AEW’s Owen Hart Cup Dismissed As Meaningless By Hart Family Member
Owen Hart is celebrated each year in AEW with men’s and women’s tournaments in his honour but one member of the Hart family says it means nothing to them.
Owen Hart died in a tragic accident in a WWE ring in 1999 when he was being lowered to the ring for a match. Hart fell to his death at the age of just 34 leaving behind his wife Martha and two young children.
Hart’s family sued WWE for his death and later settled for millions of dollars – some of which Martha Hart used to set up the Owen Hart Foundation. As a result of the ill feelings of Martha Hart towards the company she holds responsible for her husband’s death, Owen Hart had not been celebrated as his fans would have wanted but that all changed thanks to AEW.
In September 2021, Tony Khan’s company announced a partnership with the Owen Hart Foundation that would see two tournaments take place annually with the winners receiving the Owen Hart Cup. At Double Or Nothing in May 2022, these tournaments were won by Adam Cole and Britt Baker.
The finals of the 2023 tournaments took place in Hart’s hometown of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and saw Willow Nightingale and Ricky Starks win The Owen. However, some of Hart’s own family aren’t sure what the point of AEW celebrating someone who had nothing to the company is.
Davey Boy Smith Jr. Says Owen Hart Cup Doesn’t Have Much Merit
Speaking to Kenny McIntosh of Inside The Ropes, Owen’s nephew Davey Boy Smith Jr. gave his candid thoughts on the Owen Hart Cup in AEW and says it’s not something that has much merit:
It would be like, I don’t know, Impact Wrestling naming something the Jumbo Tsuruta Cup and their wife having ties with Impact Wrestling. It just doesn’t really mean anything to be honest with you.
I’m glad they did something in Owen Hart’s name, but they never asked me to be a part of it. I may have if they asked me to. I honestly didn’t watch much of it. I didn’t think much of it. But I’m not insulting it, I just don’t think that it has much merit. So doesn’t mean much to me honestly. I don’t care, I don’t really give a sh*t about it.
The 2024 editions of the tournaments are yet to be announced but with AEW planning a return trip to Calgary for its world-famous Stampede, it could be that show once again plays host to the Owen Hart Cup.
Davey Boy Smith Jr. also isn’t interested in the allegations made against Vince McMahon. McMahon resigned from his role as Executive Chairman of TKO after he was accused of serious sexual assault and sex trafficking in a bombshell lawsuit.