Gimmick Some (Wrestlemania) Lovin': Spring BROKEN Edition

In each edition of Gimmick Some Lovin', we take a look at one iteration of a gimmick match available on the WWE Network. Some are iconic for their success, others for the extent to which they flopped, and some just... happened.

We defined a "gimmick match" as, in any way, adding a rule/stipulation to or removing a rule from a match, changing the physical environment of a match, changing the conditions which define a "win", or in any way moving past the simple requirement of two men/women/teams whose contest must end via a single pinfall, submission, count out, or disqualification.

We've already done one tribute this week to the Broken One but, to further honor the former guru of Mattitude, as well as the fact that this writer is embarking on a DELIGHTFUL spring break staycation, today's Gimmick Some (Wrestlemania) Lovin' focuses on an Extreme Rules clash between Version One himself and his brother, former tag team partner, and future Brother Nero, Jeff Hardy from Wrestlemania 25.

Wrestlemania I happened in 1985. Wrestlemania 25 happened in 2009. Being the 25th Wrestlemania and the 25th anniversary are two different things, folks. @Wrestlemaths

Houston, We Have a Spectacle

It's easy to forget that anything not involving Shawn Michaels or The Undertaker happened that April night in Houston, TX, mostly because everything on this show had to compete with what many call one of the single greatest matches in Wrestlemania, and WWE, history: part one of The Deadman and the Heartbreak Kid's two-part Wrestlemania saga.

The one from this show takes the number one spot in WWE's 100 Best Matches to See Before You Die; its sequel (which fits the criteria of this feature, and may show up here soon) took the number 13 ranking.

However, Wrestlemania 25 featured its fair share of quality wrestling and great surprises, from CM Punk's second (and final) Money in the Bank win to Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat setting the gold standard for earning "You still got it!" chants at the Grandaddy of 'Em All (Santa Clara, take note, please).

Rey Mysterio and JBL got less than a half a minute bell-to-bell, but the moment itself was a fantastic sendoff for the Texan and, ignoring the "Miss Wrestlemania" Battle Royal won by Santina Marella, nearly everything on this show got favorable reviews (although, as many have pointed out, not having Taker and Shawn close the show put a serious damper on the two world title matches at the end).

Like the movies opening the same weekend as Black Panther, the matches on this card get very little love after the fact because of their proximity to greatness and, admittedly, this is my first foray into intentionally watching anything other than WWE's favourite match of all time.

The more Matt evolves through the years, the more Jeff stays the same.

The Build

Like another famous Matt Hardy blood feud, the rivalry between the brothers Hardy took real-life tensions and made them kayfabe to aid the in-ring intensity. Recent entries into Bruce Prichard's Something to Wrestle podcast (a highly recommended program for anyone watching WWE between 1987 and 2010) have highlighted the fact that Matt was always far more driven to succeed in the business, but fans and executives alike always gravitated toward Jeff.

Matt would have to work twice as hard to achieve half as much as his younger and, by many people's definition, more charismatic kin; Matt developed a unique and technical in-ring style, while Jeff ragdolled himself all over arenas across the country, and off of anything taller than a ringpost. When the duo went the singles route, Jeff found himself showered with multiple singles championship runs up and down the card, while Matt often struggled to make the best of being handed scraps.

WWE Creative mixed all of that real-life tension into its on-camera action at the 2009 Royal Rumble, where Matt lost his ECW Championship to Jack Swagger; appearing later on, chair in hand, during Jeff's WWE Championship defense against Edge, Matt Hardy cost his brother the match and the championship, explaining that he had gotten sick of sharing the spotlight with his addict brother, who received more second chances than anyone not named Orton and who was coasting off charisma and circus stunts.

Like in the Magnum T.A.-Tully Blanchard contest, it's easy to forget sometimes in this feud that these two are acting. — Like in

Offscreen and on, Jeff Hardy had been suffering a string of bad luck losses, such as a kayfabe car crash and pyrotechnics malfunction, as well as a real-life house fire which cost Jeff his home and his beloved pet dog. Matt, in disowning his flesh and blood and declaring his independence from Jeff's shadow, took credit for all of these things, hoping to make The Daredevil suffer as much as Matt felt he had suffered being the Marty to Jeff's Shawn all those years.

Jeff attempted for weeks to maintain his cool, showing the serenity to accept the things he cannot change, until summoning the courage to attempt to change the things he can by fighting back against his brother. A Wrestlemania clash was booked and, owing to the intense hatred between the two, the match was made an Extreme Rules contest.

This one is definitely NOT on the wheel of options when you reach under the ring in WWE 2K18!

The Rules

WWE has seemingly never officially decided what constitutes an "Extreme Rules" Match, but it's a contest which eliminates count-outs and disqualifications; unlike a simple No Disqualification match, the Extreme Rules stipulation seems to require a bit more chaos from its competitors, and invites a greater (and more creative) use of assorted weaponry (as the pop-up weapons menu gamers get in the WWE 2K series see during Extreme Rules matches).

Common side effects of wrestling Matt Hardy can include increased instances of deletion.

The Match

The distinction between the brothers is on full display from the entrances on; Matt opts for a no frills determined march to the ring, while Jeff dances to fanfare and fireworks, as well as the adulation of the Houston crowd.

The match gets the start as right as possible, seeing Jeff slap his brother to end an extended staredown, followed by a slugfest involving the ring steps, trash cans, and the sturdiest Wrestlemania poster in existence. Jeff hits a very cool-looking Poetry in Motion against the guardrail, which the stairs substituting for Matt (1999 Jim Ross asks, "IS THIS SYMBOLIC"), before failing another in the ring, this time using a steel chair. Matt takes the chair and, in a jaw-dropping spot, smashes his brother out of midair with it during a Whisper in the Wind attempt.

Matt takes over at this point, first with the aid of an unnamed shop vac (2018 Matt would at least give it a Twitter handle), then a Side Effect onto the chair. Matt wraps his brother around the ring post, then introduces a table into the contest; Jeff fights off a superplex attempt, then mule kicks The Broken One into the ring steps before clattering the elder Hardy with a kendo stick and a crutch.

I need 100% more of this in my wrestling life.

Finding another trash can, Jeff wraps his brother in it and, in a classic hardcore spot, clatters the Hardy/trashcan combo, then dropkicks his binned brother in the corner. Jeff misses the Swanton, allowing Matt to try a Twist of Fate, which only gets two; when Matt climbs, Jeff fights him down before bringing Version One down with a superplex of his own.

An unprotected chair shot echoes through stadium ("That chair's legal!" JR reminds us) as Matt falls to the outside, where Jeff makes a Matt-and-Chair Sandwich with two tables serving as the bread; Jeff defies wrestling logic by putting himself through the top table with a splash in order to send Matt through the bottom table with the chair for emphasis. It was a cool-looking spot, made terrifying by Jeff's face smacking the pavement at the end, and gets a two-count when Matt finds the ropes.

PSA: Hulk Hogan has severe spinal problems just doing this move from a standing position; adding 20 feet to that is a recipe for disaster.

As anyone knows, where Jeff Hardy goes, ladders can't be far behind, and the Enigma slides a pair of them into the ring; Jeff legdrops Matt off a chair, then sets up the two ladders side-by-side while the stadium buzzes. He misses a leg drop leapfrogging over the taller of the two ladders, and Matt places his brother's face on the seat of an open chair to deliver the Twist of Fate for the win in one of the coolest chair-assisted moves not involving shattering Brian Pillman's ankle WWE has ever broadcast.

I'm not sure why this, and the missed leg drop, aren't included in the numerous Wrestlemania Moments montages we see each year.

My Rating

Typically, I refuse to look at other reviewers' takes on the matches I cover before watching or writing my own thoughts. I never want someone else's opinions to shape my own, but, for this contest, I accidentally say Big Dave's rating during my research stage.

Perhaps his middling review set my expectations too low, or perhaps Dave doesn't know how to have fun, but this match was exponentially more fun than I could have imagined. Those ridiculous high spots, from the stair-assisted Poetry in Motion and the Chair Shot in the Wind, to the table monstrosity, to that wild ending sequence, this match builds and builds, continually dropping this jaded 32 year-old fan's jaw with spots both inventive and familiar.

It happens at least half the time a trash can becomes part of a hardcore match, but that doesn't make it any less fun.

Sure, some of those spots are silly, and I'll never be able to justify Jeff's decision to put himself through a table in kayfabe, but they are what Wrestlemania needs to be: pure, over-the-top spectacle for the sake of spectacle. The internal logic running through all this is that every attack and every risk is justified by the animosity the Hardyz feel for each other (again, the table spot excepted; both in wrestling and in life, that seemed to damage Jeff as much as, or more than, Matt); Matt's motivated by his bitterness, Jeff by the loss of his dog, his home, and, nearly, his life.

Out of context, it looks like a reversal, not offense. — Out of context, it looks like a reversal, not

If there's a nit to be picked, it's the commentary, which doesn't let the in-ring action speak the volumes it could and instead keeps rehashing the same thing that promo vignettes had shown for weeks. We know that Matt killed Jeff's dog, and that Jeff nearly got killed by his own pyro; we also just saw Jeff hit Matt with a crutch while Matt wore a trash can, and we want to talk about that, please.

Compared to the intimate arena feel of Wrestlemania 22, it's great to watch another stadium Mania again; one of my favourite aspects of pre-smartphone Wrestlemanias is the storm of flashbulbs that accompany huge spots, and this one has plenty. It's one of those visuals that makes good matches great.

I waited nine years to finally make a point of watching this contest, and I urge you, if you're in the same boat, stop reading this article and fix that right now. It's not the classic Shawn and Taker would deliver later in the night, but it's an eye-popping and extremely fun 14 minutes.

I'll go 9/10 for this one.