What Kevin Dunn Said To JR After Owen Hart's Death, Martha Hart Shows Clip On His Harness

The final episode of Vice's second season of Dark Side of the Ring aired last night, centred around the tragic accident which claimed the life of Owen Hart at 1999's Over the Edge pay-per-view.

Hart, 34, fell to his death when his harness failed whilst being lowered to the ring as part of his entrance. He'd previously expressed his anxiety over the unnecessary stunt, and the rigger originally contacted to coordinate it, Joe Branam, refused to be involved.

Undeterred, WWE brought in Bobby Talbert, who hooked Owen into his harness with a quick-release clip that'd give way with a mere six pounds of pressure. It was this piece of equipment which ultimately led to Hart's fall.

During the documentary, Owen's widow Martha, who has retained artifacts of his passing used as evidence in the ensuring legal trial, showed the actual clip used on the night. She demonstrated how easily the piece of rigging, designed to unfurl sailing boat masts on load, could be unhooked. It's patently clear to anyone just how irresponsible using such equipment to suspend a man in the rafters was.

"When I first saw the clip, I gasped," said Martha. "I was so upset. It was just appalling."

After Owen's death was confirmed by the on-site medical team, WWE made the controversial decision to proceed with the PPV. The documentary also revealed the feed commentator Jim Ross received from producer Kevin Dunn shortly after Owen had been pronounced dead. The grim reality had yet to filter to the commentary desk, and Ross asked Dunn what the situation was.

He responded, "He's dead. And you're back in 10, 9..."

Seconds after learning about the death of his colleague and friend, Ross had to announce the news to the watching world. "That was the result of ten seconds of preparation," recounts JR. "I didn't know what to say."

The event then continued, concluding with a man called The Undertaker raising the company's top title.