10 Great Wrestlers Whose Careers Were Cut Short

Despite his immense creativity and technical ability as a serious wrestler, Owen Hart was re-saddled with his old Blue Blazer gimmick in 1999. Rumours have swirled that the return of the comedy persona was a punishment for Hart refusing to work an adultery-focused angle with Debra at the time. Whatever the reason, fans and wrestlers alike were in agreement that the undercard gimmick was a criminal misuse of the King of Harts.

The plan at Over The Edge '99 was for Hart to do a parody of WCW favourite Sting's descent from the rafters entrance. Hart was expected to loose himself from the harness a few feet above the ring so that he might fall and make light of Sting's antics. Instead, the device Hart was using malfunctioned, causing him to plummet 77 feet into the ring. The injuries sustained from the fall tragically lead to Hart's death in the biggest in-ring disaster in WWE (and perhaps wrestling as whole) history.

At just 34, Owen Hart likely had plenty left in the tank and a lot more to offer WWE or any other promotion lucky enough to sign him. His untimely passing continues to haunt both WWE and the Hart family to this day.