Recommended Free Tools
Owen Hart’s best-known ribs range from a fake hotel emergency to pigs in Vince McMahon’s office—but the available accounts support six distinct stories, not ten. Here they are, ranked by setup, surprise, scale and how clearly a participant recalled them. “Rib” is wrestling’s locker-room term for a prank; these are attributed recollections, not independently verified incidents.
How this ranking works
“Greatest” is a judgment, not a measurable historical category. This ranking weighs the ingenuity of the setup, the surprise and payoff, the prank’s scale, and the clarity of the account. Where a teller characterized a rib as harmless, that description stays attached to that teller; it should not be assumed of every story.
The source accounts provide six distinct anecdotes with enough detail to describe. Rather than invent four more or split the same incident into multiple entries, this list ranks those six and makes the limit clear.
The six best-documented Owen Hart ribs, ranked
1. Pigs in Vince McMahon’s office
For scale and audacity, this is the standout. Former WWE referee Jimmy Korderas recalled the 1995 In Your House: Seasons Beatings event in Hershey, Pennsylvania, where pigs had been delivered for the scheduled Arkansas Hog Pen Match. With Vince McMahon and production staff in a meeting, Korderas said, Owen led the delivery driver to McMahon’s office. McMahon returned to find the pigs there, recognized Owen’s part in the setup and yelled his name. Korderas recalled that McMahon laughed, too. The anecdote’s detail and named teller make it especially compelling, while its comic payoff depends on a very unusual setting.
#1 Best Overall
- WWE Elite Collection action figures bring WWE Superstars to life in 6-inch scale!
- Each figure features highly detailed TrueFX technology for life-like facial features!
- Recreate signature moves and dynamic poses with 25 points of articulation!
- Includes interchangeable hands and iconic accessories for play and display!
- WWE fans can find a favorite Superstar figure or can collect them all (each sold separately, subject to availability).
2. The fake hotel credit-card emergency
Korderas also recalled getting a late-evening call in his hotel room from someone pretending to be at the front desk. The caller said his credit card had been declined and he needed to come downstairs immediately. The actual desk clerk knew of no problem; Korderas then spotted Owen laughing in the corner after other colleagues had received the same treatment. Korderas called Owen’s ribs harmless and funny, saying: “And the great thing about Owen’s ribs was they were never harmful. They were all harmless and just made everyone laugh.” That is Korderas’s assessment of the pranks he was describing, not a blanket guarantee about every story attributed to Owen.
3. The tarp rehearsal that went on too long
Matt Hardy recalled meeting Owen as a young extra wrestler at Stabler Arena in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in fall 1994. Owen said he wanted to feature Hardy in the match and took him to a large tarp in the concourse. He coached Hardy through crawling toward imaginary ropes, stopping him and asking for the sequence again. After Hardy repeated it four or five times, he asked whether Owen was messing with him. Owen said yes—and asked what had taken him so long to catch on. The rib’s strength is its slow, straight-faced escalation: Hardy kept performing because the supposed coaching sounded plausible.
Rank #2
- WWE action figures bring fan-favorite Superstars to life in 6-inch scale!
- Each figure is detailed with TrueFX technology for a life-like face and added collectability!
- Fans can recreate signature moves with 14 points of articulation for dynamic posing!
- Reenact favorite WWE Main Event matches or create new rivalries and moves for play and display!
- WWE fans can find their favorite Superstar figure or can collect them all (each sold separately, subject to availability).
4. The hitchhiker, Hakushi and the overheated car
Matt and Jeff Hardy recounted a prank involving Owen, Davey Boy Smith, Hakushi (Jinsei Shinzaki) and a hitchhiker. In Matt Hardy’s expanded version, the car’s heat was turned up to 99 degrees. Owen and the others told the hitchhiker that Hakushi had a rare condition requiring the temperature to remain above 95 degrees. Hakushi did not understand the English explanation, while both he and the hitchhiker grew hot and confused as the others played along. The Hardy brothers told the story in a Talk Is Jericho interview, as transcribed by Wrestling Inc. Its elaborate shared pretense earns it a high place, though the account is a recollection rather than an independently verified record.
5. Ahmed Johnson’s supposed Tonight Show booking
In a secondary-source retelling by Pete Hurley at WhatCulture, Ahmed Johnson was told he would appear on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. He reportedly bought a $4,000 suit and matching jewelry, then waited for a limousine that never arrived. Owen and Davey Boy Smith showed up, feigned envy and asked why the limo was late before Owen burst out laughing. The expensive preparation and delayed reveal make this a memorable setup, but the available account is less directly documented than the recollections from Korderas and the Hardys.
The Tool Desk
Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Rank #3
- Authentic WWE Action Figures: WWE action figures bring fan-favorite Superstars to life in 6-inch scale for realistic play and display
- TrueFX Technology: Each figure is detailed with TrueFX technology for a life-like face and added collectability
- Multiple Points of Articulation: Fans can recreate signature moves with multiple points of articulation for dynamic posing
- Main Event Match Recreation: Reenact favorite WWE Main Event matches or create new rivalries and moves for play and display
- Collectible Superstar Series: WWE fans can find their favorite Superstar figure or can collect them all (each sold separately, subject to availability)
6. Sardines smeared on Bret Hart during a match
Sports Illustrated’s 2019 retrospective says Owen hid sardines and smeared them on his brother Bret during a match. The brief account offers fewer details about the setup or Bret’s immediate reaction, so it ranks below the fuller stories. Still, the setting gives it a distinctive edge: the prank took place during a live performance between brothers. The same retrospective quotes Bret reflecting on how Owen is remembered: “He’s not remembered for his high-flying, and he may be remembered for his practical jokes,” adding, “But more important he is remembered for the kind of guy he was.”
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why this list has six entries, not ten
The stories above are six distinct anecdotes described in the available source accounts. Other summaries mention hotel-room prank calls and pigs in McMahon’s office, but those overlap with Korderas’s recollections already ranked here; counting them again would inflate the list rather than add another rib. The accessible portion of WhatCulture’s 2017 ranking provides the Ahmed Johnson story, but not enough detail to responsibly fill out ten entries.
Rank #4
- WWE action figures bring fan-favorite Superstars to life in 6-inch scale!
- Each figure is detailed with TrueFX technology for a life-like face and added collectability!
- Fans can recreate signature moves with 14 points of articulation for dynamic posing!
- Reenact favorite WWE Main Event matches or create new rivalries and moves for play and display!
- WWE fans can find their favorite Superstar figure or can collect them all (each sold separately, subject to availability).
For readers who want a longer collection, James Romero’s self-published Owen Hart: King of Pranks: The Ultimate Anthology of Owen’s Greatest Ribs, Pranks and Stories is a subject-specific book discussed in a Slam Wrestling review and interview. Slam Wrestling notes that the book is not authorized by all members of the Hart family, a relevant qualification when weighing an anthology of stories about Owen.
Quick Recap
Best Value
- Celebrate WWE rivalries and tag teams with WWE Main Event Showdown 2-Pack action figures!
- The collectible sets come with an accessory, like a WWE Championship title or other accessory!
- Each 6-inch figure features 10 points of articulation for signature moves and poses!
- The Superstars are detailed with ring gear and TrueFX facial technology to bring the figures alive!
- Fans can collect the sets to build bigger battles and displays (Each sold separately, subject to availability).
Sources for the recollections
- Jimmy Korderas’s accounts of the hotel call and pigs in McMahon’s office, reported by Wrestling Inc. on May 23, 2024.
- Matt Hardy’s account of the tarp rib and the Hardy brothers’ hitchhiker story, credited to Talk Is Jericho by Wrestling Inc. on June 9, 2022.
- The Ahmed Johnson story, as recounted by Pete Hurley in WhatCulture’s July 10, 2017 list.
- The sardines anecdote and Bret Hart’s reflection, in Sports Illustrated’s May 23, 2019 retrospective.
- WWE’s explanation of the locker-room prank tradition appears in “Superstars on their greatest pranks ever,” published September 10, 2014.
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
