- Wrestler Owen Hart fell to his death during a WWE pay-per-view event in 1999.
- Vince McMahon then made the controversial decision not to stop the show.
On May 23, 1999, one of the most tragic incidents in professional wrestling history occurred during a WWE PPV in Kansas City, Missouri.
That night, Owen Hart, a member of the famous Hart family dynasty, was scheduled to perform as the Blue Blazer in an Intercontinental title match against the Godfather.
Hart’s entrance as the comic superhero character that night was scheduled to see him descend from the rafters before a harness malfunction caused him to fall more than 78 feet to his death inside the ring.
While commentator Jim Ross later informed fans watching the PPV of Hart’s tragic passing, the live crowd in attendance did not receive an update on Hart’s condition.
The incident is one of the most infamous in WWE history, and then-owner Vince McMahon controversially chose to continue the show.
New details have emerged more than 25 years since the tragic death of Owen Hart at a WWE event
Speaking as part of the Netflix documentary Mr McMahon, which chronicles his life in wrestling, the 79-year-old explained why he decided the show would continue.
“The decision I had to make was whether the show would go on or not,” McMahon said.
‘The live audience didn’t really see what happened. If they had, I would have had to end the show.
‘These people came to see a show. They didn’t come to see anyone die. And for me, as a businessman, it’s, “Okay, let’s move on. Let’s get on with the show.”
McMahon added that he would have wanted the show to go on if he had been the one to suffer the fatal fall.
“I would like the show to go on,” he continued. “Get me out of there and start the show.”
The incident sparked numerous lawsuits to determine who was to blame for the tragic accident.
Then WWE boss Vince McMahon defended his decision to continue the show after Hart’s death.
Hart’s widow, Martha Hart, sued WWE, and the following year a settlement was reached in which the company paid her estate $18 million.
WWE sued Lewmar LTD, the stunt company responsible for manufacturing the defective harness that caused Hart’s death, and reached a $9 million settlement in 2003 with the company acknowledging that it had committed no wrongdoing in the case.