10 Harrowing Wrestling Matches That Are Incredibly Difficult To Watch
3. Jeff Jarrett & Debra Vs. Val Venis & Nicole Bass - WWF Over The Edge 1999
Incredibly, Over The Edge 1999 - the event at which Owen Hart tragically plummeted to his death - remains available to watch, mercifully edited, on the WWE Network.
It's a baffling decision. The WWF wisely never released it on home video because it would have represented a particularly ghoulish cash grab. Why it is available now, I have no idea. Though a sombre and unsettling air permeates the entire experience, the match booked in its immediate aftermath is particularly harrowing.
Jeff Jarrett was close to Owen around this time. WWE has also edited out his raw, emotional pre-match promo. We cut straight to the ring entrances; Jarrett and Debra make their way to the ring as Jim Ross understandably struggles to register his voice above a grave monotone. Jarrett is wearing sunglasses. Even that serendipitous and unrelated decision cannot mask his grief. Val Venis flicks his tongue with his finger in his trademark entrance pose - but not before darting his eyes from side to side, utterly shattered by the tragedy.
The resulting action is irrelevant. Jarrett hits Venis with a reverse Russian legsweep. Bass breaks up the pin attempt, but who cares? She is inches away from the spot where Owen's body struck the mat. Nothing matters. The only thing the eyes can focus on is the dried pool of blood to the right of the screen. Vince McMahon's decision to press on will forever be debated. The show must go on, as he argued at the time.
But who could possibly have enjoyed it?