The Owen Hart Cup Tournament is set to debut in All Elite Wrestling this spring, and Mark Henry recently spoke to WrestleZone about what being able to honor Owen’s legacy means to him. Henry spoke with WrestleZone for this year’s Best For The Business list and said Owen played a vital role in his career and that influence continues to this day.
“One tournament wouldn’t have been enough. Owen was a special guy, he added a levity and education to pro wrestling and was a really good wrestler. I’ve never heard anybody say anything bad about him. Never. He said, ‘Mark, that’s who you want to be.’ He mentored me, he rode with me and he taught me because he saw potential in me and that’s why I do what I do. I see potential in people and I try bring it out because that’s what I was taught,” Henry said, “and Owen is very responsible for that. If it weren’t for him, I probably would’ve gotten kicked out of the business because I was not having a good go before Owen [mentored me].
“This tournament is blessed by his wife, Martha, and his family. She did not want Owen’s name to be marred or to be minimalized just to make money. If there’s money that’s going to be raised for charitable things, it should go where the family deems it go,” Henry stated. “I’m very happy that the family found Tony Khan and that Tony Khan found the Hart family because it’s near and dear to my heart and it’s an even bigger plus for me, joining the company and knowing that that was a possibility.”
Henry also spoke about Owen’s legendary reputation for pranking his peers and said that every time he sees someone play a prank, it gives him a chance to remember his friend. Henry added that Owen wanted to provide people with a fun memory and said that it was important to share the same values with his peers.
“You ever play a joke on one of your friends? That was an everyday thing for Owen. Every time that I hear somebody would get a joke played on them, I get to think about Owen. It’s an ‘Owen’ to me, to see someone get joked or get ribbed. Owen was never painful or hurtful, he just wanted everybody to get a good laugh and realize you gotta enjoy this. There’s only so much time in-between and you need to enjoy it. True wrestling fans love Owen because they smile and laugh when they’d hear his name and it wasn’t laughing at him, but with him, and that’s the important thing in our business, to latch on to people that care and have the same views as you. I think that’s why the pro wrestling world is so connected together because we all know that we’re all fans at the end of the day.”
The Owen Hart Cup will feature a men’s and women’s tournament, both of which will commence in May. Each tournament final will take place at AEW Double Or Nothing and Martha Hart will be on hand to present the trophy to the tournaments’ respective victors. Check out our full interview with Mark Henry at the top of this post, and the full list of Best For The Business nominees at this link.
Read More: Tony Khan Speaks On AEW’s Growing Relationship With Martha Hart
