 The WWF received some support from people who felt that the company did the right thing by continuing the event. Vince Russo, a WWF script writer at the time, pointed to the fact that Brian Pillman, a family friend of the Harts and a member of The Hart Foundation died shortly before the Badd Blood: In Your House pay-per-view on which he was scheduled to perform in 1997. After learning of Pillman's death, Hart went ahead with his match on the show. Russo claimed that this showed that "the night he passed away I'm sure Owen would have wanted the same thing." Vince McMahon refused to comment on Hart's death until he felt sufficient time had passed. When asked if he felt responsible for the accident, he replied, "I have a lot to say and I will say it. I promise you that. But this is not the time to do it .... Give me a few days. Give me to the end of the week. Then we'll talk." 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 are all shaken, and to say Owen will be missed is to fall short of a way to fully explain what he meant to us." Although the WWF had no information, they reported that "Our thoughts and prayers go out to the entire Hart family. 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."
