Matt Hardy Says TNA Should Have Pulled The Trigger On Mike Santana Sooner

On the latest episode of Extreme Life Of Matt Hardy, the TNA star talked about last year’s Slammiversary and admitted in hindsight that TNA waited too long to put the title on hot acts like Mike Santana and Joe Hendry.

Santana won the TNA World Championship in late 2025 and lost it to Frankie Kazarian before winning it back in January. He lost the title at Sunday’s Slammiversary 2026 to Nic Nemeth. You can check out some highlights below:

On TNA Not Pulling the Trigger On Santana:

“Honestly John, looking back on it, I probably would have done things different. When Joe Hendry got so hot, I think he won the title a little too late. Same thing with Mike Santana — we should have pulled the trigger in New York, that would probably have been better overall.”

On Feeling Bad For Santana:

“I feel bad for Mike in some ways, but I don’t feel bad for him in some ways. Because this is what Jeff and I are there to do. He won at Bound for Glory, but after our match there were a ton of people who left. They advertised the Hardys and the Dudleys, and that sold 3,500 tickets in itself before any other match was even announced.

“I almost wish we would have gotten it on him there. The fact that it got taken off him so quick, all that stuff — I would have liked to have seen it go on him at Slammiversary at UBS, and then build up momentum throughout the year. If you want to do a title change for a minute and have him get it back on the first episode of AMC, I’m okay with that. But once these guys legit get hot and people are ready for the title change, you’ve got to deliver.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Extreme Life Of Matt Hardy with an h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.