When this column goes live to the world, the date will be May 22nd. The following day, May 23rd, will mark 24 years since the tragic passing of Owen Hart.
I’ve been a wrestling fan for a lot longer than many of you have been alive. I still vividly remember May 23rd, 1999 like it was yesterday. There I was, watching the Over The Edge pay-per-view from the comfort of my couch. When it was time for The Godfather to defend his Intercontinental Title against The Blue Blazer, a pre-recorded backstage promo aired before the match. I chose that time to get up, stretch my legs a bit, and grab something to drink from the fridge. As I sat back down, the live feed was returning, and that’s when I heard Jim Ross talking about how Owen, as The Blue Blazer, was supposed to make a “very spectacular, superhero-like entrance from the rafters” and how “something went terribly wrong” as it happened. JR had to say that what was happening was “as real as real can be” and the tone of his voice was a mixture of shock, confusion, and sadness. On several occasions, he had to reiterate that this was absolutely, positively not part of a “wrestling angle” taking place as “part of the show.”
At that moment, I had no idea what was going on. I heard everything Jim Ross was saying, but like many people watching at home, it was still instinctual to question what we were watching as if we were being worked. You have to keep in mind that this was the era where wrestling swerves were happening all the time, often for no reason at all. Wrestling fans were almost trained to expect the unexpected, so to speak. It wasn’t until Jim Ross’ partner on commentary, Jerry “The King” Lawler returned to his spot next to JR after helping attend to Owen in the ring that I first knew something was horribly wrong.
While the pay-per-view feed focused on crowd shots or shots of Jim Ross as he spoke, Jerry Lawler was in the ring, helping paramedics and medical staff tend to Owen. After a few minutes, Lawler would return to his spot at the table, but upon looking at him, it felt like my heart shot up to my throat and then sank down into my stomach. Lawler was usually smiling and seemed genuinely happy to be doing what he did for a living. When he returned to his spot next to JR that night, he looked like he was fighting back tears, the urge to vomit, and the desire to walk away all at the same time. Then, he said something that still sends a chill down my spine to this day.
“It doesn’t look good at all.”
By that point, every fiber of my being understood that this truly was a tragic accident, and not any twisted attempt at getting “buzz” via weird storyline. A short while later, when Jim Ross delivered the news that Owen had passed away, I couldn’t watch the show anymore. I turned the TV off and just sat there in silence for a while. I didn’t have a cell phone at the time, and I stayed off the internet as I continued sitting on the couch. Because of that, I had no idea if the WWF continued on with the show. It probably was a few hours before I logged on and started looking up news about what happened. I was pretty surprised to see that the show continued on.
As I kept reading more and more news articles and message board posts, I found my level of surprise growing and growing. Not only did the show go on, but the live crowd weren’t given any updates on Owen’s condition at all. I began to see all of the angry reactions from people who were completely appalled that Vince McMahon decided to carry on with the rest of the show, forcing Owen’s co-workers to continue with their jobs as if they didn’t just watch him fall to his death. People were literally and figuratively calling for Vince’s head on a platter because of his decision. I’m not kidding when I tell you that I saw hundreds of people claim they were never going to give the company another dime because of what Vince did.
The more I thought about it, the more I couldn’t help but… side with Vince McMahon. While I completely understood the line of thinking when it came to calling the show off, I wanted to think that I would’ve made the same decision Vince did if I were in charge. I know there were a lot of people running with the “Owen would’ve wanted the show to go on” line, but that wasn’t me. Owen and I weren’t friends, and we weren’t family members. I had no idea what Owen would’ve wanted. My thought process was more in the logistical nightmare that would’ve been created if the show had to come to an end so early. The attendance for Over The Edge is listed at 16,472 people. That’s 16,472 refunds, and if it were simply about event tickets, that would be one thing, but it’s more than that. What about the people who spent money for plane tickets to fly to Kansas City for the show? They probably spent money on hotel rooms, rental cars, meals, and so on. How about the vendors in the arena that aren’t going to be able to sell the normal amount of food, beverages, merchandise, and whatever else can be bought at a wrestling show? That isn’t even counting the pay-per-view buys that would need to be refunded. There’s so much to think about when it comes to making a major decision such as cancelling a show of that size.
My thoughts on the live crowd not being informed of Owen’s passing have changed slightly through the years, but only because I learned more about the situation. At first, I thought it was a weird idea, but I understood, simply based on not wanting to take the crowd out of things. If you’re going to keep the show going, you want the crowd to react and respond to things as they normally would… cheer the faces, boo the heels, get excited about near falls, etc. You can’t expect any of that if you’re all “Ladies and gentlemen, we regret to inform you that Owen Hart has tragically passed away after the incident earlier tonight. Now, I present to you, The Corporate Ministry!”
As the years went on, I began to feel that the WWF did it because the live crowd wasn’t completely aware of everything that was taking place to begin with. A few years ago, I heard a podcast interview (I don’t remember which podcast off the top of my head) with a fan who was in attendance at Over The Edge. The fan said he was in the third (might’ve been the second row), and when the pre-recorded Blue Blazer interview aired, it was shown on the big screen in the arena while the lights were off completely. That means almost everyone in the arena had their attention on the screen and didn’t physically witness Owen’s fall. Maybe they saw a blur in their peripheral vision, or, like the man interviewed on the podcast, simply heard the sound of Owen hitting the ring. With that many people confused about the whole situation, combined with the aforementioned nature to immediately assume that we’re being worked, it’s not outside the realm of possibility that Vince and the WWF officials would want to try and get through the rest of the show and worry about the aftermath later. It’s not like they were lying and advertising the Blazer match for later in the show or on another night. That would be an entirely different debate altogether, and chances are, we wouldn’t even be talking about Vince McMahon now, as he would’ve been destroyed for a move like that.
For well over two decades, I held strong in my belief that the logistical side of things made Vince’s decision that night the “right” one, for better or worse.
Then, January 2nd, 2023 rolled around.
That was the night that the NFL’s Buffalo Bills faced the Cincinnati Bengals in a Monday Night Football game. A little over halfway through the first quarter, Bills Safety Damar Hamlin would make a seemingly innocent tackle, only to collapse after standing back up. While he was completely motionless on the field, he was administered CPR and external defibrillation, and was given oxygen. The game was put on hold while medical professionals worked on him, until he was eventually taken to a nearby hospital in an ambulance. After he was taken off the field, the NFL front office sent word to both teams that they would have a brief period of time to warm up and get ready for the game to continue. There were just under 30 minutes from the time Hamlin collapsed until the moment the ambulance left the field. As soon as it was reported that the game would be resumed, fans and analysts from all over the world said it would be a terrible idea. Clips of players from both teams openly weeping were shown, and fans wondered how in the world they would be able to continue playing after what they just witnessed. At the time, we had no idea if Damar Hamlin was going to live, die, be forced to retire, or anything in between. Finally, after an hour or so since the incident, the NFL officially announced the game would be postponed, and eventually, it would be canceled altogether.
You know what I noticed about the postponement of the game? Nobody was upset. Even in a world where people are comfortable saying the dumbest possible shit on social media because they feel they won’t deal with any sort of consequences for it, the decision was met with praise everywhere you looked. Bills fans felt the game shouldn’t continue. Bengals fans felt the game shouldn’t continue. The game was an incredibly important one, too, with postseason berths and positioning riding on the outcome. Even with that, everyone knew it shouldn’t continue.
Nobody was complaining about tickets they bought and how they would get refunds for them. People weren’t asking what they were supposed to do about the money they spent on plane tickets and hotel rooms. The NFL, after their initial misstep in wanting the game to continue, weren’t concerned about any sort of losses that might come with the cancellation of an entire game. Sure, you could say that a league who saw $18 billion in revenue in 2022 (for comparison, the WWF’s revenue in the fiscal year that Over The Edge happened in was $373 million) can take a hit here and there, but the fact remains that it happened with very little thought and time consumption.
So… if the NFL could cancel a nationally televised game with 21.1 million viewers watching on ESPN and 65,000+ fans in attendance… where everyone got to see what happened to Damar Hamlin and how it made his teammates and brothers-in-arms react… why couldn’t the WWF do so for a show with considerably less people in attendance and watching at home, and where a large portion of the people in the building had no idea what was happening with Owen Hart?
I’ve been thinking about this for the last four-and-a-half months.
When Damar Hamlin was being whisked away from the stadium, television commentators and analysts continued to bring up how dangerous it would be for the game to resume. Pro football is an incredibly dangerous sport to begin with. When you’re dealing with players who have their minds elsewhere, even for a split second, it can lead to a major, career (and potentially life) threatening injury. Take that level of danger, amplify it tenfold, and that’s what you have with pro wrestling. Wrestlers are literally putting their lives in the hands of their opponents with almost every single move in any given match. After what happened to Owen Hart, sending his friends and coworkers right back out there to wrestle after a brief “break” to gather themselves is damn near reckless. That was crystal clear with the very next match that took place at Over The Edge after Owen’s accident. In that match, Owen’s tag team partner and travel buddy, Jeff Jarrett, was a participant, and you could see that Jarrett was an absolute mess, and this was after a live backstage promo, where JJ had to fight through tears and send out prayers for his friend. As JJ was standing in position waiting to cut that promo, he watched Owen being wheeled out on a gurney as WWF Doctor Francois Petit was performing chest compressions on him. After Owen was wheeled away, Jarrett was given the countdown to start a promo that was only happening because the WWF needed to burn up some more time before the matches could resume. What kind of shit is that? Everyone involved was really lucky another tragic accident didn’t happen with everyone not being able to think clearly in the immediate aftermath.
It’s not like Vince and the rest of his cronies were unaware of how serious the situation was. They knew Owen’s chances of pulling through weren’t exactly high based on what happened and how he looked when he left the arena. Not only that, but they knew how difficult things were going to be for the rest of the roster. Difficult from an emotional standpoint, but also physically, as WWF officials told the competitors for the rest of the night to try and avoid the part of the ring where Owen fell because the boards under the mat were broken and the turnbuckle area was compromised a bit. Back to Jarrett, he has said that the moment he first got to the ring for his match and physically felt the broken parts of the ring, that’s when he went from subconsciously assuming the worst to consciously “knowing” that Owen had died.
Again… what kind of shit is that?
Look… I understand completely that I’m operating with hindsight being 20/20 and all that. It’s easy for me to say these things today because I wasn’t there 24 years ago and being forced to make a difficult decision. That’s fine. As I said, though, this is something that I actually sided with Vince McMahon on for nearly 24 years. Had Damar Hamlin not had his incident in January, I would probably still side with Vince McMahon on this. The Hamlin game helped to change my perspective on things of this nature, and now, I simply can’t understand why things happened the way they did that night. Yes, the WWF would’ve been out a lot of money because of the refunds and “wasted” costs of renting the arena for a full show, but that’s it… money. The company wasn’t exactly a struggling independent promotion in a position where every lost dollar pushed them closer and closer to shutting its doors permanently. Like I mentioned earlier, the company brought in $373 million in revenue for that fiscal year, so a hit to that number wouldn’t have been a disaster.
You can say a lot of things about pro wrestling fans, and Lord knows I’ve said a lot, but I have a hard time believing there would’ve been too many complaints after Over The Edge was cancelled, especially if word was out that Owen had passed away and that this wasn’t an angle. Sure, there’s always the possibility, in a country that loves to sue the hell out of people, that the WWF would’ve been opened up to some lawsuits from fans trying to make a quick buck if they shut the show down. There have been much more frivolous, and much dumber, lawsuits in the history of the United States, that’s for sure.
I do want to make one thing crystal clear right now. While I now think Vince McMahon made the wrong decision that night, I don’t think that choice came from a place of malice. Vince is a lot of things… A LOT of things… but I have a hard time believing that he made that decision out of any disrespect to Owen or the Hart family, nor did he do so with dollar signs in his eyes. Of course, only Vince himself knows exactly what was going on in his mind that night. I just think he was placed in a very difficult position, and ultimately, he made the wrong choice.
I’m not somebody who subscribes to the conspiracy theories that someone in the WWF, Vince or otherwise, had Owen killed by messing with his safety equipment. There have been all sorts of wild and wacky theories floating around in the last two-plus decades. I’ve personally seen ones that accuse Vince of having Owen killed as revenge for Bret Hart’s departure for WCW. There have been ones that claim Owen released himself from his harness on purpose to take his own life because he was depressed that his career never quite reached the levels of Bret, or of the other main event wrestlers in Owen’s time with the company. If you can think of a stupid explanation of WHY and HOW Owen died that night, I’ve probably heard or read it somewhere through the years. In my opinion, it was a mixture of faulty equipment and Owen’s own reluctance and fear that led to the accident. It has been reported that Owen refused a “practice run” for the stunt beforehand, and may or may not have been fully “into” the directions that he was being given by Bobby Talbert, a Hollywood stunt rigger that had been brought in specifically for this stunt (he had worked with Sting in WCW during the “Crow” days when Sting was doing similar stunts). By the accounts I’ve gone through, Owen wasn’t prepared for the way his cape added extra weight and resistance as he was suspended from the catwalk, awaiting the stunt itself, and as the cape brushed against the equipment, he may have reached for it, accidentally releasing himself from the harness. Let me be clear… I obviously have no idea what actually happened, nor are these words my attempt at telling you all what happened. As I said, this is just how I feel after listening to and reading a bunch of accounts from people who were involved in what happened… through legal documents, interviews, witness accounts, and things of that nature.
In the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t really matter who did what, who didn’t do what, and so on. What matters is that a truly great in-ring performer was taken away from us at only 34 years old. Everyone that knew him would tell you that, while he was a tremendous wrestler, he was an even better father, husband, son, brother, uncle, friend, and an overall man. We don’t know what Owen’s career would’ve become if Over The Edge never happened the way it did. Would he have eventually gone on to become the WWF/WWE Champion? It’s certainly a possibility, whether you think it was going to happen or not. Rumors are that he was supposed to defeat The Godfather to become the new Intercontinental Champion that night, and that the Blue Blazer character would disappear soon thereafter, allowing him to simply be Owen Hart again. Even if he never got to the top of the mountain like his brother did, he was far too talented not to find some sort of success. He was the perfect candidate to succeed as a midcard and/or tag champion, and his WWF career was proof of that.
I miss Owen Hart. Whether it’s randomly or for column research, I love watching his matches, even all these years later. He was so, so good. His combination of technical wrestling and high-flying ability was revolutionary for the WWF, and his style would help lay a blueprint for how pro wrestlers desire to be, even today. I’m glad that AEW was able to strike up a deal with Owen’s widow, Martha, to allow his name and memory to live on with the Owen Hart Cup as well as Owen’s inclusion as a playable character in AEW’s upcoming video game, due out next month. It doesn’t make up for his loss, of course, but it’s something.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to fire up In Your House: Canadian Stampede and watch that show’s ten-man tag main event with The Hart Foundation taking on “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, Ken Shamrock, Goldust and The Legion Of Doom. Maybe I’ll watch some of Owen’s work in New Japan Pro Wrestling after that.
Rest In Peace, Owen.
Weekly Power Rankings
The Creeds vs The Dyad: This was definitely super fun, like almost all of the Creed matches seem to be, but this wasn’t the strongest week for matches on television. In most weeks, this wouldn’t have been in contention for the top spot in my rankings. As it is, here we are at the top. I’m so excited for the Creeds to eventually make their way to Raw or Smackdown, because there are so many good matches for them out there.
Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn vs Finn Balor & Damian Priest: The Undisputed WWE Tag Team Title picture is heating up, and I’m all here for it. On one hand, it’s amazing to have champions that are great, but aren’t seemingly unbeatable like we’ve seen in recent times. However, on the other hand, they’re about to drop the titles at Night Of Champions, as WWE’s plan to get every title on Roman Reigns is underway.
The Elite: The AEW fan base wants to see Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks, and “Hangman” Adam Page together again. Now, the AEW fan base is getting to see Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks, and “Hangman” Adam Page together again. On top of that, their reunion is now leading to another Anarchy In The Arena match at Double Or Nothing. The Elite vs The Blackpool Combat Club is going to kick approximately 1,582 different types of ass, with countless other types of asses lined up around the corner, waiting to be kicked at the match’s leisure.
Roderick Strong vs Chris Jericho: I’m a sucker for wrestling brawls that go all over the building, as my last entry indicates. This was really entertaining, and a fun way to get around the whole “Adam Cole can’t be in the arena while Chris Jericho is there” thing.
Roman Reigns & Solo Sikoa: Another domino falls in the saga of The Bloodline. After yelling at The Usos, Roman Reigns turns to storm off, and he accidentally bumps shoulders with Solo Sikoa, who shoots a look that could kill. Roman, surprisingly, reacts almost out of fear, apologetic for the physical contact. With all of the challengers that Roman has faced over the last 1,000 or so days, Solo Sikoa is the one who seemingly strikes fear in the heart of the champ. I’m not saying this is where the story is going, but this was reminiscent of those television or movie stories where you meet who you think is the “big boss” and you meet another character, only to find out via a big reveal that the other character is, in fact, the leader of the crime syndicate all along. Imagine if, all along, Solo has been the true Head Of The Table.
Rey Mysterio & Santos Escobar vs The Usos: Did… did the LWO actually win a match? What type of sorcery is this?!? Also, to the surprise of absolutely nobody, Rey and Santos have great in-ring chemistry together. If Rey and WWE play their cards right, this is the type of thing that can add even more longevity to Mysterio’s career, even though he’s going to be 49 years old at the end of the year.
Ricky Starks vs Jay White: It might say more about me than about AEW or about Jay White, but sometimes, I find myself forgetting “Switchblade” is All Elite. In a normal situation, that would be unfortunate. This is even worse, though, because it hasn’t even been two months since he officially signed with the promotion, and I’m already forgetting about him. Obviously, there’s still plenty of time for a change, but I just figured he was going to be a bigger deal, and in a better situation, when he signed with AEW (or with WWE/NXT) in early April. Chances are, things will get better for him once Double Or Nothing, and the “Four Pillars” match, comes to an end.
“Jungle Boy” Jack Perry vs Rush: It has been almost four months since Rush won a match on AEW television. Yes, he has been winning matches on RoH Honor Club tapings, but the number of people watching those tapings is probably a tiny fraction of the amount that are watching Dynamite and Rampage every week. Rush is far too talented to be going that long between televised victories.
Xavier Woods vs Dominik Mysterio: I have been championing Dom’s character work and dedication for a long time now. He has also become a heat magnet these days, with live crowds booing him out of the building and not giving him a chance to speak during Judgment Day promos. Recently, though, it seems like he has really turned the corner when it comes to his in-ring work. He has always had a ton of potential, but his Judgment Day run has mostly involved him playing the “Prison Dom” character while Balor, Priest, and Rhea Ripley handled the bulk of the actual wrestling. Dom has been getting longer and longer singles matches now, as well as more in-ring time during tag and six-man contests, and it shows. Let Dom start putting the complete package together, and watch out.
Seth Rollins: He realized diapers and the overall care of a baby can be incredibly expensive, so his solution to that problem was getting some of that Marvel money. The man is set to appear in next year’s Captain America: New World Order movie, where he will reportedly play a relatively large role as a villain. Expect plenty of nWo jokes to be made between now and the release of the film.
Butch & Ridge Holland vs Pretty Deadly: A successful Smackdown debut for Elton Prince and Kit Wilson. They were able to showcase what made them successful in NXT UK, as well as the O.G. NXT, and that’s a solid combination of in-ring skills, comedy, and character work. If they’re given a proper chance to succeed on the main roster, they’ll do just that.
Britt Baker & Hikaru Shida vs Ruby Soho & Toni Storm: It really is a shame that Ruby, Toni, and Saraya are being wasted in a group that nobody seems to be caring about very much. Individually, I like all three women and enjoy what they bring to the table. As a unit, it just seems like AEW wants to combine the nWo with DX, make it a female group, and see what happens. Toni, specifically, needs to be doing much bigger and better things than this, but she has a Women’s Title match at Double Or Nothing, so it’s clearly not a dire situation.
Roxanne Perez vs Jacy Jayne: When Mandy Rose was released, everyone wondered what would happen with Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne. Then, when Jacy turned on Gigi, everyone wondered which of the duo would become the “Shawn Michaels” of the split and who would be the “Marty Jannetty” of it. Well, since the split, Dolin has lost four matches on television, going over two months since winning anything, while Jayne is now 2-2, gaining precisely zero momentum. So… they’re both the “Marty Jannetty” of the split so far, I guess?
Carmelo Hayes & Trick Williams vs Drew Gulak & Charlie Dempsey: Not a long match at all, but it did a lot to give everyone a chance to look good. Melo is the NXT Champion, so he didn’t exactly need much, and that’s why it’s good to continue Trick’s development as an overall performer, while giving Gulak (one of the most underrated performers in the business) and Willy Wonka (who has an incredibly bright future) the spotlight.
Akira Tozawa: If Drew Gulak isn’t the most underrated performer in wrestling, that title might go to Akira Tozawa. With that said, I’m finding Tozawa’s new “role” where he sees terrifying wrestlers backstage and immediately walks away from them hilarious. His facial expressions and comedic timing are so good.
This Week’s Playlist: “Forget Me” by Lewis Capaldi… “Wish You The Best” by Lewis Capaldi… “Pointless” by Lewis Capaldi… “Haven’t You Ever Been In Love Before?” by Lewis Capaldi… “Under You” by Foo Fighters… “Chokehold” by Sleep Token… “The Summoning” by Sleep Token… “Granite” by Sleep Token… “Aqua Regia” by Sleep Token… “Vore” by Sleep Token… “Ascensionism” by Sleep Token… “Are You Really Okay?” by Sleep Token… “The Apparition” by Sleep Token… “DYWTYLM” by Sleep Token… “Rain” by Sleep Token… “Take Me Back To Eden” by Sleep Token… “Euclid” by Sleep Token… “See No Evil” by Ghost… “We Don’t Need Another Hero” by Ghost… “Wireless” by Within Temptation… “Beyond” by Corey Taylor… “Bringer Of Vengeance” by Kataklysm… “Seeing Red” by Acacia Ridge… “Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)” by Arctic Rain… “Becoming The Ocean” by URNE