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Matt Hardy is one of the most accomplished performers currently signed with the WWE. He is most notably a seven-time WWE Tag Team champion with his brother, Jeff Hardy ,and has even held a Tag Title with MVP.
Apart from being an accomplished tag team performer, Matt Hardy is also a great singles competitor, having won the United States Championship, ECW Championship and the Cruiserweight Championship in the past. He has had memorable feuds with Kane, Edge, Punk and even his brother, Jeff, where the two had squared off in an extreme rules match at Wrestlemania 25, with Matt picking up the win.
Matt and Jeff Hardy returned to WWE at Wrestlemania 33. The brothers were part of a multi-man ladder match for the RAW Tag Team Championships which they won, receiving a thunderous response from the crowd.
However, due to Jeff's serious shoulder injury, he might be out of action for some time to come, leaving Matt without his long time tag team partner. So, here are five ways in which the WWE can book Matt Hardy:
#1 Teaming with Jason Jordan
Although both Hardy and Jordan were in singles action this past week on RAW, they had been teaming with each other for the past few weeks.
Jason, although putting forth great matches ever since moving to RAW, has failed to connect with the crowd, majorly because of the disappointing “Kurt Angle’s son” storyline. One way to help Jason get over with the crowd would be to continue pairing him with the fan-favorite Matt Hardy. It would be a mutually beneficial arrangement as it would help Jordan learn from one of the greatest and keep Matt in the Tag Team division spotlight until the return of his brother.
Both Jordan and Hardy are former Tag Team champions and know how to work well in a tag team. So, having these two work as a team would not just be good for both of them but also for the entire Tag Team division.
#2 Winning the Intercontinental Championship
Matt, who has won multiple singles championships in his career, has never been able to capture the coveted IC Championship. It could be a good opportunity for him to receive a singles push and win the IC Championship in the near future.
The WWE will be looking for a new contender to challenge the current Intercontinental Champion — The Miz — once his angle with The Shield concludes at the TLC PPV; and who better than the veteran Matt Hardy to take up this challenge.
Not only would this help to get Matt back in the spotlight, but it would also give the fans a great feud for the IC Championship. It would be a treat to watch the promos between the two talented talkers.
#3 A Heel Turn
Currently a much loved babyface, Matt has shown in the past that he can work extremely well as a heel. Whether it was his overconfident “Mattitude V1” gimmick or the “scorned elder brother”, Matt always excelled as a “bad-guy”.
Even during his time with Impact Wrestling, Matt turned heel during his match with EC3, in what many believe to be one of the best executed heel turns in the company’s history.
One way to go about it would be turning on Jason Jordan, thus helping elevate the young talent with a meaningful and personal rivalry.
Another way to go about it would be for Matt to come out and start bad-mouthing his brother. However, the rivalry between Matt and Jeff has been done multiple times in the past, so it would probably behove WWE to pit the elder Hardy brother against a younger opponent.
#4 Move to Smackdown
Ever since his return, Matt Hardy has been a part of the RAW roster. However, moving him to Smackdown could be beneficial as the blue brand would gain an experienced performer and Matt would get a better opportunity to shine on a smaller roster.
Smackdown has a dearth of upper midcarders. With rumors suggesting that Styles would be next in line to face Jinder Mahal — the current WWE Champion — Hardy could slot in as Baron Corbin's next opponent.
He could help elevate the younger wrestlers on the roster and have great feuds with superstars like Rusev and Dolph Ziggler.
#5 The arrival of “Broken” Matt Hardy
Matt Hardy took the wrestling world by storm when he debuted his “Broken” gimmick whilst working for Impact Wrestling last year. This character was absolutely unique and like nothing anyone had ever seen before. With hair dyed half white, Matt took on a weird accent and started behaving in eccentric fashion, catching the fancy of fans all over.
Ever since The Hardy brothers came back to WWE, fans have been anticipating a revival of this gimmick. Unfortunately, the gimmick hasn't debuted on WWE television due to the legal wrangle with the management at GFW/Impact Wrestling.
Matt has been trying hard to keep the buzz around his broken persona alive on his social media accounts. A sign of its popularity is that the live audience never fails to indulge in the “Delete” chant whenever Matt and Jeff make an appearance.
It can be hoped that the legal issues surrounding this gimmick get resolved as soon as possible so that the much anticipated “Broken” Matt Hardy can appear on WWE and have great feuds with other supernatural characters like Bray Wyatt and Finn Balor.
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