Opinion

Over the Edge 1999: The Show Must Go On?

Published

5 years ago

May 28, 2018

Over the Edge 1999 is a notorious PPV in wrestling history, not because of the matches, but because Owen Hart tragically fell to his death in a horrific accident before the PPV went on the air. WWE decided to go on with the PPV, citing that Owen would’ve wanted the show to go on. WWE was HEAVILY criticized for this decision in 1999 and is still criticized today. The tragic events of Over the Edge left such a lasting scar on WWE that the PPV name was retired and the PPV itself was never released on video, it wasn’t available for viewing until WWE Network launched in 2014.

So the debate has been raging for almost twenty years: Should WWE have continued with the PPV after Owen’s accident or should they have stopped the show. For a very long time, I thought the Intercontinental match that Owen was supposed to be competing in was the first match and was surprised to discover that Owen’s match was higher up on the card, which makes the decision less clear cut. The show had already started and was two matches in (five if you count Sunday Night Heat, which served as a pre-show back in the day).

The reasons to stop the show and either give people refunds or reschedule the show are pretty obvious: Someone just fell to their death, even if the fans in the arena were unaware that Owen had died. The wrestlers in the back had just seen someone they liked and respected have a horrific accident and sending them out to continue like nothing had happened seems cruel. It just seems like stopping the PPV and giving people refunds is the common sense thing to do, even for just the optics of showing that the wrestlers’ lives have some value.

Except that it wasn’t that easy. WWE was in the midst of the Monday Night Wars with WCW and though WWE was starting to turn the tide, the fight was nowhere near over. Cancelling the PPV and giving refunds could mean that Superstars would miss out on a night’s work and a night’s pay. Even though I would like to give the fans the benefit of a doubt, there is a good chance that some fans would not have understood why WWE felt the need to cancel the show over an accident.

The reasons to go on with the show are a little less clear cut. Bottom line, the show had already started and was about two hours in, if we count Sunday Night Heat. Sure, they probably could’ve rescheduled the remaining matches for RAW the next day, but considering that they were criticized for doing RAW, even though it was dedicated to Owen, I really don’t see how basically using RAW as the unofficial PPV was going to be seen any better.

A lot of wrestlers then and now have said that they wouldn’t have gone out there and performed, but it stands that everyone went out there and worked and the show did go on.

So, should WWE have gone on with the show after the accident or cancelled? Now, as then, it’s really up for debate. I spoke to a person who watched the PPV live and he said that while he fully supported WWE’s decision to continue with the show back then and still does, he would’ve understood if they’d cancelled. Me personally, I wouldn’t have, but I can see why the decision was made in the heat of the moment to keep going with the show. What Owen would’ve done or wanted in this situation is impossible to say, though many people, including his own family, have claimed to know, but only Owen can say what he would’ve done or wanted, and he can’t tell us, so let’s not try to put words in his mouth.

Let us know what you think on social media @ChairshotMedia and always remember to use the hashtag #UseYourHead!

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Opinion

King’s WrestleMania Rewind: Charlotte Flair vs. Asuka from WrestleMania 34

Chris king is back with one of the most underrated matches in WrestleMania history–Charlotte Flair vs. Asuka!

Published

2 months ago

April 2, 2023

Chris King

WWE WrestleMania 34 Charlotte Flair Asuka

Chris king is back with one of the most underrated matches in WrestleMania history–Charlotte Flair vs. Asuka!

We look back at Charlotte Flair vs. Asuka at WWE WrestleMania 34. ‘The Empress of Tomorrow’ put her unprecedented and historic undefeated streak of 914 days on the line against ‘The Queen’s’ SmackDown Women’s Championship.

For years, this was considered a dream match while Asuka dominated the roster in NXT, while Flair won numerous championships on the main roster on both Raw and SmackDown. The Empress made her long-awaited debut on the September 11th episode of Raw and began to tear through the competition.

Asuka outlasted all twenty-nine other women in the historic first-ever Women’s Royal Rumble match to challenge for the title of her choosing. At Fastlane, she made her choice.

The WWE Universe was so excited for this match myself included. Both superstars delivered a fantastic performance on the Grandest Stage of Them All executing counter after counter. Asuka showed off some nasty-looking kicks to her opponent, and Flair hit a thunderous Spanish Fly off the top rope. Flair was seconds away from defeat at the hands of The Empress but she locked in Figure Eight and Asuka was forced to tap out.

I can’t even begin to explain how shocked I was at this outcome, as nearly everyone expected The Empress to continue her undefeated streak and walk away with the women’s title. This controversial decision was the downfall of Asuka’s momentum. She would ultimately win the SmackDown Women’s Championship at the 2018 TLC pay-per-view in the triple-threat ladder match.

Fast forward to this year when Asuka has recently returned with her Japanese-inspired persona Kana. Kana is dangerous and ruthless and is heading into a championship with Bianca Belair at WrestleMania 39. The Empress has regained all her momentum and is highly favored to walk away with the Raw Women’s Championship. Let’s hope that Asuka and Belair can tear the house down and deliver an A+ grade match both women are fully capable of.

Let us know what you think on social media @ChairshotMedia and always remember to use the hashtag #UseYourHead!

Opinion

King: Dominik Mysterio Needs To Do This At WrestleMania

Chris King is here with what WWE should do with Dominik Mysterio at WrestleMania in his long-awaited match against his father Rey Mysterio Jr.

Published

2 months ago

April 1, 2023

Chris King

Chris King is here with what WWE should do with Dominik Mysterio at WrestleMania in his long-awaited match against his father Rey Mysterio Jr.

On this week’s episode of Friday Night SmackDown, Rey Mysterio finally snapped and beat some sense into his disrespectful punk-ass kid Dominik. The member of the Judgement Day came out to push his father again for a match on the Grandest Stage of Them All, this time with his mother and sister at ringside. The ungrateful punk told his mom to “Shut Up,” as a father even I wanted to jump through the screen and whoop his ass.

Back in October of last year, Mysterio made the emotional decision to possibly quit the company but, instead, Triple H persuaded the Lucha libre superstar to move over to SmackDown to avoid his son. This came after Dominik shockingly turned on his father at Clash at the Castle. Mysterio did everything he could to refuse his despicable son’s challenge for Mania but, a man can only be pushed so far. Mysterio will be inducted into the 2023 WWE Hall of Fame and I expect Dominik to embarrass his father during his speech to further this personal feud.

Yes, the WWE Universe hates Dominik and wants to see him get the ever-loving crap kicked out of him but, this feud is missing a special ingredient to capitalize on the biggest heat possible. Throughout this feud, Dominik has made mention of the legendary Eddie Guerrero on several occasions going back to the “iconic” 2005 feud.

I know WWE might not want to go this route but, Dominik MUST come out to Eddie Guerrero’s theme at Mania. The disrespectful punk needs to come out in a lowrider to garner nuclear heat. It doesn’t matter if The Judgement Day comes out and causes interference for Dominik to get the win, all that matters is that both superstars get the biggest payoff of this nearly year-long feud. Just imagine the Roman Reigns heat after he defeated The Undertaker and multiply that by ten. Dominik portrays the perfect heel and he truly is the missing ingredient that The Judgement Day needed to grow and evolve into a top faction.