The world lost a great man when Owen Hart died on May 23, 1999. He was still with the company after his brother’s exit for WWE, often labeled as a “Nugget” by DX, but he continued going. The gimmick he was portraying at the time of his death was also seen as belittling, but Vince McMahon has clapped back against that.
Owen Hart tragically fell to his death in Kansas City, Missouri during WWE’s Over the Edge pay-per-view. Hart was being lowered into the ring from the rafters of Kemper Arena for an IC Title match against The Godfather. In line with his Blue Blazer persona, Hart was set to perform a dramatic entrance, where he would appear entangled and then release himself from the safety harness to fall flat on his face for comedic effect.
The entrance was actually seen in a similar Blue Blazer stunt before Survivor Series 1998, but this time it was no act. Initially, some fans thought the incident might be part of the show, but it quickly became apparent that it was not.
In the Netflix docuseries Mr. McMahon, Vince McMahon addressed the incident, stating that he was simply trying to make Owen Hart a star. Vince McMahon explained that he met with Owen Hart after Bret left, and the two-time Slammy award winner said that he wanted to stick around.
?After the problems I had with Bret, I met with Owen and I said, ?Do you want to stay with us or do you want to leave with Bret?? He said, ?Well, I?d like to stay.??
Bret Hart shared his perspective, saying, ?When I went to WCW and Owen stayed, nothing was the same anymore. He thought I was mad at him. If anything, I had great sympathy for Owen and felt badly that he was in the predicament that he was in. Owen had nothing to do with either me or Vince, but you know, he was gonna pay for it. They kind of humiliated his character as often as they could for quite a while to get at me.?
Vince McMahon then addressed the elephant in the room. He squashed any idea that he wanted to squash Owen Hart or make him look bad just because his brother left.
?The hypothesis that we would do something against Owen because Bret left only speaks to Bret?s ego [laughs]. Really, Bret? You know, why would we do that? We don?t care about you, you left. We?re trying to make Owen a star.?
Three weeks after Owen?s death, his widow, Martha Hart, launched a wrongful death lawsuit against WWE. The lawsuit included their children and Owen?s parents, and it was settled out of court for approximately $18 million on November 2, 2000.
Vince McMahon is known for numerous controversies over the years. He faced another major scandal with Janel Grant’s lawsuit in January. Grant filed the lawsuit against McMahon, WWE, and John Laurinaitis, accusing McMahon of sexual assault and sex trafficking. On May 30, Grant agreed to pause the lawsuit for six months while the federal investigation into McMahon continued. Following the lawsuit, McMahon resigned from his position at TKO.
We will keep our eye on this story and so many more in the pro wrestling world. You never know what will break next, but we will be here with all the headlines you need. As always, our Vince McMahon new hub is the best location to catch up with everything that went down in that historic Netflix docuseries. In case you’re wondering, Netflix makes it really easy to sign up for a subscription.
What’s your take on Owen Hart’s tragic passing? Do you believe that WWE should have been able to prevent such a terrible thing from happening? Let us know what you think in the comments section!
