The Owen Hart Foundation Tournament, also known as the Owen Hart Cup, is a series of professional wrestling tournaments produced annually by the American promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW) in partnership with The Owen Hart Foundation. It consists of two single-elimination tournaments, one each for men and women, and the respective winners receive a trophy called "The Owen". Established in September 2021, the inaugural tournaments concluded at the Double or Nothing pay-per-view in May 2022 where Adam Cole and Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. won the men's and women's tournaments, respectively. It is named in honor of Owen Hart, who wrestled primarily in Stampede Wrestling, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now known as WWE), and New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) from 1986 until his death in 1999.
Background edit
In September 2021, the American professional wrestling promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW) announced the establishment of the Owen Hart Cup, an annual tournament to honor the legacy of Owen Hart, a prominent wrestler during the 1980s and 1990s who died at the World Wrestling Federation's (WWF, now WWE) Over the Edge pay-per-view in 1999. The tournament was established in collaboration with The Owen Hart Foundation.[1] On December 17, AEW revealed that there would be both a men's and women's version of the tournament,[2] and the respective winners would receive a trophy called "The Owen Cup"[1] as well as championship belts modeled after the old Stampede Wrestling North American Championship. Based on the Hart Family pink and black, the Women's winner receives a pink belt while the Men's winner receives a black belt. It was also confirmed that the tournaments would begin in May, culminating with the finals at Double or Nothing.[3] In deciding why there would be both a men's and women's tournament, Tony Khan likened it to Wimbledon, which also has both men's and women's tournaments.[4]
On the April 26, 2023, episode of Dynamite, Khan announced that the 2023 tournament's opening ceremony would occur at that year's Double or Nothing PPV. He also said that tournament matches would happen in Owen's home country of Canada at the Forbidden Door PPV, and the tournament would conclude in Owen's hometown of Calgary, Alberta, on the fifth episode of Collision on July 15.[5] For 2023, both the men's and women's tournaments featured an eight wrestler field, and wrestlers from AEW partner promotion New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) also participated.[6]
Winners edit
| Year | Winners | Event | Date | City | Venue | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. | Double or Nothing | May 29, 2022 | Paradise, NV, United States | T-Mobile Arena | Defeated Ruby Soho in the final. |
| Adam Cole | Defeated Samoa Joe in the final. | |||||
| 2023 | Willow Nightingale | Collision | July 15, 2023 | Calgary, AB, Canada | Scotiabank Saddledome | Defeated Ruby Soho in the final. |
| Ricky Starks | Defeated CM Punk in the final. |
Tournament edit
2022 edit
Women's edit
| Qualifiers Dynamite (March 30, April 6 and 20, 2022) Rampage (April 1, 8, and 15, May 6, 2022) | Quarterfinals Dynamite (May 11 and 18, 2022) Rampage (May 13 and 20, 2022) | Semifinals Dynamite (May 25, 2022) Rampage (May 27, 2022) | Final Double or Nothing (May 29, 2022) | ||||||||||||
| The Bunny | 8:41 | ||||||||||||||
| Toni Storm | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Toni Storm | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Jamie Hayter | 8:32 | ||||||||||||||
| Jamie Hayter | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Skye Blue | 5:38 | ||||||||||||||
| Toni Storm | 9:02 | ||||||||||||||
| Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. | Sub | ||||||||||||||
| Danielle Kamela | 6:12 | ||||||||||||||
| Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. | Sub | ||||||||||||||
| Maki Itoh[a] | 6:44 | ||||||||||||||
| — | — | ||||||||||||||
| — | Bye | ||||||||||||||
| Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Ruby Soho | 13:20 | ||||||||||||||
| Riho | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Yuka Sakazaki | 9:18 | ||||||||||||||
| Riho | 9:07 | ||||||||||||||
| Ruby Soho | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Ruby Soho | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Robyn Renegade | 8:22 | ||||||||||||||
| Ruby Soho | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Kris Statlander | 10:06 | ||||||||||||||
| Red Velvet | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Willow Nightingale | 5:16 | ||||||||||||||
| Red Velvet | 7:35 | ||||||||||||||
| Kris Statlander[b] | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Hikaru Shida | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Julia Hart | 7:08 | ||||||||||||||
Men's edit
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| Qualifiers Dynamite (April 6, 20, and 27, May 4, 2022) Rampage (April 22 and 29, 2022) | Quarterfinals Dynamite (May 11 and 18, 2022) | Semifinals Dynamite (May 18 and 25, 2022) | Final Double or Nothing (May 29, 2022) | ||||||||||||
| Max Caster | 2:43 | ||||||||||||||
| Samoa Joe | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Samoa Joe | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Johnny Elite[a] | 10:25 | ||||||||||||||
| — | — | ||||||||||||||
| — | Bye | ||||||||||||||
| Samoa Joe | TKO | ||||||||||||||
| Kyle O'Reilly | 12:38 | ||||||||||||||
| Dante Martin | 9:38 | ||||||||||||||
| Rey Fénix | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Rey Fénix | 12:00 | ||||||||||||||
| Kyle O'Reilly | Sub | ||||||||||||||
| Kyle O'Reilly | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Jungle Boy | 13:02 | ||||||||||||||
| Samoa Joe | 12:30 | ||||||||||||||
| Adam Cole | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Adam Cole | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Tomohiro Ishii | 11:14 | ||||||||||||||
| Adam Cole | Sub | ||||||||||||||
| Dax Harwood | 15:34 | ||||||||||||||
| Dax Harwood | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Cash Wheeler | 15:05 | ||||||||||||||
| Adam Cole | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Jeff Hardy | 7:10 | ||||||||||||||
| Swerve Strickland | 10:23 | ||||||||||||||
| Darby Allin | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Darby Allin | 10:16 | ||||||||||||||
| Jeff Hardy | Pin[c] | ||||||||||||||
| Bobby Fish | 10:20 | ||||||||||||||
| Jeff Hardy | Pin | ||||||||||||||
2023 edit
Women's edit
| Quarterfinals Rampage (June 23, 2023) Collision (June 24, 2023) Forbidden Door (June 25, 2023) Dynamite (July 5, 2023) | Semifinals Dynamite (July 12, 2023) Rampage (July 14, 2023) | Final Collision (July 15, 2023) | ||||||||||||
| Anna Jay A.S. | 9:20 | |||||||||||||
| Skye Blue | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Skye Blue | 8:13 | |||||||||||||
| Ruby Soho | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. | 10:07 | |||||||||||||
| Ruby Soho | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Ruby Soho | 9:12 | |||||||||||||
| Willow Nightingale | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Nyla Rose | 8:55 | |||||||||||||
| Willow Nightingale | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Athena | 10:00 | |||||||||||||
| Willow Nightingale | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Athena | 7:50 | |||||||||||||
| Billie Starkz | Pin | |||||||||||||
Men's edit
| Quarterfinals Forbidden Door (June 25, 2023) Collision (July 1, 2023) | Semifinals Collision (July 8, 2023) | Final Collision (July 15, 2023) | ||||||||||||
| CM Punk | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Satoshi Kojima | 13:40 | |||||||||||||
| CM Punk | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Samoa Joe | 15:36 | |||||||||||||
| Samoa Joe | Sub | |||||||||||||
| Roderick Strong | 12:42 | |||||||||||||
| CM Punk | 19:36 | |||||||||||||
| Ricky Starks | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Dustin Rhodes | 13:25 | |||||||||||||
| Powerhouse Hobbs | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Powerhouse Hobbs | 10:44 | |||||||||||||
| Ricky Starks | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Ricky Starks | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Juice Robinson | 12:32 | |||||||||||||
Notes edit
- ^ a b Wild Card ("Joker") entrant not revealed until match time.
- ^ Hikaru Shida was originally scheduled to face Red Velvet, but was removed from the match after she returned to Japan. Statlander was announced as her replacement.
- ^ This was a no disqualification match.
References edit
- ^ a b Currier, Joseph (September 20, 2021). "AEW Partners With Owen Hart's Family to Celebrate His Legacy". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved February 15, 2024.
- ^ Currier, Joseph (December 17, 2021). "AEW to hold men's and women's Owen Hart Cup tournaments". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved February 15, 2024.
- ^ Guzzo, Gisberto (December 17, 2021). "AEW's Owen Hart Cup Tournaments To Begin In May, Finals To Be Held At Double Or Nothing". Fightful. Retrieved February 15, 2024.
- ^ Lambert, Jeremy (December 27, 2021). "Tony Khan Explains Why Owen Hart Cup Will Conclude At AEW Double Or Nothing". Fightful. Retrieved February 15, 2024.
- ^ Boone, Matt (April 26, 2023). "Tony Khan Makes Big Owen Hart Cup Announcements On Dynamite". PWMania. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
- ^ Thomas, Jeremy (June 21, 2023). "Brackets Revealed For Owen Hart Cup Tournament, Matches Set For Forbidden Door". 411Mania. Retrieved February 15, 2024.