Giving Matt Hardy another chance…

Like many, I was quite surprised to hear that Matt Hardy would be present at the upcoming ROH iPPV, and may be working with the company going forward. While the news has been met with everything from eye-rolling to outrage, personally I feel like this is an opportunity that Matt has been working towards for the better part of a year now, and has genuinely earned.

Matt’s downward spiral, which saw both his professional life take a nose dive and had serious questions raised about how he was living behind the scenes, estranged many fans from him, most of whom seem unwilling to forgive and forget. And while I am certainly in favour of Hardy getting an opportunity in ROH, I feel obligated to say I can’t blame those scorned fans. His bizarre, attention seeking antics online were irritating but ultimately harmless, until an incident which caused many people to fear Matt had committed suicide, which he would later claim was a big misunderstanding. As someone who has actually been affected by the very real issue of suicide, but at the same time doesn’t easily take offense to things done for “entertainment’s” sake, I was disgusted by the behaviour. Using such a tactic for cheap publicity or to further an already cringeworthy Youtube storyline is inexcusable. It capped off months of weird behaviour and increasingly underwhelming performances with both WWE and TNA. It was a disappointing fall from grace for one of WWE’s most dependable and popular undercard work horses.

So where did Matt Hardy go from there? To most, it was the breaking point. I know quite a few people who made this the point of no return, and made sure to unfollow Matt from his various social networking pages and to not even bother reading news updates about him, or wasting any more key-taps by talking about him themselves. His claims that he was turning his life around were understandably ignored or laughed off, and most assumed he’d spin his wheels on various indies for a few more years before giving up.

In reality, it seems that his claims were far from the usual “I’ll be back, better than ever” BS spouted by the washed up masses on twitter.

Bizarre internet behaviour was largely curbed, and since the straw that broke the camel’s back there were no major controversies surrounding Matt’s online presence. Instead, Matt turned his attention to hyping up his assorted indie appearances which he began taking on after leaving TNA. Hardy had been lethargic in his Impact Wrestling run, with really just one stand out match with AJ Styles to his name, and people would be forgiven for thinking he’d be just another former-WWE star phoning it in on the smaller shows.

But I have found myself pleasantly surprised over the last few months to hear that Matt has been working hard to put on great shows for the local crowds, as well as being a friendly and likable presence at signing and meet and greets. From reading reports of various Hardy appearances, as well as talking to friends who’ve seen him live, Matt hasn’t been slouching and is taking his time on the indie scene very seriously. That is certainly evident if you take a look at his once unbearable YouTube channel, which now features promos from Matt himself hyping up his encounters with everyone from Kevin Steen, to long-time rival MVP. Wrestling seems like his focus, something he is taking seriously, and seemingly something he hopes can win around even the most adamant of his detractors.

That’s definitely a group I would have considered myself a part of a year or so ago. An interview a few months back with Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez of WrestlingObserver.com saw a lucid, candid Matt continue to talk about how he hoped to rejig his career and turn his life around, and I for one was pleasantly surprised with how sincere it all seemed. Coupled with strong reviews for his indie performances, I began to think to myself that maybe Matt has turned things around.

People make mistakes in life, and in wrestling all too often we see things snowball and get worse and worse for guys who make bad choices. But likewise, people can have a turnaround and commit to making good on past mistakes, and when they prove that they are doing so I think they should be commended. After many months of positive self promotion and hard work across America and abroad, I think Matt is ready for a shot at redemption on a slightly larger stage.

Perhaps I’m being overly judgmental, ironically in a blog where I’m telling people not to be, but I do feel as though the ROH fanbase will be the most difficult to win around, for obvious reasons. Not only do they tend to resent this sort of WWE washout talent, but they seem to me to be the type of fans who are quick to forget all your upsides when you annoy them, but never forget your downsides when you try and win them back. Unless they’ve been following his YouTube channel which features recordings of many of his recent matches (unlikely), most fans probably wont be able to shake the notion of Matt as this very troubled, never-was who is more trouble than he’s worth. And in an era when ROH’s decision making has been so frequently brought into question by even its most loyal fans, I feel this will be used as just another stick to beat the current administration with, rather than a potentially great arrangement for all involved.

Maybe I’m wrong. I hope I am. I’d love to see fans approach this with an open mind, give a guy who made some mistakes a chance to redeem himself and go from there, but only time will tell.

On that note, like last time, I’d like to hear from the PWP readers on this. What are your thoughts on Hardy joining ROH? Do you think he’s turned it around? Am I maybe being too harsh on ROH fans? Feel free to comment or tweet me a message, @BarryLadTweets. Thanks to all who responded to my last column, and thanks for reading this one.