Someone should have told Owen Hart it was scripted.
On May 23, 1999, Hart fell to his death in
Kansas City, Missouri during the
Over the Edge pay-per-view event.
[57] Hart was in the process of being lowered via
harness and grapple line into the ring from the rafters of
Kemper Arena for a booked
Intercontinental Championship match against
The Godfather. In keeping with the Blazer's new "buffoonish superhero" character, he was to begin a dramatic entrance, being lowered to just above ring level, at which time he would act "entangled", then release himself from the safety harness and fall flat on his face for
comedic effect—this necessitated the use of a
quick release mechanism. It was an elaboration on a Blue Blazer stunt done previously on the
Sunday Night Heat before
Survivor Series in 1998.
[55] While being lowered into the ring, Hart fell 78 feet (24 m), landing chest-first on the top rope (approximately a foot from the nearest
turnbuckle), throwing him into the ring.
[58]
Hart had performed the stunt only a few times before. Hart's widow Martha has suggested that, by moving around to get comfortable with both the harness and his cape on, Hart unintentionally triggered an early release. Television viewers did not see the incident. During the fall, a pre-taped vignette was being shown on the pay-per-view broadcast as well as on the monitors in the darkened arena. Afterward, while Hart was being worked on by medical personnel inside the ring, the live event's broadcast showed only the audience.
Meanwhile, WWF television announcer Jim Ross repeatedly told those watching live on pay-per-view that what had just transpired was not a wrestling angle or storyline and that Hart was hurt badly, emphasizing the seriousness of the situation.[59] Hart was transported to
Truman Medical Center in
Kansas City. While several attempts to revive him were made, he died from his injuries. The cause of death was later revealed to be
internal bleeding from
blunt force trauma.
