Although it wasn’t the classic match people had originally expected, Dolph Ziggler did successfully retain his Intercontinental Title against Seth Rollins in the 30-minute Iron Man Match that ended up serving as the main event of Sunday’s (July 15, 2018) WWE Extreme Rules pay-per-view event in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at the PPG Paints Arena on the WWE Network.
An interesting stat has surfaced about the match as it was the second time ever that the title by itself has main evented a WWE pay-per-view. The last time that the Intercontinental Championship main evented a show was the Bret Hart versus Davey Boy Smith match at Summerslam 1992. Historically, these title matches will be booked as the hot opener for a PPV event.
Matt Hardy Shares Cryptic Message
Matt Hardy has fans talking over the latest cryptic message he posted on his official Twitter account after he and Bray Wyatt lost the RAW Tag Team Titles to the B-Team (Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel) at Extreme Rules.
There is speculation online that WWE will split up Wyatt and Wyatt that will eventually lead to a match that could come as early as next month at the upcoming SummerSlam pay-per-view event on Sunday, August 19, 2018 in Brooklyn, New York at the Barclays Center.
Prior to Jeff Hardy’s return from a shoulder injury earlier this year, there were rumors of him possibly introducing his other character known as ‘Brother Nero’ upon his return to join the ‘Broken’ Matt Hardy.
While this did not turn out to be the case and the returning Hardy was quickly moved to SmackDown Live instead, Matt recently talked about the current US Champion possibly joining him in future.
During a interview with The Philly Voice, One half of the current Raw Tag Team Champions discussed his brother possibly joining him in future, saying that while currently he is on SmackDown Live, they can utilize him as Brother Nero whenever it’s needed:
“I think Jeff can go to SmackDown and be amazing and be the ‘Charismatic Enigma’ and he can do everything he can do in that persona, and if we need to utilize him as Brother Nero, we can do that whenever.”
Jeff Hardy was unfortunate enough to suffer a shoulder injury in September 2017, just a few months after his surprise return to WWE during WrestleMania 33 earlier in the year.
While he was rehabbing and recovering in order to get back into the ring, his brother Matt, who also returned on the same night, become ‘Woken’.
After Matt Hardy started using the bizarre gimmick that first got over in Impact Wrestling in WWE, speculations begun that Jeff could also have a shift in his character and instead of returning as the Charismatic Enigma he could return as Brother Nero.
However, these rumors didn’t turn out to be true and while Jeff originally returned on the same brand as his brother, he was quickly shifted to SmackDown Live during the Superstar Shakeup earlier this year.
Conflicting Reports On Saturday Night’s Main Event
It was reported yesterday that WWE could be reviving Saturday Night’s Main Event as part of their new Television deals and the airing of the show will be split between NBC and Fox.
However, during the latest episode of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer denied these reports and said that while it’s still possible; the people on both WWE and Fox’s side have said that the story is not true.
Continuing on the topic, Meltzer claimed that he was told there won’t be any ‘added wrestling programming’ in the new deal.
He went on to say that the rumors about NXT airing on FS1 were untrue as well and while it makes sense, his sources told him that it’s not happening.
Matt Hardy Wants To Delete The B Team
Bray Wyatt was absent from this week’s episode of Monday Night Raw due to a car accident. It forced Matt Hardy to face Curtis Axel in a one on one match without his partner being at ringside while Bo Dallas was in the corner for Axel.
The match saw Axel scoring another pinfall victory over his opponent after Dallas distracted Matt and Curtis was able to hit him with a facebuster for the win.
After the show, Hardy gave a backstage interview where he talked about the absence of his partner and claimed that at Extreme Rules, the B Team will see the darkness of Deletion:
WWE has released a short video on their official YouTube channel which shows some ‘behind the scenes’ footage from the ‘Ultimate Deletion’ shoot earlier this year.
In a promotional short for tonight’s ‘WWE 24: The Hardys: Woken’ former TNA/IMPACT Wrestling on screen personality and producer Jeremy Borash is shown describing the filming concept behind the Broken/Woken segments. One of the more interesting takes from the video includes this statement from Borash; “If it fits in TNA, great. If it doesn’t fit in TNA then we’ll take it somewhere else. Obviously it found the best home it could, to have the most eyeballs which is WWE.”
One of WWE’s senior figures Michael Hayes is also present in the video, where he discusses the ‘drone’ portion of the original TNA concept with both Borash and Matt Hardy, claiming that “If we don’t do more than what you guys did we’ll all be in trouble” (alluding to Vince McMahon expecting ‘more’ than the original concept).
The WWE 24 Network special on the Hardys will be released tonight immediately following Money In The Bank. You can check out the preview video below:
The Ultimate Deletion earlier this year did better than the WWE Officials were expecting and after its success, there were reports that we may see more from the Hardy Production on WWE TV in upcoming time.
While since then the conditions haven’t been right for a trip back to the Hardy Compound, the Broken One himself is now teasing another Deletion.
Matt Hardy recently posted a video of his encounter with Bray Wyatt on Twitter and in the caption of the tweet as seen below; he teased a tag team deletion match for the future:
GIMME AN OL’ RE-TWEET if you’d like to see @WWEBrayWyatt & I do this AGEEN.. But as PARTNERS on The #HardyCompound against two deserving OBSOLETE MULES. https://t.co/53WkVHKl2F
It’s worth mentioning here that since winning the titles at Greatest Royal Rumble, Hardy and Wyatt haven’t had any real competition but things can change this week.
This week’s episode of Raw will feature a tag team Battle Royal and the winners will get a shot at the Tag Team Champions, presumably at the upcoming Money In The Bank PPV.
While not confirmed the B-Team looks to be the most likely duo to win this bout and their comical gimmick will blend in very well with the setup of the Ultimate Deletion.
So it’s possible that their win at the upcoming episode of the Red Branded Show will put them in a feud with the current Champions, culminating with a Deletion match somewhere down the line.
Discussion: Would you like to see the B Team battling with Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt in an Ultimate Deletion match in future? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section.
Ronda Rousey is set to challenge for her first title in WWE, when she takes on Nia Jax for the RAW Women’s Title at the Money In The Bank (MITB) pay-per-view (PPV) later next month. Last night on RAW, Commissioner Stephanie McMahon hosted the contract signing between the two.
McMahon was able to manipulate Jax and Rousey into turning on each other and getting a bit hostile. Both women exchanged some heated words before shaking hands and starring down.
On Instagram earlier today, The Rowdy One had some strong words for the RAW Women’s Champ ahead of their match:
The B-Team has been causing quite the stir on Monday Night RAW. They seem to have caught the attention of one-half of the Monday Night RAW Tag Team Champions, Matt Hardy. They got into the following exchange on Twitter last night:
[EXCLUSIVE VIDEO] B-Team, be careful what you wish for..
The B in B-Team will ultimately stand for DELETE, you PUSILLANIMOUS PHARISEES. Myself & @WWEBrayWyatt are holding plots for both of you at The Hardy Compound’s Land of OBSOLETE Men. https://t.co/2mfUezBDY2pic.twitter.com/Rl8v7VZggY
Who Are The Spiritual Beings Controlling Matt Hardy & Bray Wyatt?
“I promise you if you could see the creature that lay behind these eyes, you wouldn’t be standing in front of me. You would be kneeling before me in a puddle of your own piss.” – Bray Wyatt
During the video, Bray Wyatt reveals that Sister Abigail is no longer controlling him. Now, Wyatt is occupied by a being other than Sister Abigail. Wyatt revealed to the camera that this spiritual being’s name is Samael.
“To me, Abigail was a delicious poison. An intoxicating, overwhelming, poison, but Abigail don’t live here no more. I am Samael” – Bray Wyatt
In Judaism, Samael is the name of the Angel Of Death or sometimes the name given to the devil. In other religions, the name is also associated with demons, though sometimes it is a name just given to angel of high-ranking. There is also a theme of blindness related to the name. The Sethians used the name Samael to describe “the Blind God”.
“Samael and my essence, Zenith, have been together since the Genesis. And now, Samael is no longer suppressed by Abigail!” – Matt Hardy
The word “Zenith” is normally used to describe the highest point of something. As in, if you climbed to the top of Mount Everest, you reached the mountain’s zenith.
Hardy and Wyatt have been given the tag-team name “Deleter of Worlds” and are now the new Raw tag-team champions. The immortal duo of time-travelers defeated the Bar at the Greatest Royal Rumble to win the vacated titles. The belts had previously been held by Braun Strowman and Nicholas.
A recent social media post by Bray Wyatt has some wondering if Bo Dallas & Curtis Axel will join the “Woken” world of Matt Hardy’s. Dallas and Axel had previously been working as the Miz-tourage but their mentor was sent to Smackdown during the Superstar Shakeup.
Since that time, Axel and Dallas have approached both Seth Rollins and Finn Balor in the hopes of becoming their entourage. Now, Dallas’ real-life brother is reaching out to the pair with an offer to help.
Bray Wyatt & Matt Hardy and Raw’s Tag-Team Division
Bray Wyatt and Matt Hardy will have a chance to win the Raw tag-team championships on Friday in Saudi Arabia. The “Woken Warriors” will meet former champions, the Bar, for the vacant titles. The titles were vacated when Braun Strowman’s tag-team partner, Nicholas, had to return to school.
Considering the Bar have been drafted to Smackdown, it’s not clear what will happen to the Raw tag-team titles if they are won by a team from another brand.
The last 3 weeks on Raw, Wyatt & Hardy have defeated Titus Worldwide, the Revival, and the Ascension. Other teams in the division now also include the Authors of Pain and Breezeango.
Bo Dallas turns 28 next month and has been signed to WWE since he was a teenager. He wrestled his first match in WWE’s developmental system as an 18-year-old. During his time on the main roster, he has worked a motivational speaker gimmick, been a part of the Social Outcasts, and most recently as a member of the Miz’s Miz-tourage.
38-year-old Curtis Axel first signed with WWE in 2007. He’s worked several gimmicks during his time on the main roster. Axel had a run as a “Paul Heyman Guy” and won the Intercontinental Championship. He also teamed with Ryback and imitated Hulk Hogan for awhile as well. Most recently, Axel has been a part of the Social Outcasts and the Miz-tourage.
This week on Raw, Bray Wyatt and Matt Hardy put their newfound alliance to the test against Apollo and Titus O’Neil in the first step toward possibly facing Cesaro and Sheamus for the vacant Raw Tag Team Championship at the Greatest Royal Rumble.
It’s quite possible that their alliance will be short-lived as according to Dave Meltzer in the latest issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, there is a pitch for Wyatt to turn on Hardy and become the leader of SAnitY.
Wyatt addressed the report in a tweet on Saturday afternoon, tagging both Hardy and Meltzer.
At WrestleMania 34, Wyatt returned from “deletion” to help Hardy win the 2018 Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. The two hugged afterward before celebrating Hardy’s win, thus ending their rivalry, forming a team, and turning Wyatt into a fan favorite. The next night on Raw, Wyatt and Hardy beat Apollo and O’Neil to advance in the Tag Team Eliminator. This coming Monday night on Raw, Wyatt and Hardy will take on The Revival for the right to challenge The Bar at the Greatest Royal Rumble on April 27.
SAnitY doesn’t appear long for NXT as only Killian Dain worked a TV match at Wednesday’s television tapings in Orlando, Florida. After the tapings concluded, there was a dark match where NXT Champion Aleister Black beat Eric Young. Black then took out Dain and Alexander Wolfe.
Former rivals ‘Woken’ Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt put their differences aside at WrestleMania and forged an alliance. It was an unexpected turn of events after their heated rivalry that saw Matt delete Bray by throwing him in the Lake of Reincarnation during the Ultimate Deletion special.
According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, WWE’s creative team is already discussing plans to split them up and for Bray to align himself with a new band of misfits.
“Whether this happens or not remains to be seen but there is a pitch for Wyatt to turn on Matt Hardy and then be the leader of the Sanity group.”
Sanity is the NXT stable consisted of Eric Young, Nikki Cross and former NXT tag team champions Alexander Wolfe and Killian Dain.
Woken Matt & Bray Wyatt
The night after joining forces at WrestleMania, the duo teamed up on RAW in the first round of the Tag Team Eliminator Tournament to crown new RAW tag team champions. They made short work of Titus Worldwide to advance. Next week, they will face Dash & Dawson to determine who faces The Bar at Greatest Royal Rumble for the vacant titles.
Whether or not Matt and Bray advance to the finals and challenge for the tag titles, it seems that they will be treated as a tag team unit during next week’s Superstar Shake-Up.
– As seen last night at WrestleMania, Bray Wyatt returned to WWE TV to assist “Woken” Matt Hardy in winning the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal. This comes several weeks removed from Hardy DELETING Wyatt on The Ultimate Deletion on RAW.
Wyatt was tossed into the Lake Of Reincarnation and many speculated he could return as a new character. It seems that now Wyatt and Hardy will be allies on RAW moving forward. The pair took to Twitter to comment on their newfound friendship:
It’s time to DELETE & BURN all of the OPPOSITION as we ILLUMINATE The Plane identified as @WWE.
And it shall be DOCUMENTED.
The MAGIC within @WWE is about to be AUGMENTED EXPONENTIALLY.
– As seen in last night’s first-ever WrestleMania Women’s Battle Royal, Bayley eliminated Sasha Banks to further add to their budding rivalry. It’s expected the pair will confront one another on tonight’s episode of Monday Night RAW.
The Legit Boss took to Twitter to post a message to Bayley as we’re just hours away from showtime:
Matt Hardy believes he is able to communicate with Andre the Giant. In footage released following his victory last night, Hardy revealed that his strategy in the Battle Royal was dictated to him by Andre himself.
Hardy won the match following interference from Bray Wyatt.
Bray Wyatt Helps Matt Hardy Win Battle Royal
Bray Wyatt appeared in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal even though he was not officially entered in the match. Wyatt’s involvement contributed to Hardy winning and the two would embrace after Matt had been declared the winner.
Wyatt’s fall into the Lake of Reincarnation seems to have led to him being a follower of Matt Hardy’s. This storyline will likely be furthered in the coming weeks on Raw.
– SmackDown Live Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair is set to defend her throne against 2018 Women’s Royal Rumble winner Asuka at WrestleMania 34 this weekend. The Queen has the opportunity to become the first woman to ever defeat The Empress Of Tomorrow in WWE, as she hasn’t lost in two years of competition. Yesterday Flair took to Twitter to send the following message to her SDL Women’s Title Challenger:
– Several weeks ago to close out Monday Night RAW, The Final Deletion resulted in Bray Wyatt being DELETED by “Woken” Matt Hardy. Wyatt was tossed into the Lake Of Reincarnation and hasn’t been seen on WWE TV since. Wyatt recently took to Twitter and issued out the following cryptic Tweet in the midst of rumors that a character change could be coming for The Eater Of Worlds:
Last week on WWE RAW, Woken Matt Hardy deleted Bray Wyatt at the Ultimate Deletion and threw Wyatt into the Lake of Reincarnation. Senor Benjamin searched for Bray Wyatt’s carcass in the lake, but it was nowhere to be found. Matt Hardy celebrated and claimed that the Great War was over.
Bray Wyatt made his first comments following Ultimate Deletion last night and Matt Hardy responded with the following:
WWE held a Live Event last night in Kitchener, Ontario. Bray Wyatt appeared on the show as the same character he was before being thrown into the Lake of Reincarnation. Bray cut a promo and claimed that he was a god that can never die and that he cannot be deleted. Wyatt said that the Great War is far from over and then called out Matt Hardy.
Matt Hardy came down to the entrance ramp and asked why Bray was fighting the inevitable. Matt claimed that he has deleted Bray Wyatt’s addiction and his essence, Sister Abigail. Matt added that Wyatt’s character and persona was about to change. Hardy got into the ring with Wyatt and stated that he was not Bray Wyatt’s enemy, he was Wyatt’s salvation.
Hardy told Wyatt not to fight the change and the crowd started to chant “change”. Hardy referred to Bray as “Woken Wyatt” and asked him to come to the light. Wyatt then attacked Hardy and the crowd booed. Wyatt went to hit Hardy with the Sister Abigail but Matt reversed it into the Twist of Fate. Heel By Nature uploaded footage from the confrontation and you can check that out in the video below.
– This past week’s episode of Monday Night RAW featured “Woken” Matt Hardy vs. Bray Wyatt in the Ultimate Deletion from the Hardy Family Compound. For the most part the segment received positive reviews from the professional wrestling world on Twitter. There were, of course, some critics who were not too thrilled about the segment. He recently took to Twitter to address these criticisms:
The #UltimateDELETION was absolutely LOVED by the majority of the audience. And the other small percentage, which were confused/disliked were EXTREMELY vocal as it EVOKED EMOTION..
– WWE’s Southpaw Regional Wrestling won Best Comedy Series at the Cynopsis Short Form Video Festival & Conference. The Cynopsis Short Form Video Festival & Conference recognizes outstanding work in short-form video, showcasing storytelling across multiple platforms. Southpaw Regional Wrestling also placed third in the Brand Content/Content Marketing – Sports category.
“Woken” Matt Hardy recently did an interview with TMZ Sports to discuss the Ultimate Deletion. Hardy won The Great War by defeating Bray Wyatt and tossing him into the Lake Of Reincarnation. Hardy said that the feedback from fans has been tremendous and he hopes there will be more to come soon – and it will change WWE ‘forevah’:
“I have to tell you this – it has been amazing, the feedback from The Woken Warriors and the WWE Universe, and people all across the globe. It has been met with love and with adoration,” Matt said. “I say, this is something that probably wasn’t supposed to happen on the plane known as WWE.
“I don’t know if Woken Matt Hardy was supposed to get here but he did and now that I’m here, I’m being fueled by The 7 Deities, I have introduced House Hardy, my magic, my family. I’ve introduced The Hardy Compound and now that we have the foot in the door, I believe this is only the start of many, many great things. I think this is something that will change the WWE Universe… forevah!”
WWE Hall Of Famer Mick Foley then popped into the interview and said he wonders what Vince McMahon thought of the segment. Hardy said he doesn’t know if McMahon loved or hated the segment – but the fact is his “Woken” Warriors and the WWE Universe loved it, and if McMahon has any issues with that then he will DELETE him:
“What absolutely pleasurable words from The Dude That Loves Mankind, Mick Foley, The Cactus Jackman. I’m very happy to hear from him, my friend and I know in his state of euphoria and excitement, of course he messed up the name but yes it was… The Ultimate Deletion!,” Matt said in reference to the Foley tweet.
“And that MeekMahan is a hard character to read. I do not know if he loved it or hated it but these are the facts – The Woken Warriors and the WWE Universe had much adoration for it and they loved the Woken/Broken Universe, and for that, if MeekMahan has any issues with it I certainly have a spot here at The Hardy Compound where I can delete him. Senor Benjamin would love to start digging a hole for him.”
As seen on this week’s episode of Monday Night RAW, Bray Wyatt lost his Ultimate Deletion match against “Woken” Matt Hardy at the Hardy Family Compound. Wyatt was thrown into the Lake Of Reincarnation and his body was not able to be found by Senor Benjamin. Many speculated that this could lead to a character change for Wyatt after the match. Some went as far as to speculate that Husky Harris could return, or Wyatt could come back as Sister Abigail.
Wrestling Observer Radio’s Dave Meltzer recently confirmed that there is, in fact, talk about making changes to Bray Wyatt’s character. There is currently no word on what that change may be, however, some feel that it’s long overdue as they believe Wyatt’s current character ran its course long ago. When Wyatt does return it’s very possible he continues his rivalry with Matt Hardy.
Matt claimed on Twitter that Wyatt won’t be seen for years to come and Vanguard 1’s Twitter account said there is still no sign of the “DELETED” Bray Wyatt:
On this past Monday’s episode of RAW, WWE closed out the show with Matt Hardy’s Ultimate Deletion segment against Bray Wyatt from the Hardy Family Compound.
Hardy and Wyatt battled it out all over the compound before “Woken” Matt was able to pick up the pinfall victory. After the bout Hardy tossed Wyatt into the Lake Of Reincarnation, and Senor Benjamin was unable to recover his body.
After the segment was done airing, the professional wrestling world reacted to it rather positively on social media. It saw a ton of positive reviews and it looks like there’s a chance another one could take place down the road. WrestleZone’s Nick Hausman reports that Vince McMahon was concerned about how fans would receive the segment. Not all WWE fans are familiar with the initial ‘Broken Universe’ segments done by Hardy in his time with Impact Wrestling.
Now that the reviews are in from the Ultimate Deletion, however, the experiment is seen as a huge success after holding over three million viewers in RAW’s final hour. It was also the number one trending topic on Twitter for over three hours. Initially there was a struggle to get the segment on TV, but now it seems there’s a very good possibility WWE could do similar angles down the line.
As noted earlier, Matt Hardy actually spoke to TMZ Sports about Vince McMahon’s reaction to Ultimate Deletion, noting that he will DELETE the WWE Chairman if he didn’t appreciate his broken brilliance. Wonderful!
Reaction to this Monday’s “Ultimate Deletion” has had wide-ranging impacts. Clips of the match have been pulling in great numbers on social media and have even garnered some mainstream publicity.
TMZ reporters recently caught up with Hardy who appears to be riding high at the moment. He mentioned that his Woken Universe was never supposed to make it to WWE but now that it has, he will DELETE Vince McMahon if he did not enjoy the Ultimate Deletion.
Matt Hardy “I Will Delete Vince McMahon If He Didn’t Like My Ultimate Deletion”
Mick Foley also appeared via split-screen during the interview and gave his feedback on the Ultimate Deletion. Foley said he spent some time thinking about how Vince McMahon likely felt about the match.
Matt Hardy responded to “the Dude who Loves” and mentioned he hasn’t yet spoken to Vince McMahon about the segment but says his Woken Warriors loved it.
Last night’s episode of Monday Night RAW ended with WWE showing The Ultimate Deletion between “Woken” Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt at the Hardy Family Compound. The segment received positive reviews from the professional wrestling world on Twitter, and Hardy noted himself in a Tweet that the Ultimate Deletion was trending #1 worldwide:
Tonight was much more than just a professional victory on #RAW for me..
It was an ENORMOUS PERSONAL VICTORY.
I couldn't have done it without YOU, my LOYAL #WOKENWarriors..#UltimateDELETION has been the #1 WORLDWIDE TREND for OVAH an hour now..
Hardy also responded to Michael Cole’s negativity before the segment aired. Cole apologized for the “obnoxious and surreal” segment WWE fans were about to witness. Hardy responded to Cole’s comments in a later Tweet:
Yeeeaassss, that was absolutely MAGICAL Great Commander. Now it is time to DELETE that JEJUNE ORANGUTANG Michael Cole. He is undoubtedly deletion worthy
As seen on this week’s episode of WWE Monday Night RAW in Dallas, Texas at the American Airlines Center on the USA Network, WWE aired the Ultimate Deletion Match that saw Matt Hardy defeat Bray Wyatt. Senor Benjamin, Reby Sky and Jeff Hardy made an appearance in the match.
Mike Johnson of PWInsider has provided some backstage news and notes. Wyatt and Matt were both backstage at the TV event when the match aired.
Michael Hayes was listed as the producer for the match while former TNA personality Jeremey Borash was involved in filming the match.
Matt’s wife, Rebecca, filmed and edited a bunch of footage for the match herself. She also helped compose some of the original music.
Finally, regarding Jeff, he teased his Brother Nero character in the match. If you recall, the Raw Superstar suffered a torn right rotator cuff during a six-pack match in October 2017. He is now just waiting to be cleared by WWE.
Hardy would come out victorious in the match and pushed Bray Wyatt into the Lake of Reincarnation. Now Bray Wyatt has been deleted and the Woken Matt Hardy story moves into a new chapter.
We break down reactions to the Ultimate Deletion match below:
I *LOVED* the #UltimateDeletion. It watched like an ultra-cinematic video game final boss fight. Almost like it was produced by Hideo Kojima. It far exceeded my expectations. Tremendous work @MATTHARDYBRAND @WWEBrayWyatt
Nick Jackson revealed plans for his own Final Deletion style match with the Hardyz:
The plan was to have a final deletion match with the Hardy’s last year but obviously plans changed. Glad they’re allowing Matt and Jeff to show how creative they are.
– Current rumored WrestleMania 34 plans for the United States Championship have Randy Orton defending his title against Bobby Roode and Jinder Mahal in a Triple Threat match. WWE posted the following backstage video of “The Modern Day Maharaja” claiming he is the uncrowned United States Champion:
– Tonight’s episode of Monday Night RAW will feature The Ultimate Deletion segment between Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt at The Hardy Family Compound. Hardy took to Twitter to hype tonight’s segment:
Matt Hardy’s rivalry with Bray Wyatt will culminate tonight in the Ultimate Deletion. The content of this match has been the topic of legal conversations between Hardy and his ex-employer over the last year. With legal hurdles cleared, it’s time for Matt Hardy’s Woken Universe to truly debut in WWE.
While we’ve seen Matt Hardy perform as the character on WWE programming, we’ve yet to see an Ultimate Deletion style match. For all the talk there has been regarding how the gimmick has been presented in WWE so far, the real test will be how well regarded the segment tonight is.
It’s been less than 2 years since Matt was broken. He was starting to crumble before then, however. In light of tonight’s Ultimate Deletion, this article looks back on how Matt Hardy transformed his gimmick.
Matt Hardy at 40
When Matt Hardy arrived in TNA Wrestling in 2014, he was months away from turning 40 and had been wrestling professionally for 20 years. The company he’d signed with had fired him 3 years earlier following his arrest for driving under the influence.
TNA had fallen far since Hardy had been there previously. In 2011, Hardy joined names like Rob Van Dam and Sting as Eric Bischoff and Hulk Hogan gained some level of authority behind the scenes. While that period in TNA history didn’t exactly end well, at the time it seemed like the company was on the verge of becoming bigger than they were.
There was nothing in the atmosphere of 2014 which suggested Matt Hardy was on the verge of the most significant part of his career. In fact, just the opposite was the case.
In 2014, Matt and Jeff reunited the Hardys in TNA and won the tag-team championships. They were forced to give them up that summer after Jeff was involved in an ATV accident. This led Matt to go into single’s competition and eventually win the TNA World Championship. Some bizarre booking led to him losing the title without actually losing a match, however. He’d spend the rest of the year trying to win the championship back off Drew Galloway but failing.
As high up the card as Matt was at this time, TNA was struggling to find itself during this period. As it would turn out, what Matt Hardy would do the following year would begin to re-define the company, for a little while, at least.
Matt Hardy is Broken in 2016
In early 2016, Hardy turned heel after his wife, Reby Sky, helped him defeat EC3 to win the TNA World Championship. His brother Jeff didn’t approve of his heel-ish actions and the brothers turned into rivals for the first time since 2009.
On the March 15th edition of Impact Wrestling, Drew Galloway won a fatal 4-way match which also featured Matt Hardy, Jeff Hardy, and EC3 to win the TNA World Championship. From that moment on Matt set his sights on getting revenge on his brother. This led to an I-Quit match between the two on April 19th, 2016. The match would be ruled a no-contest after both men were too injured to continue.
The next time we saw Matt Hardy, he was speaking in a peculiar accent and was preoccupied with making his brother, whom he referred to as “Brother Nero”, obsolete.
Jeff defeated Matt in a Full Metal Mayhem match at Slammiversary that June. He defeated him again on Impact in a steel cage match. Finally, Matt challenged Jeff to a final match which would take place on the Hardy Family Compound. The match would be called “the Final Deletion” and would air on July 5th, 2016.
Reaction to the Final Deletion
The Final Deletion confirmed Matt Hardy was going all-in on this character. While the unique gimmick had its detractors, the reaction was generally positive.
The Final Deletion carried certain elements of Lucha Underground’s sci-fi universe but with a more comedic take. The viewer is asked to suspend disbelief to a larger degree, also similar to science fiction or fantasy movies. Characters are able to have supernatural abilities and are able to travel through time.
Matt’s never given a firm reason as to why, when, and where he decided to go in such a bizarre direction with his character. He’s never stated how confident he was either. This is mainly because he gives interviews in character for the most part. What we know is that Matt Hardy chose to re-invent himself after 40, when he’d been a pro over 20 years, and when many felt his best days were behind him. The result has been the most significant thing he’s ever done in his career.
The Road To Ultimate Deletion
Matt and Jeff Hardy made a triumphant returns to WWE less than a year ago at WrestleMania 33. The legendary team had reverted to the Hardy Boyz personas the WWE Universe was accustomed to from their previous run, but we’d soon get glimpses that Matt’s broken side was alive and well.
As the months passed and the Hardy’s legal battle with Impact Wrestling parents company Anthem Sports & Entertainment came to a close, it was only a matter of time before the dam broke and “Woken” Matt was unleashed. Jeff Hardy’s shoulder injury and subsequent surgery back in September paved the road for Matt to forge his own path.
As we embark on the road to the Hardy compound and the Ultimate Deletion, the true question is how much creative freedom Matt will have to execute his broken brilliance.
In the days since Jeff Hardy’s recent DWI arrest in Concord, NC, his brother Matt has posted several references to him on social media. The latest came on Tuesday night with a reference to Jeff needing help.
Matt’s wife Reby, who will be part of the Ultimate Deletion match scheduled for next week’s RAW, has also chimed in on Jeff’s situation. Reby says she and Matt have worked too hard on bringing the Broken Universe to WWE for Jeff to derail their plans.
In response to a fan on Instagram who said Brother Nero is needed for the Ultimate Deletion match, Reby vehemently disagrees. She wrote:
“Matt has busted his ass to get to this point. He & I have been fighting for this to happen for nearly a year. After the hard work & $50K+ in legal fees that *WE* paid, I’m gonna have to say NO. He is not “needed”. Jeff is clearly doing his own thing & it has nothing to do with us right now.”
Jeff Hardy’s DWI and Standing in WWE
Considering WWE has released multiple performers recently due to alleged criminal charges, some are concerned as to how Jeff’s recent arrest will impact his standing in WWE.
Jey Uso was arrested for DUI in January. WWE released the following statement in regards to his arrest:
“Joshua Fatu is responsible for his own personal actions. We are investigating the matter and awaiting information from local law enforcement officials.”
Which sounds a lot like what WWE released in regards to Jeff Hardy’s recent arrest:
“Jeff Hardy is responsible for his own personal actions. We are investigating the matter and awaiting information from local law enforcement officials.”
WWE has taken no action towards Jey Uso, so perhaps the same will be the case for Jeff Hardy, although Hardy does have a history of substance abuse issues which may further impact how the company handles the situation.
