Bret Hart Criticizes WWE for Owen Hart's Absence From the WWE Hall of Fame

Bret Hart's brother Owen Hart tragically passed away at the age of 34 back in 1999, and the former WWF Champion is now demanding he be honored with a WWE Hall of Fame induction.

Hart sat down with CBS' Brian Campbell on the In This Corner podcast this week and made the case for Owen's inclusion.

"I think for what Owen gave to wrestling that it would be important for him to be in the Hall of Fame," Hart said. "I think it would have meant a lot to my dad [the late Stu Hart], and it would mean a lot to me. I don't think the Hall of Fame is the same without him."

He placed the blame for his absence at the feet of the WWE, adding that he feels there are plenty of wrestlers currently in the Hall that don't deserve a spot.

"Just about anyone can be in it, and it doesn't really matter if you were a great wrestler or what your accomplishments or contribution were to wrestling," he said. "Then you have the Rock 'n' Roll Express, who never even made it in WWE, they are in it. Terry Gordy and the Freebirds are in it when they were too drunk to make most of the towns. I was there in the dressing room when Andre the Giant fired all three of them. They were not great role models or hard workers."

"You look at the people they have in the Hall of Fame, even some of these celebrities in there, and you go: For me personally, with Owen not being in the Hall of Fame, there is a lot of people that belong in the Hall of Fame that are not in it," he continued. "If it turns out that WWE is going to keep being a Hall of Fame that caters to suck ups and people that are in the company that feel they owe a favor to but never contributed to the business as wrestlers, I question the whole Hall of Fame itself, and I wonder if there will ever be a real Hall of Fame that really caters to just the wrestlers."

Owen died at the Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri during the 1999 Over the Edge pay-per-view when the harness he was using to repel down to the ring released too quickly, causing him to fall from 78 feet up. His widow, Martha Hart, has sued the company multiple times and has reportedly been against using Owen's likeness in any and all WWE productions, including the Hall of Fame.

"Oh yeah, I think Martha, Owen's widow, is a very obtuse, square-headed person," Hart said. "I think she has done more to erase my brother Owen's memory than she ever did to remember him. I think it really bothers me that the fans that love Owen so much don't get a chance to remember him. You do these kind of things for the people that are here left to remember them."

During his Hall of Fame acceptance speech in April, Mark Henry personally addressed Martha, asking her to reconsider and allow him to be inducted.