A current SmackDown star has said that AEW’s Tribute to Owen Hart was what Dr. Martha Hart would’ve wanted.
AEW held the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament earlier this year, leading up to Double or Nothing. While Owen’s wife, Dr. Martha Hart, presented custom-made championships to the tournament winners Adam Cole and Britt Baker at the event.
Former SmackDown Women’s Champion and member of the Hart family, Natalya recently opened up about what she thought of AEW’s tribute to Owen Hart. In her interview with BT Sport’s Ariel Helwani, The Queen of Harts mentioned the amount of respect she has for Dr. Martha Hart and expressed how impressed she was seeing her live on a wrestling show.
“I think that she did such a beautiful job,” Natalya said. “She carries herself so well. She was so poised. It was the first time that fans really got a chance to like, see her.”
Since Owen Hart’s death at Over The Edge in 1999, his widow and WWE have been at odds. Martha Hart sued the company in 2000 over the death of her husband, with the two sides eventually settling the wrongful death suit for approximately $18 million. Much of this money was put straight into the Owen Hart Foundation.
When asked about what she thought of the tournament specifically, Natalya said that AEW did “they did a really nice job honouring Owen” the way that Martha would have wanted.
It was reported in May that Owen would be featured in the upcoming AEW video game, AEW Fight Forever. The Hart family has appeared multiple times on AEW programming, with Bret Hart unveiling the AEW World Championship at the first-ever Double or Nothing PPV.
There’s currently no word on whether AEW will hold a second Owen Hart Foundation Tournament in the future.
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