Matt Hardy will always hold a special place in the heart of every Attitude Era fan. The wrestler once pegged as little more than “Jeff Hardy’s older brother” celebrated a hugely significant milestone this week as he hit 30 years as a professional wrestler. That is some feat in an industry where injuries, burnout, and overall attrition are everyday occurrences.
Be it as a 24/7 heel or as a white meat babyface, Matt has had some entirely memorable gimmicks through the years. He has ridden those gimmicks to 12 Tag Team Championships with his brother across multiple promotions (WWE, TNA/Impact, and ROH), along with singles success. Matt was perhaps at his most relevant when twice the TNA World Champion, but his WWE runs have included a string of mid and lower-card titles.
Always entertaining and able to find a way to matter in a company, here are a few of my favorite Matt Hardy gimmicks.
Matt Hardy Version 1
This cocky-heel version of Matt Hardy probably had no right working as well as it did. Keen to get away from the Hardy Boyz – yet still fully aware of how to use what made the brothers successful to his advantage – this was the era of the Matt Facts. Internet culture was rising, and the way the TV screen gave this entrance, a unique look was awesome. The facts being as inane as they were, made everything better – as did Shannon Moore as the generally useless sidekick – as Hardy threw everything he had into this character.
The Hardy Boyz
You cannot look at the best gimmicks of Matt’s career without a nod to where it all began. It was a team that arrived at just the right point in history when smaller and more agile tag teams were replacing the plodding giants of years past. Fans had never seen anything like the Hardy Boyz, and their instant chemistry with the Dudley Boyz and Edge and Chrristian led to matches that still feel as fresh when watching today as they did around the turn of the century. The best part of this version was the sheer joy and energy the Hardyz would bring to the ring. There were no nights when they would mail it in as as much as Jeff was the favorite, it was often Matt who carried the show with his work rate.
Broken Matt
Explaining this gimmick retrospectively really doesn’t do it justice. Matt Hardy was an afterthought, a wrestler with his best years behind him when suddenly he became the most talked about performer in the industry. That would have been impressive enough if Matt was in WWE, but he managed to be must-see TV when wrestling on Impact, which bows the mind looking back on it.
Broken Matt was all Matt Hardy. He changed his wrestling style to a more deliberate pace and style. His promos were entirely off the wall, and the entertainment factor was dialed up to 10 every time he had the mic in a live promo or with a backstage vignette. Matt made the cinematic match matter even before the pandemic, and the Broken Universe, with its mix of family, magic, and sheer lunacy, was Matt at his creative peak.
Always remember, folks. Pro Wrestling is Real.
