On May 23rd 1999, Owen Hart tragically died after falling from the rafters during WWF’s Over The Edge pay-per-view event. Hart, performing as The Blue Blazer, was supposed to descend from the ceiling, but a harness malfunction caused his fatal fall.
Despite the accident, Vince McMahon chose to continue the show, a decision that has remained highly controversial.
In the Mr. McMahon Netflix documentary series, McMahon defended his choice, stating:
“The decision that I had to make was basically whether or not the show goes on. The live audience didn’t really see what happened… Had they seen, no question you have to shut the show down.”
WWE executive Bruce Prichard revealed that Owen’s death was announced to TV viewers but not to the live audience, as McMahon believed it “wasn’t the right thing to do”.
McMahon explained:
“Those people came to see a show, they didn’t come to see somebody die. And, me as a businessman, it’s like ‘Ok, let’s continue on, let’s continue the show’. There were a lot of negative comments actually as to whether or not the show should continue.”
Bret Hart later questioned whether the show would have continued if McMahon’s son, Shane McMahon, had suffered the same fate. McMahon responded:
“Naturally, Bret’s gonna feel like a brother should. He had every right to say anything negative about our company. Had it been me, not just my son, had it been me who ‘splatted on the mat’ like 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.”
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