Under the Mat

Under the Mat: Inside Wrestling's Greatest Family is a book co-written by Diana Hart (daughter of Stu and Helen Hart, ex-wife of Davey Boy Smith and mother of Harry Smith) and journalist Kirstie McLellan.[1][2][3] The subtitle, Inside Wrestling's Greatest Family, refers to the Canadian Hart wrestling family, which includes wrestlers such as Smith Hart, Bruce Hart, Keith Hart, Dean Hart, Bret Hart, Ross Hart, Owen Hart, Teddy Hart, David Hart Smith and Natalya Neidhart among others. The book is highly controversial and was pulled from stores after Martha Hart, widow of Owen Hart and Diana Hart's sister-in-law, filed a lawsuit.[4] The book became an Alberta top ten nonfiction best-seller on its release.[5][6]

Under the Mat
Cover to the original published book.
AuthorDiana Hart
Kirstie McLellan
Foreword
Stu Hart[lower-alpha 1]
Original titleUnder the Mat: Inside Wrestling's Greatest Family
CountryUnited States and Canada
LanguageEnglish
GenreBiography
PublisherFenn
Publication date
2001
Pages200 pp
ISBN1-55168-256-7
OCLC47270558
796.812/092/2 B 21
LC ClassGV1196.A1 H34 2001

Background

The writing of the book was at least partially motivated by the death of her younger brother Owen Hart. Hart has also stated that she hoped that the book would lead to her brother Bret respecting her and taking her seriously, which she did not feel he had done during the investigation and trial which surrounded the death of Owen Hart.[7]

McLellan has stated that she and Hart know each other personally and Hart approached her to make the book together.[8]

Summary

The book focuses mainly on the realities of professional wrestling. Under the Mat recounts Diana's life growing up in the Hart House, being sister to Owen and Bret, witnessing their rise to fame and the terrible tragedy which claimed Owen's life. She remembers her father training some of the WWF's and WCW's biggest names in her family's basement gym, the famous Dungeon, and recounts their tales to stardom.

In the chapter "Roots" she also discusses her family's history on her mother's side. It focuses mostly on her grandfather, American marathon runner Harry Smith.[9]

Reception

The book has received generally negative critique. It has been criticised for its factual errors, grammatical mistakes, spelling issues and unstructured content.[10][11] It has also been criticised for its overwhelming focus on negative events. According to employees of the Toronto-based law firm Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP, a preliminary review of the book identified dozens of significant factual errors.[12]

Controversy

Hart has been accused of using Under the Mat as a way to express the "dirty secrets" of the Hart family and friends. Hart elaborates on negative details related to several people including Dynamite Kid, Bret Hart, Martha Hart, Andrea Hart and Davey Boy Smith.[13][14] People like Dynamite Kid, Ben Bassarab, Davey Boy Smith and Bret are in the book accused of several occasions of criminal activity. Hart has especially been accused of trying to discredit her brother Bret Hart and attempting to portray him as an obsessive egomaniac.[15]

Toronto Star book reviewer Michael Holmes stated that the book was "terribly underwritten, ridiculously simplistic and pointlessly episodic, repetitive and error-riddled." He also said that the book was "one of the most manipulative, megamaniacal, deliberately unselfconscious books I have ever read. Reading it makes you feel dirty."[16]

Initially, when asked about whether she had noticed any backlash from family or others, such as Jim Neidhart, Diana stated that she did not care what Neidhart thought about the book.[17] She also stated that the book was not intended to be vindictive and that she is very proud to be a Hart.[18]

Her brother Bret is a vocal critic of the book and has said that it is a very disturbing read and called it pornographic. He goes on to say that there are enough true Hart stories that Diana did not need to resort to fiction.[19] Bret and others have also questioned the legitimacy of the foreword which Diana claims to be written by their father, Stu.[20][21] McLellan has stated that Bret was very upset by the book and that he confronted her about it in public at a gym which they both went to at the time.[22]

One of her other brothers, Bruce, has also criticised the book, and called it "ill conceived" and expressed that he cannot understand why his sister would write such a book. He has hypothesized that Hart may have been mentally unstable at the time of the writing.[23]

Legal action was pursued by Martha Hart, Owen Hart's widow. Martha claims that Diana made inaccurate and irresponsible statements about her and her family.[24][25] She stated that the book was “filled with distortions, misstatements and unjustified slurs that attempt to destroy the reputation of my family and me, and undermine the memory of Owen.”[26] Diana defended herself in an interview for the National Post and stated that she stood by what she has written, insinuating that Martha was a rich bully who was trying to use her money to suppress her recounts. She stated "Martha has money to fight me on it and I don't. I know what I have written is true."[27] The book was pulled from bookstores across Canada by publisher H.B. Fenn and Co. Ltd. in January 2002. Removing the book was part of a settlement between Martha Hart and the publisher. As part of the settlement, the publisher expressed its regrets and a financial settlement was paid to the Owen Hart Foundation, a Calgary-based charity created by Martha.[28]

Long-time wrestling announcer and Stampede alumni Ed Whalen also discredited the book, referring to it as a "fairy tale" and considered joining Martha Hart in the lawsuit.[29]

Hart has later asserted that the stories that were printed in the book, were completely twisted and changed from how she had written them originally, and was deeply hurt by the controversy that was caused for her family from the book. Her brother Bret has questioned her claim that she was not aware of the book's content before publication.[30]

Legitimacy

Heath McCoy, the author of the book Pain and Passion: The History of Stampede Wrestling has stated that there is some truth to some of the statements in the book, such as Hart's claim of her mother Helen's alcoholism.[31]

Tom Billington, professionally known as The Dynamite Kid, admitted to some of the criminal actions he was accused of in the book.[32]

Aftermath

Martha Hart's book, Broken Harts: The Life and Death of Owen Hart, was partially written in response to Under The Mat.[33][34]

Diana Hart has later on disowned the book and called it a failure as a journey and has stated that she is now on good terms with her brothers and sisters. She has later written a trilogy of fiction books.[35] Even though Hart has disowned the book she has decided that it will still be mentioned in her author bio at the back of her new books.[36][37]

McLellan has stated that Hart took her on "an amazing journey" when writing the book. After the release of Under the Mat McLellan has helped write several other nonfiction books and autobiographies, including the best selling autobiography of former National Hockey League (NHL) player Theoren Fleury named Playing with Fire.[38]

Notes
  1. Although the foreword is credited to Stu Hart, it has been disputed, notably by Stu's son Bret, as to whether he actually wrote it.
gollark: I could add a ++consume command, that might be fun.
gollark: ++consume humanity
gollark: ++fortune
gollark: Had, I patched it right now.
gollark: The *Git* version has that, the one on the server does not.

References
  1. Michael Jenkinson (November 5, 2001). "Slam and sleaze is Diana's expertise". Edmonton Sun. Retrieved 2007-06-18.
  2. "Diana Hart book out this fall". canoe.ca. Retrieved June 5, 2001.
  3. "Mother's health, book on Diana Hart-Smith's mind". Canadian Online Explorer. October 4, 2001.
  4. Kristian Pope; Ray Whebbe (2003). The Encyclopedia of Professional Wrestling: 100 Years of History, Headlines & Hitmakers. Krause Publications. p. 66 pp. ISBN 0873496256.
  5. "CAULIFLOWER HEART: A ROMANTIC WRESTLER". Publisherpage.com. 2016.
  6. "diana+hart"+"book"+wrestling&dq="diana+hart"+"book"+wrestling "Quill & Quire". 2002.
  7. "SLAM! Wrestling - Diana Hart Chat". Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved November 2, 2001.
  8. "On Theo Fleury's drug- and alcohol-addled memories, and the Bob Probert she knew". macleans.ca. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
  9. Hart, Diana; McLellan, Kirstie (2001). Under the Mat: Inside Wrestling's Greatest Family. Fenn. p. 16 pp. ISBN 1-55168-256-7.
  10. ""Inlewd Book Review: Under The Mat: Inside Wrestling's Greatest Family". inlewd.com. 2002. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04.
  11. Heath McCoy (2007). Pain and Passion: The History of Stampede Wrestling. ECWPress. p. 273 pp. ISBN 978-1-55022-787-1.
  12. Greg Oliver (November 20, 2001). "Martha Hart sues Diana over book". SLAM! Wrestling. Retrieved 2007-06-18.
  13. "Diana Hart book will shock". canoe.ca. Oct 26, 2001.
  14. Heath McCoy (2007). Pain and Passion: The History of Stampede Wrestling. ECWPress. p. 273 pp. ISBN 978-1-55022-787-1.
  15. Scotsman (December 8, 2002). "Under The Mat – Book Review". WRESTLING / COLUMNS. 411MANIA.com. Retrieved 2016-05-25.
  16. Martha Hart; Eric Francis (2004). Broken Harts: The Life and Death of Owen Hart. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 250 pp. ISBN 978-1-59077-036-8.
  17. "SLAM! Wrestling - Diana Hart Chat". Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved November 2, 2001.
  18. "SLAM! Wrestling - Diana Hart Chat". Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved November 2, 2001.
  19. Michael Wood (November 5, 2001). "Explosive tell-all book brings on family feud". Calgary Sun. Retrieved 2007-06-18.
  20. Hart, Bret (2007). Hitman: My real life in the cartoon world of wrestling. Ebury Press. p. 531 pp. ISBN 9780091932862.
  21. "Inlewd Book Review: Under The Mat: Inside Wrestling's Greatest Family". inlewd.com. 2002. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04.
  22. "In conversation with author Kirstie McLellan Day""On Theo Fleury's drug- and alcohol-addled memories, and the Bob Probert she knew". macleans.ca. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
  23. Hart, Bruce (2011). Straight From the Hart. ECW Press. p. 65. ISBN 978-1-55022-939-4.
  24. Martha Hart; Eric Francis (2004). Broken Harts: The Life and Death of Owen Hart. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 249 pp. ISBN 978-1-59077-036-8.
  25. Martha Hart; Eric Francis (2004). Broken Harts: The Life and Death of Owen Hart. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 250 pp. ISBN 978-1-59077-036-8.
  26. Greg Oliver (November 20, 2001). "Martha Hart sues Diana over book". SLAM! Wrestling. Retrieved 2007-06-18.
  27. Heath McCoy (2007). Pain and Passion: The History of Stampede Wrestling. ECWPress. p. 273 pp. ISBN 978-1-55022-787-1.
  28. "Diana Hart, youngest daughter of Calgary's iconic wrestling clan, finds romance in the ring with Cauliflower Heart trilogy". The Vancouver Sun. 2001-11-24. Retrieved December 21, 2015.
  29. Hart, Martha; Francis, Eric (2004). Broken Harts: The Life and Death of Owen Hart. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 250 pp. ISBN 978-1-59077-036-8.
  30. Hart, Bret (2007). Hitman: My real life in the cartoon world of wrestling. Ebury Press. p. 533 pp. ISBN 9780091932862.
  31. Heath McCoy (2007). Pain and Passion: The History of Stampede Wrestling. ECWPress. p. 273 pp. ISBN 978-1-55022-787-1.
  32. The Dynamite Kid KickStarter Preview
  33. Heath McCoy (2007). Pain and Passion: The History of Stampede Wrestling. ECWPress. p. 273 pp. ISBN 978-1-55022-787-1.
  34. Johnson, Mike (January 30, 2004). "MIKE JOHNSON LOOKS AT BROKEN HARTS: THE LIFE AND DEATH OF OWEN HART". Slam! Wrestling. PWInsider.com. Retrieved 2016-04-19.
  35. "Diana Hart, youngest daughter of Calgary's iconic wrestling clan, finds romance in the ring with Cauliflower Heart trilogy". The Vancouver Sun. 2001-11-24. Retrieved December 21, 2015.
  36. "Diana Hart, youngest daughter of Calgary's iconic wrestling clan, finds romance in the ring with Cauliflower Heart trilogy". The Calgary Herald. 2015-12-19. Retrieved December 19, 2015.
  37. "A ROMANTIC SPIN: Cauliflower Heart series telling the tale of a fictional wrestling clan should sidestep more hurt feelings, feuds and lawsuits". PressReader.com.
  38. "Hockeybookreviews""Interview With The Author: Kirstie McLellan Day". hockeybookreviews.com. Retrieved December 10, 2009.

Sources

Further reading
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