Will we ever see superstars rappel down from the rafters again?

[CM Steel]

Last night on the WWE christmas special Tribute to the Troops during the Daniel Bryan/Rusev 7 Lana segment. We saw two soldiers rappel down from the rafters into the ring. At that moment it took me back to the tragic death of the late Owen Hart 15 years ago in Kansas City, MO at a WWF/E pay per-view. We all know the sad story by now right? Owen's family got cashed out by the WWF/E $80 million settlement. But will that replace what was taken from the Hart family and friends and fans of Owen Hart.

Currently the wrestling icon Sting is working with the WWE for the first-ever! Sting is also a man who likes to rappel down from the rafters into the ring. That is his trademark entrance! And ever wrestling fan knows it from a far. Now what if the Stinger starts doing it in the WWE? Could we see the rebirth of superstars rappel down from the rafters? At TtTt last night that could have been a test or tease by the WWE with using the soldiers since their the real superstars in service. A peak into the future there?

Will we ever see superstars rappel down from the rafters again?

Owen Hart
Rest In Peace

 

[Soulblazed]

Nah I really don't think that any more wrestlers will come down from the rafters again, despite the soldiers doing that at TtTt...I wouldn't be surprised if during the Sting/Helmsley feud it shows Sting standing in the rafters with a baseball bat in 1 hand and a vulture on his other wrist staring down at Helmsley at some point. But as far as Sting rappelling down from the rafters again, I seriously doubt it'll happen for obvious reasons, much as I'd like to see it.

 

[Wrestlingaholic]

You answered your own question by referencing the settlement to Martha Hart and Owen's estate: it is highly doubtful that they will take the financial and personal risk again. Could you imagine the fallout if the Owen Hart incident ever occurred again? It could quite seriously end the company

 

[Mustang Sally]

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice.......

Staging this sort of thing again would be the most foolish thing imaginable. There are plenty of other ways to make a spectacular entrance to the ring.....why choose the one that resulted in disaster?

Especially in today's climate of political correctness, in which people are "outraged" at events we used to take in stride, even if the stunt went off as planned, enough fans would be screaming in anguish that WWE was "disrespecting" Owen Hart and his family by bringing this back to make the company sorry they did it.

Just don't.

 

[Navi]

To the OP, if it took you back then it took everyone who knows what happens back. Why the WWE would want to start doing it again, when the last time it happens resulted in tragedy would be foolish to say the least.

We here in Canada didn't get to see Tribute to the Troops. It wasn't on the network and Sportsnet 360 the channel that puts out RAW and SD didn't carry it. If that's what happened as part of the show, kind of glad I didn't get to see it.

That was a dark time for the WWE, and going back there is just a huge mistake all round.

 

[MattBrady425]

It's hard to say. Maybe not exactly rappelling down quite like like OH or Sting, but what about a zipline like SM used @ WM? I think a zipline is a very different type of system altogether. We know that Sting won't be able to do it @ WM, because Levi Stadium is an outdoor stadium.

 

[hollowpoint]

It's more of a one time deal. The show was at Fort Benning, GA which is the home of the Infantry, more importantly, it's where they do all kinds of Air Borne/ Air Assault training where repelling is apart of the daily training. It was cool that they involved the Soldiers in the show, but I seriously doubt it will be apart of any future gimmicks. That's an 80 million dollar lesson that you don't have to re learn.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I doubt it. The soldiers who did it last night as part of the Rusev segment are professionals who've undergone extensive training. They'd probably done the exercise countless times in training sessions and quite possibly during field missions. As a result, they'd almost certainly know what to do in some sort of emergency situation or equipment malfunction and have the mentality to not automatically panic if something was to go wrong as would probably be the knee jerk reaction most people would have who haven't undergone training.

Even then, there's always a possibility of something going wrong due to some sort of equipment failure. But, as I said, the soldiers are highly trained and knowledgeable rather than just being a complete layman with no idea really what he's doing and is only doing it for the sake of making a grand entrance. While what happened with Owen Hart wasn't exactly the same thing, it was still a guy connected to a harness high above the ring and was being lowered down. So, it's highly unlikely we'll see it happen in WWE again as it's risky.

 

[berlinbrawler]

As far as I know Sting stopped doing that entrance when Owen died.

 

[@smarkmouth]

As far as I know Sting stopped doing that entrance when Owen died.

Not to be that guy, but Sting has done it at least once since 1998. From what I understand, he asked and was granted blessing from Bret.

I don't know if it will ever happen again, but I don't think they should shy away from it using the rafters. While Owen's incident was tragic, they also lower cages weighing hundreds if not thousands of pounds to the ring several times a year. The only reason they will avoid this spot (and they will avoid it) is, as already stated, political correctness. Too many people will call it poor taste, which (I'm not trying to get a rise out of people here) it won't be unless they dress the wrestler up in a Blue Blazer outfit.

 

[MrMojoRisin]

Not a chance we'd ever see that again. It's one thing to do it with trained professionals, who I'm sure were 100% in control of setting the stunt up. It's another to use untrained pro wrestlers who have as much business doing that stunt as you, me or anyone else... along with what would likely be local contractors.

Even if they did have someone highly trained, and a proper crew to facilitate the stunt every time... the publicity would be horrible. A publicly traded company like the WWE callously recreating a stunt that killed one of their performers before? That's the narrative that would get out there, and the stock holders wouldn't be pleased to be associated with it.

BTW, the settlement was around $18 million. Not $80 million. Martha Hart's sued them a couple times since, but probably only got another couple million at most out of that.

 

[Y2JBL]

If it was ever going to happen, it should have been for the Sting debut at Survivor Series. That's the one moment where I think the suddenness of him coming from the rafters really could have added to the moment, and then after that I'd be willing to never see it again. I understand why people feel sketchy about it, but if human beings stopped doing an activity every time it caused an accidental death, we couldn't fly on planes or even drink water. With the right safety gear, there's really no reason why a short rappel from an arena ceiling should feel like a death-defying stunt.

Although, the problems arise when you want to make sure the release mechanism works quickly, to avoid moments like Sting had in WCW a few times where it took him way too long to get unhooked and looked silly. So you have to weigh the pros and the cons. Choosing to have someone enter this way for the dramatic effect, only to have it end up looking silly on TV, leads to the temptation that you better use a quick, easy release mechanism, and that's what leads to something like the Owen Hart situation.

So, because it wasn't used for the Sting debut, I don't really care if I see it ever again. The Sting debut made sense because he was interfering in a match, and it was a surprise appearance, so to have that added effect of him coming out of nowhere would have been great. Now if he goes on to have an actual match with someone, I don't care at all for him to enter from the rafters for a match. It's not supposed to be a "surprise" moment when you know he's about to have a match, and entering from the stage is fine for those situations.

I don't think they'll ever do it again, and the opportunity when it would have made the most sense to use it has already passed.

 

[FromGlasgow]

As far as I can remember Sting never done it in TNA and he was there for years so why start again in the WWE. I can't see it ever happening again I don't think the debut of Sting needs a ton of controversy to go along with it easier just not to do it.

 

[Steve001]

As far as I know Sting stopped doing that entrance when Owen died.

That Sir...is incorrect. Off the top of my head...I recall Sting rappelling from the rafters in the year 2000. During a June 2000 Nitro, Sting came down from the ceiling to start his scrap with Vampiro...then immediately beat the crap out of Ian Hodgkinson with the black bat...!

As a side note, the very final time Sting ever rappelled was on the October 9th, 2000 Nitro...and I happened to be in attendance that night!

As far as if we'll ever see that entrance again in the 'E...probably not, and that's a shame.

 

[lil steroid meat]

I think it looks cool and if the proper precautions are taken as to where the superstar can't accidentally eject himself (it's controlled remotely from somewhere else) then why not?

That being said, I doubt we'll see it in the WWE for a very long time, if ever.

Maybe in another company.

 

[shafe_41]

How is this even a question? Why would Vince or anybody take that chance after what happened 15 years ago?

Simply put like Vince's music says... No chance... No chance in hell.

 

[wwesux]

LMAO you have got to be kidding me? Are you serious about this? Do you recall what happened to Owen Hart when he descended from the rafters cause mcmoron was so hellbent on copying WCWs STING? wwe is already ruining STING'S image I mean it would be a good idea to see Sting rappelling from the rafters again but I doubt it!
I think in TNA Steve Borden refused after what happened to Owen Hart

 

[rmp0012002]

I would have to say no but you never know Vince. If Sting had a fatal accident the sponsors and shareholders would go ballistic since such an accident occurred previously. I don't think Sting would do it but it also depends on who's thinking at the time, CEO Vince or PT Barnum Vince.

 

[LBGetBack]

We do realize that Sting HAS been wrestling for most of the last 15 years, right?

Sting hasn't come down from the rafters in YEARS. It was his trademark during the angle with the NWO, and maybe a year or two after(1997 to 2000 or so). It's not a career long trademark.

 

[Jonyboyuk2]

No this will never happen. First of all Vince and everyone in the management team is aware that no only is it an unnecessary stunt; it is dangerous. The performers and the fans are at risk during those stunts. Secondly, after what happened 15 years ago I bet WWE's lawyers and insurers have asked them not to do those kind of stunts ever again. It would be insensitive to the Hart family as a whole, and if an accident happened then WWE could be in serious trouble. It is just not required.