The Godfather recalls tragic backstage scene after Owen Hart's death at WWE Over The Edge
Heartbreaking tragedy struck the WWE Universe at Over The Edge 1999 as Owen Hart passed away during the show. The beloved superstar was scheduled for a big match against The Godfather. Now more than twenty-five years later, the WWE Hall of Famer is opening up on the night of Owen's passing.
The King of Harts was portraying The Blue Blazer on May 23, 1999, at Over The Edge, looking to dethrone The Godfather of the WWE Intercontinental Championship to begin his third reign. While making his superhero entrance from the rafters, Owen's harness line malfunctioned, and he fell almost eighty feet to his death in the ring. He had turned just 34 years of age sixteen days prior.
Charles Wright (real name of The Godfather) was backstage in the Gorilla Position rehearsing with his female valets when Owen Hart passed away inside the Kemper Arena in Kansas City, MO. Speaking to Chris Van Vliet, the man behind gimmicks such as The Godfather and Papa Shango recalled the fateful night when Hartr lost his life.
"I don't remember. I remember spending the day with Owen. I remember talking with the girls and then Owen was coming out. I’ve never seen it, but when that happened, I was behind the curtain with the girls going through it. [I said], 'Don't worry if you mess up, if you fall, I'll do this.' I was telling them that then whoever it was, it might have been Bruce Prichard, I don’t know who was sitting at the table, I know it wasn't Jim Ross. He goes, 'Owen fell!' And then I'm like, 'What?' And he goes, 'Owen just fell!,'" The Godfather said.
The two-time WWE champion continued that he couldn't recall some of the things he told his wife.
"We were looking at the monitors and then it all went down. I just remembered what Owen looked like when he came through the curtain, and other than that, I don't [remember]. I called my wife right away and she tells me a lot of things that I said that I don't remember, but she tells me, 'You said this and you said that.' And then I'm like, 'Well, I don't remember that.' So, it was a blur after that. I don't remember how or when I found out that there was no match or what's going on. I really don't remember," The Godfather said.
Martha Hart's statement on WWE and Owen's passing
The tragic passing of Owen Hart was discussed in the new Mr. McMahon docuseries from Netflix. In the fourth episode, Vince McMahon mentions how Owen's death was caused by faulty equipment.
Martha Hart issued a press release to address the docuseries, going into detail on what exactly led to the death of her husband. She included a statement on how she holds WWE responsible for what happened.
"To be clear, no one involved in the making of this documentary attempted to contact me for comment or to obtain an accurate perspective. I continue to hold WWE and its then-management responsible for Owen’s death," Martha Hart said. [H/T - Canada Newswire]
In her Mr. McMahon press release, Martha added that she remains focused on honoring Owen's legacy through The Owen Hart Foundation, its charitable work, and AEW's Owen Hart Foundation Tournament.
