In court, his widow Martha, children and parents sued the WWF, contending that poor planning of the dangerous stunt caused Hart's death.

Due to the accident and controversy surrounding the event, the Over the Edge name was retired and its PPV slot was replaced by Judgment Day in 2000.

[5] This set up a feud between the two wrestlers, which was settled in a title match at Over the Edge in which both Vince and his son Shane, who had aligned himself with The Undertaker, served as the guest referee.

[6] Originally Shane had named himself the sole referee of the match, but WWF commissioner Shawn Michaels made Vince the co-referee in order to level the playing field.

On May 3, The Undertaker threw Austin off the stage, and two weeks later, the WWF Champion handcuffed his title's challenger to a crucifix, which was raised above the ring.

Shane, acting as co-owner of WWF and ally of Triple H, further aggrieved The Rock by forbidding him to wear the cast for Over the Edge.

[5][11] Throughout the month of May, the Ministry was involved in matches with Mankind, Ken Shamrock, the Big Show and Test, and in retaliation, the four wrestlers formed the Union stable.

[16][17] In the fourth match of the evening, Billy Gunn defeated his former tag team partner Road Dogg, after hitting him with the time keeper's hammer.

Only one member of each team remained after Viscera and the Big Show failed to return to the ring within ten seconds and were counted out as a result.

[21][22] The entrance was successfully tested on the November 15, 1998 episode of Sunday Night Heat (that year's Survivor Series pre-show) using a different harness configuration;[23] however, during his descent at Over the Edge, a cable disengaged from the safety vest he wore, and he fell more than 70 feet (21 m) from the rafters into the ring.

A pre-recorded promo and interview video was shown at the start of Hart's descent, and when the broadcast returned live, the cameras quickly turned away from the ring to the audience.

Soon afterward, Jim Ross, one of the commentators of the event, informed pay-per-view viewers that Hart had fallen from the rafters, that the incident was "not a part of the entertainment" and that it was "a real situation".

[24] Ross's broadcast partner Jerry Lawler immediately ran to the ring to check on Hart and was visibly shaken when he returned to the announcer table on air, saying "it doesn't look good at all.

As the camera focused on Jim Ross, Cabrera's partner, Hugo Savinovich, prayed, "I only beg Father God that nothing tragic occurs here.

Bringing Hart out on a gurney, the EMTs boarded the injured wrestler into an ambulance and took him to nearby Truman Medical Center in Kansas City.

At this point, nurses began calling out observations on the apparent lifeless body of Hart to doctor Michael Tucker.

Nurses also noted that he had also suffered an apparent open fracture above his left elbow and a cut below,[27] but these wounds were of little concern to the medical staff at the moment.

Nonetheless, the medical staff still persisted and pumped Hart's unresponsive body with epinephrine in an attempt to stimulate his heart.

By the end of the night[vague], a variety of concerned wrestlers who numbered close to two dozen had arrived to get information on Hart's condition.

[29] Owen Hart's funeral service was held on May 31, 1999, in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and it was attended by family members, friends, and over 300 wrestlers who were acquainted with him.

[34] Three weeks after the event, his widow, children, and parents sued the WWF for causing Owen's death with a poorly planned stunt; they claimed that the harness system was defective.

[35] After the court case had extended one-and-a-half years, a settlement was reached on November 2, 2000, when the WWF agreed to pay his widow, children, and parents US$18 million.

[42] Vince McMahon and the World Wrestling Federation received strong criticism for designing the stunt and allowing the event to continue after Owen Hart's fall.

[45] Other members of the Hart family also blamed Vince McMahon for Owen's death,[46] claiming that the accident was the inevitable outcome of "an obsession for ratings and revenues.

[48] Ralph Klein, the Premier of Alberta at the time, expressed a hope that Hart's death would lead to changes in wrestling, stating, "Maybe the various federations will rethink the gimmickry.

"[49] Calgary Sun columnist Eric Francis called McMahon's decision to continue the event "sick, disrespectful and wrong.

"[51] Martha Hart, Owen's wife, refused to criticize McMahon publicly in the immediate aftermath of her husband's death.

[44] Commenting on the WWF's decision to continue the show after her husband's death, Martha stated, "After he lost his fight for life they just scooped him up and ordered the next match out.

"[44] The day after Over the Edge, the WWF published a message in the Calgary Sun, stating, "We do not have much information as to how it happened and will not know until an investigation is completed.

We have to be strong for Owen; he was an extraordinary human being and consummate performer and knows that the highest tribute that we can pay is to go on entertaining the fans he loved so much.