WWE: Matt Hardy’s ‘Broken’ Persona Already Botched

It looks as if Matt Hardy’s “broken” character is fair for the WWE to us on its own programming. However, the gimmick may have already been botched

“Broken” Matt Hardy could be coming to WWE television very soon. Or at least a character similar to the beloved gimmick.

According to Sports Illustrated‘s Justin Barrasso, the plan is for WWE to start using a character similar to the one Hardy used in Impact Wrestling. This WWE version, however, will not be referred to as “Broken” Matt Hardy, for obvious legal reasons.

This direction was seen Monday night on Raw, when Hardy appeared to be having a conniption following a loss to Bray Wyatt.

For many fans, this is wonderful news. In 2016, Matt Hardy reinvented himself as a character.

He transformed from middling mid-carder to bonafide star, and was arguably the most compelling character in professional wrestling.

Hardy’s “Broken Matt Hardy” gimmick truly transcended wrestling, and made a number of people take notice. From the incredibly interesting promos Hardy would give, to the now viral “DELETE” chants, there was no denying Hardy was over.

The Final Deletion was equal parts weird and amazing, and Hardy truly proved his creativity is far from obsolete.

For months, Hardy has been sprinkling in a little bit of his old character’s lingo. Things like “obsolete,” “wonderful” and the “DELETE” hand gesture have all found their way onto Raw.

WWE pulling the trigger on this wildly popular gimmick is exciting, but it also may not be great. After all, sequels seldom outshine the original.

It hasn’t gotten off to a necessarily good start, either .

The main reason for that is the delivery. Why is Hardy suddenly “broken”? What happened that was so bad that caused the shift in his mentality? If Monday night was the only reasoning WWE gives, then Hardy became broken because he lost a singles match to Bray Wyatt. There was no beatdown, and no creepy, spooky Bray Wyatt post-match shenanigan.

It was just a match, and just a loss. So why not Hardy’s previous loss? What makes losing to Wyatt such a monumentally disappointing result?

Obviously, the loss to Wyatt has come after a string of losses for Hardy. But we now live in a world where wins and losses don’t mean as much to the audience.

So what other reason would Hardy have for completely snapping? Would it be the recent absence of his brother? It just seems like the WWE writers have backed themselves into a corner here.

A perfect time to have “broken” Matt Hardy would’ve been during the Hardy Boyz’s feud with The Bar. Hardy suffered some gruesome hits, especially in the teams’ steel cage showdown.

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It unfortunately feels like we’re headed for another Bray Wyatt feud with nothing on the line other than Wyatt wishing to expose someone as a fraud. The one silver lining from a possible Hardy-Wyatt feud is that the promo work — as well as the in-ring work, to a lesser extent — will be phenomenal.

The one worry I have is WWE overproducing Hardy to the extent they have at times done with Wyatt.

Here’s to hoping the WWE allows Hardy’s creative ability to flow.