Columns - Online World of Wrestling

WRESTLING COLUMNS

The Matt Hardy Story and His Return
June 30, 2005 by Matt S. & Aadil

I would like to focus today's column on a certain issue that has caused a lot of heated debates. Yes today's column is about Matt Hardy, who got scrExtreme Wrestling Entertainmentd by the WWE. Now my goal is to write this column in an unbiased manner, but if I do drift onto Matt's side, I would request that you pardon that, as I am strongly a supporter of Matt Hardy. First I'll backtrack a little bit and let you know exactly what happened. For those who already know, it will refresh your memory, for those who don't then it will be helpful as a lot of people talk about this on the boards, so it will help you to get to the inner circle. Oh, and it's titled Matt Hardy's return because I do believe he will return. Read on to find out what I mean.

Matt Hardy and his brother Jeff have been one of the most daring and revolutionary tag teams in the wrestling world. Everyone remembers their great innovative style in the Tables, Ladders and Chairs match. The Hardyz debuted in late 2000 if I recall correctly. They were instantly one of the hottest stars on the roster. However since they were too extreme and their matches usually revolved around the extreme factor, when the WWE emerged from the "Attitude" era they forced the Hardyz to tone it down. Since they were basically admired for their extreme style, I believe their popularity died down as well.

Matt Hardy also had an on screen relationship with his girlfriend Lita. This relationship like so many others turned into the real thing behind the scenes. Everyone knew they were destined to get married; in fact Matt Hardy was supposedly going to propose to Lita at the end of last year. In storyline Lita had been married to Kane while Kane had basically put out Matt out of commission - meaning Matt was squashed in a match against Kane. He took some time off due to injury, and was out for about five months.

Matt is liked by everyone backstage. One of his closest friends was Edge. Edge was another superstar who had started out around the same time as the Hardyz. They had helped put each other over as they were in the TLC matches together. Now Edge had also been recently married. What happens next is unclear, as it is all based on rumors and hearsay.

Basically, Edge (after getting married), fell in love with his best friend's girl Lita, while Matt was out with injury. At first their love was secret, but when Edge's wife found Lita and Edge on the phone with each other a lot, she called and told Matt. Some of this information some how leaked onto the net, some were rumors while some were posted on Matt Hardy's official website by his friend.

There is this unwritten rule in the locker room that a wrestler does not go after another wrestler's girl. Edge broke that rule. Yet the WWE feared that when Hardy returned it might create some tension in the locker room. They solved the problem by deciding who meant more money. They bet it on Edge, and Matt Hardy was fired. That's right; the WWE fired a man, who was out with injury, who just lost his girl to his best friend. It didn't end there though... this was far from over.

Lita at the time was a face, yet when news of this backstage incident got on to the net she was being heavily booed. At this time Matt Hardy was also pissed as hell. He lost his girl, his dream job, and his best friend. He posted on his website and elaborated on the whole issue. The WWE didn't like that. They took this and the Lita getting booed factor and decided to do something, which I don't think they have ever done before. They turned this whole thing into a storyline. They played the whole thing, by having Lita betray Kane and go on to join the bad guy Edge. Edge and Lita made comments that were no doubt targeted at Matt Hardy.

Comments like "I have realized that Edge is the only man I have ever been with to give me so much pleasure." They were basically making money out of a real life situation. Kane was being made to look weak. He was humiliated in a way that I have never seen him humiliated before. The monster was made to look like a weakling.

Until now they were only making Kane look like Matt Hardy. Now they actually start brining the real Matt Hardy into the storyline. It starts at the ECW: One Night Stand PPV, when Paul Heyman actually referred to Matt Hardy. Last night they had the official wedding to seal the deal. Lita was to Marry Edge. Lita was especially dressed like the new title that was given to her: very *friendly* person. They made many comments that were targeted at Matt. But they went way too far. They created a scene where the priest asks if there is any man who objects to the wedding. And they actually play Matt Hardy's music and video.

At first I was so shocked because I was expecting him to just walk out from behind the curtains. But when he didn't appear I was pissed as hell. That was a slap right to Matt's face. They used his image, his name and his and laughed at him. In the end the wedding was interrupted by Kane.

Here is my theory: I think that the WWE have signed Matt Hardy back. WWE is publicly advertising the Matt Hardy incident on their website. After everything WWE has done against him, Matt has spoken up. What happened on RAW was huge, yet he didn't say anything about it. Now why is that" Because he has been signed on now, so he won't say much.

If you look at it logically too, we know Vince takes every opportunity he gets to make money. He did that with the ECW PPV, with the Invasion of WCW and many more occasions. So why wouldn't he do that with something that is so hot" He would. I bet Matt would return at Vengeance or the RAW after. Everything at the moment points towards that direction. So folks that's it for me, I would appreciate any feedback and\or comments on this column. Also remember this is just a theory, I just believe it might be true. And if it is true, It could be possibly the biggest thing the WWE may have ever done.

by Matt S. & Aadil ..

Kieran Baker from England wrote:
First of all, can I say that you sound like a big mark talking like this" Matt Hardy was fired, and yes he should be apologized and offered his job back, which WWE have done. And I do agree with you about the Edge-Lita wedding, it was a slap in the face. Personally I think Matt should go to TNA to team up with his brother again. WWE will use him wrongly again and again, whereas TNA knows when they have something. Please stop believing everything you see on WWE TV.

Devil's Advocate wrote:
I've heard a lot about this story lately, mostly from fans of Matt Hardy. There's talk about Edge going after someone's girl, but how can any of us make any judgements at all about the situation, when chances are that none of us are directly connected to the wrestlers in particular.

That being said, and being impartial, since I was never an MF'er, or an Edgehead, respectively, I'd like to ask a few questions/post a few thoughts to everyone who continues to post on this subject.

1. In regards to Edge going after Lita, how do we know it wasn't the other way around" Women get bored with men all the time, and usually it's a close friend that things happen with.

2. The story that Matt got fired because he was seeking a physical confrontation with a man that Amy left him for seems juvenile to me. When you grow up, and there's no question that Matt Hardy is an adult, you learn to let go of things. If I were running a business, and someone tried to start a fight with someone in a similar situation, I'd have fired him too. Simply put, if Hardy had been the "better man" he'd have wished them luck, and continued about his career, as opposed to posting every day on his website how bad he's feeling since it all happened...

3. Do any of us really know the kind of relationship that Amy and Matt actually had" If Amy wasn't happy, does she not have the right to leave" Yes it's pretty low that a man leaves his wife for another woman, but given the situation, travelling together so often, spending so much time alone, in hotel rooms... it's bound to happen between some of the female superstars and married wrestlers.

It's very easy to jump to conclusions about any situation, but shouldn't we at least take the time to ask ourselves things before joining into the mob mentality of thinking that someone's at fault before we know the whole story"

ShaunCl wrote:
you got your facts wrong. the hardys were in wwe since 1995/96. and your grammer is awful. take some english lessons. and get your facts right.

Tom crowther wrote:
First of all this is my first reply on this website and im only 14 so excuse the grammar. i agree that unless matt been rehired the wwe have took it too far, making money out of misery if i was matt i would take the wwe's supposed new deal and stuff it go to tna reunite the hardyz. edge shouldn't be in the spotlight for messing with a superstars girlfriend and yet he is now in big matches and big rivalries because of it.Matt never recieved any recognision for his work and it was just an excuse to fire him.

Troy Tollison wrote:
Firstly, although I do agree with your position, if you were truly trying to be objective about the matter, you failed. Secondly, I find it extremely doubtful that Matt will return to WWE any time soon, especially since it's been advertised on the ROH website that Matt will be making his debut soon and they even have his picture in the banner at the top of the site. The real weird thing about the whole situation is that they didn't just move Matt to the Smackdown! roster. From what I understand there really isn't much interaction between the wrestlers of the different brands, on camera or off unless the wrestlers themselves intend it, except the drafts and interpromotional events but there's only 2 or 3 of those a year. It just doesn't make any sense to me why it had to be resolved through any firings at all.

Martin Finn wrote:
I think the article written about Matt Hardy was completely true. I also think that the whole Matt-Lita-Edge matter would make an exellent storyline.People love matt Hardy and as I noticed during the edge and lita wedding that people are still making signs like I saw a little boy with a Matt Hardy sign (so that means people still love him) and that Edge shouldn't of messed with his best friends girl and thats like taking a warm knife and stabbing Matt right through the heart.Well thank you for letting me tell you a piece of my mind through this letter

matthew sobs wrote:
You guys make a great point and have some good evidence to back it up but you also didn't include the entire story. There has been videos on matt hardy's site of him running over a Lita poster with his car and him using Lita's poster for target practice. There is also pictures of matt with a gun in his hands and a message on his site saying not to betray him. Now i completely agree that vince mcmahon will do whatever he can to make money but I'm 100% sure if he knows what the things on matt hardy's website you will feel that Edge and Lita are in serious danger. That is probably the reason why when wwe was in North Carolina, wwe officials called hardy and told him it was better off if he does not show his face at raw.

rohit ramnath wrote:
Hardy returning to WWE. That's a damn good idea...in theory. You see there are certain problems with it as I see.

Edge and Hardy granted were good friends, and granted both of them are professionals in the ring, well at least Hardy is, but so were Bret and Shawn. I'm not going to go into Montreal but to the iron man match and all the others that they had over the years. Shawn put in so many legit shots and Bret took so many bumps during those matches. And they were both professionals. Could this not happen with Hardy and Edge""" And add to this the fact that they will try to go extreme just to showcase the rage that they have for each other and bumps then could be career ending. A wrongly done figure 4 ended Bret's career, imagine a bump on a moonsault or other such crazy move...

Secondly, the locker room will become very heated. The worst case scenario could be 2 alliances forming with both Matt and Edge trying to get people to listen to their side of the story and the locker room could explode...Vince doesn't want to take that risk. The closest he could have come is to have one match between the two and send Hardy over to Smackdown, and then have a Team Matt v/s Team Edge at survivor or some such thing because having them under the same arena roof every week could set off an explosion no one can stop.

Also I would like to point out that when Vince fired Matt Hardy he still has rights over his music, his ring name, his gimmick and everything associated with him. This is the reason that Billy Gunn became the outlaw, Diesel became Kevin Nash and Razor Ramon became Scott Hall. Bret Hart was the real name and so Vince couldn't do anything about it. So Vince has the rights to play Matt's music anytime and anywhere he wants. He also has the rights to show any footage of Hardy from the WWF/WWE anytime he wants. So before you go on with the theories just rethink these facts. By no means am I demeaning your theory because it is an amazing money maker and it should happen and you brought it out very well but just think about this fact.

Jason Barnett wrote:
I disagree with your reasons why Matt was fired. It wasn't fear it would cause tension, it was the fact he blew two storylines, the Kane and Lita marriage and the Lita and Trish feud, and then there was the concern that he would flat out attack Edge.

I knew Matt had been complaining and whining on his website but I'd heard nothing about the running over her poster and shooting it. I was annoyed with him, now I'm sickened by him.

Joe L. wrote:
First off, ShaunCl, who the hell are you to lambaste a columnist for his grammar" Everyone writes articles for the sake of showing passion and expressing their feelings on the Internet. If they made several errors, so what" We read articles to understand facts and at the same time, express our opinions on the subject. You didn't express your opinions on the subject. Instead, you lashed out on a columnist that properly feels ashamed of himself because you told him to take English lessons.

I understand many people are entitled to their own opinions, as seen in my "Who Should Go"" article but instead of clamoring about the subject, you wrote a short rant on the columnist's writing skills. Your comments were not a reply. They were direct insults at the writer. Because of this, you're just as guilty as that idiot Layden Rose.

So Cl, if you want to make replies, do so about the subject and not trying to stupidly tackle a columnist because he showed some erroneous writing. Although, I've had exceptional grades in English, I've seen other columns that were written in the same matter but you never saw me or the entire OWW staff make fun of the columnists because they made mistakes on their frickin' articles. Yes, I lashed out on the "The Rise and Fall of XPW" article. But I was talking about the subject, not the writer.

I'm not telling you to stop writing replies on the feedback. I'm telling you to stop acting like a jerk and respect others people's passion to this sport, instead of ripping them because their writings sucked. So please, do us all a favor and grow up.

Anthony Tirado wrote:
I don't really care what anyone thinks about what I say but just hear me out. I have been studying the wrestling business and how it is run since I was a little kid. Someone made an earlier comment talking about how Matt was never used correctly and he probably won't be if he gets signed again, but think of it this way......there was NOTHING to use Matt for after he was separated from his brother and Lita as well and was sent to Smackdown!, yet he made the most of his situation and became a little more entertaining to watch and charisma by when he came up with his V-1 persona, yet still, the creative writing just threw their hands up and shook their heads like "dammit, he's good, no doubt about that, but there's no way i can think of to utilize him and/or his talents that would make him any kind of force in the WWE's income"....but now, this whole scandal has gained so much momentum that if Matt Hardy walked thru the curtain you wouldve thought it was Hulk Hogan or Stone Cold, people are converting into MFers overnight by the millions, Matt Hardy may be the only wrestler in history to gain millions upon millions of fans across the globe without lifting a finger, just sitting at home licking his wounds and getting ready to get back on his feet again, which i think is a point he's already long past.

Matt Hardy now has a such a big legion of fans that if he were to come back, his momentum alone could grant him a WWE heavyweight title reign in the near future. If he were to come back though, he would need to be used in a manner of which to make him look crazy and unpredictable, sort of like Edge before the scandal, how he thought everyone was out to get him and was always "edgy", no pun intended, but in a way of which would appeal to the fans instead of seeming like a whining little bitch like Edge portrayed himself. Matt Hardy has to be a good guy for this to work. I'm guessing Vince is enough a genius to know better than to do anything that would f*** Hardy's momentum up. I believe what is happening now is that Vince, being the mastermind he is, is throwing all of these things into the storyline to make Lita sorry about what she's done and maybe, in return, kind of fall back in love ( not that she ever fell out of love ) with Matt Hardy. If you can think back to the wedding for a second, Lita could barely say " I can now say I've never loved ay other man" because as she was saying that she got real choked up and started crying.....if this is Vince's evil plot, it's working : ) ...............................but in closing, i say Aadil's idea of Matt signing back to the WWE may not be so far off..........i mean if Bret Hart's even negotiating with the WWE on things nowadays, nothings impossible lol.....if Matt comes back though, don't be surprised if you are witnessing the birth of a legend, a new Matt hardy, a man with a legacy to leave behind, when you have the fans, you can have it all and do it all in the business.....if Matt comes back the RIGHT WAY, prepare for all hell to break loose!!!!!

Mike_T (London, England) wrote:
Do you guys have a crystal ball"

alan/scotland wrote:
firstly i don`t think hardy has been fired i don`t by it for a moment`if anyone watched byte this with lita you will have heard matt hardy on the show`do you think for one moment the wwe would let this happend`don`t think so. lets look at the evidence so far one hardy jumps edge backstage at raw run`s out the door only to return later`manages to get into the crowd avoid all secruity and then jump back into the ring to attack edge again`also when their fighting in the ring i doesn`t look real it looks like a story line fight which is exactly what it is. i don`t know where and when hardy was brought back if ever let go in the first place` but i am guessing prior to the lita/edge wedding. hardy was given to much freedom once over the barrier he must have atleast been talking 20 seconds before been challenged`and why take him up the ramp. overall this really could have been the storyline of the century but i feel the wwe are now giving to much away ie byte this interview`really shouldn`t have done that the wwe really have to learn when they have a good thing not to go to far`people were really believing this was real up until then.

AC wrote:
First of all I agree! In my opinion if Adam kept his pants zipped and Amy kept her legs crossed then then everything would be fine. Matt gave Amy six years of love and devotion, and what did that get him, the boot in the butt out the door. Also who's to say Adam will be faithful to Amy, after this is his second wifer he is ditching. Which makes me wonder what went wrong with the first marriage. Did Adam have a little trouble keeping his pants zipped during that marriage too. I mean if men cheat on there wives once or twice, odds are they will do it again. Who's to say that Adam will be faithful to Amy. After all Amy isn't the only diva working on RAW!

Secondly! Hasn't Matt Hardy suffered enough! I mean he lost his girlfriend of six years and his best friend. All he had is his dream job. On last night's RAW homecoming, Matt lost the match, so he is gone again, but the match was suppose to be Matt Hardy vs Edge, not Matt Hardy vs Edge & Lita. My opinion about that is that there should be a rematch and this time Lita should stay out of the way.

If you have any comments, reactions, rebuttles or thoughts on this column, feel free to send them to the email below,
If your email is intelligently written, they will be posted underneath this messege..
We at OnlineWorldofWrestling want to promote all points of view, and that includes YOURS.