Matt Hardy Compares Darby Allin To Jeff Hardy, Discusses Cinematic Matches In Wrestling

In a recent interview with ET Canada, Matt Hardy discussed Darby Allin reminding him of Jeff Hardy, cinematic matches in wrestling, and much more. Here are some of the highlights:

Matt Hardy on Darby Allin reminding him of Jeff Hardy: “Darby is starting to prove to be a ratings guy because people really like him. And he gets it so much. He reminds me of my brother in so many ways as to how he sells from underneath. He gets sympathy and he’s just… he’s cool. The kids like him. He’s super cool. Being an older competitor, especially with the younger AEW audience, I am the perfect bad guy. I hoped we would break a million and do a good number. But when we heard 1.2, I was blown away and super happy, super excited. And I really think it was a good payoff because people didn’t know when they tuned in if Darby Allin was going to lose the TNT title or retain the title. And I think that was part of the charm of it.”

On cinematic matches in wrestling and why he created his ‘Broken Matt’ character: “My initial mindset in doing ‘Broken’ Matt Hardy in the very beginning was to look for longevity, because I knew what the new kids were doing. As the style was changing in 2015, 2016, 2017, I’m like, ‘Well, I’m not 25 anymore.’ Maybe we do matches that are shot more like a movie, you know, more like a piece of cinema. And then that could conserve my body. My brother [Jeff Hardy] has such an addiction to doing Swanton [Bombs] and Whisper in the Winds and he wants to do everything because he’s so passionate and he feels like his fans deserve it. That he wants to give everything. And it’s like, ‘Dude, you’re getting older. They want to see Jeff Hardy, you’re a star. You can’t beat up your body every single night.’”

On The Undertaker and Sting having success with cinematic matches: “Considering it gave Taker a great match against AJ Styles, that was amazing. I love the Boneyard Match. And Sting now being in AEW and being able to do these cinematic matches where he can be the Sting of old, it feels really special and you never know what you’re going to get. I think that’s amazing. So if I did help contribute to the new era of cinematic matches, I am very proud of the fact.“