Wrestling fans love speculating about “dream matches.” Those are the wrestling bouts that will probably never happen due to a variety of circumstances. In the last few years, WWE has worked to make a few dreams come true, but there are still so many that we will never see. One of those was a face-off between two technical wizards: Owen Hart vs. Kurt Angle. Tragedy cut Owen’s life and career short before the Olympic Champion made his way to the WWE. But it turns out, that match happened.

Owen wrestled Kurt before a Raw taping on May 10th, 1999. This match was two weeks before Owen’s death at the Over The Edge Pay-Per-View. Here’s a description from a fan who was in attendance:

Dark Match: Owen Hart pinned Kurt Angle after a spinning heel kick.

* Poor Owen. He’s gone from Intercontinental Champion and a major player on WWF’s pay-per-views to doing dark matches for Monday night shows. I just hope he doesn’t try a piledriver.
* Angle comes out to Del Wilkes’ (The Patriot) old theme.
* As misused as Hart has been, he still gets heat, even though it’s in the form of ten thousand plus fans yelling “Nugget!”
* This would be your cookie-cutter Nitro or Thunder match. Kurt controls at the start and hits a Northern Lights suplex at one point for two.
* Hart grabs Angle on a leapfrog attempt and powerbombs him.
* Angle comes back with a powerslam but Hart hits an enziguri shortly after.
* Hart goes up top and gets crotched, allowing Angle to hit a superplex for two.
* Hart comes off the ropes into Angle, who hesitates for about two seconds before applying a side belly-to-belly suplex.
* Hart finishes Angle off with a spinning heel kick.
* Angle looked alright, but he needs some polish before going on Heat or RAW.

A stand warm-up match. Fans in attendance had no idea what or who they were watching. That last line about Angle needing some polish gave me a chuckle.

They even hung out a bit backstage.

What Owen Hart Thought About Kurt Angle

But it was what happened after the match that proved prophetic.

From their brief time in the ring, Owen Hart knew that Angle was unique. Many consider Angle the fastest learner in wrestling history. It usually takes years for wrestlers to get to an even decent stage. Kurt Angle became a world-class competitor in a matter of months.

Unfortunately, we never saw this match televised, though knowing WWE’s intense record keeping, there is no doubt that the match was recorded and is sitting on a tape somewhere deep in the archives.

Would you love to see Owen Hart wrestle Kurt Angle? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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