Matt Hardy On When He Thinks AEW’s Momentum Peaked

On the latest episode of Extreme Life Of Matt Hardy, the TNA star talked about the announcement AEW All In: Texas at Globe Life Field, when AEW’s momentum peaked, and more. You can check out some highlights below:

On Tony Khan’s big announcements teasers: “I mean, that’s the TV deal. And I think — you and I, we’ve discussed that quite a bit, on-air and off-air, and I think that’s imminent. I mean still, AEW, regardless of what you say about it it is an extremely successful show. And it’s a good show, it’s a very solid pro wrestling show, week in and week out regardless of people’s criticisms of it. And it does well. It does well number-wise, it does well demo-wise. So the network is going to pick that up when it’s all said and done, because they don’t want to let something like that go.”

On AEW All In Texas at Globe Life Field: “I think would be great for their equity. It makes them seem like a big deal. It makes them seem like they have the potential to do what WWE is currently doing. Because WWE, they’ve taken their bigger shows and they’re able to run these big stadiums. They’re able to run these big outdoor venues and pack in tens of thousands of fans each and every time that they do it. So I think with AEW, if they did that, it kind of builds equity into them as a company when it comes to comparing them to WWE.”

On when he felt AEW had the right momentum to run a big stadium show in the US: “I’ll be honest, I feel like the biggest momentum AEW had during that time — it was still different because like, if I’m not mistaken we started going back on the road in July of 2021, if I’m not mistaken. I remember the first one was Miami, and it was so refreshing to get out of Jacksonville and to be out traveling around the country again, right? But I think there were a lot of people still very hesitant. COVID was something that people were still afraid of, and they were unsure. There’s so much uncertainty and unsureness when you go through something like that — a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic, right?

“So we started going out, we were doing things… One thing that felt really big and strong is whenever they started teasing the [CM] Punk thing. And it was like, you know, the most teased secret that people knew was going to happen, they did a great job promoting that. And whenever we went into the United Center and it was packed and it was full, it felt like there was momentum there that AEW kind of tapped into something special. And that — you know, that’s when the stars align in a very special way, because you had Punk, you had him in his hometown in Chicago, where he’s beloved. He hadn’t been wrestling in all these years, and he returns. And that was big, and that felt big. I remember that night, I was thinking like there was just so much momentum, and it was so huge. It felt like maybe they could run a bigger venue than just a normal small arena.”

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.