5 times real-life death and tragedy rocked WWE

#1 Owen Hart dies after fall at WWE event

Owen Hart

Owen Hart was the youngest of the 12 Hart children and one of the most gifted performers in the WWE during the 1990s.

After treading water in the company in tag team action and sporadic singles action during his formative years, Owen was thrust into the limelight thanks to a feud with his brother, Bret. After turning on Bret Hart at the 1994 WWE Royal Rumble, Owen defeated Bret at WrestleMania X a couple of months later. It is still regarded as one of the best opening matches in Mania history.

Owen went on to have a solid career of his own as a tag team, Intercontinental and European Champion before his life was tragically cut short. Having revived the Blue Blazer gimmick he'd used earlier in his career, Hart was due to make a superhero-like entrance from the ceiling at WWE's Over The Edge pay-per-view in May 1999.

What happened next has never fully been explained beyond any doubt, but Hart fell from almost 80 feet before landing on the turnbuckle of the ring at the arena in Kansas City. Despite receiving emergency medical attention, the fall proved fatal and Hart died within a couple of hours.

WWE continued with the show and the next night, aired a tribute to Owen Hart during Monday Night RAW with his fellow wrestlers and company officials clearly heartbroken, delivering moving tributes to the father of two who'd died at just 34 years of age.