Somewhere in a cloudy cemetery in Calgary, Alberta lies the tombstone of Owen Hart. Perhaps to some the gravestone represents nothing more than a tragic story. To those of us who revel in the excitement of “Sports Entertainment” on a daily basis, it represents a memory of perhaps the greatest martyr that professional wrestling has ever seen.
Those of us who watched the “Over The Edge” pay-per-view live on May 23rd, 1999, are scarred with memories
of a weeping pair of announcers, and an entire roster of Owen’s friends and associates in utter disbelief. The show went on after the tragic accident and was followed by a Monday Night Raw that was almost too much to bear for any fan or wrestler.
I remember vividly thinking…..”God, please don’t let Owen’s death be for naught”. In 1999. the wrestling business was clearly out of control, and no party involved was innocent in the scenario. The WWF was a “zoo”, WCW was getting desperate and ECW was…..well……ECW! 1998-1999 saw more serious injuries in professional wrestling than any other time in history. There was no doubt that the bar was being raised too high. Not long after Owen’s death, Darren Drosdov was paralyzed during a wrestling match, but that was chalked up as a “botched spot” rather than being a product of the uncontrollable state of professional wrestling.
The new millennium saw much change in the world of “Sports Entertainment”. Within two years after Owen’s death, both WCW and ECW went out of business, and the WWF had toned down their product tremendously. It could have been a slap in the face to Vinnie Mac that two tragic in-ring events had taken place under his watch, or the fact that his major competition seized to exist, but regardless, the WWF/WWE has kept things fairly calm as it relates to in-ring violence and stunts to this very day.
All of this was not without controversy. Following Owen’s death, the blame was flying everywhere. The Harts blamed the McMahon’s. The McMahon’s blamed the company who rigged the stunt cable and many in the media blamed the fans. The question soon arose….”Would the fans still watch and follow an industry that was going backwards?”.
I, as a fan and a writer had publicly expressed my concerns about the excessive violence in pro wrestling. I never saw a problem with taking a step back. Many argued that “the wrestling business had been “exposed” so there was no choice but to take it up a notch”. I believe that was a cop-out. The fact that pro wrestling was now known to be “scripted” should have changed nothing but the writers drive to make a more entertaining program with more intriguing story lines. If pro wrestling had been “exposed” than clearly we all should have accepted it for what it is.
We did.
Sure, pro wrestling is on a “down side” for now, but I honestly don’t believe that it has anything to do with the exposure of the business. Poor writing and a lack of true variety has caused that. We as fans should pat ourselves on the back for being understanding and loving our “sport” no matter what steps it may take.
I believe that Owen’s death was not in vein. Tragic? yes. But not in vein. Had the wrestling business not been forced to take a step back and really examine what was going on, who knows who else we would have lost. I just hope that Martha Hart can rest at night knowing that Owen’s death taught everyone a valuable lesson, and will never be forgotten.
I know I will never forget.
Be sure to check out Bill Cullen’s Official site at http://billy_c2.tripod.com and The home of alternative wrestling columns at www.pwcolumns.com.
Drop me an e-mail at BillyC4w@yahoo.com
