25 Years Later: The In-Ring Death Of WWE Superstar Owen Hart

It was 25 years ago this week that  WWE superstar Owen Hart tragically died after falling over 75 feet from the rafters into the ring during a live pay-per-view event. Owen had been wrestling under the ‘Blue Blazer’ persona, in which he was supposed to make a ‘superhero’ like entrance from the rafters when something went wrong with the harness, causing him to fall and slice his aorta on the top rope in front of a live audience. 

The tragedy was unlike anything one had ever seen before as both EMTs rushed to the ring to attend to Hart - while wrestlers, crew and a sold-out crowd at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri looked on in shock. The chaotic situation resulted in the tragic death of Owen Hart - who was a member of the Hart family dynasty that included his older brother and Hall of Famer Bret ‘The Hitman’ Hart, his cousins ‘The British Bulldog’ and Jim ‘The Anvil’ Neidhart as well as his wrestling legend father Stu Hart. 

Even 25 years later, Owen's death is still one of extreme sadness but also controversy regarding what many believe was one of the worst decisions to be made, when WWE CEO Vince McMahon decided to continue on with the live wrestling event despite what Owen's  friends, family, fellow coworkers, wrestlers and fans had just witnessed in front of them.

Fortunately, PPV viewers at home were being shown a vignette at the time and did not witness the fall live. When the broadcast came back live, cameras remained on the crowd rather than showing the medical procedures being done in the ring. Meanwhile, WWE commentator Jim Ross had to inform viewers  what was going on - an extremely difficult predicament not only because of what just happened with Owen, but also to try and alert fans that this was not part