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

3. Rivalry (And Brief Alliance With) MVP

It’s not just Jeff that Matt has held tag gold with. A storyline circa 2007 saw him engage in a spirited and highly entertaining rivalry with MVP, which saw the pair engage in increasingly bizarre contests – from chess matches to pizza-eating – in a bid to outdo the other.

This one-upmanship took an unexpected turn when then-General Manager Teddy Long threw MVP and Matt Hardy together in a match for the SmackDown Tag Team Championship. Despite an abundance of communication issues, the unlikely pair prevailed.

The SmackDown Tag Team Championship was not the only gold to feature in the Matt Hardy/MVP story, which spanned the better part of a year. Simmering beneath the surface was Matt’s determination to divest MVP of his United States Championship – a challenge MVP continually resisted, using the Tag Team Championship as an excuse.

Matt’s time would eventually come. A vicious attack at the hands of MVP after the loss of their tag titles saw Matt out of contention for four months (another case of real life writing the plot: Matt ended up undergoing emergency surgery for a burst appendix just a few days later).

Matt returned at Money in the Bank, preventing MVP from securing the win, and setting up the match that would see him end MVP’s 343-day reign as United States Champion.

Matt would go on to hold the title for 84 days, defending against the likes of Shelton Benjamin, Chavo Guerrero and Mr. Kennedy, before WWE shifted him over to their now-defunct ECW brand – a transition that would signal the beginning of the end for Matt’s time with WWE.