Matt Hardy addressess his highly-criticized AEW debut angle

Matt Hardy recently revealed his thoughts on his often criticized AEW debut, which saw him using teleportation. Hardy made his AEW debut with the Broken Hardy gimmick on the March 18, 2020, episode of Dynamite, where he confronted The Inner Circle.

Speaking to WrestleZone, Hardy disclosed he didn't think the Broken Hardy angle would work without a live audience, however, it was Chris Jericho who insisted they go ahead with it.

"When I first [debuted], Chris Jericho was the one that said, ‘Hey I think we should do this’ and really wanted to do it this certain way and he had it set and I was like, ‘Cool man, we’ll try it, let’s give it a shot’ and we did it. I was worried about the reaction it’d have because these are wrestling fans who are looking for more of a sports-centric feel."

Hardy further revealed that looking back, he feels like they should have gone ahead with a more reality-based debut. He added that though he appreciates how pro-wrestling can allow stars to go beyond the conventional, AEW fans are more sports-centric, who enjoy watching stories rooted in reality.

"Once again, looking back in hindsight, now that I know the AEW audience, I think that the best course of action is to stay based in reality, more than anything else. I love pro-wrestling and I love how it allows you to go outside the parameters of basic reality and storytelling but I think at AEW, our audience, our fanbase, they just appreciate it staying more reality-based.”

Unlike other AEW debuts, including that of Sting and Christian, which were appreciated for their simplicity, Matt Hardy's debut was a rare misstep from Tony Khan's promotion. Khan recently revealed that he also regrets the teleportation angle used in Hardy's debut.

The #InnerCircle thought they had it all figured out. But, #TheElite had a plan the whole time!Was @MATTHARDYBRAND a part of your #AEWTop5 moments? pic.twitter.com/8qfniUh0E3

— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) March 19, 2020

Matt Hardy is currently playing the "Big Money Matt" character in AEW

Ever since dropping the Broken Hardy gimmick, Hardy has started using the "Big Money Matt" character on AEW Dynamite. It has received a much more positive response from the fans, who are appreciating the gimmick's groundedness.

The #KingMaker Big Money Matt pic.twitter.com/2Drfioybcw

— MATT HARDY (@MATTHARDYBRAND) April 2, 2021

Hardy is currently eyeing Darby Allin's TNT Championship, and a match between the two for the title could go down in the coming weeks.

What do you think about Matt Hardy's current gimmick in AEW? Do you think it was the right decision to drop the Broken Hardy character? Let us know down below.