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Owen Hart passed away at the WWE Over The Edge pay-per-view in 1999. He tragically plummeted to his death while he was being lowered into the ring from the ceiling. WWE broadcaster Jonathan Coachman was in the audience on this unfortunate night. He recently reflected on the unforgettable moment when Hart crashed to the ring.
At the time, Hart had a superhero gimmick as The Blue Blazer, and he was lowered into the ring during his entrance. Unfortunately, on that occasion, everything went horribly wrong. He fell 78 feet to the ring, and his chest hit the turnbuckles. The tragic fall caused Hart's untimely death. WWE cameras focused on the audience, so viewers at home didn't see the aftermath of the fall.
During Coachman's recent appearance on Chris Van Vliet's Insights podcast, "The Coach" opened up on his experience being present for the event as a member of the audience. Coachman also described how the WWE medical stuff tried to save Hart.
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"When the tragedy happened, and they were doing CPR, and JR and The King got up from their spots and started to run around, it felt like something was wrong. But you got to remember in wrestling, you always feel like it's part of the show.
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"So as they push Owen Hart out of the building, I'm talking to the doctor, and I ask, 'Do you think that's real?' And he said, 'If that's real, that's the worst CPR that I've ever seen.' They were literally straddling him and pushing him back down the aisle and back down the curtain to the back. So the show ended about 20 minutes early because that match never happened," said Coachman.
"The Coach" also described how the scene of Owen Hart's accident felt so surreal that the audience was not sure whether it was scripted or not. Some fans thought it was part of a storyline. This doubt amplified the chaotic nature of the moments that followed Hart's fall.
Jonathan Coachman explains why the fans were lucky that they didn't see Owen Hart's fall
Coachman continued to discuss Owen Hart's fall. He mentioned how it was lucky that none of the fans saw the actual fall. As Coachman described, the arena had been dark for a backstage interview from The Godfather at the time.
"The saving grace to this day, and I believe this Chris, that The Godfather was doing this interview up on the screen, and everything was black. It was dark. And then you heard this boom, and then the lights came up, and then, unfortunately, Owen was just lying there. I believe that if the lights would have been up and we all saw it, then how much PTSD... whatever you want to call it, that I would be dealing with today, and everyone else would be dealing with today," said Coachman.
Owen Hart's death remains one of the most heartbreaking tragedies in the history of professional wrestling. It devastated the WWE Universe, as Hart was one of the most well-liked people in the industry. Hart's memory continues to live on, as fans still remember his contributions to the business he loved.
