Dark Side of the Ring’s Owen Hart focused episode has generated quite a bit of discussion, and while it isn’t a huge part of the documentary episode, the fight between Owen’s wife Martha Hart and WWE is a significant piece of the story. In a recent statement, Hart said that she forgives those involved in that battle, but that doesn’t mean she wants to have any sort of relationship with them. Since the episode WWE has stayed mostly silent, though that changed when lawyer Jerry McDevitt issued a statement on their behalf, calling the accuracy of Martha’s comments into question. Martha Hart has issued a statement in response to those comments, and you can read it in full below.
“In response to Jerry McDevitt’s recent comments I want to make it very clear, if there was one person on this planet who wanted to get to the bottom of what happened to my husband Owen it was me! The defense on the other hand was doing everything in their power to muddy the waters (as they try to continue to do) in an effort to detract from the case because they didn’t have one,” Hart’s statement read. “I read every single affidavit taken, sat through endless face-to-face depositions, and spent over a year of my life dissecting every solitary fact of this case. To insinuate for one second that I of all people did not care about the truth behind Owen’s death, but instead was more interested in a ridiculous vendetta against the wrestling business, is beyond the pale. Jerry McDevitt’s comments are absolutely absurd, reckless, and pathetic. I am not surprised that the WWE would trot out Mr. McDevitt to do damage control. After all the events surrounding Owen’s death and the aftermath that followed are extremely disturbing and do not reflect well on their company. Not to mention that Linda McMahon was the acting CEO of the WWF (now WWE) at the time of Owen’s death, which does not bode well for them either, especially given her ties to President Donald Trump and his administration. At the end of the day truth has always been my defense and for anyone who seeks it regarding this case and the events surrounding Owen’s death I suggest they read my book. It is all in there.”
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For context, you can read McDevitt’s full statement below.
“The reality is, we’ve never told our side of the story of what happened — at least not outside of court,” McDevitt’s statement read. “We told it in court, but when she talks about the way the lawsuit unfolded over the years, it really isn’t accurate what she’s saying. What she did whenever this happened is, she hired a lawyer in Kansas City who we caught essentially trying to fix the judicial selection process to get a judge that was more to their liking. We caught them and went all the way to the Missouri Supreme Court. The Missouri Supreme Court said, ‘No, no, no. We’re not going to let that happen.’ They essentially appointed an independent judge to come in from outside of Kansas City to oversee the proceedings. We were basically trying to find out what happened that night. Martha was not even remotely interested in finding out what happened that night; she just wanted to used it as a vehicle to beat up a business that she didn’t like that her husband was in, the wrestling business.”
As for the documentary itself, you can watch Dark Side of the Ring now on VICE TV.
