Superstar wrestler from famous family fell to his death in front of 16,000 fans
Thousands of wrestling fans watched in shock as Canadian American wrestler Owen Hart tragically fell to his death at the Kemper Arena.
The sportsman plunged from a height of 78 feet in Kansas City, Missouri, after being suspended from the rafters. The horrifying incident occurred during the Over the Edge pay-per-view event, although the fall was not broadcast on television, and the arena was shrouded in darkness when Owen fell.
Owen was playing his superhero parody character, the Blue Blazer, when he met his untimely end on 23 May 1999. The well-liked wrestler had been suspended as part of his introduction to an intercontinental title match, where he was set to compete against The Godfather.
Owen was supposed to make a dramatic entrance, being lowered to just above ring level, at which point he would act "entangled", then free himself from the safety harness and fall flat on his face to amuse the crowd.
The stunt required a quick release mechanism and was similar to a previous Blue Blazer stunt performed the year before, reports the Mirror.
Owen's widow Martha later suggested that by shifting around to get comfortable with the harness, Owen accidentally triggered an early release. During the fall, a pre-recorded vignette was being shown on the pay-per-view broadcast and on the monitors in the arena.
Medical staff hurried to help the injured wrestler and the crowd witnessed the full horror of what had transpired when the lights came back on. This was not broadcast on TV.
WWF commentator Jim Ross repeatedly informed the live audience that what had occurred was not part of the script and Owen was seriously injured. The wrestler was rushed to Truman Medical Centre in Kansas City, where he tragically succumbed to his