24. Owen Hart – Age 34
Despite being a talented wrestler, Owen Hart seemed trapped in the mid-card until brother Bret lobbied hard for Owen to get his chance to succeed. A feud with Bret put Owen on the map, eventually leading to a spot in the upper card. A main event run seemed inevitable until a horrific stunt gone wrong took Owen’s life at the May 1999 pay-per-view Over the Edge. Hart was playing the comical heel character, the Blue Blazer (rumored to be saddled on him after he refused to work a love triangle angle with Debra McMichael and Jeff Jarrett) and was supposed to make an intentionally botched entrance from the rafters. However, Hart’s harness disengaged early, leading to him falling over 70 feet, hitting the ring rope chest first, and suffering massive internal injuries. Hart’s widow Martha would file a wrongful death lawsuit and believes, “He was hooked up to a make-shift contraption which included a quick-release snap shackle clip meant for the sole purpose of rigging sailboats. The hook that was practically the equivalent of a paper clip released [prematurely]…and Owen fell…” The WWE would settle with Martha Hart, her children, and Owen’s parents Martha and Stu Hart for a total of $18 million.
