WWE punishing Matt Hardy for his brother's behavior?

["Cool Guy" Jensen]

The Wrestling Observer is reporting that Jeff Hardy's current legal issues have put WWE creative in a situation where they are now questioning what to do with his brother Matt. Since Jeff's arrest, there have been several meetings backstage within WWE to decide what to do with Matt on TV. As seen recently, Matt was not used on 2 Smackdown shows, one on 9/15 and this past week's show. Although he has worked a Superstars taping and several house show events against CM Punk, it seems as if Jeff Hardy's arrest is definitely having an effect on Matt's current WWE status.

Well, if this is indeed true all I can say is... this is not fair. Matt Hardy should not be getting punished for what his brother is doing. Jeff Hardy is 32 years old, and should be getting responsibility for his own actions. You can't halt Matt's push for what Jeff is doing. I really hope this is not indeed true. If it is, WWE would be making a huge mistake.

What are your thoughts?

 

[THTRobtaylor]

It's somewhat inevitable... because of the brother's closeness... It's like Cornette getting fired cos Jarrett screwed up...

Matt getting pushed right now makes very little sense as his brother has just left and he is still working back to fitness after that surgery... I would be stunned if he doesn't still get his push, but at a time when Jeff is not in the news... If he doesn't he'd have no problem walking into TNA for sure...

My money is on the Rumble being his breakout... maybe not winning as I just see Jericho winning it... but of those in the midcard... Matt is the most prepared to step into a Mania match...

 

[JDavis328]

Bummer for matt. You really gotta feel bad for him. Hes always on the verge of breaking the glass ceiling and really not only reaching his dreams but his full potential but always something happens that pushes him back down. He has been on this verge many times where he was at the point of big time stardom but weather it be a injury,another superstar stepping front or now his brothers choices. Gotta feel for matt at this point.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

If this is true, it's because WWE is trying real hard to protect it's image. With the PG era in full swing, they might not want to push the brother of a guy who was arrested. I think it's bullshit because Jeff is no longer in WWE, and they don't even really mention him on tv anymore. I was really looking forward to seeing Matt in the WHC pictture, but if this is true that wont happen.

 

[OWEN-ing It All]

I'm not surprised, but if this is true, I can see why....

Matt and Jeff's feud, could've been great.......but it ended up being terrible. I thought they were going to have some great matches, but they weren't. The stretcher match being my favorite, their I Quit match was dissapointing and lame.

Matt is not a main eventer and he never will be, with Jeff he had a shot to prove himself and IMO he failed. What started out great, with Matt turning on Jeff and him having a few good promos.....quickly soured. His mic skills got better, then worse. His matches are mediocre, when he could be brilliant. And he doesn't have the charisma of his brother.

I think they should either just keep him a mid-carder or release him.

 

[colalella2891]

Wow that pisses me off. Not just because i'm a big fan of Matt, but because that is just wrong. Even if you're not a fan of Matt, you have to feel bad for the guy. Like cool guy said, bottom line is it's just not fair. I mean, I can see how Jeff's arrest may affect Matt's fan status, but still. Matt deserves it more IMO, and now he may not get anywhere at all, because of his brother. That's bullshit. Matt being punished for Jeff's mistake is just BULLSHIT, and it shows how the WWE creative team is full of ignorant pricks.

 

[X]

As everyone else has said, if this is true, it's a big load of bullshit. Matt and Jeff are two completely different people and one shouldn't be held responsible for the others mistakes, especially when Jeff has been going through all of these personal issues.

It's especially annoying considering how talented Matt is. He's very good in the ring, good enough on the mic, and he gets big pops every week, especially since Jeff has left. If the WWE were smart, they'd get ready to start up a feud with Matt and Punk, not sure why they didn't go to that feud directly after Jeff's departure in the first place.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

What you do have to bear in mind of course, is that it is likely Matt will be helping Jeff during the Trial etc... Can you imagine if it goes that far Matt not being there?

If so that might be putting WWE in a hard position, as they can't have a top guy involved in a high profile drugs case, even if he isn't actually on trial...

I am sure that WWE will do right by Matt, because if Jeff is found innocent... they will want him back...

 

[ZAPX4V1]

I wouldn't be surprised if Matt was moved to Smackdown so he could "babysit" Jeff. Matt clearly didn't do that though, so I don't really see a problem with him being punished a little for Jeff's mistakes. It might not seem fair, but Matt should have been looking out for his brother

 

[gregfj2]

Matt looked GREAT on Superstars this week, and if WWE was as evil as this thread is suggesting (and even as I sometimes believe!), then Kane could have hurt him alot worse. It could have been sick and very painful. Maybe a moment of mercy was just Kane's birthday present to Matt.

I think enough guys are getting pushed right now that we don't need to worry about Matt. He looks better than I expected after losing the ECW title and pretending to hate his brother with a fury. In fact, his upper body frame looked much STRONGER this week than I remember. Gotta love those tv cameras.

 

[PG ERA FAN xfb4]

I wish to completely discredit anyone who believes Matt Hardy is being punished. If anything makes sense it would be that its on his own accord to work a lighter tv schedule. Imagine the chants that could break out on tv and ruin WWE lands perfect fans it claims to have. Hes not being punished.

 

[And I'm Awesome]

I don't think this is a case of WWE punishing Matt Hardy for Jeff's actions, but more a case of WWE protecting it's own image. After all, it is likely that this whole mess is going to trial, and as some others have pointed out, Matt is at least likely to support Jeff. You don't want one of your top superstars being recognized in the media for supporting a defendant in a drug trial, no matter the relationship between the superstar and defendant. This is the 'E' protecting the 'E', not punishing Matt. Once this situation with Jeff gets taken care of, for better or worse, I think we'll see Matt getting a push.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

Agreed, if anything I think this will help Matt in the long run, cos it will make his big win far more sweet... When it happens, as a Matt fan, I want it cos it's time for him rather than cos of Jeff...

 

[Ambiguous Turd]

What you do have to bear in mind of course, is that it is likely Matt will be helping Jeff during the Trial etc... Can you imagine if it goes that far Matt not being there?

If that were the case, then why is Matt Hardy wrestling on House Shows instead?

It would seem to make more sense to me to have Matt work only TV and maybe one House Show, so he can still be on TV, but then be given more time off to help Jeff through his problems.

If so that might be putting WWE in a hard position, as they can't have a top guy involved in a high profile drugs case, even if he isn't actually on trial...

The only thing that I am thinking in the back of my mind .... that I am somewhat concerned with is ... I wonder if they are concerned that maybe Matt was somehow complicit with the drug trafficking business, assuming it is legitimate? And then there is the question of whether Matt was also distributing or taking steroids, that Jeff had stockpiled.

If that is the case, I can understand WWE taking steps to keep Matt off television as a precaution, until that matter clears up. Better to do that now, as opposed to waiting until AFTER it may be discovered that he was involved.

If I were WWE, I would pay Matt his normal salary, and actually pay him for being at Smackdown, even if he isn't. That way, one can't say he is being punished financially by this in any way (as that isn't right to do). Plus, he could still work the House Shows in front of a limited audience each time.

Then again, since these guys are Independent Contractors, Vince can do whatever he wants to do with them for any reason. That means if he doesn't want to pay Matt for TV, than he certainly doesn't have to. As long as the Downside Guarantees of their contract are met, than I think Vince can pretty much do whatever he wants.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

If that were the case, then why is Matt Hardy wrestling on House Shows instead?

The only thing that I am thinking in the back of my mind .... that I am somewhat concerned with is ... I wonder if they are concerned that maybe Matt was somehow complicit with the drug trafficking business, assuming it is legitimate? And then there is the question of whether Matt was also distributing or taking steroids, that Jeff had stockpiled.

If that is the case, I can understand WWE taking steps to keep Matt off television as a precaution, until that matter clears up. Better to do that now, as opposed to waiting until AFTER it may be discovered that he was involved.

The trial isn't likely to be till the new year, so it wouldn't make sense to ramp up Matt's push only to have him disappear for several weeks while Jeff's trial (which is bound to be televised) takes place... It could be as simple as they are just waiting for the Rumble to "push the button"... but one of the evils of the IWC is that people will instantly read things into something and nothing.

I'd be stunned if Matt is involved in anything, his look in recent years has never screamed roids and to my knowledge he hasn't failed any tests... if anything he and Jeff would have had less to do with each other while Jeff was getting pushed.

 

[thisisatest]

I've always felt Matt was treated badly/unfairly. Granted, Jeff is the more talented and charismatic of the two and it was inevitable that they split up, but shortly thereafter it seemed that Matt was continually buried in the mid-card ala Marty Janetty...then Lita begins a much-publicised affair with Adam Copeland behind his back, he lashes out much like most any of us would and he's summarily dismissed from the company. But wait, WWE sees a money-making idea here and brings him back to make Edge and Lita's life a living hell, then he loses match after match to Edge and gets buried again. If there's any kind of punishment going on it wouldn't surprise me a bit but on the other hand it seems that Matt will put up with about anything for $$$ even though I think TNA and their X Division would be a better spot for him.

 

[SUBMIT2GR8NESS]

banghead:Look if you have been paying close attention matt has never been given the spot light he deserves. Sure he's not the most entertaining star on the roster but he is a very skilled wrestler. If I were him personelly i would go to tna and start my career there.WWE is stupid to start a fued between the undertaker and punk that they are forgetting that jeff, matt's brother, "LOST HIS JOB" because of punk. Why don't they make a title match between those to. Plan and simple he has been there longer than most of the guys who have had title shots already and I think wwe should consider him as a true star.

 

[ABMorales787]

Guess we have to wait and see, to me at least it makes sense that WWE keeps Matt on a low profile while Jeff's situation is sorted out. It would hurt both WWE and Matt Hardy if he was pushed right now. Imagine the media backlash related to how the company is pushing the brother of a "drug addict" as one of their top guys, we all know how much the media likes to make a fuzz about everything. It would definitely pay off i the long run to wait a bit to push him, even if they had a thousand opportunities in the past. I don't think WWE is punishing Matt, in my mind, I think they are laying low until the coast is clear.

 

[AllHailJericho]

Although this isa lot of crap, I'm not surprised. WWE isn't exactly the most fair place to work. If Matt pulls through, he should get his main event push. He deserves it. He's been in the WWE 5 times as long as Punk and Matt is solid in both the ring, and the mic.

 

[byrnside]

What you do have to bear in mind of course, is that it is likely Matt will be helping Jeff during the Trial etc... Can you imagine if it goes that far Matt not being there?

If so that might be putting WWE in a hard position, as they can't have a top guy involved in a high profile drugs case, even if he isn't actually on trial...

I am sure that WWE will do right by Matt, because if Jeff is found innocent... they will want him back...

I don't know about that necessarily. I don't think Jeff wants to burden Matt with all his problems. Just look at the fact that he didn't even ask Matt for bail money when he was arrested, as was reported via their twitters. .

As for being punished by WWE.. Hard to say, as it really wouldn't surprise me either way. But I know Vince is the kind of guy that has the mindset "if you swallow the shit, you'll get rewarded." So if this is the case, and Matt is being punished, he should be in store for great things in 2010.

 

[Mrs. Randy Orton]

I hope it isn't true because that is BS. I am not a fan of Matt's but he shouldn't be held accountable in any way for the mistakes his brother has made because he has nothing to do with it.

 

[My$terio_Fan]

That sucks. But that's the wrestling business for ya. Wrestling as long as I can remember has been very political and alot of things backstage and out of the ring can hurt your chances.

Matt is a good worker, and while he'll never be as big as Jeff, he still is talented. I think it sucks that someone like Matt who is dedicated to the business get's fucked over because he's brother(who I like alot more) is a screw job.

But sometimes who you are associated with(or related to)in the wrestling business can fuck you over, and this is just another example. But it's not like Matt is a mega star who is getting burried, Matt was never the top guy, so it's not like it's a super loss not to push him, it's just bitchy that he(right now)isn't getting a fair shake because he's Jeff Hardy's brother.

But oh well, that's wrestling for ya.

 

[JBK2008]

God I hope Jeff's arrest isn't hurting Matt this bad. Matt's been loyal to the WWE for years and although he can't draw like Jeff can, the guy sure as hell has the talent to be a top player. Matt just always seems to have bad luck at the worst time...

 

[It's...Baylariat!]

Matt Hardy's been given every opportunity to succeed and it's proven he can't draw a dime. Jeff sucks at wrestling, but draws money. Matt's better in the ring, but doesn't draw for crap. Not to mention Matt wrestling through serious injuries and not doing himself any favors from his past actions during his situation with Edge and Lita. Matt's really never been in good standing with the WWE, and as whats been mentioned before, wrestling is political. No matter how big a company is, politics and pull still matter. As good as HHH is, it's a good question to wonder where he would be without his relationship with Stephanie. It's not what you know, it's who you know. After all, it IS entertainment.

 

[DRAGO!!!!]

i have to say i'm not surprised. In a way Jeff has been holding back Matt his whole career. If those two come in and not as brothers i think Matt is the man. More skills, and better on the mic. Neither were great on the mic but Matt was a smidge better. He reminds me of what Punk was a year ago. All the skills, better mic skills, but cant draw. Turn him heel and bingo hes the man on Smackdown now.

Its pretty obvious that Jeffs "personal choices" have hurt Matt. It is BS but thats Vince. Hes always been hoping for Jeff cause it makes a great come back story. He learns from his mistakes. But thats just not Jeff Hardy. I have said for years that as long as Jeff is there Matt will suffer. And it turns out i was wrong. Even when hes gone Matt pays for it.

This isnt a rumor, its fact thats Vince.