Matt Hardy

Matthew Moore Hardy (born September 23, 1974 in Cameron, North Carolina) is a professional wrestler. He worked for World Wrestling Entertainment on the RAW brand until April 2005 and returned to WWE in July 2005.

Career

Before his then-WWF debut with his brother Jeff, Matt was trained by former wrestler Dory Funk, Jr. Before signing with the WWF, Matt and Jeff ran their own wrestling promotion, OMEGA Wrestling, in which Matt competed under the name High Voltage. Other wrestlers associated with OMEGA include Christopher Daniels, the future Lita, Shannon Moore and The Hurricane. Once signed, the brothers formed an acrobatic tag team and became known as The Hardy Boyz. Although they had several managers during their tag team run, the five-time WWE Tag Team Champions were most prominently accompanied to the ring by Lita. The three together became known as "Team Extreme." Hardy and Lita were an off-screen couple for six years, and used to share a home in North Carolina. Their romance came to an end in late February 2005 (according to Matt's official website) due to Lita's affair with fellow WWE superstar Edge.

Related Topics:
Jeff - Dory Funk, Jr. - Promotion - Christopher Daniels - Lita - Shannon Moore - The Hurricane - Tag team - The Hardy Boyz - Managers - WWE Tag Team Champions - February 2005 - Website - Edge

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On the August 12, 2002 episode of RAW, Matt turned against Jeff, pitting him in a match against Rob Van Dam. A short time later he joined the SmackDown! roster. On the October 3, 2002 edition of the show, Matt used outside interference from Brock Lesnar to defeat The Undertaker.

Related Topics:
August 12 - 2002 - Rob Van Dam - SmackDown! - October 3 - Outside interference - Brock Lesnar - The Undertaker

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Now dubbed "Matt Hardy - Version 1.0," and with his MF'er (Mattitude Follower) Shannon Moore in his corner, Matt defeated Billy Kidman at the 2003 No Way Out in Montreal, Quebec to claim the WWE Cruiserweight Championship and, at WrestleMania XIX in Seattle, defended it against Rey Mysterio. The Mattitude stable also included the late Crash Holly as Shannon Moore's "Moore-on." Matt later disbanded the stable and returned to RAW in order to be able to travel and work with then-girlfriend, Lita. He would later turn face once more by engaging in a rivarly with then heel, Kane.

Related Topics:
Shannon Moore - Billy Kidman - 2003 - No Way Out - Montreal, Quebec - WWE Cruiserweight Championship - WrestleMania XIX - Seattle - Rey Mysterio - Stable - Crash Holly

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Release from WWE

Along with his friend Rhyno, Matt Hardy was released by WWE on April 11, 2005. Matt's release was officially due to his public handling of the Lita/Edge incident (posting disparaging remarks towards Edge on his website) his release was confirmed publicly by WWE. It has also been speculated that Hardy was going to confront Edge during a RAW episode, but these claims are largely unfounded. However, it was further speculated that Hardy was released because management did not generally like him, and an excuse to fire him had been presented. In fact, Triple H, allegedly said of Hardy's release: "he never drew money anyway." Hardy countered this statement in an online interview stating that he and his brother Jeff, as the Hardy Boyz, had been top sellers of merchandise.

Related Topics:
Rhyno - April 11 - 2005 - Triple H

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It should be noted that some people believed that Hardy's release (and subsequent rehiring) was part of an elaborate work. The WWE frequently referenced the Hardy situation on televised broadcasts, whereas normally they would not acknowledge real-life situations which reflected badly on the WWE onscreen. Given Matt's vitriolic interviews and the fact that Edge's wife accused him of steroid abuse, this seems possible, but it remains uncertain. Since Matt has now been re-hired by WWE, his comments could have been partially or completely worked.

Related Topics:
Work - Steroid

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Matt Hardy released two character promotional vignettes, that he was planning to use before he was offered a new contract by WWE. Hardy called himself The Angelic Diablo with the tagline "the scar will become a symbol" in reference to the way in which he has been treated by Lita and WWE.

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Return to WWE

On the June 20 edition of RAW, during the storyline wedding of Edge and Lita, Matt Hardy's entrance music and video were played when the priest asked if anyone had a reason why the wedding should not go on. Moments later, it was revealed as a joke played by Edge and Lita. On the July 11 episode of RAW, Matt Hardy made his return, attacking Edge as he made his way to the ring for his match against Kane and calling him out by his real name (Adam). On the July 14th edition of WWE's webcast Byte This!, which featured Lita as its guest, one of the callers was Matt himself. The two engaged in a huge argument, believed to have been a complete shoot, which led to Lita walking off the set. Reportedly Matt reached a verbal agreement with WWE return to the promotion in early June, giving up the chance to sign a contract with TNA, where he would likely have reformed the Hardy Boyz with Jeff.

Related Topics:
June 20 - July 11 - June

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Matt appeared at a scheduled Ring Of Honor event on July 16 in Woodbridge, Connecticut where he defeated Christopher Daniels via submission. Hardy also cut a brief promo where he continued in full 'worked shoot' mode, attacking WWE and John Laurinaitis. Following his official return to WWE, Hardy was met with a backlash which involved him getting booed out of the arena at an ROH event following a match with Homicide, which Hardy won. His final ROH appearance happened the day after this event, where he lost to Roderick Strong. Contrary to previous reports, he would not make an appearance in TNA.

Related Topics:
Ring Of Honor - July 16 - Woodbridge, Connecticut - Christopher Daniels - John Laurinaitis - Homicide - Roderick Strong - TNA

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On July 18, Matt Hardy attacked Edge during one of Edge's matches and did the same the following week as well.

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On August 1, Vince McMahon came out on RAW and officially acknowledged Hardy's return to WWE, adding that Hardy would face Edge at the upcoming SummerSlam pay-per-view. On August 8, Matt Hardy made his in-ring return, defeating Gene Snitsky on RAW. Seconds after the Victory, Matt was attacked by Edge and as he was being carried backstage, Matt counterattacked Edge in a locker room.

Related Topics:
August 1 - Vince McMahon - SummerSlam - Pay-per-view - August 8 - Gene Snitsky

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On August 21, 2005, at SummerSlam, Matt Hardy and Edge faced each other in a battle which was hardly considered a wrestling match but an all-out brawl calling the "Kill or Be Killed" Match. The match wound up coming to a premature end when Edge dropped Hardy onto the top of a ring-post, causing him to bleed and eventually leading to the referee ending the match on the grounds that Hardy couldn't continue. Edge was declared the winner.

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After SummerSlam, the two continued fighting on RAW, with one encounter being a Street Fight that resulted in both men falling off the stage into electrical wires.

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At WWE Unforgiven 2005 Edge faced Matt Hardy in a steel cage match. Hardy had just about won the match with a Side Effect off the top rope, when Lita came in and broke up the pin and was met with the Twist of Fate. Matt hit a legdrop off the top of the cage onto Edge and then gained the pinfall for the victory.

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Hardy and Edge were scheduled to face each other at WWE Homecoming in a Loser Leaves RAW, Money-in-the-Bank ladder match. Edge's briefcase holding the contract for his WWE World title shot will be suspended above the ring. The winner of the match gets the contract and the loser is gone from RAW.

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As the match concluded, Matt Hardy did not prevail against Edge via Lita. After beating the hell out of each other, Edge tied Matt's arms though the ropes and then Lita trapped Hardy in a crucifix hold as Matt could only watch Edge win. When the match ended, of course Edge and Lita gloated, but surprisingly, Matt took it like a man, and left the arena afterwards.

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It is unknown whether he will return to Raw, or begin competing on Smackdown. It has been speculated that Matt was brought back by Vince simply for the purposes of being buried, and thus destroy the popularity Hardy had garnered during the time he was absent from the WWE, because of the incredible fan backlash against Hardy's firing. (This generally came in the form of overwhelming fan outcry at Lita, who at one point is said to have stopped appearing in the ring during interviews because of fan denouncement against her for her betrayal of Matt and the perception that she and Edge had somehow conspired to get Matt released from the company.) Given that Hardy's feud did not end with the expected payoff, it is entirely possible that his contract was for a short term return, and very possibly meant as an attempt to keep him away from such promotions as ROH and TNA, both of which have become very popular with wrestling fans looking for an alternative to the WWE product. It is said to be rumored at one point that Matt hardy may have been sent overtures by TNA Wrestling, which currently employs his brother Jeff, as having both members of the once top tier Hardy Boyz tag team on their roster would have done wonders for the promotion to have name recognition, especially now that TNA once again has a television deal.

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