling history, perhaps not being the flashiest showman, but one of the most solid hands in the business - funny, technically sound, charismatic and smart, before it all went wrong (albeit in this case, through no fault of his own).

It is unfortunate that similarly to Chris Benoit, the nature of Owen's death will probably preclude him for a long time from being in the WWE Hall of Fame. In this case, however, it is not due to anything he did, nor any lack of desire by the WWE to induct him. His widow, who (with no small amount of reasoning) blames the WWE and Vince McMahon for Owen's death, does not want him being recognized by the company which she perceives as having killed him, in an industry she has convinced herself he hated.

However, given that, while I respect her feelings, the reality is he WAS a wrestler, who devoted a good portion of his life - and indeed, ultimately, that very life - to the wrestling business, and his many fans have experienced a great loss as well. And so I hope Martha can forgive this lowly, weak, addicted wrestling fan from expressing her remorse and sadness at this time of year for having at one time lost one of the truly great performers in the business.

RIP Owen - you are still missed.