Tag: Owen Hart

Nattie pays tribute to Owen Hart: ‘There was no one like him’

Posted on by Ian Carey

Nattie Neidhart paid tribute to her late uncle Owen Hart on his birthday.

Owen would have turned 61 years old today. Nattie posted a video to Instagram featuring her and TJ Wilson speaking about Owen along with clips from Owen’s career.

She captioned her post with:

“Happy birthday to the King of Harts, Owen Hart, on his birthday.

I love being able to celebrate what an incredible person Owen was. He was deeply loved, and the impact he had on people is something that still lives on every single day. Owen’s spirit continues to shine so brightly.

I hope you take a moment to watch this and remember Owen Hart today. 🖤👑”

Nattie says in the video:

“As the years pass, I never stopped thinking about Owen. I never stopped thinking about the person that he was, what he brought to this world, what he did, and how he contributed to professional wrestling.

But most of all, I never stopped thinking about what an amazing person he was to his family.”

Wilson spoke about Owen’s sense of humor and how members of the Hart family try to keep that part of him alive:

“We just kind of do our best to imitate Owen in our daily lives. And if at the end of the night, if you came pretty close to imitating Owen, you had a hell of a day.”

Nattie added that she wishes she could ask Owen about growing up as the youngest member of the Hart family and trying to find his own way in wrestling.

“It would be so cool to be asking Owen questions about in a family full of greats, you being the baby, how did you stand out? Like, I wish I could ask Owen those questions about how he tried to make it in wrestling, and like what it was like when he first stepped foot in the dungeon himself.”

Nattie closed by saying that she and Wilson feel it is important to help preserve Owen’s legacy with their work at the Dungeon 2.0.

“It’s really, really important, especially with the dungeon, for TJ and I to help also keep Owen’s legacy alive, because there was no one like him.”

Nattie’s full post is available here.

Three wrestlers advance in AEW Owen Hart Foundation tournaments

Posted on by Ethan Renner

Three wrestlers advanced in the Owen Hart Foundation tournament on Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite Spring BreakThru.

Half of the women’s tournament finals are set following Dynamite, as Mercedes Mone defeated Athena in the semifinals show opener to advance.

Mone will wrestle in the finals of the women’s bracket at the Double or Nothing pay-per-view on May 25, where she awaits the winner of the Jamie Hayter vs. Kris Statlander semifinals booked for next week’s Dynamite.

Later in Wednesday’s show, Hangman Adam Page defeated the debuting Josh Alexander in the last men’s quarterfinals matchup to advance to the semifinals. Page will take on Kyle Fletcher of The Don Callis Family in the semifinals in the men’s bracket.

Also at Spring BreakThru, Will Ospreay defeated Konosuke Takeshita in a men’s semifinals bout to advance to the finals at Double or Nothing. He awaits the winner of Page vs. Fletcher.

The winners of the Owen Hart Foundation men’s and women’s tournament will receive a World Championship match at AEW All In set for Saturday, July 12 at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. Jon Moxley currently holds the AEW World Championship, while Toni Storm is the current Women’s World Champion.

Our full report from Dynamite Spring BreakThru is available here.

Will Ospreay on Owen Hart: ‘He had a snap to him like no one else’

Posted on by Ian Carey

Will Ospreay says he’s looking forward to carrying on the legacy of the Owen Hart Cup

Ospreay will face Kevin Knight in the first round of the tournament at AEW Dynasty. It’s the second time in his career that he says he’s felt a connection to Owen Hart. The first came when he won the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship in NJPW—a title Owen held in 1988.

Speaking to Sports Illustrated, Ospreay said he feels fortunate to share a piece of history with Hart.

“The best thing about that (IWGP Jr. Heavyweight belt) is everyone that held it has their name on the belt, and I couldn’t believe how lucky I was that I had a piece of history that Owen Hart was a part of as well,” he said.

Ospreay is a three-time IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion, having first won the title in 2017.

“I remember being super grateful and just couldn’t believe how lucky I was to be in that same category of champions. I feel like the history behind ‘The Owen,’ it’s been pretty well-received. And I’m looking forward to continuing the legacy and putting on great showcase matches.”

Ospreay also says he relates to Hart, who was dedicated to his family while constantly on the road, just as Ospreay is now.

“I watched a lot of the stuff from Japan, like his junior heavyweight stuff, and I just feel like he had a snap to him like no one else. And when I watch the documentaries or how much he was a family man and how much he loved his time,” Ospreay continued. “And I think that’s the thing that I respect the most about him, that he was always in a rush to try and get back to his family. That’s like, kind of the situation I’m in myself, flying always back and forth to the U.K.”

Ospreay’s full interview with Sports Illustrated is available here.

Footage of Hart’s time in NJPW aired on AEW Collision last night.

Hart’s name is actually misspelled on the title belt.

Martha Hart: I continue to hold WWE responsible for Owen Hart’s death

Posted on by Josh Nason

In the wake of last week’s release of the ‘Mr. McMahon’ docuseries on Netflix, the widow of Owen Hart released a statement Thursday condemning Vince McMahon and WWE’s management at the time of her husband’s death, adding she was never contacted by the team putting the series together.

The circumstances around Hart’s tragic death in 1999 was profiled as part of the six-episode series where McMahon denied any wrongdoing and said he had a decision to make about keeping the show going. He claimed that since the audience didn’t see what happened to Hart that night due to it being dark in the arena at the time, Over The Edge continued as the fans “came to see a show. They didn’t come to see somebody die.”

A wrongful lawsuit between Martha Hart and WWE was settled in 2000 for nearly $18 million.

The full statement:

“Netflix’s Mr. McMahon documentary series portrays the death of my husband, Owen Hart, as a mere accident. It also allows the disgraced former owner and CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), Vince McMahon, to claim that Owen’s death ‘wasn’t our fault.’ Nothing could be further from the truth. The real truth is that on May 23rd, 1999, out of a desire to cut costs and achieve a ‘quick release’ effect that a rigging expert specifically warned against, WWE hired unqualified riggers to arrange a stunt in which Owen was to rappel from the rafters during a wrestling event. As a result, the riggers used incorrect equipment that caused Owen to fall to his death. It was pure negligence that killed my husband.

“What the documentary fails to mention is that the equipment used was never meant for a rappelling stunt. Instead, a harness meant for dragging stunt people behind cars on movie shoots was used with a sailboat clip meant to release on load with only six pounds of pressure. Had the WWE hired qualified riggers who followed proper protocol that included redundancy, as is typical practice, and used the correct equipment, Owen would not have died that night.

“To be clear, no one involved in the making of this documentary attempted to contact me for comment or to obtain an accurate perspective. I continue to hold WWE and its then-management responsible for Owen’s death. I refuse to let Vince McMahon or anyone else rewrite that history.

“Instead, I remain focused on honouring Owen’s legacy through the charitable good work of the Owen Hart Foundation and via the AEW Owen Hart Foundation Tournament.”

AEW files to trademark ‘King of Harts’

Posted on by Ian Carey

AEW is taking a second crack at trademarking a nickname previously used by Owen Hart.

After Hart won the 1994 WWE King of the Ring, he declared himself the “King of Harts.” According to records available on the US Patent and Trademark Office website, AEW filed to trademark the name on October 1. It is their second time attempting to do so.

AEW originally filed to trademark the name in 2021, just a few months before the company would announce a partnership with Martha Hart. AEW wanted to use it for the name of the Owen Hart Cup. However, they were blocked from doing so.

This was addressed by our Dave Meltzer in the September 27, 2021 edition of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

“AEW had attempted to name the Cup the King of Harts, but has been blocked from using that name,” Meltzer wrote.

Meltzer continued to write of AEW’s deal with Martha Hart:

“This deal was two years in the making, largely stemming from Chris Jericho and Martha Hart working together on the Dark Side show and her doing his podcast. Jericho grew up watching Stampede Wrestling, which was on TSN in Canada when he was in high school and he was a big fan of the show and Hart was one of his favorite wrestlers growing up and a major influence because guys like him, Dynamite Kid and Ricky Steamboat were his size or smaller and made it in wrestling.”

There are some differences between AEW’s filing in 2021 and the most recent application. The 2024 filing has only listed purposes of “Shirts; Tank tops; T-shirts” whereas the 2021 filing included all of the below-intended purposes and more:

“Educational and entertainment services, namely, a continuing program about wrestling accessible by radio, television, satellite, audio, video and computer networks; Entertainment services in the nature of development, creation, production, distribution, and post-production of wrestling programs and wrestling multimedia entertainment event content; Entertainment services in the nature of live wrestling performances; Entertainment services in the nature of production of wrestling programs and wrestling multimedia entertainment event content”

Jeff Jarrett: Bryan Danielson winning Owen Hart Cup was very emotional for me

Posted on by Ian Carey

Jeff Jarrett has opened up about his time in Calgary for the finals of the Owen Hart Foundation tournament.

Jarrett, along with Dr. Martha Hart, presented tournament winner Bryan Danielson with the Owen Hart Cup on last week’s Dynamite after Danielson defeated Hangman Page in the finals. Jarrett says Owen would have loved the image of the three of them standing in the ring together.

“Martha in the ring who had just announced Bryan Danielson the winner, Bryan has the belt over his shoulder, me and him are jointly lifting the cup. The old adage a picture says a thousand words, to me it really does,” Jarrett said recently on his My World podcast. “It epitomizes to me, Owen’s in-ring skills. Because he was baby brother, and I’m not saying held to (Bret’s) standard, but Bret got to the WWF first, he was the Hart Foundation and had that tag team run and the spotlight naturally and rightfully so, had been on Bret. But I think Bret would even tell you about Owen’s in-ring skills and how really, really good they were.”

He continued:

“For Martha, myself, and Bryan, a good bud, I’ve respected him for so many years but I believe currently he’s the very best in-ring, I hate to use the word performer, I’ll just say in-ring professional wrestler because from bell to bell he tells stories, the passion, heart… So, for him to win the tournament, me be a part of it, Conrad, that was really, really, inside for me, very emotional.”

“Owen, I don’t like to say looking down, but Owen being aware of that – which I believe he is fully aware – I hope it put a smile on his face. The Owen that I know and loved he absolutely would have loved it, probably would have loved to pull a rib here or there but…” Jarrett continued.

Jarrett mentioned that he got to spend time with Martha and Oje Hart after the show. In a clip AEW would share on social media and later on Collision, Oje said that he’s never felt closer to his father than when he takes part in the Owen Hart Foundation events with AEW.

“A lot of time has gone by since he’s gone but I’ve actually never felt closer to him since doing these things so it’s good for me too,” Oje says to Jarrett in the video. “It’s really hitting hard. It’s probably hitting me the same way it’s hitting you, so thanks, man.”

Jarrett responded to Oje’s comments on his podcast, saying, “That warmed my heart in so many ways. I can’t put that into words.”

https://open.spotify.com/episode/0ybBTljmFgcdneTkerqTvI

Bryan Danielson wants to embody how Owen Hart put his family first

Posted on by Ian Carey

2024 men’s Owen Hart Cup winner Bryan Danielson knows exactly what traits of the trophy’s namesake he wishes to embody.

Danielson told Sports Illustrated recently that it is the way Hart put his family first that makes him someone he aspires to be.

“When I was a teenager, Owen Hart was one of my favorites, which makes this really special,” said Danielson. “I love hearing about how much he loved his family. Those guys were on the road so much, something like 300 days a year. So when I hear the stories about how he’d find one extra day to be at home, that means a lot.”

“Was he an incredible professional wrestler? Of course. Was he hilarious? Everyone says he was. You can see it in his promos. But I want to embody the way he put his family first.”

Danielson defeated Hangman Page in the finals of the tournament on Dynamite last week. After the match, he was presented the Owen Hart Cup and a championship belt by Hart’s widow, Dr. Martha Hart, as well as Jeff Jarrett, whose emotional promos about his friend have been a highlight of AEW programming of late.

“I’m honored to be part of the Owen Hart Memorial Foundation Tournament,” said Danielson. “It’s really inspiring to me what Martha Hart has done with this tragedy, and how she’s helped so many people–and raised her children. She got her doctorate. She raised two wonderful children, and she’s an incredible parent. That’s something I aspire to be, too.”

Martha Hart created the Owen Hart Foundation in December 2000 after her husband’s death in May 1999. The charity runs programs to help those with limited resources secure housing and scholarships. They also help raise money for international aid efforts, food drives, and other special projects. You can learn more about the foundation’s work here.

After defeating Page on Dynamite last week, Danielson cut a promo calling Martha Hart an inspiration as well.

“I’m proud of winning The Owen because Owen Hart meant so much to professional wrestling. He meant so much as far as what it means to be a father in professional wrestling. What it means to put your family first. Right? That’s what Owen Hart means,” Danielson said.

“But then also as Martha is shaking my hand and giving me the trophy — we call this the Owen Hart Memorial Foundation tournament, but I’m just as proud to shake her hand. Because what she’s done as a mother all on her own and raised those kids and started the Owen Hart Memorial Foundation. And all the good that she’s done. Getting her doctorate. The people that her children have become. That’s inspiring to me. And that — not because I can’t handle it anymore, not because I’m not good enough — because I want to be the type of parent that Martha Hart is. That’s why I’m stopping full-time wrestling.”

While AEW was in Calgary last week, Martha and Owen’s son Oje Hart shared a special moment with Jarrett and said that he’s never felt closer to his father than when he takes part in AEW’s events with the Owen Hart Foundation.

“A lot of time has gone by since he’s gone but I’ve actually never felt closer to him since doing these things so it’s good for me too,” Oje said to Jarrett. “It’s really hitting hard. It’s probably hitting me the same way it’s hitting you, so thanks, man.”

The clip with Oje and Jarrett is available below.

Jeff Jarrett honored to help introduce Owen Hart to new generation of fans

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Jeff Jarrett is grateful for the role he’s gotten to play in AEW’s Owen Hart Foundation tournament.

As one of Owen’s best friends in wrestling, Jarrett was a fan-favorite in this year’s tournament and gave an emotional speech about what his late friend meant to him. Though Jarrett lost to Hangman Page in the first round, he’ll still be part of the tournament finals when he serves as the special guest enforcer for Bryan Danielson vs. Page.

“Never in my wildest dreams did I think we’d be here,” Jarrett told Sports Illustrated. “I get to introduce my friend to an entirely new generation of wrestling fans.”

AEW has partnered with the Owen Hart Foundation to present the tournament annually since 2022. The 2024 finals are being held in Calgary on Dynamite this Wednesday with Danielson vs. Page on the men’s side and Willow Nightingale vs. Mariah May on the women’s side.

The Owen Hart Foundation was started by Dr. Martha Hart after her husband’s death in 1999. It supports local, national, and international communities through scholarships, housing, and partnership programs. Jarrett told Sports Illustrated he loves that Owen is being recognized for who he was both as a person and as a wrestler.

“It makes me very emotional. All the way back in May of 1999, I never thought that all these years later I would be continuing my in-ring career, which [is] a blessing beyond my wildest imaginations, or that there would be this Owen Hart Foundation, which Owen’s wife created and does so much good for so many people all over the world. Owen’s children are grown up, and they represent their father so proudly,” Jarrett said.

“I love that Owen is being recognized as a father, a family man, a husband, a brother, and a professional wrestler. And we’re doing it in Calgary, a place that meant a lot to him.”

Jarrett & Owen were tag team partners together, holding the WWF Tag Team titles one time.

The winner of Danielson vs. Page earns an AEW World Championship shot against Swerve Strickland at All In next month. Jarrett had huge praise for Danielson in his Sports Illustrated interview, saying he believes Danielson is “the epitome of professional wrestling.”

“It’s the guy who eliminated me against the guy who I think doesn’t have a peer among current full-time, active wrestlers,” Jarrett said. “That is no disrespect toward anybody else, but I don’t think Bryan Danielson has a peer. He’s that good, the epitome of professional wrestling. His storytelling is off the charts, his passion, his physicality–Bryan can do it all. So I feel incredibly grateful and honored to be part of it.”

Daily Update: Sheamus, Owen Hart, GCW

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Daily Update

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This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter

Some of the highlights in this issue:

  • John Laurinaitis’ lawyer appears to switch his story, why, case updates, lawyers talk and more case thoughts
  • A detailed look at the WWE Draft including updated Raw & Smackdown depth charts
  • WWE Backlash and what to look for
  • A look at AAA’s first TripleMania show
  • A look at Stardom’s All Star Grand Queendom and maybe the best women’s match this year
  • A look at the U.S. Olympic wrestling trials
  • The most detailed look at the ratings of all the wrestling shows
  • Lots of major ratings takeaways from AEW, including the key to the audience decline
  • How the shows are doing as compared to cable as a whole
  • Notes on our latest book release
  • Finals of CMLL’s Universal tournament of champions and who ended up getting the super push
  • Who is coming to CMLL FantasticaMania
  • Champion Carnival tournament update
  • A look at the New Japan Best of the Super Junior tournament
  • Rundown on New Japan big shows
  • “Who Killed WCW?” TV series coming and thoughts
  • Former WWE developmental wrestler indicted on murder charges and details
  • One of the modern era’s biggest legends robbed at the airport
  • Sting being honored
  • Famous wrestling TV location getting a special show filled with big names
  • MLW sets attendance record
  • Update on WWE, AEW and TNA PPV numbers
  • NBA negotiations and how this could affect AEW deal
  • Early thoughts on AEW Double or Nothing
  • AEW losing international deals
  • Tony Khan publicity stunts
  • Visa issues on foreign stars
  • One of the three biggest executives in WWE resigns
  • Lots on Dwayne Johnson from The Wrap story
  • Lots of Dwayne Johnson in WWE notes
  • More on a movie on the life of Ronda Rousey
  • Cody Rhodes talks AEW

This Week’s Retro Observer Newsletter

Monday Update

WWE

AEW & Other Wrestling

Jushin Liger to attend Owen Hart Cup Finals on AEW Collision

Posted on by Ian Carey

Jushin Liger is on his way to attend tomorrow’s Owen Hart Cup Finals on AEW Collision. 

Liger posted to Twitter on Friday that he was at the airport and on his way to Calgary, the city he went on excursion to in 1987.

“I am at Haneda Airport now. From now on, I will go to Calgary, Canada via San Francisco. I was invited as a guest at Owen Hart’s memorial tournament ☆ I’m looking forward to Calgary after a long time,” reads a translation of Liger’s Tweet. 

Liger, under his real name of Keiichi Yamada, went on an excursion from NJPW to Stampede Wrestling in May 1987. This was when Bruce Hart relaunched the promotion following Stu Hart having sold it to Vince McMahon in 1984. 

After a couple of months of teaming with Mr. Hito on shows in Alberta and Saskatchewan, Yamada and Owen Hart began teaming together. They defeated Gerry Morrow and Bad News Allen in their first match together. When it was time for Liger to return to Japan later that summer, Owen went with him. At the time, Owen was The North American Champion in Stampede Wrestling, the most prestigious championship in the promotion. Owen would team with Mark Rocco and lost to Yamada and a young Keiji Mutoh on their first show back for NJPW.

Owen and Liger wrestled 10 singles matches against each other, all in Japan, splitting the series 5 wins apiece. Owen even once successfully defended the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship against Liger in 1988. Their final match against one another took place in the Top Of The Super Juniors tournament in 1991 when Liger defeated Owen in a match our own Dave Meltzer rated four-and-a-half stars. 

VIDEO: First look at Owen Hart in AEW Fight Forever

Posted on by Bryan Rose

The first footage of Owen Hart in AEW’s upcoming video game has been released.

DenkOps on YouTube shared the first footage of Owen Hart in AEW Fight Forever, which you can see below. The footage shows Hart taking part in Fight Forever’s Road to Elite mode, the career mode for the game which releases on June 29.

Back in 2021, AEW announced that they had come into partnership with the Owen Hart Foundation. In the press release, it was mentioned that Hart would be part of the upcoming video game. 

Since the announcement of their partnership, AEW and the Owen Hart Foundation have established the Owen Hart Cup, which started last year with Adam Cole and Britt Baker winning the men’s and women’s tournaments respectively. This year’s tournament is scheduled to take place in Canada, with the finals taking place at the Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, Canada on July 15.

Fight Forever will be released on PlayStation 4 & 5, Xbox One & Series X, PC, and Nintendo Switch.

AEW’s Owen Hart Foundation tournaments to return in 2023

Posted on by Ian Carey

The Owen Hart Foundation tournaments will return in 2023. 

Tony Khan revealed the news on Thursday’s Full Gear media call in response to a question from our own Dave Meltzer. 

“I do plan to do the Owen Hart tournaments in 2023. I’d like to continue my great relationship with Dr. Martha Hart and her family. Oje Hart recently attended the Jaguars-Broncos game at Wembley Stadium. I really like Oje, he’s a tremendous guy, and Martha and the whole family, they’re great. We loved having them in AEW and the Owen Hart tournament tradition will continue,” Khan said on the call. 

“I really appreciate Chris Jericho facilitating that connection several years ago actually during the pandemic,” he continued.  

A timeline for the 2023 tournaments has not been revealed but the finals of last year’s tournament took place at AEW Double or Nothing in May. 

Britt Baker won the inaugural women’s tournament. She defeated Danielle Kamela in a qualifying match, Maki Itoh in the first round, Toni Storm in the semifinals, and Ruby Soho in the finals. 

Adam Cole won the inaugural men’s Owen Hart Foundation tournament. He defeated Dax Harwood in the first round, Jeff Hardy in the semifinals, and Samoa Joe in the finals. 

Speak Now: AEW Dynamite in Las Vegas post-show

Posted on by Denise Salcedo

It’s the AEW DOUBLE OR NOTHING go home show edition of AEW Dynamite! Join on-camera personality Denise Salcedo as she breaks down the events of the night, analyzes the storylines and matches while also engaging with the live viewers! 

Topics include the build to AEW DON, Wardlow and MJF’s feud, the beef between Hangman Adam Page and CM Punk, NJPW’s Jeff Cobb and Great-O-Khan of the United Empire appear, a wacky Hardy Boys promo, the Owen Hart Cup Men’s and Women’s tournament, and more! 

This podcast is sponsored by Wrestle Rumble. 

Denise will also return on Monday to discuss her live event experience at AEW Double or Nothing.

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Dr. Martha Hart & family attend AEW Dynamite

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Dr. Martha Hart, along with her family, were in attendance tonight for AEW Dynamite.

Hart was shown on camera prior to the start of tonight’s first Owen Hart Foundation match between Dax Harwood and Adam Cole. Tony Khan posted on social media a picture he took with Hart, her son Oje, and daughter Athena.

“Tonight on #AEWDynamite next on @TBSNetwork @ 8pm ET/7pm CT, the inaugural Owen Hart Foundation Cup Tournament begins on a huge night of pro wrestling,” Khan wrote on Twitter. “Thank you Dr. Martha Hart, Oje Hart & Athena Hart for joining us tonight as @AEW honors the legacy of the late great Owen Hart!”

Hart is the founder of the Owen Hart Foundation, which was founded in December 2000 in memory of her husband.

Tonight marks the beginning of the men’s and women’s Owen Hart Foundation tournaments, with the finals taking place at the Double or Nothing pay-per-view on May 29.

DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show: The Owen Hart WON obituary

Posted on by Karl Stern

On this week’s DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show, we take a look at Dave Meltzer’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter obituary for Owen Hart the week he was killed in a tragic fall in Kansas City, MO during the live WWE Over The Edge pay-per-view.

Hart’s death still stands as one of the most tragic moments in the history of pro wrestling and the story gained huge national and international attention. 

From the pages of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, these are the life and times of Owen Hart.

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