2. Owen Harts Fatal Accident On Live PPV
While Bret Hart was the star of the Hart family, baby brother Owen was always regarded as the technical wizard of the family. His feud with Bret in 1994 revolved around the storyline jealousy that he had, stemming from living in his famous brothers shadow. In reality, nothing could be further from the truth. In 1999, Sting was on top of WCW, with his new Crow-inspired character. He would be seen lurking in the rafters of buildings and would then make a dramatic entrance, swooping down from the ceiling on a zip wire. In the era of WWF v WCW war, everything was fair game and Vince decided to make fun of WCWs top star. Owen Hart reprised his initial WWF character of The Blue Blazer. While the fact that it was Owen under the mask was never hidden or denied, the Blazer was a goofy character who was the polar opposite of the Attitude era, encouraging his little Blazers to drink their milk. Although supposed to be a heel, the comical execution of the role made Owen a cult babyface with the fans. At the Over the Edge live pay-per-view, the Blazer was scheduled to face The Godfather for the Intercontinental title. As a pre-taped interview played, Owen was supposed to step off a catwalk 80 feet above the floor and descend to the ring on a zip wire, which would then become stuck a few feet in the air above the ring. He would then use a quick-release mechanism on the shackle to release himself and comedically fall flat on his face in the ring. It was reported that Owen was reluctant to do it and his wife also discouraged him. But, being a professional, he did what was asked of him. However, two feet into his descent, the quick release mechanism let him go, and Owen free-fell 78 feet, landing chest first on a turnbuckle before falling lifelessly into the ring. As the live broadcast went back to the ring, the cameras went straight to a visibly stunned Jim Ross who informed viewers of what was going on. Fortunately, Owens accident never made it to broadcast due to the short delay that is installed on all live broadcasts in case of emergencies. Ross emphasised that this was not a storyline and was real as real can be. Jerry Lawler, who had leapt to ringside as soon as it happened, returned to the announcing desk, looking like hed seen a ghost. Owen was stretchered out of the building and rushed to hospital, but he was already dead, killed by blunt force trauma. Unbelievably, the show went on and wrestlers had to work in a ring that had Owens bloodstains in the corner. Later on in the broadcast, Jim Ross had the terrible task of informing viewers that Owen had died. However, fans live in attendance were not informed and had no idea. Owen Harts death, live on a pay-per-view event made the mainstream press all around the world. No wrestler ever made an entrance on a zip wire ever again after Owen Harts tragic accident. The next night, a special Raw is Owen episode aired, with storylines abandoned and wrestlers paying tribute to Owen in vignettes which sadly became a template for future broadcasts immediately after the deaths of active wrestlers.