The Godfather Was Owen Hart’s Opponent At Over The Edge 1999
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 ก.พ. 2025
- WWE Hall of Famer The Godfather joins Chris to discuss being Owen Hart's planned opponent before his death at Over The Edge 1999.
Watch the full interview with The Godfather on my main @ChrisVanVliet channel here: • The Godfather On The G...
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#thegodfather #wwe #owenhart
Watch the full interview with The Godfather on my main channel here: th-cam.com/video/xzrIFWQ1DzU/w-d-xo.html
Ok
He was in shock the whole time like most of us would’ve been
I believe that must have been the case. Godfather is pretty open about his past drug use. Man would have said if he got high after witnessing a tragic event. It’s all a blur because his brain told him it’s surreal.
I did remember that The Godfather was supposed to defend the Intercontinental Title against Owen Hart(RIP) that night. I can’t imagine what it was like to be behind the curtain, not knowing what was going on, and then being told that something tragic happened. I feel that the Godfather did the right thing by not performing that night, so that there was no disrespect towards that night.
how was it disrespect?
The show should have be stopped a cancelled Vince didn’t care neirthr did Bucky beaver
@@timothythornton6624 read what they said again.
Who was he supposed to perform with after what happened? 😂
@@coolyoutubename16exactly. It’s not like he had an opponent to face as a replacement in the spur of the moment lol. Road Dogg wouldn’t have even made sense especially to get a title shot immediately after the original opponent just died
I was watching that show. Sad night. R.I.P. Owen Hart.
Same, watched every wwf ppv at this time
Me too.. I never missed a ppv from then to now..me and my brother were Completely shocked..we knew it was real obviously..
I remember my heart sinking when JR said " I have the unfortunate responsibility tell everyone that Owen Hart has died"
So did you guys see the fall?
@@robertortiz6111 The fall was never shown on TV. They were showing his promo (his interview with Kevin Kelly from a month prior during the pilot episode of Smackdown) when he fell.
R.i.p Owen hart you were and your family still is my all time favorite wrestlers
This broke my heart in 8th grade.
He is blocking out trauma.
I remembered when this happened. I just graduated from high school the previous day so imagine my joy went to grief all in one weekend. My heart went out to Owen's family and it still does.
I'd rather "imagine" something else... like humanity uniting against the corrupt government and corporations. you are sleep walking in the american dream, it's time to wake up
RIP Owen
RIP owen hart u are missed
Charles Wright is a bright dude and one of my favorite wrestlers to listen to in these shoots. Good guy too from the feedback I’ve always gotten from a few people I know who worked with him in the business.
He already did this exact same interview 2 years prior to this
So? Whats your point?
Very good Louis, short … but pointless
Conclusion: The Godfather was high AF that night.
Bro you can tell what match it was going to be if He was High AF.
Nah not high. Trauma or sadness the brain desires to forget especially when its mentally scaring. His memory was blacked out
@@RaymondStarkesfacts. I served in the military and I seen a lot. Some details are so traumatic you can’t remember what happened. Your mind and body goes into fight or flight mode.
In rage moments we call it seeing red and in desperation we say blacked out.
Dude shut up. I wish i was high as fuck all the times i was abused. I can’t remember probably about 85% of the shit done to be BECAUSE IT WAS TRAUMATIC
You and your ten likes are idiots
Can you imagine if Godfather was already in the ring and Owen came in afterwards and fell. Would Godfather have broken kayfabe to show concern for Owen?
Of course
Originally, Godfather was supposed to go in first, but the entrance changed the day of PPV and Owen was told to go first.
The Godfather is a legend!
He’s an asshole.
The pieces of wood are too short, it’s killing my OCD 😂
Nobody involved with that might ever wage to speak about it honestly.
Stupid
He blazed for the dead homie 😢
It's insane that he and/or the Nation of Domination are not in the hall of fame. I know Simmons & Henry are in, Godfather and D-Lo should be in as part of the faction.
He is in...
I watched that PPV a sad day in Wrestling R.I.P Owen Hart ❤❤🙏
Owen was suppose to win the Intercontinental Championship that night. 😢 RIP Owen
Where did that photo in the thumbnail come from? I have never seen a photo of that night from that far back?
Some dude uploaded it to reddit several months ago. He uploaded 4 pics from that night, never before seen. He was in the audience
@@Pedaissance Thanks. I just had a look. I can't believe that 25 years later new photos are still surfacing.
@@TheWWEfanatic93 same! I was shocked to see those pics. I wonder if anymore will surface. You can see in those pictures that there were fans in the crowd taking pics of Owen..
Couple of them just poped up in the Internet, just google owen hart fall and they'll be there
A fan obviously
the tear says it all. honestly, such questions about certain situations shouldn't be asked
He was sweating lol
@@Pedaissance😂😂
I remember back in 1999 my brother and I was at a house show in Richmond Va a month before he passed and also remember watching that on pay-per-view
I hate to reminisce but it would’ve been awesome to put Owen Hart over during that time instead of putting him through those ridiculous gimmicks, ultimately to set up a return for Bret Hart.
Vince McMahon really did a lot for the company but held them back just as much…that sob
Apparently they wanted to do an affair angle with Debra but Owen refused so they made him the blue blazer
@@foho8Originally, Owen Hart(RIP) was supposed to be labeled as “The Cerebral Assassin”, and likely, he probably would’ve won the WWF Championship that same year at SummerSlam.
@@l-wolverine2211 I think he was actually supposed to be The Game. The Cerebral Assassin came the year after when Triple H was the mastermind with having Rikishi hitting Austin with the car.
I always got the impression that Vinnie Mac humiliated Owen with the Blue Blazer crap again, as an act of aggression for The Montreal Screwjob. Vinnie Mac COULD have let Owen out of his contract, because of course Owen wanted to quit in protest for his brother Bret...But Vinnie Mac held Owen to his contract.
If Vince wasn't such a shrewd POS, Owen would still be alive. (and WE ALL KNOW that if Shane McMahon fell from the ceiling, Vince would have STOPPED THE SHOW. There is NO EXCUSE to keep the show going. The police should have been called and a potential murder/manslaughter investigation should have been conducted. That arena should have been investigated as a potential murder scene.
Very sad. Rip Owen
Great video🔥💥👏
The Godfather was Intercontinental Champion going into the match and I think Owen Hart/Blue Blazer was supposed to go over in the match and get his 3rd IC Title.
You know what would have been worst. If Godfather was already in the ring when Owen fell. I don't think anybody would know what to do after that.
Yes he was it’s crazy how that happened it’s sad
Oh, wow, I just realized this could have been Sting died that night if WCW was in that same arena that night instead of WWF. 😮
ironic enough, WCW actually DID visit the same arena either not long before or a few months after Owen died. Kemper Arena.. Layne from Alice in Chains played what ended up being his last ever show there too, place seems cursed
Vince Russo and his dumb Blue Blazer idea
I always thought the blue blazer was a dumb character Owen was better than that he didn't need that gimmick
@@jesusdominguez8017 he was booked with an interesting gimmick in late 98 with him being too unsafe in the ring with his piledrivers. He should have been abducted by Undertaker’s Ministry, it would have been a loooot better
the Blue Blazer existed before Russo even came to WWF
@@ITSHIM1294 I understand what you're saying but it was a dumb gimmick I mean the gimmick what's only made to make fun of Sting
@@zachary_attackeryVince Russo was there from 1992 till 1999. 8 don't know who's idea it was but Russo definitely worked there at the time
Vince is a piece of work
Owen wanted out of his contract but vince wouldnt let him. Kinda sad that if he had gotten his release owen would be alive today.
Godfather did so much drugs he can barely remember anything
He unexpectedly look into the face of his freshly dead friend that night. Blacking most of it out is not shocking. It's also been 25 years.
Do *you* remember a specific date from 20+ years ago clearly?
@@Alsebra If a wrestler died before I walked out to the ring. Yeah I think that's meaningful enough to remember a lot of details
@@Alsebra Any given day? No, but ask me about 9/11 and I can remember a lot about that day. That's what tends to happen when something particularly memorable happens to you. You might not remember every detail clearly, but you remember a lot.
9/11 and how it made me feel that day, I still remember it. @@Alsebra
here in norway wrestling is not very big but this was actually mentionned in norwegian newspaper and was how I found out about it as no channels here was showing wresling so onl wa I go o watch wrestling was buying the ppv vhs at the time when they came out--between wrestlemania aprox 9 to wrestlemania 31 I was not able to watch weekly wrestling but only the ppv on dvd but thankfully the wwe network came. Really miss Owen and remember was a fan of the blue blazer wrestlemania 5 agains mr perfect but back then I didnt know who he was or ha was Brets brother
But, you asked him this question first time round, and he said the exact same things. 🤔
If these pics are released 25yr later I'm certain a video can be too..
The pics were taken by a fan. Only way a video is released is if somebody had a camcorder (likely would only be footage after the fall) or if somebody leaks it from WWE. To my knowledge, they had footage of the fall from the house cameras, and a ringside cameraman recorded the paramedics working on him and him being wheeled through the back to the ambulance
Vince should be rotting in prison!
people criticized the RAW after but i still think it was a good call
It was really a hard decision rather to go on with the show or not I would've went with keeping the show going but I bet the crowd was sour'd
How does he not remember? That whole night is strange and a bit fishy
it was 25 and a half years ago now dude. and no one was in their proper frame of mind.. everyone backstage was kinda confused and whatnot, not just him. it's mostly the fans who remember where they were when it happened seemingly
@@TheLarryburns84 Eh, you might forget a few details here and there, but not damn near everything. They have tons of crazy stories that they have perfect memories of, but as soon as that night with Owen comes up everybody got amnesia. The wrestlers from that era were all about protecting the business and that's all Godfather is doing here. I can't say that I blame anybody associated with that night about not wanting to really talk about it. They should just say that instead of acting like they don't remember.
Drugs make you forget alot of shit.
lets go downtown and let one go for O
All because Vince wanted to cut costs on the ppv by not investing in Owen's safety.
If he did not die and still alive today witch is awesome owan vs godfather would of been an awesome classic and owan was going to win right
The godfather knows something
The fact he made the comment that his wife said "you said this and this", without giving an example, I'd be inclined to agree with you.
@@anthonyconvery4331it's called shock dummy.
put the tin foil away. dude's memory may not be the hottest, it aint deeper than that. it's always fuckin something with you types.
Knows something about what? It was an accident. We literally have zero reason to think otherwise. Negligence on WWE’s part and questionable how Vince handled it? Sure. From there to imply some big conspiracy and cover up with zero evidence? That’s just silly.
Definitely
The WWE should have been shut down and Vince arrested. Now look at the WWE ugh.
Just the name of the ppv,can't tell me it wasn't a set up for shock views into the next show
🤦😂😂😂
Planned murder
Premeditated
Papa Shango!
my man is in shock
I was at Over The Edge with my friend and his dad in 1999. We were a bit to the right of the commentary team and looking at the titantron. We saw Owen fall and his the turnbuckle... what's more, he fucking lifted his dead trying to sit up!! I'll never forget that night....
"I've got a show to do" thats sad and evil right after a man died he continued on as if nothing
That ppv should’ve ended right then and there… but if we knew Owen, he would’ve wanted the show go on
It's not that simple. There is a lot of obligation involved. Imagine the chaos that would ensue from canceling. Now add in trying to refund every single person plus any lawsuits that would result.
When you consider the entire situation, there wasn't a whole lot of choice. As bad as it was, it wasn't something gorey and the audience for the most part didn't know for sure what happened.
It's a hard decision to swallow but ultimately I think it was the right choice.
One thing, I think no one mentions, is the comaraderie between the other wrestlers and the love they had for Owen and eachother.
I honestly feel like stopping the show could have killed WWE right there.
It might be an exaggeration to say but all the fans going home, everyone devastated, the news, it might have left an even worst taste in everyone’s mouth and give them time to really process and consider if this was a route wrestling should have been going down.
Wrestlers, fans, and critics alike.
This gimmick was stupid. But alot of matches carry bigger risk than the gimmick did. Ladder Match, TLC, Hell in a Cell, and if I’m correct the original elimination chamber didn’t have pads inside the chamber.
Rest in Peace Owen, and other greats.
@@Mechachu Exactly. It's important to remember the control Viewer's Choice (the company set up by the cable companies to manage the PPV offerings) had at the time. They would have charged WWE full price anyway and WWE would have had to pay out the refunds. And if VC didn't want to play ball, they could have financially wrecked WWE. (That's precisely what happened with ECW. When they went out of business Viewers Choice still owed them money.) In fact, that one-sided control more than anything is what spurred the creation of the WWE Network.
How do you not remember the night Owen died , this dudes cold as hell . And he had to wrestle him …..
Nah I think it's an after affect of shock
He blazes like a chimney
Sad
This is still very sad but I think Vince gets blamed more than he should. In retrospect, they probably should have cancelled rest of show but the damage was already done. The accident already occurred and best thing to do is finish the show
How could Vince possibly be blamed more than he should when he was literally the only person calling the shots? He had wrestlers wrestling in Owen’s blood and tampered with a crime scene by continuing. He also made Jim Ross announce the death with 5 seconds of warning. If anything he doesn’t get blamed enough
@@RichardBrianLong
1) 5 seconds of warning is tough but Jim's a professional. Vince has a lot on his plate at the time and thought the fans deserved to know
2) Nobody is "calling the shots" when an accident happens. Vince was probably devastated by this news and didn't know what to do
3) It wasn't a "crime scene" and nobody tampered with it
4) "Made them wrestle in his blood" is inconsequential and is only used to bring emotions into equation. (There's always blood on the apron)
5) People just like to pretend Vince is monster and he's really not. Actually a pretty good guy
Whomever rigged up the stunt is to blame, the wires, harness, etcetera. Vince is to blame by proxy, he is the owner.
Everything else is garbage. Vince made a decision to finish the show. No one but Vince knows what he was thinking but my guess is, he didn't want to send the crowd home with a death as the last thing they saw.
I wouldn't say Vince is a "good guy". He is a human, capable of being absolute trash and also capable of acts of kindness. We have record of both.
@@aaronmock6157 lol I appreciate your no nonsense opinion on this. You're a gentleman...and a scholar 👍
2) Ya the dudes rigging the stuff were carries the most blame. (Should have went over harness over and over again with Owen)
3) I bet Owen would have wanted show to go on. I understand if cancelling show would have made any kind of difference but it wouldn't have.
It was a Public Relations (P.R.) decision at that point and 13yr old me wanted to finish watching the PPV
@cappy2282 Thanks!
I just try to be realistic about stuff like that. Vince is the emotional scapegoat for a lot of people.
And yea, I think Owen would have been of the "show must go on" mind too. I imagine most wrestlers of that era were, that was the culture of things like wrestling or the circus.
The nugget!
Why is Godfather sweating?
Maybe it was hot in that room
Tactless questioning here Chris, be a little more sensitive mate
No disrespect to the Godfather, but i feel like he is either lying or hiding something about that night, my
Intuition tells me that he is not 100% honest
Ehh he's pretty old and it was 25 years ago.
And that was so traumatizing for everybody, sometimes when something like that occurs the brain make u forget things to cope
@@Piznick64 fair enough
Oh God here we go. Internet psychologists
Would you remember perfectly what happened 25 years ago in a traumatic situation that happened in a spark of a moment? I think he clearly is saying that the moment was so shocking and out of nowhere that in the moment he couldn’t even comprehend what had just happened.
Hear the name of the event. Then check that bret spit on McMan during live tv. Think about the ego and reputation and money that McMan has. Then ask yourself the question
Horrible decision to continue the show. Even worse it's on the network
Wow, Chris. Owen's dead. I don't think anyone had to tell Godfather there wasn't going to be a match.
Yeah he was bizarrely interested in that detail.
"This match can't happen, now" so strange
His thinking was along the lines of 'maybe have someone else take place of Owen so a Matchof any kind happens'
I can tell your dumbass don't understand how an interview works
At the time, they weren't aware he had died...all they knew was that he'd fallen.
Russo killed Owen Hart
One detail that never gets brought up... About 50% of the time, The Blue Blazer was NOT Owen. It was often Jeff Jarrett, as a decoy. Can you imagine if the plan was for THIS to be a decoy, while say, Owen would have run through the crowd to attack the Godfather from behind? It just happened that THIS TIME, it really WAS Owen. :(
It’s interesting that he doesnt remember a tragic moment that happened so abruptly, but can recall every thing that happened the next day.
Everyone can recall what happened and how they felt , but The Godfather drew a complete blank ?
Great channel Chris but this question was in very bad taste
Didn’t you make this exact same clip when you interviewed him like 3 years ago?
I was in the 6th grade in Spring 1999. I didn't have Cable and I didn't watch the PPV, so I remember my friend Fernando coming up to me the following Monday morning and telling me about the whole situation. (I was always a fan of The Hart Foundation. I wasn't as much of an American Patriot then as I am now, but I never took the Hart Foundation's Anti-America angle personally or anything because I've always known that it's wrestling and it's an angle.)
And I remember going to the computer lab at Break Time to look it up online...and yeah, it was true. It was NO ANGLE. I remember begging my mother to let me spend that Monday night at my friend Fernando's house because he had Cable and I knew Raw was going to be a tribute show for Owen.
Yeah, 90's kid wrestling fans certainly remember The Montreal Screwjob and Owen's tragic accident. Vinnie Mac indirectly killed Owen because if he would have allowed Owen to quit in protest after The Montreal Screwjob and not been an A-Hole that threatened to Sue Him if he didn't return back to work...
Owen would have never been up there in the rafters and he'd still be alive. I'm 36 now and it's kind of sobering to know that I am almost as old or even older than Owen Hart now. It' also sad to be reminded that Owen wanted to retire early to be a father for his kids. You can't be a Part-Time father and it's sad that his life plan was taken.
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Man, you made
Me life that era
Back. I guess we
Are from almost
The same age criteria.
Agree with everything
You said. Thank you for sharing it