The Matt Hardy Situation

It’s a bit of a paradox, really. There are so many things I’d like to discuss on my blog, that I find them canceling each other out, so I don’t end up discussing any of them. I want to do a season review of Louie. I’d like to do the same for True Blood, and Futurama as well. At the same time, there are a lot of the things on the wrestling front I’d like to express my feelings on. What’s going to happen to Nexus? Were they properly used? Should John Cena be worried about losing his top spot to Randy Orton? And, of course, there’s the ongoing Matt Hardy saga.

So, which do I discuss? What gets my attention?

Since I’ve been making snide remarks for the past few weeks about the guy, I think I’ll begin with Matt Hardy. Let me preface this post by saying that it’s important to keep in mind that Matt Hardy is a real human being, and every human being deserves health and happiness. So don’t misinterpret this – I genuinely do hope that he finds true happiness and that he lives a long and healthy life. I also don’t pretend to fully understand his “condition.” Was he taken off of the road because of legitimate health issues, or is he suffering from a drug problem? I honestly don’t really know. But I do know that this guy does not seem to be acting rationally. And quite honestly, he doesn’t seem well. And with that in mind, I hope he does find whatever help he needs.

Okay, now the scathing part. As a wrestling fan, I don’t particularly like Matt Hardy. There have been various times that I found him entertaining (most notably with his Version 1.0 character), but for the most part I think that he’s only a recognizable name and he’s only lasted so long because of the people that have surrounded him. Quite honestly, while he’s a solid performer, Matt Hardy is nowhere near the most technical wrestler. He couldn’t hold a candle to guys like Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho, Chris Benoit, Shawn Michaels, or even Triple H. And if those standards are unfair, I think he’s notches below people in his own classification, like Edge, Christian, CM Punk, and Hurricane Helms. Actually, I don’t think he’s really much more technically sound than Jeff. Jeff was never a poor performer, he just looks incredibly sloppy.

And like I said, the only reason he stands out is because of those around him. I don’t want to minimize Matt’s contribution to the team (which was no doubt significant), but the only reason the Hardy Boyz became superstars is because of the insane risks Jeff took. And a big reason why Matt was able to branch out on his own was because of his alliance with Lita (his Version 1.0 stint notwithstanding). And his feud with Edge should have made Hardy into a megastar….but really, it only had that impact on Edge, who completely carried that feud. Sure, Edge’s mic skills are vastly superior, but it just felt like Edge understood his character much better (and they were both beginning to play new characters at this point). Even though Matt’s emotions were real (and he did not deserve what happened to him in real life), I never quite bought that he hated Edge (even though, at the time, he surely did). I totally believed Edge’s rage, though.

And as far as mic skills go, I think he’s pretty bad, to be honest. Again, the only time he was entertaining was when he was basically a parody. He speaks too fast and his accent makes him sound like a doofus. And worst of all, he always sounds like he’s cutting a wrestling promo. There’s absolutely no believability whatsoever. And even though I don’t like him, that’s why I find him hard to like as a person. Whenever I see him do out-of-character interviews – or hell, even watch his recent YouTube videos – he sounds like he’s cutting a promo. And it’s humiliating. The guy sounds like he’s buying his own hype, and THAT’S why people criticize him for being his own biggest mark. I mean, when somebody in his position talks about protecting his “brand,” he sounds completely full of himself, and a bit delusional as well. It sounds harsh, but I think he’s significantly overestimating his worth.

And then there’s his appearance. Yes, he got fat, and he looked terrible. The fact that he had to switch his ring gear because he looked too chubby in traditional wrestling tights (which I thought looked cool), as the rumor says, is pretty hilarious. But if that’s due to a legitimate health issue, fine, I won’t even harp on that. But how about the times that he gets those ridiculous fake tans? The ones that are patchy and florescent orange? THAT’S not because of your intestines exploding. And how about the fact that he seems to be balding, but still has ratty, discussing looking long hair? It really doesn’t even look like he washes that nest anymore.

His behavior right now is downright shameful. If he’s trying to get fired, he should take notes from George Costanza. Because when George did it, it was hilarious. When Matt Hardy does it, it’s embarrassing. I mean, how infantile he’s been acting – stirring the pot and begging his online audience to RT and Follow and Like all of the things he says. Not to mention the constant videos talking about how fantastic is life is, how incredibly happy he is, and bringing up the fact that another wrestler died and John Cena’s movie bombed to dispute what came down to an issue of semantics. And he just sounds silly speaking out against the youth movement – a movement he fully supported when he fell into the benefiting age range.

And Matt, don’t delude yourself into thinking that people care about you because they take the time to write about you. The fact of the matter is that you have made such an incredible ass of yourself the past few weeks that people can’t help but rip you apart. It’s not because they care or secretly like you, it’s because you’re a fool in their eyes. And I’m sorry, but not all publicity is good publicity. Otherwise there’d be a statue of Chris Benoit outside of Titan Tower.