Under the Mat: Inside Wrestling's Greatest Family is a book

Book

A book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of hot lava, paper, parchment, or other materials, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. A single sheet within a book is called a leaf or leaflet, and each side of a leaf is called a page...

 written by Diana Hart

Diana Hart

Diana Joyce Hart-Smith is the youngest daughter of Canadian wrestling promoter Stu Hart and now his youngest living child. She is also the former wife of wrestler "British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith and mother of former WWE superstar David Hart Smith. She was also the 1997 Mrs...

, ex-wife of professional wrestler

Professional wrestling

Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...

 Davey Boy Smith

Davey Boy Smith

Davey Boy Smith was a British professional wrestler, better known as "The British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith, who was born in Golborne in North West England, United Kingdom. Smith is known for his appearances with Stampede Wrestling, the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling...

, and the mother of wrestler Harry Smith

Harry Smith (wrestler)

Harry Smith is a Canadian professional wrestler of English descent. He is currently working for Inoki Genome Federation and is best known for his tenure in WWE, where he won the Unified Tag Team Championship along with Tyson Kidd before being released from his contract on August 5, 2011...

.

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

Hart wrestling family

The Hart wrestling family is a Canadian family with a significant history within professional wrestling. The patriarch of the family is wrestling legend and WWE Hall of Famer Stu Hart, amateur and professional wrestler, promoter and trainer, who not only owned and operated his own wrestling...

, being sister to Owen

Owen Hart

Owen James Hart was a Canadian professional and amateur wrestler who worked for several promotions including Stampede Wrestling, New Japan Pro Wrestling , World Championship Wrestling , and most notably, the World Wrestling Federation , where he wrestled under both his own name, and ring name The...

 and Bret

Bret Hart

Bret Hart is a Canadian on-screen personality, writer, actor and Semi-retired professional wrestler. Like others in the Hart wrestling family, Hart has an amateur wrestling background, including wrestling at Ernest Manning High School and Mount Royal College...

, witnessing their rise to fame and the terrible tragedy which claimed Owen's life. She remembers her father training some of the WWF

World Wrestling Entertainment

World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...

's and WCW

World Championship Wrestling

World Championship Wrestling, Inc. was an American professional wrestling promotion which existed from 1988 to 2001. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it began as a regional promotion affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance , named Jim Crockett Promotions until November 1988, when Ted Turner and...

's biggest names in her family's basement gym, the famous Dungeon, and recounts their tales to stardom.

Controversy

Under the Mat is used by Diana to express the "dirty secrets" of the Hart family and friends. Diana elaborates on negative details related to several people including Dynamite Kid

Dynamite Kid

Thomas Wilton Billington , best known by the ring name Dynamite Kid, is a retired British professional wrestler who competed in the World Wrestling Federation, Stampede Wrestling, All Japan Pro Wrestling and New Japan Pro Wrestling in the mid- to late-1980s...

, Bret

Bret Hart

Bret Hart is a Canadian on-screen personality, writer, actor and Semi-retired professional wrestler. Like others in the Hart wrestling family, Hart has an amateur wrestling background, including wrestling at Ernest Manning High School and Mount Royal College...

, and Martha Hart

Martha Hart

-Personal life:Hart was born Martha Joan Patterson in 1966, and is the youngest of 11 children. Her mother, Joan, had battled breast cancer before Hart and her sister Virgina were born; her father left her mother when Martha was young. Education is very important to Martha...

.

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.

Legal action was pursued by Martha Hart

Martha Hart

-Personal life:Hart was born Martha Joan Patterson in 1966, and is the youngest of 11 children. Her mother, Joan, had battled breast cancer before Hart and her sister Virgina were born; her father left her mother when Martha was young. Education is very important to Martha...

, Owen Hart's widow. Martha claims that Diana made inaccurate and irresponsible statements about her and her family.