Todd Pettengill recalls confronting Owen Hart after the 1994 King of the Ring coronation ceremony.
The 1994 King of the Ring ceremony was the crowning moment, quite literally, for Owen Hart. After defeating three opponents and utilizing the help of Jim Neidhart, Owen became the King of the Ring and went on to challenge his brother, Bret Hart, for the WWE Championship at SummerSlam 1994 inside of a steel cage.
The man in charge of the coronation at the 1994 King of the Ring was Todd Pettengill, the voice of the New Generation era. As part of the act, Owen would get physical with Pettengill, demanding he kneel before the “King of Harts.”
Recalling this moment on That 90’s Wrestling Podcast, Pettingill I would say that he was uncomfortable with this level of physicality and confronted Owen after the show. Pettengill would commend Owen for being very apologetic and promising to never do it again.
“Things got a little heated at the King of the Ring coronation with me and Owen. I'm a little foggy with it now, but I remember, there's usually an Unwritten rule that you don't put your hands on the announcer, at least there was then. There was some back and forth and then I think he had me kneel. I did it, you know, but he pushed me pretty good. Afterward, I let it all go because when you're on oh, what are you going to do? What am I going to say, ‘Don't touch me?’ You can't be that way. Afterward, I went up to him and I said, ‘Look, I don't appreciate it. Don't touch me again, please,’” Pettingill recalled.
He continued, “He could not have been more apologetic. ‘I'm sorry. I was in the heat of the moment. I'll never do that again.’ You try to avoid [those moments] but he was, again, one of the greats, man. He could put over any storyline. He was just amazing.”
Todd Pettengill had already left the company when Owen Hart tragically fell to his death in 1999 at WWE Over the Edge, but both men are staples of the New Generation era, which is now receiving its fair share of love through the modern remake of the In Your House events from NXT. Both NXT TakeOver: In Your House events thus far have featured Todd Pettengill.
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