More Matt Hardy

In some news that shocked no one, WWE finally granted Matt Hardy’s release late last week. Being that I comment on the guy and his idiotic behavior pretty frequently on Twitter, I thought this “story” warranted a blog post (and hey, since Fox has been pulled from Cablevision for the time being, I don’t have my usual Sunday night shows to watch anyway).

Before it appears like I have some sort of vendetta against the guy, let me once again preface that Matt Hardy is a human being, and that every human being deserves to live a happy and healthy life. I know Matt has had some health issues over the past year (which he’ll tell you about, ad nauseum), and I genuinely hope that the worst is behind him in that regard. And if he really was that unhappy fulfilling his WWE contract, then I too hope that this newfound freedom brings him the joy and peace of mind he seemingly so desperately needs. And while I will have a lot to say about Matt Hardy the person (who I will admit I do not know), I want to also make it clear that I don’t think he’s a bad person. There are clearly many people within the industry who care about him a great deal (although I do find it rather telling that Lita had kind remarks to make about Edge, John Cena, and pretty much everybody else she worked closely with, but was less complimentary about Matt Hardy’s attitude towards working a high profile feud with a woman).

Got it? Good. Let’s move on.

A lot of my feelings on Matt were expressed in a prior post, so I’m not going to reiterate that stuff too much. This will just revolve around Matt’s more recent behavior. Like how, for months on end, he’d post numerous daily Tweets and frequent YouTube videos essentially blasting WWE. But now that he’s been granted his release, he’s suddenly the beacon of positivity on Twitter, and anybody who has any negative comments directed towards him is sad and pathetic. And as I noted on Twitter, some of the comments and insinuations he’s made about WWE are ridiculous. Like, he says he’s free to do whatever he wants now, and follows it up by saying that he donated money to a library so that they could buy books. Does that mean that WWE wouldn’t have allowed him to make that donation? And then he says that he was only able to do projects that WWE allowed. First off, I don’t find this particularly strange. Matt Hardy is a well off, well known personality because of WWE. I don’t think it’s unreasonable for WWE to want to keep a watchful eye on those representing the company. But nonetheless, Matt also produces a series called The Hardy Show, and let’s not forget about his onslaught of YouTube videos. It’s not as if WWE forced him to stay in a cage until the next Smackdown taping.

One thing that really irked me was something Matt said in one of his videos. In an attempt to justify his behavior, he said something along the lines of “If you were treated the way I was this past year in WWE, wouldn’t you want to be released as well?” I will admit that I don’t know what’s happening backstage, but the context of his comments definitely made it seem like he was referring to the way he was being used on television. Let’s be clear, Matt (and Jeff too, for echoing those sentiments in recent interviews): Not everybody who works hard and is passionate about their profession is entitled to being a World Champion or consistent main event player. The fact of the matter is that you were regularly featured on Smackdown, participated in a number of PPV matches, and despite the fact that you weren’t involved with any championship matches, your midcard rivalries had actual storylines behind them. That is FAR more than most people get. Take a look at Chris Masters – a guy who does seem to be working hard and is actually improving. He’s typically relegated to Superstars, if anything. I’m sure he’d kill for Matt Hardy’s spot. So Matt (and Jeff), recognize that just because you’re not being pushed to the moon, that doesn’t mean you’re being “mistreated.” The truth is that virtually everybody on the roster that’s higher up the ladder than Matt is there because they’re more talented, bring more to the table, or simply have a better upside.

I believe it was in that same video that Matt admitted that he didn’t play a convincing bad guy when he was feuding with Jeff. Quite simply, that was probably one of the strongest singles pushes he’d received his entire career. He was being portrayed as a serious, dangerous heel, and he even got the “W” over his insanely popular brother at the grandest show of them all. Yet Matt admits that he couldn’t make it work, because nobody bought that he would set Jeff’s house on fire. And that inability is what sets him apart from the Superstars who have a World Championship on their resume. That material was certainly no less believable than some of the other things we’ve been forced to swallow. And it’s too bad he couldn’t make it work, because at the time I commended his efforts to set himself apart from his Hardys days, switching over to the cool looking jacket and traditional tights.

So Matt, I do hope you go to TNA. Your absence will mean nothing to WWE, and your arrival won’t do anything to help TNA. Honestly, you’ll just do what you’ve done practically your entire career: Ride your brother’s coattails.