3. Owen Hart (1965-1999)
Owen Hart was the baby of the Hart Family and one of its most gifted wrestlers. He had superb technique and is regularly cited by his peers as being the best professional wrestler they ever fought against. He often fought under the name The Blue Blazer and he also wrestled alongside members of his family - Bret Hart, Davey Boy Smith, Jim Neidhart. At the time of his death, he was frequently in a tag team partnership with Jeff Jarrett. On May 23rd 1999, Owen was preparing for a fight under the Blue Blazer disguise against The Godfather. He was to be lowered via a harness into the ring. The stunt went disastrously wrong and Owen fell 78 feet from the air into the ring where he landed on the top rope and was snapped back onto the canvas. Owen had expressed concern about the height involved in the stunt. It was a live pay per view event and viewers saw Owen fall but moments later, a pre recorded piece was broadcasted and the viewers didn't see the aftermath of the accident. WWE commentator Jim Ross told viewers that what they had witnessed was not a stunt and Hart had been gravely injured. Hart was only 34 when he died, leaving behind a widow and two young children. They took him to a medical centre but he was declared dead - from internal bleeding caused by blunt force trauma. Jim Ross announced Owen's death to viewers, but not to the arena. The event continued despite the terrible tragedy. Four weeks after the death of Owen, the Hart family launched a law suit against the WWE concerning the safety harnesses Owen had been using that night and their dependability. After a year and a half, the Hart Family were awarded damages of $18,000,000. The other wrestlers in the WWE gave a stunning tribute to Owen in the aftermath of his death in a two hour show where rivalries and story arcs were put to one side as the wrestlers celebrated his life and career in a series of shoot interviews and matches in which the ending was not predetermined. It was a highly emotional homage to Owen Hart, who was not just a great wrestler, but by all accounts a good decent guy as well.