Matt Hardy is very proud of his final moments in WWE.
After departing the company in 2010, Hardy would be one of the most popular acts on the independent scene. Becoming Broken Matt Hardy in TNA, The Final Deletion match had wrestling fans all around the world talking and once again created interest in himself and his brother Jeff Hardy.
In one of the loudest crowd reactions in recent memory, the WrestleMania crowd in Orlando would erupt as The Hardys made their return to the company in 2017. Following championship success with his brother and Bray Wyatt, Hardy’s final involvement in WWE took place in early 2020, which saw him confront Randy Orton following an attack on a recently returning Edge. The Viper’s sadistic streak would continue, as Hardy would be hit with multiple chair shots in what would be his final appearance for the company before going on to sign with AEW.
During the Extreme Life of Matt Hardy podcast, Hardy was asked about some of his favourite Randy Orton moments. Hardy would explain why he enjoyed the final angle with Orton and how he felt it was possibly a tactic to get him to re-sign and not go to AEW:
One of my favourite moments with Randy, as crazy as this is, was right before I left in those last three years, where we did the promo and I came out to take up for Adam Copeland and then he attacks me, then I have this brace on my neck and that was initially going to be it. But the segment, Vince loved the segments so much, he loved the interaction, he loved our character work and apparently, it did a decent number too.
So then I came back the next week and I was going to originally have a virtually three-segment match. And then I was going to wrestle him after having this neck brace on, my neck was broken or fractured or whatever. And it ended up changing because I think that was a bone they were trying to throw me to try and get me to re-sign, and maybe I’d do it if I was in this angle with Randy, they were promising me some other stuff with Bray and The Fiend going forward.
Hardy would continue to praise Orton for his ability to make the segment uncomfortable to watch at times and for keeping him safe throughout:
Anyway, long story short, we ended up doing a promo again and then he did the deal where he gave me another con-chair-to and then he put me out on the stairs and did another con-chair-to. But the concern, the legitimate concern in people’s faces and just the way they gave a sh*t, whenever I left WWE and Randy was the guy that took me out, I was just so glad it was him. Someone that I liked so much, someone I trusted too, that was actually very, very safe. So that’s one of my favourite moments. If anyone was going to write me off from WWE TV, I was happy it was Randy.
Matt Hardy Praises Fellow AEW Veteran
Hardy would debut in AEW in Spring 2020, having his first match in May of that year. Closing in on 30 years since his WWE debut, Hardy has earned veteran status in the wrestling industry. On a previous episode of the podcast, Matt Hardy would praise another long-standing wrestler as “The Hulk Hogan of AEW.”
Recently Matt Hardy discussed how Vince McMahon changed his mind about the Broken character in WWE.
If you use any quotes from this article please credit The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy podcast and leave a h/t to Inside The Ropes.