Slickster

I said one of the darkest days, because I knew some wiseass would be like "9/11 Earnhardt Space Shuttle YOU DON'T CARE." And I did care about those things as well. I said "my (relatively) short life" because I knew some wiseass would be like "20yo pathetic life i'm 40 LOL2005."

Old news. She died in 1990

I think the one reason why is because of the criticism they would receive for selling this event. Even if all proceeds went to charity, critics would charge that it would still be promoting the WWE name.

Well, if they ever were to release it they would get killed by critics for making money off his death. However, the fact is that the PPV grossed ~$4 million from gate and PPV buys.

Check the thread right below this one.

I, for one, am flattered to be immortalized in this comic.

Not in the slightest. And I gave you 4 instances off the top of my head where matches have been stopped. And I provided around 10 examples when they weren't because the wrestlers themselves tried to continue the match. The matches you mentioned weren't stopped by the wrestlers themselves, but rather by the referees. There might be a pattern here... When you invoke kayfabe and carny morality into an argument you are in no position to criticise other arguments. Again, I'm not saying that 'carny morality' isn't an oxymoron, but let's face it: this business grew out of that one and it has some similar maxims and beliefs. Harley Race (born AFTER 1904) fully supported this decision (and I quoted him earlier in this thread). Also, saying "I don't like this opinion, therefore it is wrong" isn't an effective debate tactic in my opinion. He didn't die nor suffer anything as horrific as Owen. We could debate about whether or not getting your JUGULAR VEIN SLICED OPEN isn't 'as horrific' as what happened to Owen, but the fact is that in both cases they played on and tried to get them medical attention. The fact that Malarchuk survived is pretty incredible. I'm not going down that road, bob. All I know is that Martha Hart already had reason to dislike McMahon before the Owen incident and that alone makes me take what she says with a grain of salt. I quote from "Sex, Lies, and Headlocks" because that book sees the WWE from a less-than-flattering perspective, yet the book's coverage of this incident portrays McMahon in a positive light.

Well, I DID agree with him on something... *stars and planets align, pigs fly*

Nevermortal, your sig is perversely hilarious with the KKK love-in pic just above it.

And wrestling didn't evolve out of 'carny' roots? Lou Thesz didn't invent the term 'kayfabe.'

You don't see the corellation between wrestlers who try to keep the show going despite injury and why the wrestlers backstage wanted to keep the show going despite Owen's death? Also, repeatedly emphasizing the fact that Owen died in a horrific way doesn't automatically validate your argument. Again, when Clint Malarchuk's throat was slit during an NHL game back in 1988 they cleaned up the blood and played on. Using Martha Hart's book to validate your argument is like using "Unfit For Command" to argue against John Kerry; both are biased sources of information.

bob, you keep failing to mention that the umpire died at the stadium and that was it. Owen didn't die immediately; he died in the ambulance and they spent time trying to revive him. This took seven minutes just getting him out of the arena; I don't know how long he was in the ambulance before he died. What are you supposed to do, wait around until you get a conclusive report on his condition? Vince had to do something and he evidently thought they could salvage the show. What if you canceled the show and he hadn't died (as unlikely as that was)? You know there would have been lawsuits and demands for compensation anyway. This was a no-win situation, but I think what Vince did made sense in the long term (though he wasn't thinking in that sense, I'm sure).

Could anyone please explain to me the benefits of stopping the show?

I had heard they were initially looking to do Austin-Big Show at WM2000.

Chinese Jesus.

They could have believed that Owen, while seriously injured, was not dead. -=Mike Mike, that's a VERY good point and one that I think ties into my argument too. In the cases where a wrestler is injured, the match (or at least the show) continues. Owen wasn't dead until he was on the way to the hospital, so for all Vince knew it could have been an extremely severe - but not fatal - injury. Ergo, the show could continue because he could have recovered. When the news of his death came back, they had already regained some of the momentum the show had lost so to end it then would have been pointless. Compare to sports: When that umpire died on the field, it made sense to stop the game. When Clint Malarchuk got his throat slashed open on the ice, the game went on because he was still alive and there was the possibility of recovery (he made it to the hospital and miraculously recovered).

Fair enough, but I guess it depends on your definition of how far kayfabe should extend. I think that's the main argument here and I can see where my opponents are coming from.

Hardly something to get truly offended over. Is it an obnoxious statement? Sure. But for Slickster to say that's one of the harshest, most offensive insults he's ever heard....he's either lived a quite sheltered life, or someone's being a tad melodramatic. Well, I don't like to think I'm melodramatic, but then again I'm not thin-skinned either. I think it was more of who said it than anything else that made me angry and surprised.

Me too. I was still pissed about how gay the new Star Wars movie was. HAHAHAHAHA I remember I had a friend who camped out outside the local theater for it. The next day, I asked how it was and he just gave me a dirty look.

Thank you.

I don't appreciate being portrayed as the bad guy here. I've been visiting this board since around Vengeance 2001 and have deliberately maintained a position and tone in my posts reflecting my belief in orderly and civilized discourse. The lone post that has prompted this suspension is the first I have ever posted that deviated from this policy. However, what you said to me, Hunter's Torn Quad, was the greatest insult I have received in a long, long time. Did I fly off the handle? Yes, but not without justification, in my opinion. To portray me as someone who cared little for Owen Hart is the gravest insult and grossest untruth I have ever heard. I learned of Owen's death on the bus to school the next day; I skipped my classes and went into mourning for the day. May 24, 1999 is one of the darkest days of my (comparatively short) life. To have a poster like you - someone I respect and regard as a human encyclopedia on this business - say something like that to me was tough to take.

I'd appreciate it if you could please post YOUR remarks that prompted me to say that.

What the heck happened? I'm responding to a post from Hunter's Torn Quad and all of a sudden I can't get into the WWE folder. I've been at this board since 2001 and I've never had anything like this happen to me. Anyway, here's my reply to HTQ's post: "In the seven minutes that the ring lay still and silent, McMahon called his crew together, forced to make the most difficult decision of his career. What should he do? Cancel the show? Christ, he was afraid he'd have a riot. No, he told his staff, they'd keep filming while Owen got aid. If anyone couldn't go on, he'd understand." -from Sex, Lies and Headlocks

Very interesting interview. Good to see he recognizes that his in-ring career is finally over. And what's he mean by "going outside of our environment," I wonder?

"I don't think that continuing the show was disrespectful; what could it have accomplished? Having 16,000 people create a traffic jam for the ambulance? Forcing the wrestlers to deal with the situation immediately instead of letting them wrestle to take their minds [and the fans' minds] off of what they just witnessed would not have been the best strategy, in my opinion."