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Matt Hardy has worked in numerous promotions over the years and he spent several years of his career in WWE, working directly under Vince McMahon. He is aware of how McMahon was and his peculiarities, and it appears McMahon wanted to change Hardy into a Hispanic character.
When Vince McMahon led WWE, wrestlers often faced requests to change their names, looks, or entire personas. However, some like Matt Hardy kept their real name and character intact. Yet in 2002, there was a serious push to overhaul Hardy’s character.
While speaking on his podcast, Extreme Life of Matt Hardy, he shared a story about McMahon wanting him to adopt a new identity. This was around the time he and his brother Jeff split, and he began developing his “Matt Hardy Version 1” character. While he initially entered to the Hardy Boyz music, the plan soon shifted, and he got new theme music, “Live For The Moment” by Monster Magnet. Hardy recalled how WWE underestimated the Hardy Boyz’ collective popularity, with McMahon viewing Jeff as the more popular brother, even though they thrived most as a team.
“Whenever they split Jeff and I in 2002 and I started doing Matt Hardy Version 1, The Sensei of Mattitude, whenever I first started coming out and I used the Hardy Boys music until they got me new music, which ended up being the Monster Magnet theme, ‘Live For The Moment, I was still getting strong reactions. I still think at that time, WWE just didn’t fully grasp how popular we were together because Vince saw Jeff as the popularity of the team, but we’re at our strongest when we’re together.”
Paul Heyman, involved in creative at the time, pitched that Hardy join Chavo Guerrero and change his name to something possibly Hispanic, with a storyline where he rejected his Hardy roots. While it might have worked, Hardy resisted, wanting to keep his real name, which he saw as valuable. Instead, he proposed the “Matt Hardy Version 1” character.
“There was a pitch, because Paul Heyman was also in creative too, where he wanted me to join Chavo and change my name, where I was no longer going to be Matt Hardy and have some other name, maybe even like a more Hispanic-based name, or something else, be something completely different, so I had a totally different identity, and I was, like, shaming that I used to be a Hardy. I didn’t want to do that. It probably would have garnered the desired effect, but I was also thinking big picture, like, hold up. I’m Matt Hardy and there’s a lot of equity in this name, and plus it’s my real name. I do want to keep that because I got that at this point. I ended up pitching the whole Matt Hardy Version 1 thing. Once I started doing promos and I was super delusional over the top, Vince actually fell in love with it. You can tell that because he had me beat The Undertaker. I got to pin The Undertaker one time. Vince told him, ‘Look, this guy is going to pin you because we’re trying to build him.’”
That’s not all as Vince McMahon even wanted Matt Hardy to talk like a Black person in an angle with Mark Henry. Regardless, Vince McMahon’s peculiarities were something a lot of WWE Superstars had to bear with, and most of the talent had no choice but to go through with his whims in the end.
Do you believe Vince Mc Mahon's bizarre whims ultimately harmed many WWE stars? Please share your thoughts and feedback in the comment section below.
November 11, 2024 12:12 pm
