Vince McMahon once explained why he chose to continue the 1999 Over the Edge pay-per-view after Owen Hart’s tragic death during the show.
Hart died in May, 1999, at Kemper Arena in Kansas City after a fatal equipment malfunction during WWE’s Over the Edge show. Hart was scheduled to face The Godfather for the Intercontinental Championship.
He also planned a superhero-style entrance from the rafters. However, the harness malfunctioned while he was suspended nearly 78 feet above the ring. The malfunction caused him to fall into the ring. His death was later confirmed as internal bleeding caused by blunt force trauma.
Vince McMahon explains why WWE continued Over the Edge after Owen Hart’s death
The topic was revisited in Netflix’s Mr. McMahon docuseries. In it, Vince McMahon discussed the difficult decision he faced following the tragic accident. He said the live audience inside the arena did not fully understand what had happened during the fall because WWE temporarily blacked out the live broadcast feed.
“The decision that basically I had to make was whether or not the show goes on/ The live audience didn’t really see what happened. Had they seen, there was no question about it, you have to shut the show down…Those people came to see a show. They didn’t come to see somebody die. And me as a businessman, it’s like, ‘Okay, let’s continue on. Let’s continue the show.'”
McMahon also addressed the backlash he received after the decision, especially from Owen Hart’s brother Bret Hart. “Naturally, Bret’s gonna feel like, you know, like a brother should. He had every right to say anything negative about our company.”
He continued, “Had it been me, not just my son, had it been me who was ‘splatted on the mat’ as Bret said, I would want the show to go on. So get me out of there, you know, and let the show go on. I’d do it with me, and to this day I would (via TV Insider).”
Following Owen Hart’s death, his widow Martha Hart filed a lawsuit against WWE. The case eventually ended in an $18 million settlement.
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