Straight From Owen Hart Himself...

[Mr. Old School™]

Hey,

I just wanted to set the record straight once and for all, for all those out there that may believe Owen Hart would have wanted Over the Edge to continue after his accident.

Well, this is coming straight from Owen himself that he would NOT have wanted the event to continue.

If you watch this clip here, you can listen to Owen explain after he injured Stone Cold Steve Austin in their SummerSlam 1997 match.



Skip to about the 1:35 mark and Owen says "Do I look at the promoter and tell him this isn't part of the match?? There's a point there where you gotta say, what's more important, the guy's health or satisfying this crowd and the cameraman and everybody else".

That would lead me to believe that if it were Jeff Jarrett that fell in the stunt gone wrong at Over the Edge '99, that Owen would clearly NOT have wanted the event to continue.

And yet, Vince McMahon has said that "It's what Owen would have wanted", by continuing on with the Over the Edge event.

Man, what a load of crap. Vince is so full of sh*t.

Just like Owen said himself, there's got to be a point where the person's health and safety should come first and foremost.

[K5]

what documentary is that from?

and it's sad, either way. truth is owen wouldn't have even been in the wrestling business had it been his decision.

[Mr. Old School™]

It's from The Life and Death of Owen Hart documentary.

[The Assassin]

i don't know a huge amount about this incident, but couldn't the arguement be made that vince/whoever didn't realize how serious owen's condition was?

and even if owen wouldn't have wanted the show to go on, at the end of the day it's vince's company, not owen's, and it was vince's decision, not owen's. i'm by NO means a fan of mcmahon, but i acknowledge it was a tough decision that had to be made BEFORE they knew the true extent of owen's injuries and considering there was a massive paying crowd waiting to see the rest of the show. and remember the crowd didn't get updated of owen's condition either. so the fact is, if they had ended the show there would have been a lot of pissed off customers. again, i'm not saying anyone had any right to feel that way, but regardless of anything, some people would have been pissed off with WWE.

it was a terrible accident but personally i don't have any hatred towards vince about it for continuing the show. don't get me wrong, i don't think it was the right call in the end, but it was a tough decision to make.

[cordless2016]

Just like Bret Hart has said, the show should have ended. Nobody can seriously tell me that Vince had no clue how hurt Owen really was. The guy just took a fall from the top of the building. Paramedics worked on him for minutes w/ no sign of him being okay. Of course he's going to be in serious condition. Vince should have come out, or sent somebody else out, to explain that it wasn't a stunt, that something serious had gone wrong, and end the show.

You could clearly see on the wrestlers faces that they didn't want to perform after that stunt. To make things worse, they had to work around Owen's blood and a huge dent in the ring. You can even see on Taker's face during his match that he was shaken up and didn't want to be out there.

[Mr. Old School™]

Sept 7, 2011 8:39:47 GMT -5 The Assassin said:

i don't know a huge amount about this incident, but couldn't the arguement be made that vince/whoever didn't realize how serious owen's condition was?

Oh, there were quite a few people that knew exactly how serious Owen's condition was. Don't believe me?? Maybe you'll believe Mick Foley...



They knew right away how serious and grave the situation was. I realize it was a tough call to make, but Vince made the wrong one. There's no doubt about that.

And I know people would have been upset if the rest of the show was cancelled, but I'm sure they would have understood.

Hell, I had/still have tickets to go to a WWF event on May 28th in Hamiltion at Copps Coliseum, but they ended up cancelling that event.

Am I pissed?? Not in the least because I understood the severity of the situation and a person's safety and health and well-being comes WAY before the continuation of a wrestling event.

[sean™]

As a person that was in the crowd that night, I'd have to say if they ended the event, I would have understood.

However, despite those events with Owen, it was still a fair night of wrestling and one that I was actually able to enjoy after the fact. The Undertaker/Stone Cold match was good once it got started. While there's an understandable amount of questions to be raised or issues to be brought up about the WWF continuing the show, I think credit should also be given to those that did continue on for doing so and still making it a memberable night for at least one fan.

[Deleted]

in Paul Bearers shoot he talks about standing outside the ring during Austin vs UT and says it was awful.

neither man could concentrate on the match and kept looking at the blood and bearer himslef said he was crying and choking back the tears for the whole thing.

horrific that anyone should have to work after this.bad call Vince.

[Deleted]

In Bret's book I believe he spoke with Vince at Owen's funeral and Vince went on record saying...

"We didn't know what to do"

Honestly, I can understand where Vince is coming from. That was just a mess all around. Not something that was really thought out and planned for in 1999.

I'm sure after Owen's accident they probably have some sort of protocol in case there's a death.

[-=[ CRuSH ]=-]

I don't think the show should have continued but there's a lot more factors than just the people in attendance. What about the people watching on PPV. If they knew he was going to die I think they would have just called the show off but I think they thought he'd pull through although seriously seriously hurt

[Brad]

I agree with the people who have said the show should have stopped

[nibs92]

i read an interview with Harley Race and he came up with a really good point.

Owens next of kin hadn't been notified of his death so it was probably right that they be notified before the paying public. calling the event off would have aroused everyone's suspicions that the worst had happened and that wouldn't be fair on Owens family.

However i really don't like the excuse that "it's what Owen would have wanted".

And obviously as well it would be extremely tough on the wrestlers who had to follow after the tragedy.

[jakksking1]

Sept 7, 2011 17:57:30 GMT -5 nibs92 said:

i read an interview with Harley Race and he came up with a really good point.

Owens next of kin hadn't been notified of his death so it was probably right that they be notified before the paying public. calling the event off would have aroused everyone's suspicions that the worst had happened and that wouldn't be fair on Owens family.

However i really don't like the excuse that "it's what Owen would have wanted".

And obviously as well it would be extremely tough on the wrestlers who had to follow after the tragedy.

Well they anounced that he fell from the rafters and was badly injured seconds after it happened, and they showed images of EMT's working on him. I think that might have tipped off people that something was wrong and that the worst had happened when they completely stopped the show in the middle. If they really did it for the family, they would not have mentioned that he was injured live on the air, and made an anouncement later on after the family had been notified.

I agree with a poster above, they had no idea what to do. Thats just a contingency that you don't plan for. I think its important to note that Vince gave all the wrestlers the choice whether they wanted to go out and perform. Thats probably the best idea he could come up with at the spur of the moment

[tnafan17: The Total Package]

Gosh thats just so tough of a call if your the guy calling the shots. I still say you have to stop the show. I mean I believe your performer is more important in that situation.

[greenjack1992]

If I was in Vince's shoes I think I would have let the show continue.

I think in that position, where he hadn't been pronounced dead yet, I'd have just hoped for the best and gone through the night telling myself it was a horrible accident resulting in a serious injury, whether I believed it or not.

How could you be in Vince's position and still think clearly? He knew he was responsible for what happened and went about continuing the show because otherwise what else would he have done?

People handle grief differently and I think Vince just wanted to finish the show and get it out of the way so he didn't have to address that as well as everything else he knew he was going to have to deal with the next day.

[nibs92]

Sept 7, 2011 20:19:40 GMT -5 jakksking1 said:

Sept 7, 2011 17:57:30 GMT -5 nibs92 said:

i read an interview with Harley Race and he came up with a really good point.

Owens next of kin hadn't been notified of his death so it was probably right that they be notified before the paying public. calling the event off would have aroused everyone's suspicions that the worst had happened and that wouldn't be fair on Owens family.

However i really don't like the excuse that "it's what Owen would have wanted".

And obviously as well it would be extremely tough on the wrestlers who had to follow after the tragedy.

Well they anounced that he fell from the rafters and was badly injured seconds after it happened, and they showed images of EMT's working on him. I think that might have tipped off people that something was wrong and that the worst had happened when they completely stopped the show in the middle. If they really did it for the family, they would not have mentioned that he was injured live on the air, and made an anouncement later on after the family had been notified.

I agree with a poster above, they had no idea what to do. Thats just a contingency that you don't plan for. I think its important to note that Vince gave all the wrestlers the choice whether they wanted to go out and perform. Thats probably the best idea he could come up with at the spur of the moment

i understand what you're saying about them announcing the accident.

however he wasn't pronounced dead at that point. injuries happen all the time in pro wrestling and whilst i'm not saying that Owen's accident is the same thing as another wrestler breaking their arm in a match, what i am saying is that to stop the event because of what was announced as a serious injury would have got people thinking that it is a fatal injury and that's not fair on Owens family who should have been informed of the actual facts before the audience, who know him as a performer.

with regards to stopping the event, perhaps when J.R. announced it on commentary that would have been the time to stop the event.

but i don't think anyone will truly know Vinces thoughts and feelings when it happened and must have been one of the most difficult things he's ever had to face.

[LeighD]

Even right after the fall, someone needed to have walked out to the ring and addressed the crowd and explain what happened. Instead of JR and Lawler announcing it on TV, Vince himself should have walked out to the ring and addressed the crowd and viewers to both Owen's fall and passing. At that point, stop the event.

I don't think (someone needs to give me a timeline of events) anyone KNEW Owen had died after the fall. However, once he had passed, immediate family be notified first and then Vince can go out and address the crowd.

I think the "We didn't know what to do" is a better than "Owen would have wanted it to go on." Plus I can see why Vince would have a hard time deciding whether to continue or not. I personally would have gone out after the fall, explained what happened and continue the show UNTIL Owen's passing is confirmed and family notified. Then I would go out and address the crowd once again and end the show.

[mikey1974]

well,i watchedthe event live on PPV that night,and,honestly,we didn't know the true severity of what happened,or how bad it was til Owen died...

they had some type of promo or something,and at the end of it they showed a panning shot of the crowd and a live JR voice-over saying they were going to a promo for the Godfather-Blue Blazer match,and that there was a big problem in the ring...

after the promo was over, it showed JR at the announcers table,where he talked about what happened with Owen falling and speculating that he didn't know if something broke,if he unhooked early or accidentally,or what , intermixed with more shots of the crowd ,then back to JR saying this wasn't a "work" or a wrestling angle,and eventually the King rejoined JR and basically said "It doesn't look good..."

then to a backstage interview ,then on with the card til a little later on when JR said he had the sad job to announce that Owen Hart died...

no matter what has been said,they NEVER showed Owen's fall,him in the ring,the paramedics working on him,or his removal on a stretcher....so we really only had JR's description to go on what had happened or how bad it could be, but i know my friends and I never contemplated it was bad enough he could die... broken bones or injuries consistent with that,yeah,but not a mortal injury...