Dear Martha Hart:

[gwumusic10]

Will you please just SHUT THE HELL UP!

God I am so sick and tired of this woman always having something negative to say about WWE trying to do anything when it comes to Owen Hart.

Don't get me wrong I completely understand the tragedy she went through losing her husband and her children losing their father...That is not what this thread is all about.

What this thread is about is the fact that 16 years later she STILL blames WWE for what happened to Owen Hart. It was a tragic accident....Key word there is ACCIDENT.....Unfortunately it was Owen himself who accidentally hit the release on his harness that caused the fall.

It is true that Owen was very uncomfortable with doing that stunt but it has been documented that Vince McMahon would never make his talent do something that he himself won't do it....It was Owen's decision to move forward with the stunt because he was all about the business and was a professional

Martha Hart to me is being very selfish.....True wrestling fans like me would love to watch a DVD that chronicles his career and life and she is against it and may even try to deprive us of that and I think that's ridiculous...God I wish there was a way I could write a letter to her personally.

Bottom line is Martha needs to get over herself and move past the blame of WWE. I'm not saying that she needs to move past Owen's death but seriously this is getting tired.

Long live the King of Hart's and Rest in Peace Owen. 16 years later we still miss you and you are definitely not forgotten!

Any thoughts?

 

[Mighty NorCal]

children losing their father...That is not what this thread is all about.

What this thread is about is the fact that 16 years later she STILL blames WWE for what happened to Owen Hart.

The most likely reason for this was because it was their fault.


Im not sure were you heard that "hit the release" story, but its well known the equipment malfunctioned. That's why WWE lost the lawsuit and paid over one million dollars to Martha in a settlement.


That said, she does need to stop begrudging his fanbase of enjoying and celebrating his memory, through projects dedicated to him and his career.

They ought to split of give the family the majority of the proceeds.

 

[SoulTrain4]

Yeah my sympathy for the "grieving widow" ended years ago. She just behaving like she the only one that lost somebody, if his brothers are okay with it she need to get on board.

Understand, WWE doesn't stand to gain much at all from mentioning Owen Hart. They could give him the Benoit treatment and scrub him from history, considering that's what Martha wants an all but it's unfair to Owen for that to happen. I'm sure he didn't work so hard just to be forgotten regardless of the manner of his death.

To me this has become about her personal bitterness and it's not about Owen anymore. If his children where to come out and say they don't want it then that's a more respectable disagreement to me because Martha has proven to really have jumped over the deep end.

 

[Navi]

I'm struggling here to try and find out where the hostility is coming from towards Martha Hart.

This is the statement she issued.

“My children and I were unaware of this project until May 7, when it was brought to our attention by a friend who had read about it online. Contrary to your report, we do not back or support it in any way, nor has WWE requested our backing or support. From what little we know of the project, it seems to be another attempt to exploit Owen’s memory, and his tragic death, for commercial gain. We have resisted that kind of initiative for almost 16 years. If WWE really wanted to honor Owen’s legacy, it would just let him rest in peace.”

As far as I'm aware she isn't asking for any money from this, or even trying to stop it. Quite honestly if the WWE or anyone else didn't think she might say something is crazy.

The way her husband died was tragic, and she is either not willing or can't get over it. As long as the WWE has their ducks in a row in the making of this DVD, I don't see a problem. Giving some of the proceeds to the Owen Hart Foundation, might go a long way in healing some of the wounds.

 

[Slyfox696]

I'm struggling here to try and find out where the hostility is coming from towards Martha Hart.

I don't either. If a company killed my family member, the last thing I'd want is for them to try and profit from his death.

Will you please just SHUT THE HELL UP!

You're an idiot.

God I am so sick and tired of this woman always having something negative to say about WWE trying to do anything when it comes to Owen Hart.

Yes, how dare this woman have something negative to say about the company who killed her husband because he wouldn't have an on-screen affair! The bitch!

Don't get me wrong I completely understand the tragedy she went through losing her husband and her children losing their father...That is not what this thread is all about.

Umm, yes, it is. The idea we can separate the death of Owen from anything else related to this situation is absurd.

What this thread is about is the fact that 16 years later she STILL blames WWE for what happened to Owen Hart.

You mean she blames the company responsible for Owen's death because he refused to agree to an on-screen affair? That bitch!

It was a tragic accident....Key word there is ACCIDENT

No, the keyword is "UNNECESSARY" tragic accident.

It is true that Owen was very uncomfortable with doing that stunt but it has been documented that Vince McMahon would never make his talent do something that he himself won't do it....It was Owen's decision to move forward with the stunt because he was all about the business and was a professional

It's also true he was only in the position in the first place because he morals and values led him to refuse a tasteless angle.

Martha Hart to me is being very selfish.....True wrestling fans like me would love to watch a DVD that chronicles his career and life

Martha Hart is being selfish?! You want her to get over the death of her husband just so you can watch some wrestling matches on a DVD.

Like I said, you're an idiot.

may even try to deprive us of that

She's going to deprive you of what? The WWE Network exists and almost everything Owen's ever done on TV can be found there. Pony up the $10, you fucking cheapskate.

God I wish there was a way I could write a letter to her personally.

And I wish there was a way to get you to see how stupid you sound right now.

Bottom line is Martha needs to get over herself

Says the person ranting because the widow might deprive him of a DVD.

I'm not saying that she needs to move past Owen's death but seriously this is getting tired.

$10 a month. That's all you have to pay to see nearly every damned piece of Owen footage which exists.

Any thoughts?

Yes. You're an idiot, selfish and a cheapskate.

 

[The Brain]

Martha Hart to me is being very selfish.....True wrestling fans like me would love to watch a DVD that chronicles his career and life and she is against it and may even try to deprive us of that and I think that's ridiculous

Sounds to me like you're the one being selfish. "Get over your husband's death so I can have another wrestling DVD." Yeah, I'm exaggerating your point but that's basically what it comes down to.

Martha did not like wrestling. She was not a fan. It was simply her husband's job. If your spouse was tragically killed at work as a result of being pressured to do something extremely dangerous without proper training how would you react? You would try to get every dime you could out of them and hold a grudge for the rest of your life.

As fans we lost Owen Hart, a great performer that entertained us in the ring. Of course we were all upset when he died but realistically it didn't effect us anymore than another one of our favorites retiring and not being on tv anymore. Martha lost her husband. Her children lost their father. They barely remember him. You hear all kinds of stories about wrestlers living the wild life style on the road. Sex, drugs, and alcohol. Owen didn't do that. After the shows he went back to his hotel room, the cheapest one he could find so he could save his money for his family, and called his wife. He was going to be retired before 40 and be able to live comfortably with his family because he was careful with his money and unlike a lot of wrestlers actually planned for his future. I think it was shortly before Owen died that he and Martha bought their dream house. After years on the road, saving money, resisting the temptations of the road, and being one of the few guys to do things right Owen's life and Martha's future was taken away in the blink of an eye.

I'm not necessarily blaming WWE for Owen's death either but surely you can see why Martha hasn't been forgiving. This is real life and death. It's bigger than wrestling. Bigger than a phony Hall of Fame, and bigger than another DVD. As Sly mentioned in the spam thread why do we even need an Owen DVD? He's featured on Bret's DVD and The Hart Family DVD. Plus you can see most of his stuff on the Network. The only real hook would be hearing people's responses to the night Owen died and that would be exploiting his death for profit.

I would love it if Martha Hart and Vince McMahon could shake hands and move on but I certainly don't blame Martha for not wanting to. We're so conditioned to think anything in our wrestling bubble is fake and the show is the most important thing. This is as real as real can be. Once again try to put yourself in Martha's position. How would you feel?

 

[Nate DaMac]

Yes, how dare this woman have something negative to say about the company who killed her husband because he wouldn't have an on-screen affair! The bitch!

What's that now? I've never heard this story before.

But yeah, his whole career is probably on the Network. The only thing to add would be his second hand biography and a bunch of over-the-top praise from people who probably never even spoke to him. And I mean over the fucking top. On Triple H's latest DVD Batista says that Triple H is the Michael Jordan of WWE. He's the Michael Jordan of Baseball of WWE.

But yeah, not that big a deal, OP's a douche. Etcetera.

 

[Slyfox696]

What's that now? I've never heard this story before.

The fairly common belief is Owen Hart was only back in his Blue Blazer character as punishment. The punishment was because Owen refused a pitched angle where it would be revealed he was having an affair with Debra, who was with Jarrett at the time. Owen refused because it would make his family uncomfortable and as a husband/father, he didn't want to do that.

So because Owen had some morals, he was put back into the Blue Blazer character.

 

[Nate DaMac]

The fairly common belief is Owen Hart was only back in his Blue Blazer character as punishment. The punishment was because Owen refused a pitched angle where it would be revealed he was having an affair with Debra, who was with Jarrett at the time. Owen refused because it would make his family uncomfortable and as a husband/father, he didn't want to do that.

So because Owen had some morals, he was put back into the Blue Blazer character.

I've never heard that story before. Where did it come from?

And uh... look I'd certainly never suggest that being depushed to that degree is a justifiable reaction to refusing a storyline like that for those reasons, but I'd also say that pretending to be in an affair for entertainment purposes isn't immoral.

 

[gwumusic10]

Seriously if you think for one second the WWE killed him then you my friend are the idiot.....Yeah I can really see creative having this convo: "Vince, Owen refuses to do this affair angle...What shall we ever do?" Vince: "Let's kill him". You are a complete moron for even thinking that someone would purposely kill him because of that.

Oh and btw I've had the WWE Network ever since its release last year but I digress.

 

[Prince Vee]

That's a mourning of a wife there! If WWE is gonna make a video about the legacy of Owen Hart who should've notified first? The living members of Hart family. Its dreadfully depriving for her to obtain a news about her husband's DVD through some third person.

Your post is just a disdain. A loving wife can't easily get over a wonderful husband even if he's dead over 16 years.

 

[gwumusic10]

Ok seriously to the people who have replied to my post talking about how I am telling her to get over his death I specifically said in my post that my post has nothing to do with that....Learn how to read before you comment

 

[Dirk]

I can understand that Owen's fans will want his own DVD and not wade through the Bret-bits. I can also appreciate the intent of celebrating his life and body of work in fond memory.

It's still the loss of a spouse. WWE has always been about that quick buck, so being suspicious of the motive behind the DVD is completely understandable.

Martha's reasons are her own. I wasn't married to Owen and didn't lose him on live TV, so I'm not (and neither are any of us) in a position to pass judgment.

 

[Prince Vee]

Ok seriously to the people who have replied to my post talking about how I am telling her to get over his death I specifically said in my post that my post has nothing to do with that....Learn how to read before you comment

Whatever the crap you can post. Its your opinions and statements but you can't tell a women who's been just expressing her views on her husband's DVD to shut the hell up.

I'm not sure if you really took the whole goddamn meaning of what she had quoted. She didn't protest against it. She just expresses her disappointment in how they're trying to make profit out her husband's death and they never even notified her about the making of the DVD!!

 

[THTRobtaylor]

The issue here isn't what happened to Owen. It's documented, done, dusted, can't be changed.

The issue here is that Martha Hart, for whatever reason, refuses to "let go" of the hatred she has for WWE. It seemed to subside and I can pretty much guarantee that what this is REALLY about is the unfortunate gaffe Booker T made a week or two ago... He wasn't being disrespectful but unfortunately made a blunder that Martha has taken as WWE mocking Owen's death...so it all begins again. Poor Booker... I really mean that, NO WAY was he being nasty, but he was told to mention Owen Hart and the Gravity stuff as much as possible and no one saw the potential "clash".

Her reasoning is flawed in her statement however, the best way to honor Owen is to LET THEM HONOR HIM...THEN LET HIM REST IN PEACE. Until he goes into the HOF and gets the DVDs and stuff the fans clearly want to see, it's never at rest...it'll always be a festering sore. Martha doesn't have to show up, her kids don't though I've a feeling Bret would convince them to... from all I have read on her, even from Hart members... I get the feeling that's what she wants to avoid... her kids "buying in" in any way to the WWE. You could imagine a scenario where once Oje and Athena are there at a HOF and see that the people involved are not monsters, are not horrible and all genuinely loved their dad...and then see what the fans feel about him then she may "lose" them.

At the end of the day, if they own rights to his footage etc, then they can release it... she can't "block it", it's the same case Eddie Gilbert's dad is about to lose. They've been "respectful" because she just sues everytime they try to do something... so there may be an element of "fuck it, let her sue, we know we're winning the Gilbert case..." or more likely "let's get it done and then it's done... we put in on a DVD, HOF and never have to mention him again...or deal with her..."

 

[Mustang Sally]

Mixed feelings. Martha lost her husband because of the accident and none of us should try and decide when (and if) she "get over it." After all, she and her children are deprived of Owen's presence for the rest of their lives, so I can surely understand Martha being bitter for the rest of hers.

As a fan, I hope she will eventually allow WWE to commemorate Owen's life in some fashion. There are many folks who were fans of her husband and would enjoy a DVD detailing his life and times....and after all, she's mad at the company, not the fans.

Still, it's up to her, not to us. So be it.

 

[jmt225]

I'm more excited about this DVD release than anyone, but I don't care if it's been 2 weeks or 20 years... I'm not going to tell a grieving widow how to react to something regarding her dead husband. All she's doing is expressing how she feels. I don't understand why this is such an insult to WWE fans. She said her piece and that was it. Big deal.

 

[Navi]

The issue here isn't what happened to Owen. It's documented, done, dusted, can't be changed.

It is very much about what happened to Owen Hart. And whether it's over with in some people's eyes, she lost her husband and their children lost their father. So even though it can't be changed, it will never be done and dusted, as much as some fans would like it to be.

The issue here is that Martha Hart, for whatever reason, refuses to "let go" of the hatred she has for WWE. It seemed to subside and I can pretty much guarantee that what this is REALLY about is the unfortunate gaffe Booker T made a week or two ago... He wasn't being disrespectful but unfortunately made a blunder that Martha has taken as WWE mocking Owen's death...so it all begins again. Poor Booker... I really mean that, NO WAY was he being nasty, but he was told to mention Owen Hart and the Gravity stuff as much as possible and no one saw the potential "clash".

What Booker T said was unfortunate, but not all people took it the way that you are suggesting. Maybe he should never have even uttered the man's name and the word gravity in the same sentence, but I don't believe for one minute that he was mocking Hart's death in any way, shape or form. I think it was a bad choice of words. He has apologized for any mis-communication that took place that that should suffice.

Her reasoning is flawed in her statement however, the best way to honor Owen is to LET THEM HONOR HIM...THEN LET HIM REST IN PEACE. Until he goes into the HOF and gets the DVDs and stuff the fans clearly want to see, it's never at rest...it'll always be a festering sore. Martha doesn't have to show up, her kids don't though I've a feeling Bret would convince them to... from all I have read on her, even from Hart members... I get the feeling that's what she wants to avoid... her kids "buying in" in any way to the WWE. You could imagine a scenario where once Oje and Athena are there at a HOF and see that the people involved are not monsters, are not horrible and all genuinely loved their dad...and then see what the fans feel about him then she may "lose" them.

I'm sorry but your reasoning is flawed. Unless you know the family personally, you have no way of knowing just how she feels about her children in relation to the WWE. They have other family members that still wrestle today, and while yes their father died as a result of a terrible accident, other family members are alive and well. I don't blame her a bit for her feelings, and if she doesn't want her husband in the HOF, then that is her decision to make. It was her husband that died.

At the end of the day, if they own rights to his footage etc, then they can release it... she can't "block it", it's the same case Eddie Gilbert's dad is about to lose. They've been "respectful" because she just sues everytime they try to do something... so there may be an element of "fuck it, let her sue, we know we're winning the Gilbert case..." or more likely "let's get it done and then it's done... we put in on a DVD, HOF and never have to mention him again...or deal with her..."

Whatever the reason is that the WWE is going ahead with this is known only to them. And why they would want to open this can of worms which was pretty much closed is another thing. Yes they own the footage, but they don't have to use it.

What I'm seeing here is a huge disconnect between fans and his family. This man died in the middle of a PPV, doing a stunt that he reportedly didn't want to do in the first place. His family was and still is very upset about it and they have every right to be. And we have no right at all, to tell them any different. If his immediate family never wants the WWe to mention his name again, then so be. We as fans should respect their wishes. It wasn't our husband and father who died in that ring, it was theirs. And it's quite frankly ignorant as hell, to assume that we should be upset because he's not getting a HOF ring, or a DVD. Until his family okay's it, I'm fine with it not happening.

 

[dman1373]

I dont get it........she lost her husband and would rather not have the company that she thinks killed him exploit his image and make any more money off of him.........why is that bad? Because some fans are intitled little bastards..........his kids are gonna grow up without a father because the wwe were not cautious enough to make there shit safer. Wouldnt you still be mad.........it really just baffles me........I just really dont get it.......

 

[MartialHorror]

To be fair, when I first heard of the DVD, the article said that she was supporting it. It's quite possible that when she learned of this project, she either saw or was told about the claim and was simply responding in understandable disgust. Martha Hart doesn't see her husbands death as a tragic accident, but as one that was caused by gross negligence. She doesn't want to see said company profit.

I often wonder, are Bret and Martha on speaking terms? In Bret's book, they seem to get along fine, although he was disappointed when she settled the lawsuit. I never was able to finish Martha's book because it just seemed so...spiteful. Like, towards EVERYONE involved with the WWE and wrestling, save for Owen. Bret has reconciled with the company though while she obviously hasn't, so I'm just curious.

 

[OYDK]

I also have mixed feelings. I really want Owen to be honored and remembered without everybody using the excuse that "it's all for the money." If that's the general consensus from the fans than perhaps WWE should just scrap the idea, because it's an insult to Owen's memory. This DVD should be solely about Owen and how great of a talent and person he really was, but it will never be that. People will never talk about JUST Owen Hart anymore, without bringing up Martha, who is at fault, exploitation, etc... and that's saddening.

On the other hand, you can't blame Martha for being angry. Getting over it is just not an option sometimes, especially when it has to do with the death of your closest companion. That being said, I advise Martha to just distance herself completely from WWE. Wash your hands of them and let them do what they want to do in regards to Owen. He's been gone for 16 years now and nothing is going to change that.

 

[Rayne]

Wow. Just, wow. Fucking professional wrestling fans.

Out in the real world, when the cameras aren't rolling, people typically get upset when you are directly responsible for the deaths of their loved ones. And that's not something you typically "get over", that's usually a lifelong thing.

Honestly cannot believe this actually has to be said.

 

[The Brain]

Seriously if you think for one second the WWE killed him then you my friend are the idiot.....Yeah I can really see creative having this convo: "Vince, Owen refuses to do this affair angle...What shall we ever do?" Vince: "Let's kill him". You are a complete moron for even thinking that someone would purposely kill him because of that.

Nobody suggested that at all. I don't know where in the world you got that.

Oh and btw I've had the WWE Network ever since its release last year but I digress.

Good, then you can watch Owen's matches there.

Ok seriously to the people who have replied to my post talking about how I am telling her to get over his death I specifically said in my post that my post has nothing to do with that....Learn how to read before you comment

Yes, you specifically said in your post it has nothing to do with telling Martha to get over Owen's death. Then you went on to contradict that with the rest of your post. Kind of like saying 'with all due respect' before totally disrespecting somebody.

 

[King502]

Dear Martha the fans need this dvd and a hall of fame induction it's our way of saying goodbye to a performer we loved for so many year and clearly 16 years after his passing we still talk about him so hey he did a great job connecting with the fans and Martha should stop trying to ruin a good thing and on a side note I hope this dvd deliverers cause it was so long over due and hope it has a lot of Owen rib stories in it cause those are priceless RIP OWEN HART U SHALL NEVER BE FORGOTTEN

 

[Woodstuff]

None of you are entitled to an opinion on the matter. You're wrestling fans, Owen Hart was a human being. Stop acting like you're industry insiders and accept the fact that some issues go beyond the fucking wrestling ring. Jesus.