Our own Scott Heisel’s interview with Martha Hart offered a fresh perspective on her issues with WWE and their treatment of her late husband, Owen Hart, but it’s far from the only interview she’s given in the lead-up to this week’s season finale of Dark Side of the Ring, which tells Owen’s story. As she’s spoken with various outlets around the internet, a fuller picture has emerged of Martha’s own relationship to the world of wrestling of which Owen was such an important part.
For example, Hart’s interview with The Wrap focused more on the fragmentation of her relationship with Owen’s brother, WWE Hall-of-Famer Bret Hart. In that piece, Martha offers her perspective on the rift between them:
Unfortunately, I have no relationship with Bret. Bret was supportive throughout the lawsuit, but there were a few things that were a problem with Bret. First of all, when we were going through the lawsuit, he really was hoping that I would be able to help him get his wrestling footage. Because at the time, he had no relationship with WWE and he was hoping somehow — if we ever had a settlement — that we could work it in.
When that didn’t happen, he was very upset that he didn’t get his footage. It prompted him to befriend Vince again so he could have access to his footage. That was the first fracture in our relationship.
She also adds that he objected to her refusal to allow WWE to posthumously induct Owen into their Hall of Fame. She says he became “really nasty” in response.
Bret Hart made a short statement to The Wrap, offering a little bit of his own perspective:
While I am not interested in engaging in any more media mudslinging between Martha and myself especially in light of a global pandemic, I will say that our fallout is multifaceted. To say that it only involved being able to access and use my WWE footage and photos for future projects would merely be an oversimplification and inaccurate. I will not comment any further on the matter.
It’s a shame that rifts like these form in families over the years, and even more so when they get aired publicly. It would be nice to think that this renewed discussion might eventually lead to some degree of reconciliation.