To this day the tragic events of Over The Edge 1999 are seared in the memories of fans as one of the most horrific moments to ever occur in the business, and for those watching it live we'll never be able to erase the memory of Jim Ross breaking the news to the viewers that Owen Hart had passed away. When the stunt that was supposed to have Owen, in his Blue Blazer gimmick, descend from the rafters a la Sting in WCW went wrong, the arena crowd initially thought it may have been part of the show. Unfortunately the reality of the situation set in quickly. The rest of the event went on as scheduled with the rest of the performers going through the motions in a haze, shocked at the tragedy and some still unaware of the extent of what happened. In the ensuing months and years that followed, WWE not only faced heavy criticism and scrutiny for the incident itself and how they chose to continue on with the show, but the company was also embroiled in a bitter lawsuit with Owen's wife, Martha. Hart filed a wrongful death suit WWE, eventually settling for $18 million, and has remained in a contentious relationship with not only the wrestling company but members of her own family for their support of WWE. In a business with as many black marks on its record as wrestling, losing Owen in such a manner, as well as making sure that "the show must goes on" burned through a lot of goodwill with fans and wrestlers themselves, not to mention the financial hit caused by the lawsuit. The company should be thankful things turned out much better for them than they did the late Owen Hart. Rest in peace.
Brad Hamilton is a writer, musician and marketer/social media manager from Atlanta, Georgia. He's an undefeated freestyle rap battle champion, spends too little time being productive and defines himself as the literary version of Brock Lesnar.
