AEW Booms and Duds: Brodie Lee and Matt Hardy debut

Boom: the “Broken Universe” descends upon AEW

The popular theory for Matt Hardy in AEW was that he was The Exalted One, but the identity of The Exalted One was revealed earlier in the night (more on that in the next slide).

However, I thought it was unlikely considering The Young Bucks (once a target of Dark Order) met Hardy at the Hardy Compound a few weeks ago on an episode of “Free the Delete.”

After Nick Jackson’s injury last week (Chris Jericho mentioned they found Nick like that, but the garage door was too heavy; poor Nick), a spot was opened up for The Elite, and then…is that…yes, it is! It’s Vanguard-1!

Vanguard-1 was a nice touch, a relic from when Hardy’s “Broken” character really rose to prominence during his time in Impact Wrestling. It really helped peak the excitement when the camera panned to Hardy in the stands, arms extended laughing maniacally and doing his “Delete!” motion.

This worked on multiple levels. The first is that with all the overt and subtle clues that seemed to hint at Hardy being The Exalted One, AEW basically broke our ankles with the earlier reveal, though maybe staggering the reveals would have made it that much more effective. Hardy does seem perfect (in his “Broken” gimmick) to lead Dark Order, but I think this was the right call.

This leads to another level how it works. We know that the creativity in Hardy’s brain will not plateau anytime soon. However, his physical capabilities are not at the same level. He can still put on a decent match, but I don’t know if he should be trusted to carry a 14-minute singles match, something that seems likely for The Exalted One.

Being part of a 10-man match allows Hardy (particularly if he doesn’t start the match) to do some spots, get hit with some spots, and rest in the corner (as Jericho should) while the younger and more physically capable wrestlers in the match put on a show.

He probably would be involved with The Elite going forward in some capacity, and hopefully that leads him to more tag matches in a promotion that values tag team wrestling. I can just imagine the creative angles and stories he could infuse into the tag division.

Speaking of, how much influence does Hardy have in the ongoing tensions between Page and Matt Jackson?

Let’s not forget Hardy and The Elite have had a long-lasting friendship in real life, making this selection that much more believable.

Overall, this ending sequence was well done. Using Vanguard-1 to signal Hardy’s arrival was a nice Easter egg for those who have followed Hardy’s career. I’m intrigued to see how Hardy’s character manifests in AEW, and how he plays into the match next week.

Oh, and here’s the “Free the Delete” episode that uploaded after the show. Zenith is dead, so say hi to Damascus.