Kirk's death garnered worldwide media attention, with some newspapers initially breaking the news by claiming that Big Daddy's splash killed Kirk. The British Medical Association recommended a maximum age limit for professional wrestlers as Kirk was approaching 51 at the time and criticised Joint Promotions for not having a doctor at ringside. Kirk's widow claimed that Kirk only earned £25 for the match, with a bonus of £5 for wrestling Big Daddy while Joint Promotions' promoters were earning thousands while she was left widowed with two children. She criticised the sport for the way it treated Kirk and there has since been criticism of Big Daddy for continuing to treat the incident as a legitimate sporting accident. Later, Canadian wrestler Bret Hart, who wrestled Kirk for Joint Promotions, wrote in his book that few men could take Big Daddy's weight when he performed his other finishing move - the "double elbow" backdrop - and said "all it took was for Max to wave a few extra quid in a wrestler's face and he'd put his life on the line."