10 Times WCW Went Too Far

The Kemper Arena in Kansas City will forever hold a dark place in wrestling history. It was in this Missouri arena that Owen Hart fell to his death, a mindless stunt gone wrong that took the life of an all-time great on 23 May 1999. It was one of the most senseless and shocking moments in the history of pro wrestling, arguably its most heartbreaking, and a tragic event that the wrestling world struggled to come to terms with in the years following.

Except WCW.

Two weeks and two days before the first anniversary of Owen's death, WCW decided it was a good idea to hold a pay-per-view in that same arena. What's more, they felt it was best to end the show with a wrestler taking a hugely stupid and dangerous bump, leaving them motionless and the announcers in stunned silence. You know, as if he was dead.

Teasing death is a tasteless move at the best of times, but doing so in this context was just unthinkable. Chris Kanyon was the man taking the bump, powerbombed off the top of a cage to the floor by Mike Awesome. Both Kanyon and Awesome died within a decade of the event, two more victims of the pro wrestling industry. Forcing the same fans to enter such mindspace just a year after Owen Hart died in tragic circumstances was a step too far. Many, many steps too far.