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What's the story?
On Monday Night RAW Matt Hardy finally started displaying the mannerisms of the gimmick that got him incredibly over in TNA; 'Broken' Matt Hardy. This was something many people thought wouldn't happen due to legal issues over the rights to the gimmick, however Wrestlingnews.co has revealed why Matt Hardy has been allowed to debut his 'Broken' character.
In case you didn't know...
'Broken' Matt Hardy is an incredible gimmick that displayed a psychologically broken Matt Hardy, who was incredibly well spoken but significantly deranged, he debuted it during his time at TNA and quickly became the best thing about pro wrestling, leading to ridiculous matches in his back garden, drones, King Maxell, Senor Benjamin and all sorts of other hijinks.
The heart of the matter
The reason that Hardy couldn't use the gimmick in the WWE was because TNA wrestling claimed they owned the gimmick, however ownership of TNA has changed hands to Anthem, and it was rebranded as IMPACT Wrestling.
Anthem Executive Vice President Ed Nordholm has been trying to steer IMPACT Wrestling in the right direction and right some of the perceived wrongs caused by the previous owners, this has involved apologizing to NJPW champion Kazuchika Okada for misusing him, and now apparently patching things up with the Hardys by allowing them to use the 'Broken' Matt Hardy and 'Brother Nero' gimmicks in WWE.
Nordholm released the following statement on the agreement to allow all current and previous talent to use their IMPACT persona elsewhere,
“We have seen the character development and will be interested to see where they take the concept. Our new talent agreements all incorporate language that allow talent to continue to use their IMPACT persona after they leave the company. We are working with our legal team to amend our existing agreements to extend this to all of our current and former talent.”
What's next?
With Jeff Hardy still rehabbing following an injury we won't be seeing 'Brother Nero' anytime soon, but the latest tweets from Matt Hardy clearly suggest that he's well on his way to being completely 'Broken', meaning the WWE locker room had better prepare for massacre!
Author's take
You can say what you want about IMPACT wrestling and its many struggles recently, but this recent agreement that ends the legal battle between the company and the Hardys clearly suggest that above all else, the company is trying very hard to do the right thing by its fans and Superstars past and present, and that should be commended.
What makes Sting special? His first AEW opponent opens up RIGHT HERE.
