Owen Hart's Son Talks His Father Not Needing The WWE Hall Of Fame To Be Remembered
Owen Hart's children, son Oje and daughter Athena, were interviewed for the season finale of The Dark Side of the Ring, which featured the tragic death of Owen at the WWE Over the Edge pay-per-view on May 23, 1999.
Owen's widow, Martha, filed a wrongful death suit against WWE, which was settled out of court for $18 million in November of 2000. Martha used the settlement to start the Owen Hart Foundation, which awards college scholarships and helps low-income families secure housing.
Martha has been adamant about not allowing WWE to induct Owen into the Hall of Fame, as she holds the company responsible for his death. Oje, who is now a lawyer pursuing a masters degree in human rights law, also stated that he would never allow WWE to induct Owen. Some fans have argued that Owen's induction would serve as a way for his fans to honor and remember him, however Oje noted that Owen is being remembered by the work that the foundation is doing in his name for people and communities.
"I would never let WWE put his name on a piece of silver and say that they got that," Oje said. "We have built a foundation that helps put people in homes, that helps single moms like my mom was, that let kids go to school. This is all done in his namesake, this has all got Owen Hart written all over it. This is how communities, this is how people and society remembers him. And that is how we want it to be done.
"Yeah, he was a wrestler, but other than that, he was bigger than that. That was just part of what he was."
You can see a recent photo below from the Owen Hart Foundation of Oje collecting food and supplies for the Owen Hart Foundation Easter Calgary Food Bank Drive last month, which was helping those most affected by the Coronavirus pandemic. You can also purchase the first official Owen t-shirt in 20 years at Pro Wrestling Tees with proceeds benefitting the Owen Hart Foundation by clicking here.
OHF's Oje Hart loads up the Jeep for our OHF Easter Calgary Food Bank Drive, while practicing SD. Help fill Dr. Hart's Jeep to the brim and then some to help those most affected by the Covid-19 crisis. Canada together we can. To donate please go to https://t.co/n0d9hJwnp0. Bless. pic.twitter.com/CH6GDAMt4R
? The Owen Hart Foundation (@owen_foundation) April 13, 2020