With the recent controversial Netflix documentary on former WWE owner Vince McMahon making waves, the widow of Owen Hart is speaking out against the series’ producers and the pro wrestling outfit.
Martha Hart says that docuseries “Mr. McMahon” attempts to rewrite history about the tragic death of Owen, who died in the ring after falling from the rafters when his safety harness failed at a 1999 show in Kansas City.
During one episode of the six-art series, Owen’s death is touched upon with McMahon defending the decision to continue the Over The Edge pay-per-view show after Hart fell 78 feet into the ring and died, with the WWE boss saying “people came to see a show.”
“The decision I had to make was whether the show would continue or not,” McMahon said in the docuseries. “The live audience didn’t really see what happened. If they had, I would have had to end the show.”
“Netflix’s Mr. McMahon documentary series portrays the death of my husband, Owen Hart, as a mere accident,” Martha said. “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.”
While McMahon and the WWE has blamed an equipment malfunction on the incident, Martha has long said that company was negligent in the matter and cut corners instead of following safety protocol.
“What the documentary fails to mention is that the equipment used was never meant for a rappelling stunt,” she said. “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.”
Martha also said the WWE sued her following Owen’s death for breach of contract as “retaliation” for her wrongful death lawsuit against the company. She added that WWE continued to sell merchandise of her dead husband for “many years” without paying his estate.
“To be clear, no one involved in the making of this documentary attempted to contact me for comment or to obtain an accurate perspective,” she said. “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.”
Martha now works with rival pro wrestling promotion All Elite Wrestling to honour her late husband’s legacy with the annual Owen Hart Foundation Memorial Tournament.