Success, Bust or In-Between: Matt Hardy

[It's Damn Real!]

They're back!

Most of you know the series by now, I'd hope, but for those of you who don't, here's the run down:

• Former talents of TNA are to be critiqued regarding their work with TNA, and only their work with TNA for the basis of these polls.
• Any work from the performer that was not done during his/her tenure during TNA should not factor into your vote.
• You can vote them either a Success, a Bust or In Between if you don't feel they deserve either extreme.

In addition to your vote, I'd like to know why you feel the way you do. Why was this particular charater a succes, a bust or in between?

Next in the series is Matt Hardy.

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Matt Hardy
Years with TNA: 1 (7 Months) (2011-2011)
Number of titles runs: N/A

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Notable Feuds:
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• Rob Van Dam (2011)
• Fortune via Immortal (2011)
• Beer Money, Inc. via Chris Harris (2011)

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Other Accomplishments:
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• Debuted in TNA in January of 2011 at Genesis as part of the heel stable Immortal, defeating opponent Rob Van Dam.
• Was a member of Immortal.
• Reunited the Hardy Boyz in TNA with brother Jeff in 2011.
• Utilized a "Cold Blooded" gimmick.

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Previous Polls:
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• Christian Cage – 87.72% Success, 12.28% In Between, 0% Bust
• Booker T – 46.43% Bust, 33.93% In Between, 19.64% Success
• Petey Williams – 52.50% In Between, 35.00% Success, 12.50% Bust
• Gail Kim – 61.54% Success, 19.23% In Between, 19.23% Bust
• Senshi – 66.67% Success, 28.57% In Between, 4.76% Bust
• Monty Brown – 54.05% Bust, 27.03% In Between, 18.92% Success
• Awesome Kong – 82.61% Success, 13.04% Bust, 4.35% In Between
• Christopher Daniels – 68.97% Success, 20.69% In Between, 10.34% Bust
• Consequences Creed – 80.77% Bust, 19.23% In Between, 0.00% Success
• Sheik Abdul Bashir – 44.00% In Between, 44.00% Bust, 12.00% Success
• The Naturals – 48.00% Bust, 28.00% Success, 24.00% In Between
• Traci Brooks – 61.29% Bust, 25.81% In Between, 12.90% Success
• Johnny Devine – 79.31% Bust, 17.24% In Between, 3.45% Success
• "The Franchise" Shane Douglas – 35.90% Success, 35.90% Bust, 28.21%% In Between
• Sabu – 43.59% Success, 33.3% Bust, 23.08% In Between
• Homicide – 62.50% In Between, 21.88% Success, 15.63% Bust
• Jay Lethal – 52.38% In Between, 38.10% Success, 9.52% Bust

 

[It's Damn Real!]

For me he's in between. I know he'll conjure a huge number of bust votes, but I thought his debut was rather clever with RVD demanding "Hardy" and Bischoff giving him one — just not the one he wanted.

He was in much better shape than he left WWE in and looked to be excited about the opportunity behind joining TNA, but dug his own grave behind the scenes.

On screen, however, he did just fine. His matches certainly weren't five star events, but they were entertaining and filled the cards he was working just fine.

 

[itssoeasy123]

What did he do that was the least bit successful in TNA?

He was a bust, failer, joke, whatever you want to say about it. After months of saying how he wants to get out of WWE, the cuffs are off, he's free; he goes to TNA, does basically nothing rememberable, gets a DWI, and is released.

He wasn't even of television for the last month because of missing tapings. His debut was so obvious, his matches were nothing special, and now he's gone after 5 months.

 

[shattered dreams]

It is sort of hard to judge. It started off quite well but that quickly died and it turned into a whole lot of nothing. He had some decent matches and sold some shirts when he first came in but then they got nothing from him after that. I'd probably have to call it a bust. He did contribute something but it is so much less than what they were likely looking for.

 

[The Hardcore Kid]

100% Bust. He wrestled for 6 months, never had anything exciting to offer the cards, was pretty randomly tossed into Immortal, and his actual wrestling has never been anything to excite me. I honestly didn't even notice when he was gone.

 

[Mr_billy]

At first, I thought he was going to be something in TNA and he looked good, bur he fell off. No titles, and he was immortals Virgil. He was a bust. I'm not sure if Jeff's situation screwed him or not, but he just didn't do much in TNA., But on the plus side, he did get back into shape.

 

[Dr.Shades]

I like this series and I like matt hardy but I just know most will vote bust and not explain it.

I said in between because matt hardy seemed to drop weight and came to tna well rested and in better shape, he beat rob van dam in a pretty solid match but you could just tell russo would screw it up, there were lots of ways to utilize hardy but, while his debut was actually not bad, kept up with repetition and then underutilization which maybe lead hardy to his recent problems, Idle hands and all that.

All in all, Hardy wasn't going to change the face of tna but he, much like Daniels, could've been a strong midcard pillar.

 

[neildittmar]

Focusing solely on TNA/IW? I've gotta go the predictable route and say bust. Unfortunately, Matt Hardy fully represented the typical argument folks bring against the company to an absolute T. That is, Carter and Company brought in a name star formerly from WWE in an effort to draw viewers, then either didn't have or lost sight of the direction for said star, with the talent subsequently floundering in the process. In a nutshell, that's precisely what happened with Matt in TNA.

Matt did come in interestingly enough against RVD, but sadly went absolutely nowhere from there. Although it may have been more interesting to see him go against the grain, his joining of Immortal did make sense particularly given his brothers position in the faction. Problem was, he was relegated to the back of the line, becoming a cheerleader for Bischoff and Hogan rather than stepping up to the forefront and showing the audience what he could do and what he still might have had.

"Cold Blooded" was an interesting spin on the character, and I definitely believed in the promos he cut about being bitter having sacrificed his body for the fans entertainment, only for them to turn on him. He should've went the whole mile with it though and referenced the fat/lazy/narcotic fueled stuff too, but I digress. This gimmick was either not given the chance to blossom or Hardy was incapable of pulling it off to the level where it needed to go. Due to his release, we'll never really know where "Cold Blooded" might've gone over time.

With no identifiable accomplishments in his short stint, absorption into a faction with tons of other guys getting more of the focus, and not even a championship title reign to point to as success, it's difficult to argue that Matt Hardy was anything but a bust in TNA/IW.

 

[Corpse_Machine]

To me Matts undeniably bust . He never done anything notable in TNA he had a few feuds but nothing at all that stood out and in my opinion his career was winding down well before he left WWE.

He lost his speed, his shape, a little technique and a hell of a lot of vital brain cells, which cant be good for an athletes body, he also became incredibly lazy in the ring and started looking like he really didnt care anymore.

His most memorable feud that made him look good to me was sometime in 2007 when he was challenging MVP for the US title, MVP was turning face and they were constantly trying to out do each other and im sure they even had a little tag team title run somewhere along the line.

Its a damn shame that these two brothers are both fucked up right now, if you want that care free, drug enduced lifestyle then just retire and kick back and do so, dont do it while your still relevant and make yourself look an utter prick.

 

[HiddenInPlainView]

Matt Hardy was a definite bust in TNA. He simply wasn't there long enough to make any sort of lasting impact. His debut was pretty good and he looked great compared to when he left the E. He even started to debut a new gimmick with his Cold Blooded character.....but nothing happened with it. This is one case where at least it wasn't the TNA writers who blew it, but the talent itself.

 

[MrHashasheen]

Snip

I'm with IDR. For what he was given and what he did with it, he was a middling success (In-Between) who was what he was elsewhere: A middle of the card worker.

It's what he'll always be.

 

[Poop Master Flex]

For me Matt was a bust in TNA.

I agree that his debut wasn't bad at all and was a good way to bring him in. The debut made him look strong and it was something different then we have seen from Matt in the past.

The problem is after his debut he just fell into obscurity for the most part, never did anything to stick out was just kind of there. His Cold Blooded gimmick could have worked but to me over the last few years Matt has seemed to get very lazy all around. It also didn't help him saying he was gonna turn the wrestling world upside down and did jack shit.

Matt obviously had a bad attitude in TNA, thought he was better than he was and that showed on television. Frankly I could go the rest of my life not seeing either Hardy boy and be fine with it. At least Jeff had a somewhat noteworthy run in TNA.

 

[fenfool]

Well, he came in and did a lot of jobs, and you never really heard him complain about that. That being said, he had no presence on TV...even when he was on, he was in the background, and never did a thing to make himself stand out. I wonder if they held him back in waiting until Jeff returned. But honestly, I doubt anyone will remember anything of his TNA run. So I say bust. I liked him in WWE, and had high expectations of a big comeback in TNA. It's the world of pro wrestling, so never say never on a return to either company.

 

[Katherine]

Even if Matt Hardy had debuted in the most unique way ever in the history, all his credibility has been lost through his bizarre behavior and bad attitude, so I'd say "bust".

 

[Terminal Sledgehammer]

I have to go with bust. He defiantly had the potiental to do something in TNA but he kinda messed it up with what he was doing backstage (whatever it was). It's hard to call lasting 6 months in a company a sucess. He didn't last long enough to make an Impact of any kind, that's my reason to give him a bust. I think that he could've become a sucess if he lasted longer, I kinda liked the cold blooded gimmick.

 

[JWGunslinger]

For me he's in between. I know he'll conjure a huge number of bust votes, but I thought his debut was rather clever with RVD demanding "Hardy" and Bischoff giving him one — just not the one he wanted.

He was in much better shape than he left WWE in and looked to be excited about the opportunity behind joining TNA, but dug his own grave behind the scenes.

On screen, however, he did just fine. His matches certainly weren't five star events, but they were entertaining and filled the cards he was working just fine.

I couldn't have said it better myself, the hair kind of bothered be and the fact that he's Matt Hardy but I do agree that it looked like he was reignited and ready to be the Matt Hardy who kicked ass with his brother in their early WWE days. I did have that creeping suspicion he would eventually fall off the deep end and he certainly did. He started high and just slowly started sinking until he reached this point where he has gotten a DUI.

 

[Derf]

I can't help but assume if Matt didn't have his car accident, and a week ago at that, that alot of people wouldn't be voting so harshly. By all means, Matt was definatly not a success, but to say he's a complete bust simply for being a Hardy and blaming his behind the scenes problems, that's not fair.

That being said, I think he was a bust anyway. Other then his debut, he floated around the midcard for a few months. He never even lasted a year, he didn't have time to make it to potential "in between" status. The most memorable thing he did was bring in Chris Harris as a tag partner, and to be honest, watching that match it wasn't Matt Hardy I was excited to see.

Matt Hardy = Bust for what he did on screen.

As for his personal life, I don't think people should use that to pick a grade. If we can't use his WWE work, his other lifestyles should be unacceptable as well.

 

[Daniel]

Bust. Not really any room for debate here.

What did he do of any note in TNA? A debut which was a bit surprising. That's it. He didn't have spectacular matches (but that can be said for any of his singles work, TNA or WWE). He didn't win a championship. He didn't work an entertaining angle. He didn't have an interesting character (what the fuck does "Cold Blood" even mean?). He didn't capture the imagination (or the money, I'm assuming) of the fans. He was in TNA for the sake of being in TNA. Finally, he got suspended - yes, fucking suspended. There is no way he was anything but a bust.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Matt Hardy's time in TNA was an absolute, 100% bust. I was slightly tempted to go with in-between because Hardy's arrival in TNA got him back in the gym and into shape. However, I remembered all the general idiocy he was involved in or doing while in TNA so I thought that cancelled him dropping some weight out.

Hardy's debut caused a decent amount of buzz but it quickly fizzled out. A huge reason why it fizzled I think is because we were truly able to see how mediocre he was. We saw that it wasn't the WWE holding him back so much as the fact that the guy's just not a tenth as good as his marks and himself want to believe that he is.

After that, he quickly settled into the role of being a faceless generic thug of Immortal and that's how he spent the rest of his time in TNA. Just as what happened in WWE, TNA would bring Hardy out to wrestle an occassional match. He'd usually lose, it wouldn't really matter even if he won, and he'd go back until they wanted to drag him back out to fill another 5 minutes of air time.

 

[Rasha]

I confess, I voted before I read IDR's instructions. I voted "Success" based on career as a whole, for I think the level of fame, cult following, and money made for Matt Hardy exceeds his actual talent. You have to call that an overall success.

From the TNA perspective, he's definitely a bust. He had some solid matches, but ultimately was a disappointment based on the name value and his own proclamations. Anytime someone leaves a company the way he did has to viewed as a major negative. He didn't do anything while there to make the embarrassment worthwhile.

 

[Rayne]

If he was anything but a bust, he probably would have lasted more than half of a year in TNA.

 

[Skairipa Matrix]

just a bust the way i see it as matt didnt win any titles,didnt really have any fueds on his own (i dont count RVD as they had 2 1 on 1 matches i belive) and the cold blooded gimmick was ehhh to me i didnt really like it it seemed to much like his brother with the twist of hate and the ice pick submission finisher was pretty lame i bet tna wishes they never brought this guy in that was money they could have used better

 

[three count bout]

Well his IW stint probably should be considered a bust. Its shameful because I can remember a few nights when Matt actually was in one of the better matches of the night. I'm not sure how its possible anyone could assume he'd change the ratings any when his brother couldn't. I enjoyed Matt until his exodus but he wavered ;certain nights he appeared on fire and others he seemed to lull overall which heightens his flaws.

IW probably shares some blame as he never really got into a meaningful "consistent" feud with anyone. He wrestled a.j, and rvd a few times but these matches didn't feel personal they were more like one offs without any motive. I believe if his character was infused with a purpose we would've had a reason to care for Matt more. Lastly, he was swallowed by Immortal and relegated to background duty.

 

[Azane]

Bust.
He was closer to killing people on his drugged rampages than he was to drawing any ratings.

 

[Vintage Nick]

Not a complete bust, but still a BUST in TNA. Yes, his debut was strong. What happened afterwards? Absou-fucking-lutely nothing noteworthy. He was mainly Immortal's bitch that got fed to the dogs week-in and week-out.

What has he done to improve his character that he's been screaming about on Youtube? Nearly zilch. Yes he got into shape after being medically fine, but besides that what did he do? Slip on his Hot Topic pants and leather jacket, add in dreadlocks (for God knows what), and that's it. He bragged about bringing in a "new Hardy" and was "Cold-Blooded." What did he do with that gimmick? Nothing. Still same ol' Matt Hardy.

After about five months of mediocre wrestling, he gets suspended because he no-showed events and asked people to refund their money because he wasn't there. Then he gets himself fucked up, but that's for another time.

Given all of this, the only note-worthy thing that happened to Matthew in TNA was his debut. We all expected it, but he still looked strong. However, he's done jack-shit.

BUST.