Vince Russo Talks Owen Hart's Tragic Accident, Why The Stunt Happened, More
Vince Russo was a guest on "The Steve Austin Show," and he discussed Owen Hart's tragic death with host Stone Cold Steve Austin. Listen to the show here.
Austin began by saying Hart's death was a bad moment for everybody, and asked Russo if it was worse for him, hinting that it may have been the writer's idea.
Hart passed away at Over The Edge 1999 on May 23, 1999, falling more than 70 feet to his death after a harness line malfunctioned in a superhero-like stunt.
"I am a firm believer of things happen, man," said Russo. "We have our destiny. Our end date is written in a book, don't know why."
Russo began to tell a story about WWE's buildings manager, Steve Teller. Russo said the pay-per-view was written approximately two days before that fateful Sunday, and he received a call from the manager, saying the guys who propel Sting at WCW were going to be at the pay-per-view.
Sting often came down from the rafters in WCW, and the same guys asked if there was anything they could do at the event to show their work to WWE. Russo looked down at his format, and that's when he saw The Blue Blazer, which was Hart's gimmick at the time.
"In my mind, I'm thinking of Owen," Russo said, "I'm thinking this would really be a spectacular entrance for Owen. This will be good for Owen. This will make Owen look great. It makes sense, because he's a superhero."
Russo told Teller that he thought it would be a good fit for Hart, and they decided to go with it. Russo then told Austin it was never written in the show, and it was never supposed to happen.
The former WWE writer ran into Hart hours before the botched stunt, and Hart told him they had rehearsed it and everything went great. Hart then asked Russo if they could do his entrance first, instead of The Godfather's, because he didn't want to be "a sitting piñata" for his opponent.
They changed the entrances, and Russo boldly told Austin if Hart had said he was uncomfortable with it, or had a problem with the stunt, it wouldn't have happened. It simply wasn't a part of the show, and that's why Russo can't explain what happened on that night.
Russo broke down when explaining Shane McMahon whispering in his ear that Hart didn't make it, and told Austin he remembered calling his wife and telling her he didn't want to be part of the business anymore.
Source: The Steve Austin Show