It was ten years ago today that the WWF ppv Over the Edge took place in Kansas City at the Kemper Arena. I was, as usual, watching with my buddy Chad. I had also invited my friend and neighbor to watch and for the first time (and last) they came down to watch. Well we all sat stunned as Jim Ross announced the tragic death of Owen Hart. Owen fell nearly 71 feet to the ring after his safety harness malfunctioned and opened early. Now the part that is really weird is that Chad and myself at first thought it was part of the show because they had done some things in poor taste in the past and we wondered about this one. After seeing Jim Ross and the look on Jerry Lawler's face we knew it was a tragically real happening. The WWF gave only shots of the crowd and JR was trying to drive home the point that this was very real and if you notice Jerry Lawler is missing because ran to the ring the moment Owen hit. He tried to help but all he was able to do was hear Owen's last words which he has never shared with anyone but the Hart family. We switched to ESPN seconds after the ppv and they had it as their lead story and it was soon all over the news and was THE story for the next week.
Hard to believe its been 10 years already and yet it seems so long ago. I did read recently the WWE has made it known that this PPV will not be released on DVD and since it never got released on VHS the only copies are those people recorded themselves at home, which I did. I also have the Monday Night Raw tribute they did the next night. Before this the most surreal moment on WWE was the rainy, strange night of the PPV in 1997 where Vince McMahon announced the death of Brian Pillman. I was on the road heading to Rockford IL for work when the newscast that night on WBBM radio mentioned his death in almost a passing "oh by the way" manner.
The WWE has, thankfully, never used the "Over the Edge" name since. This was probably one of the very first times the Jim Ross broke "kayfabe" and to express that this was not part of the show and sadly very very real.
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