The first-ever Owen Hart Memorial tournament is currently ongoing for AEW, with the finals for both the men’s and women’s brackets set to take place at this Sunday’s Double or Nothing pay-per-view event in Las Vegas, NV.
One participant in the tournament is women’s division star Kris Statlander, who was named as the replacement for former women’s champion Hikaru Shida, who could not make it back from Japan in time to compete. Statlander tells Steel Chair Magazine that she plans on taking full advantage of the opportunity, even though she didn’t know much about Hart’s legacy until recently. She said,
“I actually did not watch wrestling at all growing up, so I didn’t learn anything about anybody until I started training actually in 2016, so it was well past everything. I wish I could say that he was an inspiration for me but I wasn’t around I didn’t know of his work until more recently. To be picked sort of as an alternate, I guess, to honor his legacy, makes me want to do the wrestling community proud.”
While Statlander may not know much about the impact Hart had on the pro wrestling industry, she is prepared to honor him to the best of her abilities, even if it means being 100% all business.
“I’m given an opportunity to really honor someone’s legacy who truly was one of the greatest. Even though I may not know much about it, I still know a huge opportunity when I am presented with one and I will be going up with my 100 percent all-business, just going full-forward, trying to do the best that I can and really wrestle for the Hart family.”
Statlander will be facing Ruby Soho in the tournament semifinals, which will most likely air either on Wednesday’s Dynamite or Friday’s Rampage.
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