Former WWE referee Jimmy Korderas recently spoke with Wrestling Inc. on many topics, including ringside presence during Owen Hart’s tragic accident at Over The Edge 1999.
Korderas said: “They had that hardcore match earlier. There was a lot of debris in the ring. So the crew went there, and since I had my next match, which was Owen as Blue Blazer against the Godfather, I went there to help them, I was throwing stuff out of the ring and stuff like that, and I had my hand on the top rope… And it’s like It’s weird because I heard a scream but I thought it was an arena full of people. Of course someone’s going to scream… And a second or two later, as I said, I had my hand on the top rope, I felt, believe it or not, something rubbing against my head and shoulder. At that same moment, the rope slipped from my hand and sprang free as if it had caught my fingers. So I looked around and saw the rope was still there and when I turned around I saw Owen lying face up in the corner and I couldn’t put two and two together. It just didn’t click. So I went up and called a few times and it was so strange, eyes wide open, still, I just panicked and started screaming for help… It was surreal. Unbelievable.”
On going to RAW the next night and Jim Ross offering him a flight home:
“The next day we went to St. Louis on “Raw” and I still don’t remember how I got there, if that makes any difference. I don’t remember driving, I was flying from Kansas City to St. Louis. It was just surreal. I just told him, “JR, you know what? “I don’t know if this sounds weird to you, but I feel like I need to be here with everyone because we’re all going through the same thing.”
On what Jerry Lawler told him:
“He sat me down and said, ‘Listen, I don’t know if I should tell you this, but I saw him fall, I witnessed the last 15, 20 feet of him fall.’ He just saw him out of the corner of his eye and his first reaction was, “Oh my God, he’s going to lunge at the referee.” And apparently that’s what I felt as someone brushed against my side. And when he told me this, I lost consciousness again. I couldn’t stop it. And he comforted me as best he could. And again they said, you know, if you want to go home. I said no, I think I need to be here with everyone because, like I said, we all go through this.
