The King Of Pranks Owen Hart

The King of Ribs: A Look at the Legendary Practical Jokes of Owen Hart

Owen Hart (1965–1999) was not just one of professional wrestling's most gifted and charismatic performers; he was also renowned backstage as the ultimate "ribber" or prankster. His elaborate, persistent, and often hilarious practical jokes were a running theme in the WWF (now WWE) locker room, earning him the nickname "King of Pranks." Hart's ribs were generally aimed at simple inconvenience or maximum amusement, though not every victim found the humor immediately. 

Pranks on Colleagues and Family

Owen's pranks targeted nearly everyone, from fellow wrestlers to management. He was known for his dedication to the bit, often continuing a gag for weeks. 

• Targeting Vince McMahon: One of his most talked-about pranks involved filling his boss, Vince McMahon's office, with various livestock and animals—often pigs or barnyard creatures. 

• The Chili Incident and Retaliation: A classic story involves Owen contaminating Harley Race's homemade chili with excessive hot sauce at a cookout. Race eventually retaliated by using a stun gun on Owen.

• The Popcorn Match: With Mick Foley and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, Owen and Foley decided to intentionally have an absurdly bad match, overselling every hit from bags of popcorn. Owen made "popcorn angels" in the ring, frustrating Austin who eventually cracked up backstage.

• No-Selling the Sharpshooter: In a match with his brother, Bret Hart, Owen famously no-sold Bret's finishing maneuver, the Sharpshooter, by pretending to check his watch and yawn while locked in the submission hold, continuing the gag until Bret applied extra pressure.

• The Cucumber Calamity: Owen once rubbed a cucumber—a vegetable his victim was known to despise—on the face of The Undertaker during a match. The ensuing chaos was so intense that Owen, along with Lex Luger, reportedly ran out of the arena and sped off to their hotel before The Undertaker could catch them. 

• Tying up Razor Ramon: During a match, Owen managed to completely tie up Razor Ramon (Scott Hall) with tape while wrestling him on the mat, leaving him immobile and tangled. 

Other Signature Prank Styles

Hart's ribs often fell into a few distinct categories, demonstrating his quick wit and mischievous spirit:

• Prank Phone Calls: Owen was a master of the prank phone call, frequently calling wrestlers in their hotel rooms, sometimes pretending to be a hotel manager with a payment issue or a zealous fan, just to rile them up. He even prank-called fellow wrestler Sunny. 

• The In-Ring Antics: During matches, Owen would inject humor by going off-script—mimicking a smoker while in an armbar, adopting ridiculous "dinosaur steps" when walking, or, as former referee Mike Chioda recalled, calling for a wrestler's entrance music to play at a completely random and inappropriate moment mid-match. 

While some of his pranks could be considered mean-spirited—such as giving an unsuspecting announcer a soft drink to splash down his body before an interview—the vast majority were regarded as harmless, good-natured fun intended to break the tension of the wrestling road. Owen Hart is universally remembered by his peers not only as an exceptional talent but as the beloved "King of Pranks." 

You can hear some stories about Owen's ribs in Mike Chioda on Owen Hart Playing Entrance Music At the WRONG Time!. This video features a former WWE referee discussing Owen's penchant for playing entrance music at the wrong time during matches.