Greetings.
I received a call this week from Johnny Mantell, president of the Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame, with the great news that my late, great brother Owen, along with another former Stampede Wrestling star – Abdullah the Butcher, had had been chosen for the Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame, class of 2019.
The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame, which is in Wichita Falls, Texas, is our sport’s equivalent of the baseball hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York or the pro football hall of fame in Canton, Ohio and, as such, it’s a great honor and something, I’m sure, my brother would have been exceedingly proud of. I might add that Owen will be joining my father, Stu, and brother, Bret – both of whom were previously inducted, in the hall, which is kind of cool.
The induction ceremony will take place on the weekend of May 16th and I’d like to take this opportunity to cordially invite you all to the event – which should be a memorable occasion.
The announcement that Owen had been chosen was cause for celebration within the Hart family and also for wrestling fans out here in Western Canada, where Owen, along with so many others, launched his career. I was the booker for my dad’s iconic Stampede Wrestling promotion back in the 1980’s and, during that stretch, we also launched the careers of several other future legends, such as Davey Boy Smith, Brian Pillman, Chris Benoit, along with superlative Japanese stars such as Jushin Liger and Hiroshi Hase. Reflecting back, it gives me a great deal of intrinsic satisfaction to have played a role in developing such a stellar group.
While it’s nice to see that Owen is being duly honored by the Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame, it’s disappointing that the WWE – in which Owen was a multiple times champion and paid the ultimate price for, hasn’t seen fit to induct into their hall of fame, but at the same time, has chosen to induct all kinds of less deserving types, including Madusa, Jacqueline, Mike von Erich, Michael Hayes and the Godfather.
I’d also like to take the opportunity to congratulate my old friend, Abdullah the Butcher, or Abby, as his friends call him, on his induction into the Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame. Abby and Archie “the Stomper” Gouldie were probably my dad’s two favorite heels and both did incredible business in our Stampede wrestling promotion.
In closing, I’d like to give props to Saturday Night Live star, Alec Baldwin, who did a sold out concert here in Calgary this week on behalf of the Owen Hart Foundation – which does charity work for underprivileged children. Alex, I’m pleased to relate, donated his entire $100,000 performance fee to the Owen Hart Foundation – an extremely generous gesture.
On that note, I’ll call this a wrap for now but will look forward to catching up with you all next time.
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