WWE: Top 5 Matt Hardy Moments In Honor of His Retirement

5. Version 1.0

There is precious little official WWE footage of Matt Hardy’s first solo gimmick, which quite honestly is something of a travesty. Version 1 introduced the world to the concept of ‘Mattitude’, and was the first real showcase for Matt’s talent in creating unique, entertaining characters.

Quirky ‘Matt Facts’ popped up on his TitanTron, gifting fans such vital nuggets of information as ‘Matt isn’t afraid to eat alone in public’ and ‘Matt keeps the room temperature at a toasty 75 degrees’. With his trusty MF’er (that’s Mattitude Follower to you) Shannon Moore by his side, Matt captured the WWE Cruiserweight Championship, defeating Billy Kidman at No Way Out in 2003.

It didn’t come easy, though. One of Matt’s most memorable moments as Version 1 was his battle to meet the weight limit to compete for the Cruiserweight Title. Weighing in just moments before the match, Matt was dismayed to discover he was just over the limit. But all was not lost: ever-canny Shannon Moore pointed out that he hadn’t accounted for the weight of his clothing. Cue a cheerfully naked Matt Hardy standing triumphant (and a few pounds lighter) on the scales. It was a weird time.

Version 1 laid the foundations for Matt’s eventual magnum opus: if Broken Matt Hardy represented the very pinnacle of achievements in scenery-chewing hamminess, then Version 1 was an early glimpse into that wonderful future – not that anyone quite realized it at the time.

It hasn’t all been lighthearted fun, though.