>>17895068This is historical revisionism, probably by a Gaytch nut-hugger. Owen had a lot of charisma and was loved by the boys and by wrestling fans. Owen was a funny guy who knew how to work and how to cut a promo. The Blue Blazer gimmick was a punishment for two reasons: 1) Owen didn't like the excesses of the Attitude Era under Vince Russo and he was very open about it to the point of wanting to leave but he wasn't allowed to, 2) Bret had left WWF in a contentious way and still had a lot of heat with HBK, Gaytch, and Vince McMahon. He was treated like shit ever since because they had no way to punish Bret, and even his friends Bulldog and Jim Neidhart left too. Owen took the brunt of their ire. This is also why Owen was buried in early 1998 despite being red hot after Bret left. WWF could have capitalized with the dimes Black Hart gimmick, but instead it was used to put over original DX even though HBK would leave within a few months anyway.
