The Timewarp 03.20.07: Matt Hardy

Hey everybody,

Your favorite German wrestling columnist is back with the second edition of The Timewarp. Today, we’ll look at the possible future of a man who may well qualify as the single most underused talent under WWE contract today. But let’s imagine what he could be…

The date is August 26, 2007, and the WWE is running the 20th annual Summer Slam PPV. The card is stacked, and the fans are given lots of reasons to cheer. However, up until this point, nothing has garnered as much noise as the entrance of the superstar taking on United States Champion Finlay.

Looking stern and determined, challenger Matt Hardy makes his way down the ramp. Once in the ring, he takes a long look around, then scales the turnbuckle and flashes his trademark handsign.

Time Freeze
Matt Hardy getting cheered? Fair enough, he usually does, you say. Matt Hardy wrestling Finlay? Sure, you say, why not? But Matt Hardy wrestling a high-profile match for the US Championship at Summer Slam? Where did that come from? Sure, Matt gets cheered, — but it’s not like the powers that be have ever shown any sign of caring! How could the creative team’s eternal stepchild come so far in just half a year? Quite easily, actually. If you don’t believe me, just take a look a Matt’s track record…

Blast From The Past
Matt Hardy made his debut in 1992 at just 18 years of age, working his first matches for a number of regional and now mostly defunct leagues.

Although he still had much to learn back then, Matt’s talent must have been rather apparent, as both he and his brother Jeff were signed to WWF contracts in early 1995, a mere three years after first appearing on the circuit. While the brothers, collectively known as The Hardy Boyz, were used mostly as enhancement talent for the first three years of their tenure, they produced matches entertaining enough for established WWF superstars and officials to take note.

By 1998, the Hardy Boyz had successfully shaken off the jobber stigma and were given a first push as part of the WWF’s tag team division. However, their big break came in October 1999, when they wowed viewers and officials alike in an amazing ladder match against Edge & Christian, in which both teams showed their willingness and ability to go above and beyond the call of duty to entertain. From that point on, the Hardy Boyz were pushed as one of the premier teams of the division and quickly became multiple Tag Team Champions, delivering some of the most daring and exciting tag team action ever presented inside a WWF ring. Quickly rising in popularity, the Hard Boyz would enjoy an extended run on top of the WWF tag team division.

In the wake of the WWE brand extension in 2002, Matt took his first steps in singles competition as a SmackDown! performer. Proving wrong those who felt he would sink without daredevil Jeff by his side, Matt was able to connect with the crowd and quickly carved out a niche for himself as the guru of a movement he adequately dubbed “Mattitude”. Playing a self-absorbed, wise-cracking heel, Matt rapidly gained in popularity, becoming one of the most recognized faces of the cruiserweight division alongside Rey Mysterio. In spite of its success, the gimmick was inexplicably dropped in late 2003, when Matt, at his request, was moved to RAW to be with his real-life girlfriend Lita.

On RAW, Matt had a lengthy program with Kane. Although their vastly different styles did not keep them from producing some surprisingly enjoyable matches, the whole feud was unnecessarily bogged down by the farfetched and highly implausible storyline that provided the backdrop for these matches. In August 2004, the feud ended with Matt allegedly being injured by Kane, so that he could take a break and have reconstructive surgery done his legitimately injured knee.

Matt would not appear on WWE television again until July 2005, when he entered into a ready-made feud with Edge, capitalizing on the real-life affair between the latter and Lita, which by then had become public knowledge. Proving himself to be a team player and professional, Matt wound up jobbing to Edge on more than one occasion before being moved to SmackDown! after coming up short in an action-packed “Loser Leaves RAW” Ladder Match on October 3, 2005.

Since his return to SmackDown!, Matt has been floundering. Apart from a brief Hardy Boyz reunion, he hasn’t been given a lot to work with in recent and seems to be on the fast track to becoming a jobber to the stars. But he doesn’t have to. Let’s look at what Matt Hardy could be!

Back To The Future
At Wrestlemania 23, interference by Joey Mercury costs Matt his chance to become “Mr. Money In The Bank 2007”.

The following week on SmackDown!, Matt addresses their longstanding feud. He points out that he didn’t deliberately smash Mercury’s face at last year’s Armageddon PPV. He didn’t mean to do it. However, he now wishes he had, because Mercury deserved it. He demanded — and received — more than one shot at Matt following Armageddon, but never got the job done. Instead, he had to come in and ruin what could have been Matt’s biggest Wrestlemania victory ever.

Just then, Mercury appears on the titan tron, looking more than a little freakish in his protective face mask. He tells Matt to prepare for many more losses down the road. Matt, he says, took his superstar looks from him, and in doing so ruined his career. Now, he is going to return the favor. Grinning manically, Mercury vows that Matthew Moore Hardy will not score a win inside a wrestling ring ever again.

Over the next month, it becomes evident that Mercury means it, as his interference costs Matt match after match. Unable to get his hands on the former prettyboy, a frustrated Matt confronts Johnny Nitro at Backlash and tells him to rein in his partner. But Nitro doesn’t even have time to answer, as Mercury enters through the crowd to attack both him and Matt with a baseball bat. Jeff Hardy, who attempts to interfere on his brother’s behalf, gets clobbered as well. Mercury then informs a half-conscious Matt that they’ll have a match on SmackDown!. However, Mercury adds, since he has to compete with a facial injury, it wouldn’t be fair for Matt to go into the match at 100%. Without another word, he smashes his baseball bat across Matt’s knee!

Against the wishes of his doctors, Matt shows up to wrestle on SmackDown! the following week. Mercury takes full advantage of the handicap he inflicted on Matt, delivering vicious blows to the injured knee. Although Matt refuses to stay down and even fights out of a figure four late in the match, Mercury eventually picks up the win after a swinging DDT. Security immediately swarms the ring to keep him from mauling Matt any further. As Mercury is being led to the back, paramedics attend to Matt, but quickly discover that their support is not welcomed. Refusing all help, Matt fights to his feet, holding on to the top rope for support. Swaying, sweating and bleeding, he demands a microphone, and promptly challenges a stunned Mercury to a re-match… because Matt Hardy will not die!

After weeks of preparation, threats and stand-offs on both sides, Matt and Mercury face off again at Judgment Day. This time, everything goes, and both men take full advantage of the possibilities, regularly leaving the ring and involving numerous tables, ladders and chairs. Matt picks up the victory after a Twist of Fate on a chair, finally putting Mercury in his place.

Impressed by Matt’s drive and talent, Teddy Long grants him a shot at reviled US Champion MVP on the post-PPV broadcast of SmackDown!. Matt ends up outwrestling MVP, who eventually allows himself to be clotheslined to the outside and then gets himself deliberately counted out to avoid losing the title.

Unwilling to tolerate such tactics, Teddy Long forces MVP into another match against Matt the following week. Once again, the champion comes within a hair’s breadth of losing the title, but manages to retain due to interference by his bodyguard Mark Henry.

On the next edition of SmackDown!, MVP downplays the trouble Matt gave him and claims to have found a more suitable opponent. He then goes on to beat this handpicked challenger, who happens to be one Scotty II Hotty, in record time, and celebrates his victory in ridiculous fashion. This draws out Matt Hardy, who jumps MVP, but is quickly pulled off by Mark Henry. Before the situation has a chance to escalate further, security intervenes. Teddy Long is out, as well, and announces that MVP will not get out of giving Matt a proper match.

The following week, however, MVP brings his lawyer, who accuses Long of being racist for granting Caucasian challenger Matt shot after shot at African-American champion MVP. Ignoring the fact that Long’s own African-American heritage makes this claim ludicrous, MVP’s lawyer demands that the next challenger be non-Caucasian, threatening to sue if Long does not comply.

So, Long is forced to make a no.1-contendership match pitting Matt against MVP’s handpicked candidate Daivari, who, of course, belongs to the US Champion’s posse. The match proves to be an uphill battle for Matt, as MVP’s laywer keeps distracting the referee, causing him to overlook pinfall attempts and allowing both Mark Henry and MVP himself to interfere. Nonetheless, Matt forges on bravely, finally reversing one of Daivari’s holds into a pinning predicament to score the shocking three-count and once again become the top contender to the US Championship. MVP’s laywer tries to get the decision overturned, but quickly finds himself on the receiving end of a Twist of Fate. Teddy Long reiterates that the decision is final and adds that MVP’s next title defense will be at The Great American Bash — in a cage match!

Over the next few weeks, MVP tries everything in his power to get out of the match, but finds himself unable to deter Matt. So, when the cage is erected at The Great American Bash, the US Champion has to face the music. MVP shows off his mean streak here and puts up quite a fight, but it is Matt Hardy who takes the victory and the US Championship after a Twist Of Fate from the top rope.

On SmackDown!, Matt is fully prepared to grant MVP his contractually guaranteed re-match. Surprisingly enough, the former champion declines in favor of a good friend. In fact, it is the newest member of his posse, and the man who made his debut on SmackDown! by mutilating an overwhelmed Matt Hardy. It is Finlay, who makes short work of an unprepared Matt and brings his celebrated first reign as US Champion to a screeching halt.

The following week, MVP issues a mock challenge to Finlay, knowing very well that his newest associate will gladly lay down as long as the money is right. Before the match can get underway, though, Matt interrupts, reminding MVP and Finlay that he has a right to a re-match, too. MVP might have backed down, but he won’t. He wants Finlay at Summer Slam. Half amused, half annoyed, Finlay asks if he really wants to get whipped again. But Matt refuses to be intimidated, vowing to leave Summer Slam with the gold around his waist. He might leave battered, bruised and bloodied, but he will leave victorious. He will reclaim the US Championship, and he will not die.

The events that unfold over the next few week make Matt’s statement look pretty bold indeed, as Finlay gets the better of him every time their paths cross. In a sit-down interview with Michel Cole, Matt agrees that he is the underdog. He realizes that. Finlay is more experienced, stronger and heavier. However, Matt explains, there is one thing Finlay never was and can never hope to become, and that’s Matt Hardy. That is the one advantage Matt feels he has, and that will have to do.

That brings us to Summer Slam and the match outlined in the opening section of this column. In what is sure to be the longest US Championship match in years, Matt and Finlay go at it for more than 23 fast-paced, intense and action-packed minutes. As Matt promised, it turns out to be a far cry from the humiliation he went through a few week ago. Finlay attempts take control, but finds himself unable to do so, and starts making mistakes in his increasing rage. Even Hornswoggle can’t turn the tide in Finlay’s favor. In the end, after a number of close calls on either side, Matt is able to end the match with a Twist of Fate out of nowhere, finally defeating Finlay and reclaiming the US Championship.

The Future In Review
Sounds good, doesn’t it? Given Matt’s enduring popularity and his ability to connect with a crowd, I have no doubt that he could get the fans behind him in a heartbeat, especially when playing the underdog going up against insurmountable odds. Matt has been losing big-time matches for years now, and did so without complaining. He laid down for the man his girlfriend had an affair with, for pity’s sake! Now, it is time for Matt to win. The fans want to see it, the man deserves it, and the skills to justify it are there. Book it. Now.

So, what’s your take on this? Who would you like to see rake in some wins in the future? Be sure to let me know!