Matt Hardy
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- This article is about the professional wrestler. For Matt Hardy, the Comedian, please see here Matt Hardy (Comedian)
| Matt Hardy | |
|---|---|
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| Statistics | |
| Ring name(s) | Matt Hardy High Voltage Surge The Angelic Diablo Matt Hardy, Version 1.0 |
| Billed height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) |
| Billed weight | 226 lb (103 kg) |
| Born | September 23, 1974,age(32) Cameron, North Carolina |
| Trained by | Dory Funk, Jr. |
| Debut | October 15, 1993 |
Matthew (Matt) Moore Hardy (born September 23, 1974) is an American professional wrestler, currently working for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) on its SmackDown! brand, where he is one half of the World Tag Team Champions, with his brother Jeff.
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[edit] Career
Before his WWF debut with his brother Jeff, Matt was trained by former wrestler Dory Funk, Jr. Before signing with the WWF, Matt and Jeff ran their own wrestling promotion, OMEGA Wrestling, in which Matt competed under the name High Voltage. Shortly after Matt Hardy sent in a tape for the WCW Amateur Challenge using the ring name High Voltage, a WCW tag team began to use the name, causing Hardy to change his name to Surge. A few years later, it was revealed to him by Chris Kanyon that the tape had been kept in the WCW Power Plant, watched multiple times, and that the name High Voltage was blatantly stolen from it [1].
[edit] World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment
[edit] The Hardy Boyz (1998-2001)
It wasn't until 1998 that the brothers were given a full-time WWF contract. The Hardy Boyz used a cruiserweight, fast-paced high flying style in their matches, often leaping from great heights to do damage to their opponents (and themselves in the process). Although Jeff was better known for his extreme moves, Matt was a prodigious high-flier himself. In 1999, the duo feuded with Edge and Christian and spent a short time in the stable The New Brood. After breaking away from Gangrel, Matt and Jeff were briefly managed by Terri Runnels. Subsequently, their Tables, Ladders, and Chairs matches with Edge, Christian, and the Dudley Boyz made them extremely popular and propelled them to five reigns as the WWF Tag Team Champions.
[edit] Singles career (2001-2005)
In 2001, after Jeff Hardy's Intercontinental Championship run, Matt Hardy was given a singles championship push. Matt Hardy was given the European Championship on SmackDown! two weeks before Backlash 2001. Throughout the year, the Hardyz would continue as a tag team, winning the WWF Tag Titles once again and the WCW Tag Titles during the The Invasion. By the end of the year, the Hardy Boyz were having trouble getting along (kayfabe).
At the beginning of 2002, it seemed Team Xtreme had patched things up. However, on the August 12, 2002 episode of RAW, Matt turned against Jeff (Matt was frustrated for not receiving a number 1 contender shot against RVD), during Jeff's match against Rob Van Dam. A short time later, Matt joined the SmackDown! roster. On the October 3, 2002 edition of the show, Matt used outside interference from Brock Lesnar to defeat The Undertaker.
Having now dubbed himself Matt Hardy - Version 1.0, and with his MF'er (Mattitude Follower) Shannon Moore in his corner, 2003 began with Matt frantically trying to lose weight to get under the 220 lb. weight limit to compete for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship. After just barely making weight, Matt defeated Billy Kidman at the No Way Out 2003 in Montreal, Quebec to claim the Cruiserweight Title. At WrestleMania XIX in Seattle, he successfully defended it against Rey Mysterio. The Mattitude stable would expand to include Crash Holly as Shannon Moore's "Moore-on" (follower). He later disbanded the stable and returned to RAW in order to be able to travel and work with then his girlfriend Lita. He would later turn face once more by engaging in a rivalry with then heel, Kane.
Hardy and Lita were off-screen for a couple of months, and used to share a home in North Carolina. Their friendship came to an end in late February 2005 (according to Matt's official website) due to Lita's affair with fellow WWE superstar Edge.
[edit] Release and independents (2005)
Along with his friend Rhyno, Matt Hardy was released by WWE on April 11, 2005. His release was confirmed publicly by WWE.
Because of the affair between Lita and Edge, and also being released from WWE, Matt's status, especially in the Internet wrestling community, became elevated to a cult-like status. Also, Edge and Lita received jeers from the crowds at WWE events, sometimes resulting in chants, "You screwed Matt," and, "We want Matt." Paul Heyman, in a shoot promo, mocked Edge for his actions at One Night Stand 2005. Lita, for the first time in over five years, turned heel as a result of the affair becoming public knowledge. Sources indicate, however, that this "shoot promo" was a WWE strategy used to measure the crowd's response to Hardy, and to gauge whether it would be a good move to rehire him.
Matt Hardy released two character promotional vignettes, that he was planning to use before he was offered a new contract by WWE. Hardy called himself The Angelic Diablo with the tagline "the scar will become a symbol" in reference to the way in which he has been treated by Lita and WWE. WWE attempted to have Matt Hardy's then website, www.thematthardy.com, along with The Matt Hardy Show both shut down as a condition of his rehiring. When Hardy refused these conditions and informed WWE management that TNA wasn't requiring this of him, WWE allowed The Matt Hardy Show to continue, but not Matt's website.
On the June 20, 2005 edition of RAW, during the storyline wedding of Edge and Lita, Matt Hardy's entrance music and video were played when the priest asked if anyone had a reason why Edge and Lita should not be wed. On the July 11, 2005 episode of RAW, Matt Hardy made his return, attacking Edge as he made his way to the ring. On the July 13, 2005 edition of WWE's webcast Byte This!, which featured Lita as its guest, one of the callers was Matt himself. The two engaged in a huge argument which led to Lita walking off the set.
Matt appeared at a scheduled Ring of Honor (ROH) event on July 16, 2005 in Woodbridge, Connecticut where he defeated Christopher Daniels via submission. Hardy also cut a brief promo where he continued in full 'worked shoot' mode, attacking WWE and John Laurinaitis. Following his official return to WWE, Hardy was met with a backlash that saw him get booed out of the arena at another ROH event following a match with Homicide, which Hardy won. The next day at his final ROH appearance, he lost to Roderick Strong. Contrary to previous reports, he never made an appearance in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA).
[edit] Return to WWE (2005-2006)
On July 11, 2005 (which was also the day that his no compete clause expired), Hardy posted on thematthardy.com that he was finally "free" (as in his clause expired) and stated to the fans that they have not seen the last of Matt and that he's got a surprise for his fans who supported him. That night on RAW, Hardy attacked Edge during one of Edge's matches and repeated the feat the next two weeks.[2]
On August 1, 2005, Vince McMahon came out on RAW and officially acknowledged Hardy's return to WWE, adding that Hardy would face Edge at SummerSlam 2005. On August 8, 2005, Hardy made his in-ring return, defeating Snitsky on RAW. Seconds after the victory, Matt was attacked by Edge, and as he was being carried backstage, Matt counterattacked Edge in a locker room. On August 21, 2005, at SummerSlam, their match came to a premature end when Edge dropped Hardy onto the top of a ring post, causing him to bleed heavily. The referee ended the match on the grounds that Hardy couldn't continue, and Edge was declared the winner. After SummerSlam, the two continued fighting on RAW, including a Street Fight that resulted in both men falling off the stage into electrical wires after Matt applied a Side Effect to Edge. At Unforgiven 2005 Edge faced Matt Hardy in a steel cage match. Hardy, despite Lita's interference, won the match with a leg-drop off the top of the cage.
Hardy and Edge faced each other at WWE Homecoming in a Loser Leaves RAW ladder match. Edge's briefcase holding the contract for his WWE World title shot was suspended above the ring. The winner of the match got the contract and the loser was forced to leave RAW. After a contentious match, Edge tied Matt's arms in the ropes, and Lita trapped Hardy in a crucifix hold, leaving Matt only able to watch Edge win. When the match ended, Edge and Lita gloated over the victory, but Matt took it in stride and left the arena. With his defeat at the hands of Edge, Hardy was moved back to SmackDown!. He re-debuted with a win over Simon Dean on October 21, 2005, in Reno, Nevada.
Matt was among five SmackDown! superstars - along with Christian, JBL, Rey Mysterio, and Hardcore Holly — to be voted on by fans to compete at Taboo Tuesday 2005 against Edge and Chris Masters. Hardy led the voting with 31% overall, and along with Rey Mysterio (29%), defeated Chris Masters and Snitsky, who filled in for Edge when he legitimately suffered a torn pectoral muscle [3] (which was kayfabed to Edge "not caring" about Hardy or Mysterio, the fans, or the RAW brand).
Back on SmackDown! Hardy started a program with MNM (Johnny Nitro and Joey Mercury) and their manager Melina when Melina approached Hardy, seemingly wanting Hardy to join with her team. Hardy refused the offer, which led to him facing the then tag team on several occasions with a variety of partners. One of his partners, The Road Warrior, brutally attacked him after they were defeated - sick of "pulling all the weight in tag teams". The Road Warrior and Hardy feuded for a while after this, with Hardy picking up several wins over the veteran, including a qualifying match for the Money in the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania 22, where he would come up short.
Hardy next competed in the SmackDown! King of the Ring 2006 tournament, losing to eventual winner Booker T in the opening round thanks to a low blow and distraction from Sharmell. Matt Hardy also became the first man to defeat Mr. Kennedy via roll-up pin. On July 25, after the SmackDown! taping, Hardy was taken out of action after doctors found the remnants of the staph infection that had plagued him the previous year. He was sidelined until August 25 while he healed.
Hardy made a surprise appearance backstage at Unforgiven 2006 after Jeff's match against Johnny Nitro. Lita joined the two in the segment, making this the first time the three had been seen together on WWE television since February 2003. Matt Hardy then began a rivalry against Gregory Helms not too much later which saw both winning over each other time and time again. Then at No Mercy, in both of their hometowns of Cameron, North Carolina, Matt Hardy would beat Helms to gather a big win raising his singles career. The two would meet again once more later at Survivor Series. On the November 21, 2006 episode of ECW on Sci Fi, Matt and Jeff competed in a match together for the first time in almost five years. They had their old titantron video and entrance music, and defeated the Full Blooded Italians. At Survivor Series 2006, the Hardy Boyz were matched to go with CM Punk as part of Team DX vs Team Rated-RKO (which included Edge, Randy Orton, Johhny Nitro w/ Melina, Mike Knox and Gregory Helms) in a traditonal co-captains match. Team DX won by case of a shut out, last eliminating Orton for the win. At December to Dismember 2006, the Hardy Boyz issued an open challenge to any tag team who wanted to face them. MNM answered their challenge by reuniting at December to Dismember, but ultimately lost to the Hardy Boyz. At Armageddon 2006, Matt & Jeff competed against Paul London and Brian Kendrick, MNM, and Dave Taylor and William Regal in a fatal-four-way Ladder Match but lost. Subsequently, he and Jeff feuded with Joey Mercury and Johnny Nitro after the legit incident with Mercury's face at Armageddon 2006. It became a bitter long term rivalry.
[edit] 2007-present
At the 2007 Royal Rumble Matt & Jeff defeated MNM. Mercury and Matt would continue to feud throughout February. However, the feud ended in March when Mercury was released from WWE [4].
Matt defeated Mercury to earn a spot in the Money in the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania 23, which was ultimately won by Mr. Kennedy. The next night on RAW, the Hardys competed in a 10-team battle royal for the World Tag Team Championship. They won the titles for the sixth time after last eliminating Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch. Even though the Hardys won the championship, Matt has yet to be moved to the RAW roster.
[edit] Wrestling facts
- Finishing and signature moves
- Twist of Fate (Front facelock into cutter, occasionally done off the middle rope)
- Side Effect (Wrist lock sitout side slam or modified sleeper slam, occasionally done off the top or middle rope or from the top of a ladder)
- Downfall (Second-rope diving leg drop or second-rope flying elbow smash)
- Ricochet (Belly to back suplex into an elbow drop to the stomach)
- Scar (Double underhook / body scissors submission combo) - Independent circuit
- Sitout crucifix powerbomb
- Corner clothesline followed by a bulldog, occasionally combined with a clothesline to another opponent
- Repeated punches followed by a discus punch
- Moonsault
- Russian legsweep
- Sitout Inverted suplex slam
- Double team finishing and signature moves with Jeff Hardy
- Event Omega / Falling Fate (Diving leg drop / diving splash combo)
- Omega Event (Double team leg drop)
- Poetry in Motion - also done with other wrestlers
- Spin Cycle (Simultaneous fist drop to the head of a fallen opponent (Matt) / somersault senton (Jeff) combo)
- Theme
- The theme song for Matt Hardy is Live for the Moment by Monster Magnet. The original incarnation of the theme had typing noises and sounds of a computer loading up to match his "V-1" gimmick, but was later taken out during his storyline with Kane in 2004.
[edit] Personal life
Matt and Jeff's mother died of brain cancer when they were young [5].
In 1999, he appeared as an uncredited wrestler on That 70's Show episode "That Wrestling Show". In 2002, Matt appeared on a special WWE superstar edition of Fear Factor, which he won.
Matt was in a six year friend relationship with former WWE Diva Amy "Lita" Dumas until she had an affair with fellow wrestler Adam "Edge" Copeland in February 2005.
Matt also dated WWE Diva Ashley Massaro, but they have since separated but remain good friends.
[edit] Championships and accomplishments
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- NWA 2000 Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Jeff Hardy
- Organization of Modern Extreme Grappling Arts
- OMEGA Pro Wrestling Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- OMEGA Pro Wrestling Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Jeff Hardy
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- PWI Tag Team of the Year with Jeff Hardy in 2000.
- PWI Match of the Year with Jeff Hardy vs. The Dudley Boyz and Edge and Christian, WrestleMania 2000, April 2, 2000
- PWI Match of the Year with Jeff Hardy vs. The Dudley Boyz and Edge and Christian, WrestleMania X-Seven, April 1, 2001
- PWI Feud of the Year vs. Edge in 2005
- PWI ranked him # 418 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI Years in 2003
- World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment
- WCW World Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Jeff Hardy
- WWE Cruiserweight Championship (1 time)
- WWF European Championship (1 time)
- WWF Hardcore Championship (1 time)
- WWF/World Tag Team Championship (6 times) (with Jeff Hardy, current)
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter
- Best Gimmick in 2002
- Worst Feud of the Year with Lita vs. Kane in 2004.
[edit] Books
- Hardy, Jeff; Hardy, Matt; and Krugman, Michael (2003) The Hardy Boyz : Exist 2 Inspire, ISBN 0-06-052154-6
[edit] References
- ^ Matt Hardy, Jeff Hardy, Michael Krugman, The Hardy Boyz: Exist 2 Inspire (p.60) ISBN 0060521546, HarperCollins, 2003.
- ^ Christian Idol (July 11, 2005). Matt Hardy returns to RAW. Retrieved on February 26, 2007.
- ^ TJ Madigan (Calgary Sun) (November 5, 2005). WWE starts to implode. Retrieved on March 22, 2007.
- ^ WWE.com (March 26, 2007). Joey Mercury released. Retrieved on March 27, 2007.
- ^ Matt Hardy (2-02-2007). My first official blog thingy... "Who Am I?". Retrieved on March 17, 2007.
[edit] External links
