How Owen Hart Pranked His Brother Bret On A WWE Overseas Tour With Sardines
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Professional wrestling is a funny business, and many performers over time have been very funny, not only as wrestling characters, but also as human beings. When you're on the road as much as professional wrestlers -- as much as 300+ days a year back in the day -- finding sources of fun and entertainment is key. Naturally, pranks and ribs among wrestlers have become a staple within the industry. Much of it was in good-natured fun in an attempt to get a pop from the boys, like with Mr. Perfect and the Smoking Gunns shaving X-Pac's eyebrow, Perfect giving Yokozuna laxatives on an airplane, or Kevin Owens ribbing his real-life friend Sami Zayn (which is not very "Ucey"). But unfortunately, sometimes the pranks went too far.
RELATED: 15 Times Wrestling Pranks Went Too Far
Pranks Were Common In WWE, Even With Vince McMahon
It started at the top in WWE, as Vince McMahon was known as a pretty notorious ribber. He once had Jonathan Coachman arrested by real cops for running an NFL betting pool. Another time, he had Mark Henry go to the ring for a dark match, but he waited over 15 minutes for an opponent that never came. Henry apparently tore through the backstage like a bull in a china shop, but it ultimately led to one of his best runs with the "Hall of Pain."
However, one man stood above the rest as the "King of Ribs," and that was the late Owen Hart. Nobody was safe from Owen's ribs, including Vince McMahon, his father Stu, and his brother Bret Hart. One time, on an overseas tour, Owen pulled a prank on Bret that was quite fishy.
RELATED: The 10 Greatest Owen Hart Ribs Of All Time
Owen Hart Hid A Can Of Sardines Before A Match, Then Proceeded To Shove Them In Bret's Face
The specific details of the prank differ slightly from report to report, but the end result is the same. WWE was on tour in either Kuwait or India, and Owen and Bret were scheduled for a match against each other. Because the match was not televised, Owen seized the opportunity and pulled one of his most memorable ribs ever.
The story goes that Owen went out to the ring before the show started and hid a can of sardines under the ring (or in one of the turnbuckles, according to some). During the course of the match, Owen -- unbeknownst to Bret -- snuck his way to the can of sardines and grabbed a big handful of them. Shortly thereafter, Owen took control of the match, and proceeded to lock Bret in a camel clutch submission. While having the hold on, Owen shoved the sardines in Bret's mouth and covered it up. Bret had no option other than to take it, as Owen was probably cracking up knowing he'd gotten a big one over on his brother, and he had to go through the rest of the match with nasty sardine mouth. Needless to say, it was easier and smarter to do a mid-match prank during a house show, as opposed to a televised match.
RELATED: 8 Funniest Backstage Pranks In WWE, Ranked
Owen Hart Was a True Gem To The Wrestling Business, Both As A Character And Human Being
Owen had a number of other classic mid-match pranks during house shows. One night in San Jose, Owen caught wind that Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer was in attendance for the show. So, he and Mick Foley went out to try and have the worst match possible to earn a negative star rating from Meltzer. Owen and Mick were hitting each other with large bags of popcorn, and selling like it was brutal. Another time at a house show, Owen was teaming with Jeff Jarrett against Edge and Christian, and Owen was hitting Edge with a "foreign object" he was hiding in his arms. The ref gave Owen a five count to raise his arms, and he revealed it was merely a napkin.
As mentioned, even Owen's boss, Vince McMahon, was not off limits. At In Your House: Season's Beatings in December 1995, Triple H and Henry Godwinn were scheduled to have a Hog Pen Match complete with real pigs. When the pigs were delivered, Owen instructed them to be delivered directly to the office of Vince McMahon. Vince almost fired Owen once after he duct-taped Vince's briefcase to his ceiling fan, and when Vince came in the fan was smoking, burning up the briefcase. Owen didn't care about the risk, as opposed to getting one over on someone for some cheap laughs. The world lost one of the great ones when Owen Hart passed away in 1999, but he most certainly cultivated one heck of a legacy.
