Martha Hart Still Holds WWE Responsible For Owen Hart's Death

It has been over 25 years since Owen Hart’s tragic death, with the multi-time champion falling to his death at WWE Over The Edge in May 1999.

The subject of Hart’s death was brought up during Netflix’s recent Mr. McMahon documentary series, with Vince McMahon defending his decision to keep the show going after Hart’s fatal fall during a stunt entrance that went wrong.

Hart’s widow Dr. Martha Hart released a statement after the series aired, saying the following:

“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.”

H/T: F4WOnline