New details about tragic in-ring death of WWE legend Owen Hart as Vince McMahon explains why show continued
FORMER WWE boss Vince McMahon has opened up on the tragic ring death of Owen Hart – and why the show went on.
The 34-year-old fell to his death during a live WWE pay-per-view event in 1999.
Hart was lowered into the ring for his entrance to the Over The Edge PPV show in Kansas City, Missouri.
A live audience packed out the Kemper Arena to see Hart perform as The Blue Blazer against The Godfather.
The lights were turned off as the wrestler was lowered into the ring, but a malfunction with his equipment saw him plunge 78 feet.
Hart crashed off the top rope, with the trauma of the impact killing him.
Neither viewers at home nor the crowd witnessed the fall, instead only realising Hart was in danger as medical teams rushed into the ring.
Ex-WWE kingpin McMahon opened up on the incident during new Netflix documentary Mr. McMahon.
The event continued following the incident, with McMahon explaining: “The decision I had to make was whether the show would continue or not.
“The live audience didn’t really see what happened. If they had, I would have had to end the show.”
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Commentator Jim Ross announced Hart’s death to stunned fans on the live broadcast around an hour after the fall.
But McMahon is adamant he did the right thing in keeping the event going, with fans in the arena not told about Hart’s death.
He continued: “These people came to see a show. They didn’t come to see someone die.
“And for me as a businessman, it’s, ‘Okay, let’s move on. Let’s keep the show going.'”
Hart’s brother Bret was also a wrestler in WWE.
He had left the company in 1997 and initially slammed McMahon for his decision to keep the event running.
Bret also claimed McMahon would have stopped the event if it had been his son Shane “splatted on the mat.”
McMahon continued: “There were a lot of negative comments actually as to whether or not the show should have continued.
“Naturally, Bret’s gonna feel like, you know, 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 was ‘splatted on the mat’ as 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.”