By all accounts, Owen Hart was one of the most beloved figures in the long history of professional wrestling. Regarded by his peers as one of the most talented workers in the ring, and the absolute king of good-hearted ribs outside of it, you would be hard-pressed to find anyone say anything bad about the King Of Harts. We all sadly know the end of Owen’s life and in many ways, it has now overshadowed his wonderful in-ring career, in many ways rightfully so. But today we look back at the amazing matches that Owen gave us throughout his career, in the newest edition of Triple Threat Theatre!

3) WWF Monday Night RAW – 03/03/1997 – WWF European Championship Tournament Finals – Owen Hart vs. British Bulldog

Originally taped in Germany on February 26th and aired on March 3rd, 1997, the finals of the tournament to name the first-ever WWF European Champion came down to two men who formed arguably the best tag team of the WWF’s New Generation era, Owen Hart and his brother-in-law, The British Bulldog Davey Boy Smith. While the outcome was likely never in question seeing as Bulldog was from the UK and a huge draw over there at the time, the two went out and tore the house down. Looking back on his career, Bulldog may be the best worker in history who could only have a truly great match when he was in there with a worker who could carry him to a 5-star match (look at the SummerSlam 1992 main event with Bret) and Owen was one of those workers. Likely the best non-PPV WWF match of 1997, Bulldog would prevail to win the title, and the tensions between the two would help lead to the reformation of the Hart Foundation just weeks later.

2) WWF WrestleMania X – 03/20/1994 – Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart

Until Daniel Bryan and Triple H decided to open WrestleMania XXX 20 years later in the opener of that show, there was absolutely no question of what the best opening match in WrestleMania history was. Owen Hart had recently turned on his older brother Bret leading to this match where Owen officially became a made man in the WWF. The storyline of the younger brother wanting to show up his more beloved veteran brother rang true with many young fans who all had brotherly feuds, and Bret and Owen were two of the best workers in the entire world in 1994. The shocking conclusion of the match saw Owen walk away with the victory, lining up a feud that would continue for the rest of the year. The fact that Bret went onto win the WWF Championship from Yokozuna later in the night only made it more perfect, with the entire roster holding Bret on their shoulders (a choice made by Macho Man Randy Savage) while Owen looked on seething from the aisleway is one of the most iconic images in wrestling history. An absolute masterpiece, there is only one match that could surpass it.

1) WWF SummerSlam – 08/29/1994 – WWF Championship Steel Cage Match – Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart

Ridiculously robbed of the main event spot by the infamous Undertaker vs. Underfaker match, Bret and Owen had built to this steel cage match for Bret’s WWF Championship perfectly. Having started their feud at the prior year’s Survivor Series, leading to Owen’s full heel turn at Royal Rumble into their match at WrestleMania. Owen would go onto win that year’s King Of The Ring, dubbing himself The King Of Harts and lining him up to become the Number One Contender. Held in the classic blue bar steel cage, and given the instructions for no blood and not to go overboard with the violence, Bret and Owen held an absolute clinic within the confines of the cage, with neither brother ever looking weak or bad. Undoubtedly the best ‘blue’ steel cage match in WWF history, with a perfect ending that would allow the feud to continue while definitively declaring a winner, this was Owen’s magnum opus, and one of the best matches of Bret’s career. A must-see for any wrestling fan.