If you’re even a casual fan of the WWE, you know Matt Hardy’s name.
And you definitely know it if you’re a fan of tag team wrestling—along with his real-life brother Jeff, Hardy was one half of the Hardy Boyz tag team, which won a string of championships starting back in the 1990s.
Along the way, Hardy has proven himself to be a master of various wrestling gimmicks and character shifts. When he started his WWE solo career in 2002, he created his “Version 1” persona, which put him on the map as a creative force of sorts.
That led to a string of different characters, and in 2016 Hardy created the character of “Broken Matt,” adding a supernatural touch that wrestling critics loved. The character featured bleached blond hair, a bizarre accent, and ongoing references to eliminating his brother Jeff, whom he referred to as “Brother Nero.”
The success of the Broken gimmick eventually led to a furious legal battle, with the Hardy clan claiming ownership of the concept and eventually going to war with TNA before it became Impact Wrestling.
Legal battles aside, Hardy’s singles match career was every bit as successful as his tag team ventures, as he copped title after title while entertaining WWE fans with his antics along the way.
But Hardy has been in the news lately for an altogether different reason. He recently allowed his WWE contract to expire, and his character was seemingly written out of the WWE script after Hardy was attacked by Randy Orton.
The WWE reportedly offered Hardy a new contract that included some brand work, which is understandable given that Hardy turned 45 this year.
But Hardy has insisted that he’s not done in the ring, and he wants creative control of his character while he can still compete.
He’s referred to this transition as a “creative renaissance,” and apparently he’ll be taking his creative talents to All Elite Wresting. Rumors abound about Hardy’s new character, the “Exalted One.” Hardy has already tweeted about his new character, and All Elite Wrestling fueled the rumor fire by tweeting out a mention of the Exalted One just moments after Hardy released his video.
Hardy hasn’t ruled out a return to the WWE, but he’s clearly evaluating all his options.
All of this coincides with a dramatic transition over the last few years in Hardy’s personal life. After years of battling problems with alcohol and steroids, he married Rebecca “Reby Sky” Reyes, and Hardy has become a family man with a growing brood. Hardy and Reyes welcomed their third son into the world last year, and they seem to have reconciled the differences that let to a hotel arrest after a domestic fight in 2014. He’s credited Reyes with helping him get clean and sober, and obviously wrestling fans hope the colorful Hardy will continue to keep it together.
It’s obviously impossible to predict what the future holds for a character like Matt Hardy, but one thing seems certain—whatever it is, it’s sure to be entertaining.