Under the Mat: Inside Wrestling's Greatest Family

by Diana Hart, Kirstie McLellan, Stu Hart (Foreword)

Wrestling is real. It is an actual world, with real people and real lives. It is a world of superstars and egos, a world of money and greed, of family and fame and yet a place where tragedy and misery are all too common. It is a world far from the media and television cameras. It is a world far from the spectators and the commercialism, and it is the only world Diana Hart has ever known. It is the other side of the sport, the side beyond the lights, the side under the mat, where the real stories rest, hidden from the cameras, hidden from the fans and known to only those who live it each day. Diana Hart, a Calgary native, was born into a family where the world of wrestling was unavoidable. Her father Stu was a wrestling legend, her brother Brett The Hitman became one of the sports most notorious names, her brother Owen, another wrestling star was killed in the ring while performing an unsafe stunt. Her ex-husband, Davey Boy Smith was one half of the famous wrestling tag team, the British Bulldogs and her friends include the likes of Stone ColdSteve Austin, Hulk Hogan and The Rock. Her childhood baby sitter was Andre the Giant and her fathers friends who visited her childhood home included names like Mohammad Ali. Under the Mat recounts Dianas life, growing up in the Hart home, being sister to Owen and Brett, witnessing their rise to fame and the terrible tragedy, which claimed her younger brothers life. She remembers her father training some of the WWFs and WCWs biggest names in her familys basement gym and recounts their tales to stardom. Her story is the closest true-life account of the real world of professional wrestling and will prove to be the biggest, most sought after book this fall.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction

200 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2001

Reviews

[Nicole Hutcheson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I shouldn't really have gave this as many stars but despite it being ridiculous it was a quick and entertaining read.

The book was written by a ghost writer but apparently this person was not much of a writer. The structure comes across as a draft and has no timeline. Sometimes the chapter titles have little to do with the content.

A criticism many people have of this book, including the Harts, is that there are so many lies in it. Along with this there are a lot of things which could have been fact checked if the ghost writer had any professionalism. Some basics are wrong such as calling Steve McMichaels "Mondo" and referring to Debra as Jeff Jarrett's wife.

The amount of libellous content led to this book being removed from the market soon after it's release. It can be found online for free so do not pay for it as it is bound to be pricey due to being rare.

The majority of the book is her telling you gossip about other people.

There are some elements of truth as some parts are corroborated in other wrestling books but much of it has been accused of being completely made up. I'm sure if there was much truth to the accusations within that Diana would have stuck to her story rather than give in?

Stu has written the foreword but Bret claims he never read the book so it is not necessarily an endorsement.

It was a fun read if you don't take it seriously.

[KT D · Rating 3 out of 5]

Let’s not beat around the bush: the quality of writing in this book is pretty reprehensible. That being said, there are a lot of really interesting revelations about the world of wrestling and, more specifically, the fascinating dynamics of the Hart family. While Diana and her ghostwriter surely exaggerate certain details and misremember others, there is no doubt that many of her stories are backed up by multiple other accounts. I wish this book had MUCH better editing, less name dropping, and more self reflection. But what more can I expect from Ms. Hart who now counts herself among the anti-vax crowd? All in all, I would say this is probably required reading for anyone who wants to know more about the Harts but it must be taken with a massive grain of salt.

[Aaron · Rating 2 out of 5]

Poorly written and badly organized; riddled with easily corrected misspellings and factual errors. A strange and troubled glimpse inside the Hart clan and their feuds following Owen's death.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

ridiculous, mean-spirited, and inaccurate but a fun read

[Justin Hullinger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably the most bitter memoir to come out of the Hart family, and that's saying something. I mean, when one of the more sympathetic people in the book is a man who started dating and eventually impregnated a 14-year-old when he was 37, you know that you're in for a lot of misery.

There's definitely some moments where Diana doesn't come off very well herself, like when she makes it clear that anyone that has a drug or substance addiction is an inexcusable waste of space, or how when her and her siblings let one of their brothers die from kidney failure because they were too busy in their lives to see if they were a possible donor.

I don't really know how credible a lot of what she writes is. There's a good amount of it that has been backed up from other sources, like how abusive her husband was, but there's some other stuff that I've never come across before.

I'll give her the benefit of the doubt on a lot of it, but that doesn't make up for the fact that the book has such a disjointed structure to it. Each chapter has its own isolated subject, mostly couples and individual people in her life, and then it moves on to another one. There's not much in terms of a rhyme or reason when it comes to chronology.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s a good read if you accept it for the poorly written, biased, hot mess that it is.

[Marianne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad book, but poorly written. What a shame. I know too well how much of what she says is true. But you never really get a good picture of any of the Hart's, least of all Diana.

[Krista · Rating 1 out of 5]

"Under the Mat" is a story of the Hart family, well known to wrestling fans as arguably the most important family in the history of the sport. It was written by Diana Hart, most easily identified as the sister to Bret Hart and Owen Hart, sister-in-law to Jim Neidhart, and wife to the British Bulldog. (As she notes early in the book, her father did not want the women in the family to be a visible part of the business.) It was also disavowed by the very same Diana Hart, who claimed her co-writer made up most of the stories.

What's good (maybe): The book certainly doesn't hesitate to illustrate the relentless drugs, alcohol, violence, sexual abuse, and general misbehavior that took place at the highest levels of the business. It also highlights the extent to which the wrestling world is interrelated (both in reality and in terms of extended relationships.)

What's not good: The book is just terribly written--as if someone taped another person drunkenly rambling along. There is no flow, no connection between paragraphs--heck, even connections *within* paragraphs. This had to have been a self-publishing effort, which is why I am surprised anyone bothered to sue over it (as Owen's wife, Martha, allegedly did).

As for the truth of the stories here (or not)--when reading some, the truth is obvious. When reading others (largely referring to the implied jealousy aimed at the author), it's a bit more eyebrow-raising. The author's reaction to the material is telling, too. (Note: She barely goes after a brother who was moving in on pre-teens when he was nearly 40.) So, take the book for what it is: A mish-mash of some truthful bits and a lot more questionable material.

[Georgios Lygkas · Rating 1 out of 5]

Boiling-hot skunk diarrhoea.

[Melissa Warner · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was quite the blast into the past for me. I've always been interested in the Hart family because I grew up watching WWF (yes, F, not E) and Bret Hart was my favorite wrestler. Looking back I find it interesting how involved everyone in that family was in wrestling, even the lesser known 9 other brothers and sisters. I have no interest in wrestling anymore, but I heard this book was ridiculous, disgusting and completely false so naturally I had to read it. I found the book hard to follow because it had no flow at all. Her stories were told as if she was trying just to rat out things her family "did," not as a genuine person looking to share a story. Either way I wasn't moved enough to hold anything against the people discussed in the book and I'm still okay with Bret Hart being my first celebrity crush/hero.

[A.M. Torres · Rating 4 out of 5]

The main reason I rated this as high as I did is because I found it so entertaining. I love reading anything regarding the Hart family and this was a crazy account. A lot of things here were probably not true but it was great trashy reading. I recommend it for anyone who wants trashy reading on the Harts and this makes you shake your head, make you laugh and just say wow. Read it!

A.M Torres Author of Love Child

[Ray Daley]

Tom Billington (The Dynamite Kid) & Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart really don't come out of this account very well, by all accounts (according to Diana) they are both complete bastards.

Davey gets a bad name from this too (and as he is no longer alive to present his own side it's a tad unfair).

Most of this is Diana talking about the rest of her family, you don't learn much about her or Davey really.

[Juxhin Deliu · Rating 1 out of 5]

Undefendable publication, a total stunt released to get some publicity in the midst of Hart's tragedies. Full of lies, exaggerations and false recollections. Even Diana himself admitted this was only made in order to get attention and keep Vince MacMahon's good graces. To say biased would be the least.

[Melody · Rating 2 out of 5]

It skipped around a lot and seemed a little too biased to me.

[Steven Logan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the best written book,but it's hard to put down.

[Igy The Book Hermit · Rating 2 out of 5]

Distasteful at times and hard to believe the rest of the time.