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Subject: Matt Hardy angle
Posted by: Species
- Leader [07724916] Wed, Jul 13, 2005, 13:11
A few of us discussed this via email, but nearly all of the online reports I have read have applauded WWE's work in the angle that played out Monday night.
As we all know, Hardy was 'released' from WWE after posting comments about Edge's betrayal and affair with Lita behind Hardy's back. Then Hardy starts ramming WWE on his personal website, speculating about his future on Indy circuits, proclaiming that he's invested his money wisely, blah blah blah. Coincidentally, his 90-day non-compete with WWE ends on 7/11, which was Monday's RAW, and he posts a BLASTING editorial on his website, calling Vince, Edge and Lita names, telling WWE to kiss his ass, nobody controls him, blah blah.
Then he does the 'shoot' on RAW - which was explained to me to be defined as him storming the WWE event uninvited to attack Edge backstage and later in the ring. He is beaten down (pretty good) by WWE security before being dragged up the ramp and to the back. All of this is made to look as if he was uninvited.
What we know is this:
- Edge definitely stabbed Hardy in the back and had an affair with Lita and Hardy was personally hurt by this
- Monday night was a work, obviously this Hardy 'shoot' angle was conceived by WWE
What is interesting is what we don't exactly know - such as....
At what point in all of this Matt Hardy website ranting did it become part of his comeback story? How much of his ranting on his website was a work on the fans and how much was real? I'd assume it was some of both, but who knows?
All told, this is a pretty interesting angle and at least a relatively fresh angle with 'real life' story behind it. Nice job by WWE and it should be interesting to see it play out. |
| 1 | Mike D
Sustainer
ID: 41831612
Wed, Jul 13, 2005, 14:46
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I like the angle as well. I think it may have been too hot to do before, and the timing is pretty good right now. While no one is 100% certain, one site said the "teaser" Matt Hardy music that was played weeks ago during the "wedding" convinced Vince that the fans wanted Matt back and big money could be made. IIRC, the fans marked big time and were really let down when Matt didn't come out. Many sources believe Matt signed his contract or at least verbally agreed to come back around that time (June 13-20, IIRC). It must be a limited contract since he indeed is making independent appearances. And those appearances actually help drive the angle.
Can't believe he mentioned ROH. Either can the ROH people!
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| 2 | blue hen
Leader
ID: 710321114
Wed, Jul 13, 2005, 15:23
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Yeah, I missed it. Wish I'd seen it. I'm a MFer forever.
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| 3 | Great One
ID: 95201914
Wed, Jul 13, 2005, 18:15
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Some are writing that he took the fans for a ride and knew he was coming back for some time now - and the internet fans will be angry with him... I wonder what his ROH reaction will be this weekend.
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| 4 | Bond, James Bond
ID: 44649135
Wed, Jul 13, 2005, 21:29
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Not sure what to make of this "angle". I'm guessing Hardy was legitimately fired, was legitimately cheated on and legitimately vented his frustrations at the whole situation and the parties involved via his website etc.
Obviously Vince and Co. smelled $$$ when they caught a whiff of the fans displeasure at Edge and the whore at MSG. I think they made a conscious decision that night to turn them both heel while beginning contract discussions with Hardy once again.
I've learned never to be surprised at anything WWE does but if it is true that all MF'ers were crapped upon by Hardy during his rantings, I suspect that he's seriously risking losing any legitimacy, support and goodwill that he has tried so hard to obtain.
Furthermore, Hardy ain't exactly Stone Cold or The Rock or any top-notch entertainer of the recent past. Nor even close to today's Cena or Jericho or CLB. He's upper mid-level at best and after one match with Edge, where would he go?
Granted, I believe he's better with WWE than not with them but seriously what would/could WWE do with him after this angle has finished? It's not like he'll fight Edge for the rights to the whore (hey, maybe he will!!!!) but perhaps they could make it a tad more interesting and include the Money-In-The-Bank contract that Edge has won and put that on the line. And if Hardy wins and goes on to defeat whomever has the title.....WAIT!!!! Matt Hardy as WWE Champion???? I think not! ;)
Suffice it to say, this angle will be a very-short lived one and not very good IMHO. You still have Kane supposedly wanting the whore back, you have Snitsky in there for only-Vince-knows-why and then you have the whore who I suppose is waiting for Trish to come back before wrestling again. Ugh!
But I guess it could all be worse. We could be looking at the WWE Diva Challenge for 30 minutes every Raw. WAIT! We are?????????? Egads!
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| 6 | The Dienasty
ID: 132591
Thu, Jul 14, 2005, 08:44
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Bad idea to have MH continue to work the internet crowd with his worked shoot comments post RAW-appearance on his website. That set me in a bad frame of mind (and im sure a lot of others who followed this whole ordeal and sided with him) when i found out. This is territory that they (WWE/Hardy) shouldn't mess with, because like how this all began and started with "smarts" starting chants in arenas, it could very well end with those same smarts crapping on it just as vocally...
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| 7 | Mike D
Sustainer
ID: 41831612
Thu, Jul 14, 2005, 09:46
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If it is done wrong, I agree with you. But I think it can be done right. It's a thin line though.
If Hardy was not appearing at ROH, and was not booked to appear with the Dudleys at an independent show in a month or two, then "smart" marks like me/us would and should be mad about it. But by allowing him to work independently and bust in on Edge/Lita every now and again, and bad mouth WWE, the impact of him getting some part-time cash from WWE for his troubles is minimalized, IMHO.
We'll see if they rush things and mess them up, or if they do it right.
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| 8 | Mike D
Sustainer
ID: 41831612
Thu, Jul 14, 2005, 10:00
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This sure sounds like a shoot.......even if they knew it was going to happen, the specifics sound very real.
Thanks to PWInsider.com for this:
Matt Hardy called into WWE.com's Byte This, "confronting" Lita as to why she left him for Adam Copeland (as he called him on the air). Lita said that she doesn't think she needs to explain why she's with Edge. She told Hardy that one of the reasons she's not with him is that he's been cutting wrestling promos about their personal life.
Lita said that it's not her issue to act out "this breakup in a public way" the way Hardy did. She questioned him rallying his MFers for, "What, I don't know." Hardy responded that it's a public thing because they are public people and she got involved with someone who claimed to be one of his best friends.
"We're on TV, we're worldwide in every country in the world. Considering the power of the Internet, it was going to be out there." said Hardy. Lita said that if Hardy didn't rally the troops and make matter public, things would have been conducted a lot better. She said the situation came out of nowhere, but wasn't her fault. Hardy responded that it would have come out eventually and Hardy didn't want people thinking he was at fault for their breakup.
Hardy then discussed his firing, saying that Johnny Ace called him when he was ready to come back to inform Hardy he was being released because creative has nothing for him. Hardy said that he didn't buy that and questioned it had nothing to do with the Edge-Lita situation. He said that Adam Copeland and Lita were in the wrong with Copeland committing adultery, but he was the one who was fired. He said that Copeland and Dumas should have been sent home, not him.
Lita then asked Hardy why she would want to be with him after "a rant like this." Hardy said that he doesn't want to be with her anymore, but he's a vindicative person. He said he put her in front of his career and said he came to Raw only because he wanted to be with her to make their schedules better, even though "it was a career killer" for him. He said he would get retribution against Lita, Edge, and WWE.
Hardy mentioned that his no compete clause has expired and plugged his shows this weekend, calling Ring of Honor "A real wrestling promotion with no soap opera storylines."
Lita tried to cut Hardy off as he began questioning her about their relationship, "What went wrong with us?" Lita then said she didn't want to talk about it because it was personal, and when he pushed the issue, she removed her mic and walked off the set.
Hardy plugged his websites and said, "See you at Ring of Honor." WWE.com then ended the show after 27 minutes due to Lita "walking off the show."
Prior to Hardy calling in, Lita addressed the situation saying that she doesn't sign autographs anymore because of the situation. She regretted the way she went about things but she doesn't regret being with Edge because she's in love with him. When asked about Edge being married, Lita said that wasn't a question anyone but Edge could answer and she wasn't going to comment on it because "It's personal.
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| 9 | Mike D
Sustainer
ID: 41831612
Thu, Jul 14, 2005, 10:02
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And more:
Thanks to "Sonic the Hedgehog" for the following:
I just got done watching Byte This, and i can confirm that they are not hiding Matt Hardy's name anymore, he was the 3rd and final caller for the show, and he bassically tore Lita into a new a$$hole. Lita tried to fight back with her comments, but Matt was just to much for her, she ended up taking off her headset and walked away from the stage. the show ended a bit to early for my taste, but it was the best Byte This IMO since ECW's Heyman and Dreamer.
Also, Todd asked Matt if Edge should of been fired instead of him, and Matt said "Of course Yes." its hard to tell what was fake or real, but IMO from the whole way they shot the show, it was completly real. i think Lita and Matt really did show there true feelings, because Lita dint know what to say she dint have no script, and i know Matt dint either.
Also a funny note, Lita said at the start of the show the following "Thanks for not peeing on me Tom", why she said that? i have no idea. but it was hillarious
Also another note, Matt Hardy refered Adam once as "The Edge", doing a little Maria there, which i found hillarious. But you could tell Lita was being real this time, and that she was a total liar and could not say why, all she would say was that she keeps things private. and Matt replied something like "Oh really? We are public Images on TV, our whole life IS public on the WWE" which isnt like i said WHAT he said, but it was alot like that.
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| 10 | Bond, James Bond
ID: 44649135
Thu, Jul 14, 2005, 21:38
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Lita said "It ain't my fault"? LOL Guess WWE will have to start playing Snitsky's music for her.
IMO, this whole shoot thing is of poor, poor taste. Not that there's anything wrong with that. :}
I don't know how much of all this is real or not but man, somewhere along the line somebody is going to have to step up to the plate and say "You know what, this isn't really entertaining at all."
As much as love the WWE, crapping all over real-life situations like this is going a bit too far. But if the superstars don't mind.....
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| 11 | Mike D
Sustainer
ID: 041831612
Thu, Jul 14, 2005, 21:45
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You're breaking the rule of "never take it too seriously." ;)
Give them credit for a fresh angle, and honestly, wasn't bringing Matt Hardy back, even if in limited dates, the right thing? His firing was questionable at best, and the fans wanted him back. Fans like us.
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| 12 | Bond, James Bond
ID: 44649135
Thu, Jul 14, 2005, 22:30
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Oh I definitely agree with bringing Hardy back. But if THIS is what it takes for former employees to get their job back, why isn't there any more shenanigans like this? Perhaps this is nothing more than a 3 week Raw and 1 PPV deal.
I just have to question the intellect/sanity/creativity of the so-called "creative" team to not to be able to come up with new angles for very good talent. To fire somebody just because THEY can't come up with a new angle is total B.S.
I just don't think it's that hard to come up with new refreshing angles for serious talent like the Hardys, the Dudleys, the Haas', the Billy Gu....oops, okay maybe not him. LOL
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| 13 | Mike D
Sustainer
ID: 041831612
Thu, Jul 14, 2005, 23:53
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That's often used as an excuse.........like in the Dudleys case, where contract issues were supposedly the real reason.
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| 14 | The Dienasty
ID: 132591
Fri, Jul 15, 2005, 02:49
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The WWE made the mistake of siding the Dudleys with the ECW faction, trying rightfully legitimize the angle further, without figuring out a way to bring them back into the WWE fold that didn't involve ECW returning in some form. They pulled it off with RVD because he was fresh from not having been on TV in a long time, and also had momentum from his "shoot" promo at ONS. I seriously doubt they'll end up doing anything special with him, but i digress.
Contract issues be damned, i think the WWE worked themselves into a corner with the Dudley's that they didn't feel like working out of, so they used the convenient contract issue as a semi-front.
Here's an interesting article from PWI regarding the Hard situation.
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| 15 | Bond, James Bond
ID: 44649135
Fri, Jul 15, 2005, 07:09
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Very interesting article. Certainly Hardy is no Brian Pillman but like many others I reckon I'll withhold judgment on this shooting work until it blossoms further. The major difference here of course is that everybody in the WWE is on this shoot/work, not just Hardy and Edge. And that could lead to a very serious backlash from the fans that nobody saw coming.
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| 16 | blue hen
Leader
ID: 710321114
Fri, Jul 15, 2005, 12:23
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Are you kidding? This is the best thing WWE has done in years. I don't like it, but look at our threads. We haven't had one like this in a LOOOONG time.
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| 17 | Bond, James Bond
ID: 44649135
Fri, Jul 15, 2005, 16:54
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I think the hyperbole about it being "the best thing WWE has done in years" is quite a reach but I do give WWE credit for capitalizing on quite a hot issue.
Now I know that WWE has major inconsistencies within their storylines but maybe someone can help me out with this one:
For all intents and purposes, Lita is still "legally" married to whom? I know she supposedly dumped Hardy, was kidnapped, raped and impregnated by Kane, was shown a lovely picture by Trish, Gail Kim and Molly Holly of how beautiful her baby may look like, married Kane in fear after a tussle with Trish (who by the way was wearing perhaps THE best dress ever to a wedding...Somebody post a picture!!!!!), lost the baby in a literal squash caused by Snitsky, made a union with Edge in the finale of the #1 contender tournament in his match vs. Kane, made a friendship with Snitsky (the enemy of my enemy is my friend....), flushed her wedding ring down a commode signifying an end to her marriage to Kane, proceeded to get involve in another wedding--this time to Edge but before any "I do's" were exchanged, Kane interrupted the ceremony, and then stood back in mock horror to watch her new lover get the crap beat out of him this past Monday at the hands of Matt Hardy. Whew! All this non-wrestling action for Lita and SHE STILL CAN'T ACT!!!!!! But it has been entertaining. ;)
Now for my question: Is she or is she not divorced from Kane? If so, when did they mention that and if not, how could her wedding to Edge even be legal---storyline wise of course? As far as Hardy, his issues are substantial. Supposedly he's still at odds with Kane, definitely at odds with Edge but his real issue should strictly be with Lita. It was her choice both ways...first to Kane and then to Edge. Yet, he can't exactly wrestle her, he can't fight her, there really isn't anything he can do with her except call her names. LOL
If this all leads back to these two getting back together and we find out it's been a work from the get-go, I'll be one very upset MF'er!
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| 18 | Great One
Sustainer
ID: 053272014
Sun, Jul 24, 2005, 14:54
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the matt hardy show - parental advisory explicit language
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