The Undertaker: I Don’t Know If It Was The Right Thing To Continue PPV After Owen Hart Passed Away

The Undertaker reflects on continuing at WWF Over The Edge 1999. 

Owen Hart tragically passed away at WWF Over The Edge 1999 after a stunt where he would drop from the rafters went wrong. Despite Owen’s death, the pay-per-view continued and closed with The Undertaker defeating Steve Austin to win the WWF Championship in the main event. 

On his Six Feet Under Patreon, Undertaker was asked about continuing the show after it was known that Owen has passed away. 

“It’s such an interesting time period. We’re all grinding, trying to do the best that we could. Trying to process the information that somebody had just passed away due to the rigging accident, a guy that you spent tons of time with and seen every day for years, and you just lose him. One minute he’s there, the next he’s not, and you have to go out, put the pieces together and try to perform. It was probably one of the most difficult, definitely mentally, one of the toughest days I ever had. If you go back and watch the footage, you can see it on everybody’s face. There is just a huge element to the match and everything that is going on. You can tell that no one really wanted to be out there. It’s still very raw and you’re processing this information, but you’re also trying to entertain these people. You live by the motto back then, ‘the show must go on,’ I just don’t know if that was the right thing to do. I won the World Title that night. You don’t celebrate. There was no celebrating that night. Although we had already been told, you still didn’t believe it. We were hoping that something miraculous had happened and it wasn’t true. Hindsight being 20/20…you also have an arena full of people. I didn’t envy Vince [Vince McMahon] and having to make that decision. It was a tough call. In the heat of it, I just know it was difficult to do my job that night,” he said.

Martha Hart, Owen’s wife, sued WWE for wrongful death. The suit was settled for $18 million. 

Martha has partnered with AEW for the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament, which has been held annually since 2022. 

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