Under the Mat : Inside Wrestling ' s Greatest Family Under the Mat : Inside Wrestling ' s Greatest Family is a book co - written by Diana Hart , daughter of Stu Hart and Helen Hart , ex - wife of professional wrestler Davey Boy Smith , and the mother of wrestler Harry Smith and Georgia Smith and Kirstie McLellan , a journalist who had previously written the book " No Remorse : a Father ' s Murderous Rage , the Killing Of Paul And Gabi Dolejs " The book became an Alberta top ten nonfiction best - seller on its release . The subtitle , " Inside Wrestling ' s Greatest Family " , refers to the Canadian Hart wrestling family , which includes wrestlers such as Smith Hart , Bruce Hart , Keith Hart , Dean Hart , Bret Hart , Ross Hart , Owen Hart , Teddy Hart , David Hart Smith and Natalya Neidhart . The book is highly controversial and was pulled from stores after Martha Hart , widow of Owen Hart and Diana Hart ' s sister - in - law , filed a lawsuit . Background . The writing of the book was at least partially motivated by the death of her younger brother Owen Hart . Hart has also stated that she hoped that the book would lead to her brother Bret respecting her and taking her seriously , which she did not feel he had done during the investigation and trial which surrounded the death of Owen Hart . McLellan has stated that she and Hart know each other personally and Hart approached her to make the book together . Plot summary . The book focuses mainly on the realities of professional wrestling . " Under the Mat " recounts Diana ' s life growing up in the Hart home , being sister to Owen and Bret , witnessing their rise to fame and the terrible tragedy which claimed Owen ' s life . She remembers her father training some of the WWF ' s and WCW ' s biggest names in her family ' s basement gym , the famous Dungeon , and recounts their tales to stardom . In the chapter " Roots " she also discusses her family ' s history on her mother ' s side . It focuses mostly on her grandfather , American marathon runner Harry Smith . Reaction . The book has received generally negative critique . It has been criticised for its factual errors , grammatical mistakes , spelling issues and unstructured content . It has also been criticised for its overwhelming focus on negative events . According to employees of the Toronto - based law firm Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP , a preliminary review of the book identified dozens of significant factual errors . Controversy . Hart has been accused of using " Under the Mat " as a way to express the " dirty secrets " of the Hart family and friends . Hart elaborates on negative details related to several people including Dynamite Kid , Bret Hart , Martha Hart , Andrea Hart and Davey Boy Smith . People like Dynamite Kid , Ben Bassarab , Davey Boy Smith and Bret are in the book accused of several occasions of criminal activity . Hart has especially been accused of trying to discredit her brother Bret Hart and attempting to portray him as an obsessive egomaniac . Toronto Star book reviewer Michael Holmes stated that the book was " terribly underwritten , ridiculously simplistic and pointlessly episodic , repetitive and errorriddled . " He also said that the book was " one of the most manipulative , megamanical , beliberatley unselfconscious books I have ever read . Reading it makes you feel dirty . " Initially , When asked about whether she had noticed any backlash from family or others , such as Jim Neidhart , Diana stated that she didn ' t care what Neidhart thought about the book . She also stated that the book was not intended to be vindictive and that she is very proud to be a Hart . Her brother Bret is a vocal critic of the book and has said that it is a very disturbing read and called it pornographic . He goes on to say that there are enough true Hart stories that Diana didn ' t need to resort to fiction . Bret and others have also questioned the legitimacy of the foreword which Diana claims to be written by their father , Stu . McLellan has stated that Bret was very upset by the book and that he confronted her about it in public at a gym which they both went to at the time . One of her other brothers , Bruce , has also criticised the book , and called in " ill conceived " and expressed that he can ' t understand why his sister would write such a book . He has hypothesized that Hart may have been mentally unstable at the time of the writing . Legal action was pursued by Martha Hart , Owen Hart ' s widow . Martha claims that Diana made inaccurate and irresponsible statements about her and her family . She stated that the book was “ filled with distortions , misstatements and unjustified slurs that attempt to destroy the reputation of my family and me , and undermine the memory of Owen . ” Diana defended herself in an interview for the National Post and stated that she stood by what she has written . Insinuated that Martha was a rich bully who was trying to use her money to suppress Hart ' s recounts . She stated " Martha has money to fight me on it and I don ' t . I know what I have written is true . " The book was pulled from bookstores across Canada by publisher H . B . Fenn and Co . Ltd . in January 2002 . Removing the book was part of a settlement between Martha Hart and the publisher . As part of the settlement , the publisher expressed its regrets and a financial settlement was paid to the Owen Hart Foundation , a Calgary - based charity created by Martha . Long - time wrestling announcer and Stampede alumni Ed Whalen also discredited the book , referring to it as a " fairytail " and considered joining Martha Hart in the lawsuit . Hart has later asserted that the stories that were printed in the book , were completely twisted and changed from how she had written them originally , and was deeply hurt by the controversy that was caused for her family from the book . Her brother Bret has questioned her claim that she wasn ' t aware of the books content before publication . Legitimacy . The book Pain and Passion : The History of Stampede Wrestling it is stated that there is some truth to some of the statements in the book , such as Hart ' s claim of her mother Helen ' s alcoholism . Tom Billington , The Dynamite Kid has admitted to some of the criminal actions which he was accused of in the book . Aftermath . Martha Hart ' s book , " Broken Harts : The Life and Death of Owen Hart " , was partially written in response to " Under The Mat " . Diana Hart has in recent time disowned the book and called it a failure as a journey and has stated that she is now on good terms with her brothers and sisters . She is now planning on writing a trilogy of fiction books . Even though Hart has disowned the book she has decided that it will still be mentioned in her author bio at the back of her new books . McLellan has stated that Hart took her on " an amazing journey " when writing the book . After the release of Under the Mat McLellan has helped write several other nonfiction books and autobiographies , including the best selling autobiography of former National Hockey League ( NHL ) player Theoren Fleury named Playing with Fire .