The Hardys: A Brilliant And Broken Trip

We all know Matt and Jeff Hardy. They first came onto many of our radars as glorified jobbers who joined the WWF in the 90’s and it’s been a long journey for the Hardy brothers as they have found themselves in quite a different position now that they’re all grown up.

However with the way their non-wrestling antics have gone on to enchant so many, they have the ability to become part-time wrestlers with full time schedules. Broken Matt and Brother Nero could fill stadiums just so people could hear them pontificate, but we’re getting ahead of ourselves here. Let’s start from the beginning of their Broken Brilliance.

The fact is there has never been a button on a computer keyboard with such popularity as the delete key thanks to Matt Hardy.

To make this article much shorter, we’re going to just set the groundwork by acknowledging the genesis of the Hardy Boyz and mention they are no longer with WWE for whatever reason. Matt and Jeff each left and returned to Vince’s Saloon of Swanton Bombs a couple times, but that’s a subject for another article entirely.

Before there was Broken Matt Hardy in TNA, there was “Big Money Matt.” Using this persona, Matt trolled fans and fellow wrestlers alike while he threw how much money he made up in their faces. It was a real classy gimmick and just as original.

Long story short, Matt won the World Title and gave Ethan Carter III his first singles loss with TNA. However, after Drew Galloway defeated him for the TNA Title, Matt turned his focus toward his brother, Jeff. The Hardys had an I Quit match to settle things and it ended in a no-contest because both brothers were completely wrecked and unable to carry on.

Now, let’s fast forward to when things really got interesting.

On May 10th, 2016 Jeff Hardy was in a tag-match with partner James Storm against Decay when he was distracted by someone dressed as his Willow character which caused him to lose the match. Jeff searched for the impostor Willow, and after taking out a few decoys he finally found the impostor which turned out to be his brother Matt.

This new spark in the brotherly feud led a another chapter. Apparently Matt had been changed, he had been altered, he had been “broken.” He carried on about how his Brother Nero (Jeff’s real middle name, isn’t that cool?) wanted to “delete” him. He spoke in a new accent which was an amalgamation of all things awesome, and presented riddle-like lines throughout his promos. He was entrancing, and fans quickly latched onto his new gimmick.

Jeff defeated Matt in a Full Metal Mayhem Match at Slammiversary, but this confrontation was not the end of it. For hundreds of millennia, people will be talking about the Final Deletion that soon followed. Jeff was now officially Brother Nero and The Broken Hardys were celestial superstars.

After the Final Deletion aired, the internet exploded. The Hardys’ latest opus was the topic of every conversation and YouTube was flooded with videos of people sitting in front of their webcams talking about how great the Broken Matt Hardy character was, and they were right. Then again, there were also people who thought The Final Deletion ruined professional wrestling, but those opinions are obsolete for the purposes of this article.

The Broken Brothers battled against Decay as they returned to their compound once more for a brutally inventive Delete or Decay match. During that encounter Brother Nero sacrificed himself once more for his brother adding even more depth to this already complex story line. Matt saved his son Maxel from Rosemary’s abduction and all was right with the world for a while.

The Broken Hardys would defeat Decay for the TNA Tag Team Titles at Bound For Glory and continue on their Expedition of Gold from that point on. Matt Hardy lost his memory for a little while after being knocked off a forklift by a member of the Death Crew Council but thankfully retained his Broken Brilliance thanks to a perfectly timed lightning bolt.

Total Nonstop Deletion was put forth and totally encompassed the Broken vision of the Hardys complete with a Tag Team Apocalypto match to retain their cherished TNA Tag Team Titles.

The Hardys left Impact Wrestling with their TNA Tag Team Titles still in tow. They would travel the globe during their last few months with the company and rack up even more titles on their Expedition of Gold to delight and fascinate us all. On their first night in Ring of Honor, they surprised the Young Bucks at Manhattan Mayhem when they captured the ROH Tag Team Titles as well.

At this point, the professional wrestling world truly evolves around the Broken Brilliance of Matt and Jeff Hardy. There are really no signs of them slowing down either. This new ROH deal is said to be a fat one and while fans might want them in WWE, it might not be the best thing for them.

They can do what they want and come and go as they please. This former enhancement talent tag-team has not only taken the professional wrestling world by storm, but captured its fascination unlike anyone before them. They could tour full-time with any wrestling company and only actually have a match every four months. People just want to see them, they want to bask in the glow of their captivating personas, and they want to pay homage to their Broken Brilliance.

The fact is, if The Hardys are making the money they need to survive that’s all that should matter, and by the looks of the Hardy manor they are doing fine. The Hardys need to be creative and surround themselves with people who will allow them to display their Broken Brilliance without interjecting a corporate agenda. After all, the last thing we need is the Hardys to finally come “home” to WWE just to have them doing commercials for KFC in the middle of a pay-per-view.