Dark Side of the Ring Producer on Martha Hart’s Involvement in Owen Hart Episode

Speaking with Jeffrey Harris for the 411 Wrestling Interviews podcast, Dark Side of the Ring producer Evan Husney talked about working with Martha Hart on the episode about her late husband Owen Hart. Martha has always been angry with WWE over Owen’s death and with the rest of her family sued the company soon after for pressuring Owen to do the rafter stunt that resulted in his death. WWE settled with the Hart family for $18 million in 2000. While other members of the family have eventually mended fences with WWE, Martha refuses to have anything to do with them and has been viewed as the main reason Owen has never been inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.

Husney recalled while speaking to Jeffrey how he got Martha on board to be involved in the Dark Side of the Ring episode, and talked about what the experience was like working with her. You can check out the highlights and full interview below:

On how they got Martha to be involved in the episode: “Well, I mean it was just a very basic email that I had sent to her about that we really wanted to tell this story and have it be part of the show. And she sent back a number of questions for me to answer, and it wasn’t — like, I was really impressed by that. No one’s ever really put us to that before. And I just thought that was incredibly thoughtful. And it was also incredibly helpful, I think, for us to really be like — because we know the Owen Hart story. The big, big story in the world of wrestling. But it kind of forced us to really home in exactly how we wanted to tell the story, and the way we wanted to approach it: with all the sensitivity within that story. So for us it was an amazing exercise. It was really, really cool.”

On working with Martha on the episode: “And so I did that and then once she responded to that, we actually got together and we spent time together in Calgary. Which was amazing. Like, she’s just such an amazing person, just really really great person. And so is Oje, her son too, is incredible as well. We just hit it off, and then it really felt like there was good trust between all of us in terms of telling this story and kind of working together in that way. And that was great, so it was just a really good experience. It’s one of the episodes that we’re still finishing right now amidst everything in the world. But it’s one that I’m extremely proud of. I think how it’s been progressing and coming along, I think it’s definitely going to be an episode that viewers are definitely not gonna want to miss”

In the full interview, Husney talks about the reaction to the season two premiere, taking a different approach to the Chris Benoit episode, working with Martha Hart on the upcoming Owen Hart episode, if they have any ideas for season three episodes and more.

Dark Side of the Ring Season 2 is currently airing on Tuesday nights on VICE TV. The next episode, “The Life and Crimes of New Jack,” debuts on Tuesday, March 31.

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0:00: Introduction
0:15: On his reaction to the response to the Chris Benoit-focused season premiere
1:16: On how important it was to get David Benoit and Sandra Toffoloni’s story told in the Benoit episode
2:18: On the episode’s different approach to the Benoit story
3:53: On the presentation having a different feel in season two, making the Benoit episode feel more intimate
5:18: On David Benoit’s sister and mother not being in the episode
6:18: On not making the docuseries a hitpiece on professional wrestling while still taking an honest look at the industry
9:49: On whether they had any episodes that didn’t come together for season two that they’re considering for a possible third season
11:41: On getting Martha Hart to agree to work with them on the Owen Hart episode

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