Cause of death: Internal Bleeding due to Blunt Force Trauma - Aged 34 Comparing and contrasting the lives and deaths of Chris Benoit and Owen Hart is like comparing the fatal gunshot wounds of John F. Kennedy and Lee Harvey Oswald. Owen Hart was one of the most beloved superstars in the history of professional wrestling. Fans cheered wildly for him when he was good and loved to hate him when he was bad. He was also one of the most widely respected professional wrestlers among his peers in the locker room. To this day, I still have never heard anyone say a single bad thing about "The Rocket" Owen Hart. The details of Owen's tragic death are well known. While performing an ill-advised stunt where he would repel into the ring from the rafters of the Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri, Owen fell nearly 80 feet to his death, reportedly landing on the top rope or turnbuckle. Attempts to revive him in the ring and later at the nearby Truman Medical Center were unsuccessful, and the professional wrestling community was forced to mourn the needless death of one of the all-time good guys. Impact of Owen's Death In her book "Broken Harts," Owen's widow Martha claims that a mere $68 piece of faulty equipment "was all it took to bring the remarkable life of Owen Hart to a screeching halt." The WWE quickly and wisely settled a wrongful death lawsuit with Martha Hart for an estimated $18 million USD less than a year after the tragedy. Owen's death sent shock-waves throughout the WWE, and many safety improvements were put into place because of this tragedy. Wrestlers are safer today both in and out of the ring because of Owen Hart, perhaps his one final act of heroism for the business he regrettably died for. Watch Jim Ross break the news to the live Over the Edge Pay-Per-View audience here.
