Matt Hardy is a master of reinvention.
Much like Chris Jericho, Hardy has undergone multiple character changes to keep relevant and add longevity to his career. First breaking through as a tag team performer, fans would see the former World Champion transform into multiple characters such as Big Money Matt, Immortal Matt Hardy and the gimmick that reignited his career, Broken Matt Hardy.
During a Q and A on The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy podcast, the AEW star was asked which iteration was the best. Hardy admitted that although Broken Matt was his favourite and was the reason that he was able to return to WWE at WrestleMania 33, his first solo run as V1 Hardy was the one that was most proud of as it was the first time that he was able to show what he could do as a singles wrestler:
The best version of Matt Hardy? Okay, um it’s hard too because I’m gonna say too, in some ways. To me personally, the best version was Broken Matt. That was also my favourite version. As far as the totality of good it did for my career. It did do a lot. It got me really hot. It got me established. And it got myself and Jeff back on WWE radar.
But I think the best version of me was when I did Matt Hardy Version One because I think that was the first time I really stepped away from the Hardy Boyz. And they’re like, Wow, this guy can do something on his own. And there was just so much creativity, you know, churning in my mind at that time, and I was in the best shape of my life. I was busting my ass. I had a young healthy body, which was very nice. That is the best version. I think the original, probably first year of Matt Hardy, Version One.
Matt Hardy Version 1: Matt Facts & Championship Success
The V1 gimmick was introduced in 2002 when The Hardys were split up as part of the WWE Draft, with Jeff remaining on Raw and Matt being on SmackDown. Hardy’s entrance would feature a Matt Fact each week and would see Hardy stating that the show and the roster needed more “Mattitude.”
The run would prove to be successful in 2003 as Hardy lost enough weight to enter the Cruiserweight division, winning the title from Billy Kidman at No Way Out 2003 before eventually losing it to Rey Mysterio on an episode of SmackDown after WrestleMania in what was the first of many championship reigns for Mysterio.
On a previous episode of the podcast, Matt Hardy gave his thoughts on Tony Khan’s social media posts that hid the headlines in mid-October.
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