Welcome to another edition of The Wrestling Post. In this post, we take a look at the WWE’s decision to release the Over The Edge PPV which included the accidental death of Owen Hart.
Many wrestling fans are anxiously anticipating the launch of the WWE Network which will occur on February 24th. This past week, the WWE released a list of the PPVs that will be made available to subscribers. Among the more than 400 PPV events from the past is the 1999 Over the Edge PPV which will live in infamy as the event where Owen Hart, dressed as his character at the time, The Blue Blazer, fell 70 feet to his death in the ring as a result of a harness malfunction. The accident, which did not occur on camera, caused controversy for how the WWE handled the situation. Rather than stop the event, it continued on despite not knowing of Hart’s condition.
The event has never been released on home video and there have never been any official showings and/or replays of the event. There is YouTube, but the WWE has never released the PPV via On Demand or DVD/Blu Ray release.
The WWE confirmed the release of the event on the network to a CBS affiliate in Pittsburgh (via Cageside Seats): “WWE Network will be airing the 1999 Over The Edge pay-per-view. However, portions of the event will be edited out of respect for Owen Hart.”
Payout Take: One of the reasons that this event, which was eerily ironically entitled, “Over the Edge,” has been sheltered away from public viewing was due to the lawsuit filed by the Hart family over the fall. I find the inclusion of this event an interesting decision by the WWE for the reason that it reminds people that despite the tragic accident that occurred, the company decided to continue on with the event. Even with the editing, it leaves the question of why put this on the network? Certainly, from a historic standpoint, it’s a part of the company’s history. Yet, why remind people of this terrible incident at the onset of its biggest venture?
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