What Do We Know Now?
Originally
titled "Section 221" by the author.
The
original article can be found at
http://oratory.rajah.com/
"We have no answers" - Vince McMahon, in a
statement made on May 24th, 1999
Five years later, we have some answers, we have settled
lawsuits worth $18 million in compensation, but we still
have no justice.
Here is the story of what we know.
In the early months of spring in 1999, Jeff Jarrett and
Owen Hart had been building a reputation as a strong tag
team, with Debra as their manager. Management had planned
the team to eventually split up, and Owen begin to lust
after Debra, infuriating Jarrett, which would in turn plant
the seeds for a bitter and very personal feud.
Owen, happily married in real life, didn't want his young
children to see him cheating on his wife every Monday
night, so he outright refused the angle. It was an
honorable, if stubborn decision.
The result, was that Owen was saddled with the Blue Blazer
gimmick. It was a persona he'd donned early in his career
as a glorified jobber, and one he was forced to revisit. It
was punishment for declining a well thought out angle,
orchestrated to humiliate Owen, who has to don a superhero
persona and spend much of his time mimicking the wrestlers
in WCW.
While staring as the Blue Blazer, Owen Hart's talents were
still obvious. And at "Over the Edge" 1999, he was booked
to win the WWF Intercontinental Title. After that, Owen was
booked to break free of the Blue Blazer gimmick, and would
go onto be called "The Game", and enter into a program with
Edge.
Owen Hart arrived at the 19,500-seat Kemper arena around
12pm on Sunday, the 23rd of May. Wrestlers are encouraged
to enter the arenas they are performing in at around 2pm.
Centuries of professional wrestling, and there is still no
precise time given to superstars for when they are expected
to turn up at work.
Many wrestlers weren't expected to turn up for preparation
for the night's pay-per-view for a few hours. But Owen's
night was planned to be a little bit different from
everybody else's.
As Owen sat eating lunch with some friends, he was
introduced to Bobby Talbert, a rigger from Orlando,
Florida, hired specifically by the WWF to coordinate a
stunt where Owen would be lowered into the ring from the
rafters. Talbert, in part, was hired because he had helped
Sting perform the very same stunt in World Championship
Wrestling year's prior. Because of his proven track record
for such an unusual stunt, he was typically the man
promoters turned to.
Owen Hart had performed the stunt on two previous occasions
in his career. Six months ago, Owen repelled from the
ceiling at the 1998 Survivor Series in St. Louis. According
to many, Vince McMahon was frustrated with how Owen's
entrance came across on TV, as the "Blue Blazer" noticeably
stalled and fumbled on the ground to break free of the
contraption that had helped lower him. To the perfectionist
in Vince McMahon, that simply wasn't good enough.
Bobby Talbert specially bought a quick-release snap shackle
for this occasion, allowing Owen Hart to easily break free
once he had landed on the ground. Talbertt bought the
equipment from a company called Amspec Inc., and all Owen
would have to do is tug lightly on a release cord that
would disengage the rappelling line from his harness. Upon
landing, in one motion Owen would be able to break free and
continue his superhero façade without any slip-ups. It was
easy, at least that's how Talbert made it sound.
Bobby requested that Owen would rehearse the stunt, seeing
as how the two had never worked together before. Owen
declined. It was clear that he hated the stunt, and didn't
want to do it for any more times than it was necessary. It
is reported, that Owen tried to persuade management being
lowered from the rafters wasn't essential to his character
in the days leading up to the pay-per-view, only for Vince
McMahon to insist otherwise.
As Owen was eating his lunch with friends, and Bobby
Talbert was talking Hart through the protocol of the new
quick-release system, Steve Taylor, the WWF's VP of Event
Operations, interjected and told Owen he would have to do a
dry run. Owen was reassured the equipment had been
thoroughly tested earlier in the day, as Talbert had
successfully lowered a 250-pound sand bag, and his
assistant Matt Allmen, in two earlier attempts.
Owen was suppose to turn up to the middle of the arena to
rehearse the stunt at 2pm. But, unbeknownst to anybody, he
sneaked out of the arena to catch some fresh air, and
didn't return until 3.30pm. It was clear he left to avoid
having to practice the stunt, and thought his absence would
go unnoticed and management would quickly forget their
orders.
But they didn't. And they weren't happy with Owen either.
The test run went perfectly, right up until Owen landed,
when Owen inexcusably forget Talbert's earlier specific
orders. He didn't pull the release cord, which caused a few
WWF officials to get visibly annoyed at Owen. He was asked
to do the whole thing again, but declined, and avoiding any
potential argument, he walked forcefully back to his locker
room. To those that saw Owen that afternoon, it was clear
his mind wasn't focused on wrestling.
Among wrestlers who noticed Owen's anxiousness, was Dustin
Runnells, who reassured Owen he would "be alright".
Before the pay-per-view began, the WWF filmed a scene with
Vince McMahon where he was attacked by the Corporate
Ministry, and led out of the arena in an ambulance. Owen
watched on backstage, as his match drew closer and closer.
It was 6.30pm now, and Owen quickly got dressed into his
Blue Blazer attire, and taped a promo that would air later
in the evening, just before his match.
At 7pm, "Over the Edge" began with an Undertaker video,
promising "Tonight, darkness will seize the land, destroy
all you hold dear ...". The first match saw X-Pac and Kane
defending their tag team title belts against D-Lo Brown and
Mark Henry
At the same time, Owen changed into overalls, making sure
to dress in clothes that would help him blend into the
audience, as he made his journey through the crowd. He
weaved his way to the basement, and got in an elevator that
took him right up to the top of the arena, going to a place
known as Section 221.
Arenas aren't built to make the very top easily accessible.
The final part of Owen's journey involved him travelling up
a narrow staircase, then climbing a ladder to a catwalk.
Not wanting to be late, Owen briskly negotiated the
catwalk, taking a right turn and walking along a narrow
pathway for 30-feet. Now at the center, directly 100-feet
or so below was the WWF ring. Surrounding that, were around
18,350 fans who were watching on as Al Snow fought Hardcore
Holly for the WWF Hardcore Title. But Owen, could simply
not let himself look down, because he had been afraid of
heights his whole life.
Owen began to get ready. He took his costume out of his bag
and began to get dressed, but didn't put on everything
until he hooked himself into the harness. Chief rigger
Talbert, made sure Owen was correctly fitted, and helped
him position his awkward cape too, that had been straggling
Hart in rehearsals.
Once Talbert attached the rope to the lowering mechanism,
the lights were dimmed, and Owen was seconds away from his
descent. He had trouble properly positioning himself onto
the scaffolding, before getting a final helping hand from
Talbert's assistant. For a couple of minutes, Owen hung
there, in the air, floating. He was holding onto the
railings as Talbert made sure not to release him until he
got his cue.
No matter how much you think you love somebody, your
instinct is to step back when you see a pool of their blood
edge up too close... Similarly, when a tragedy occurs, it's
easier to move away and forget, than it is to stick around
and help clean up the mess.
As the backstage interview of the Blue Blazer was airing,
Owen extended his elbows away from his body and tried to
once again manoeuvre his cape.
It was then that Owen accidentally triggered the
quick-release. And it was then, that Owen fell 78 feet to
his death, screaming all the way down, until he violently
landed on his left side, shattering his left arm and
causing fatal internal injuries, as the audience watched on
in horror.
OWEN HART
1965-1999.
Owen Hart was only 34 years old. He is survived by his wife
Martha, his son Oje and his daughter Athena. And on the 7th
of May 2004, it would have been his 39th birthday.
Because we need to remember.