 Owen Hart was scheduled to face The Godfather for the WWF Intercontinental Championship during the event . Wrestling under his Blue Blazer gimmick , Hart was to make a superhero @-@ like ring entrance , which would have seen him descend from the arena rafters into the ring . He was , however , released prematurely when the harness line malfunctioned , and fell more than 70 feet ( 21 m ) into the ring and died . Criticism later arose over the WWF 's decision to continue the show after Hart 's accident . In court , his widow Martha , children , and parents sued the organization , contending that poor planning of the dangerous stunt caused Owen 's death . WWF settled the case out of court , paying US $ 18 million to his widow , children , and parents . Due to the accident and controversy surrounding the event the Over the Edge name was retired . The event was also not released for home video viewing until the launch of the WWE Network in 2014 . 
