Matt Hardy is Revolutionizing what it means to be a Wrestling Show
And why WWE’s traditional format needs to be DELETED!
In the age of the internet where kayfabe is dead and every wrestling fan owns the entire backstage rumor itinerary, it’s obvious to see that TNA’s Matt Hardy, understands this fact better than anyone.
Matt Hardy is self-aware that the wrestling show today is a melodramatic television show that’s more of a guilty pleasure than a physical battle. If you want real fighting for sport, you have the UFC.
Hardy also knows that the monetary budget provided to him at TNA can not come close to the production standard that WWE has every week.
Hardy knows all of these things… but he doesn’t care. Matt Hardy broke the mold by breaking himself, and the results have been spectacular.
Broken Matt Hardy went from an above average wrestler past his prime, to the must-watch wrestling personality in the sports entertainment industry.
The irony of Broken Matt is that he could only work in TNA where the spotlight isn’t as bright. In the WWE, the brass would proceed to overly script and milk the marketing cow before feeding Hardy to Cena or Reigns in a career burial match.
In other words, Broken Matt has the freedom to let his creativity enamor crowds because we’re truly left wondering, “What will Broken Matt do next?” It’s such a fresh development that the element of surprise can still be present in a wrestling show.
More important than the emergence of Broken Matt’s character as a cult wrestling icon, the Hardy’s flipped TNA’s wrestling show format upside down when TNA held Total Nonstop Deletion, a show entirely filmed at and around the Hardy’s home in Cameron, North Carolina.
The literal house show was put together at the Hardy Boys “Compound” fit with: a volcano, a newscast weaved in, Hardy’s one-year old son Maxel winning a wrestling match, a drone challenging a woman to a championship match, a lake of reincarnation, a dilapidated boat, oh and a world title match whilst the marquis tag team apocalypto match was going on.
During the show, Jeff Hardy, playing an alter ego lawn mowing savant, Itchweeed, fell asleep while applying a sleeper hold. The referee started the count as both competitors were lying on the mat prompting the crowd to chant, “Wake up, wake up!”
The Total Nonstop Deletion show had it all, and it’s reminiscent of the entire Broken Matt Hardy run thus far in TNA. Anyone who watches wrestling knows if they want great pure wrestling then they can turn their attention to New Japan or Ring of Honor among other indie promotions.
The fact of the matter is, a pure wrestling show doesn’t have the spectacle or grandeur that comes from a Hardy promo or segment. 5-star matches are great, but Stone Cold-Rock will always find more mainstream eyes.
WWE is built upon trying to maintain a balance between good wrestling and memorable moments. The wrestling, as far as pay per view shows go, has been pretty good. It’s the ability to create lasting moments that don’t include nostalgia acts is where WWE struggles immensely.
Where WWE struggles, outside of booking (their biggest issue of the last two decades), is how they write their shows. There’s two problems in WWE writing:
- The show format
- The script writing (which is putrid)
Now you could argue that the writing for the Hardy saga isn’t that of Hollywood script quality, and you would be correct. A wrestling show often doesn’t have great writing, so the goal to shoot for is consistency and authenticity. A wrestler has to say something that fits their character, and the performer has to believe in their script.
Broken Matt’s character is consistent. Jeff Hardy’s character has evolved from the straight man to Matt’s lackey after The Final Deletion match which in itself was a marvel and where much of the Broken Matt buzz started. Both guys are visibly bought in to their act.
The Final Deletion was a pinnacle moment for the Broken Matt Hardy saga. It’s also important to note that The Final Deletion and the Hardy’s weren’t unanimously over with the TNA fans and wrestling community at large. As the storyline progressed and continued, fans found more enjoyment in the crazy unpredictability the Hardy’s bring to the table.
The first aspect to analyze is how the wrestling show format has been so slogged down by segments and matches that occur within the venue. This repetition is what makes a WWE Monday Night Raw show unwatchable for me at a 3-hour clip. There’s too much talking only broken up by the occasional lackluster wrestling match until the main event.
This is the traditional format for RAW over the last decade:
- Long opening promo
- Wrestling match
- Promo/Backstage interview/Storyline segment
- Repeat two and three until main event
- Main event
Segments filmed away from the WWE show venue are few and far between. When the WWE had the Wyatt family battle The New Day at the “Wyatt Family Compound” in response to The Final Deletion, the result was a one-off well-produced but ultimately meaningless segment. There was little done to build the encounter, and little done afterward to constitute this brawl having any lasting outcome.
What makes The Final Deletion scene so jarring, as far as a format change goes, is the length of the segment. It’s an 18-minute production. The Final Deletion was not only a continuation of the Matt Hardy vs. Jeff Hardy storyline with finite consequential results, it was a benchmark set for what’s to come.
The Final Deletion match worked for it’s wacky entertainment value, and it allowed for an evolution into the Total Nonstop Deletion show.
The difference in the Deletion storyline versus most WWE storylines is progression. The last time WWE spent a substantial amount of time building a character and progressing a wrestler’s character is with Daniel Bryan, and even that build was a bit messy due to WWE writing.
Matt Hardy has been consistent in his character and the writing has reflected that. This is much akin to what I wrote about Chris Jericho’s most recent run in the WWE.
Broken Matt pairs his ridiculous accent and bevy of catchphrases to build a repertoire with the audience. With Broken Matt and his ‘broken brilliance’, deleting everyone and thing in his path, Broken Matt segments are always over the top and unpredictable like his character.
The focus on the drone donned Vanguard-1 with a chippy personality, Hardy’s son crowned King Maxel, his wife, butler, his “Brother Nero” (Jeff Hardy), and the unforgettable dilapidated boat, are running gag staples of the Broken Matt storyline.
Why Matt’s recent TNA run is important comes down to not having the greatest produced or written storyline ever, but trying something way out there, sticking to it, and allowing the production to grow. With the wrestling world taking notice, this allows for other entities to take inspiration from the Hardy’s and improve upon the schematic.
I wouldn’t consider TNA a great wrestling show with top tier writing nor would I say the same for the Hardy storyline, but much credit and respect is given to TNA and for the Hardy’s to go absolute balls to the wall. The result is a compelling, entertaining, and often, hilarious story.
Speaking of hilarious, Matt Hardy delivers the line of 2016 telling former WWE wrestler Shane “Hurricane” Helms, “Even the man with the three H’s would approve of how we buried those promising young talents.” The two break the fourth wall and grin at the camera with a thumbs up.
Final note: During the Total Nonstop Deletion show, a title match started earlier in the show and intertwined with the tag team apocalypto match which I saw to be a novel idea. As the tag team match started, the audience was left to their imagination as to what was happening in the title match. A nice touch.
WWE isn’t incapable of producing fun segments away from the arena, it’s the infrequency that’s very disappointing. One of the better segments WWE ran last year was with Cesaro & Sheamus getting involved in a bar brawl.
With the proper amount of attention and care to this tag team, WWE could really have something special on their hands, if they choose to reformat their show with more segments like above.
