The Untimely Death of WWE Star Owen Hart

Owen Hart was the youngest son of 1940s Canadian Olympic wrestler Stu Hart. A skilled fighter in a wide range of styles (and weapons), Stu opened an underground training facility in the 1970s. He intended to pass his skills on to the cream of the crop of international fighters and mercenaries.

Despite his lack of metahuman abilities, Hart specialized in training those students who did possess paranormal abilities in the efficient use of those gifts. He ran the facility, nicknamed “The Dungeon” under the cover of a professional wrestling promotion. He called it “Calgary Stampede Wrestling.”

Like everyone else in the Hart family, Owen Hart was unmatched when it came to performing within the squared circle. After an independent run and a stint in NJPW, Hart set his sights on conquering

the WWE.

Owen Hart and Jim ‘The Anvil’ Neidhart came together to form a tag team called The New Foundation in the early 90s, but Hart’s greatest success came against his own brother- Bret ‘The Hitman’ Hart. The two men put on some incredible matches, most notably in a steel cage.

Owen Hart would thereafter join Camp Cornette, and enjoy success teaming up with one another, even winning the gold. Owen Hart also became Intercontinental Champion soon after, when he pinned Rocky Miavia. After a variety of feuds, the Hart Foundation would reunite and Owen Hart would be an integral part of the camp in 1997.

Owen Hart would also have a stint in the Nation of Domination, co-leading the faction alongside The Rock. The faction would face off against the Nation of Domination in an extended feud, which is considered entertaining to this day. He would also team up with Jeff Jarrett.

On May 23, 1999, the World Wrestling Federation fans and personnel were shocked to the core after what happened at the WWF Over the Edge pay-per-view at the Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri. Canadian-born Owen Hart, as the Blue Blazer, was scheduled to face The Godfather for the WWE Intercontinental Championship, and then something went horribly wrong.

At the PPV, Owen was supposed to make his entrance from the ceiling via a harness, and be lowered down but get tangled up in the cord before he entered the ring to fit the clumsy superhero character he was portraying. On May 23, 1999, the World Wrestling Federation fans and personnel were shocked to the core after what happened at the WWF Over the Edge pay-per-view at the Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri. Canadian-born Owen Hart, as the Blue Blazer, was scheduled to face The Godfather for the WWE Intercontinental Championship, and then something went horribly wrong.At the PPV, Owen was supposed to make his entrance from the ceiling via a harness, and be lowered down but get tangled up in the cord before he entered the ring to fit the clumsy superhero character he was portraying.

Owen Hart’s death occurred right before his match against The Godfather. Stunt rigger Bobby Talbert suggested that Owen practiced the stunt before doing it live in front of the wrestling fans at the PPV since the setup was different that normal, but Owen declined. After more persuasion, Owen obliged, and successfully performed the test run. He was, though, advised not to touch the quick release cord before landing in the ring.

While descending down, the quick release accidentally triggered at 78 feet above the ground, and Owen Hart fell to his death. Those sitting at ringside saw the medical team try to save Owen, but to no avail.

Jim Ross, who was the play-by-play announcer during this match along with color commentator Jerry Lawler, stated, “this is not a wrestling angle. This is real life.” He also stated, “we are not going to put this on television.” Phil Boldridge, Entercon Radio Assistant, also recalled what he saw during the tragic fall.“When I happened to look down from the falling object, I noticed that it was the actual wrestler that was supposed to be performing next.

He ended up hitting his face onto the turnbuckle and did a flip, and ended up landing on his back.” This blunt force trauma from landing on the top rope caused internal bleeding, which was revealed to be his cause of death. To this day, there has been no footage of Hart released after this tragic accident. Rest in Peace Champ!