WWE: Matt Hardy showed Vince McMahon he’s out of touch

Matt Hardy is in AEW and is a much better fit for a promotion that actually encourages wrestlers to try new things, but now we can reflect on the time he showed up Vince McMahon in WWE.

Known as one of the most creative wrestlers in the business, Matt Hardy created an entire “BROKEN” Universe in Impact Wrestling that took off and became a sensation. Hardy put the promotion back on the map with his “WONDERFUL” world and became one of the hottest acts outside WWE, eventually returning to the company alongside brother Jeff Hardy to a dream pop at WrestleMania 33.

But Hardy’s creation was never appropriately valued by Vince McMahon. It’s not like Vince ever really gave Matt Hardy much respect; he always seemed to favor the “Charismatic Enigma” Jeff as world championship material. However, the way he botched the beloved “BROKEN” Universe was spectacular in its short-sightedness.

In a recent appearance on “Talk is Jericho”, Hardy spoke about the “Ultimate Deletion” segment which aired in WWE and about how Vince was the only person not to respond positively to the segment when everyone backstage watched it before its airing on Raw.

Here’s the quote, via Fightful.com’s Jeremy Lambert:

"“He didn’t understand it. He was supposed to watch it earlier and clear it because it was going to go on last. He watched it in the production meeting. After it was over, everyone clapped and stood up and he was kind of like looking around. He told a couple of people, ‘I don’t get it. If it does a number, then I’m truly out of touch.’ I think he said that. It kept the audience over three million viewers. It did okay.”"

The “Ultimate Deletion” did more than “okay”. Aside from the TV ratings that Hardy points out, the full uncut version of the segment received one million views (which is a lot for a 17-minute video that isn’t a classic match). And the final segment, which was the prelude to Bray Wyatt becoming “The Fiend” years later, received over four million views.

Others backstage loved the Ultimate Deletion. And the fans loved it, too. The segment was a massive success, as anyone would expect an angle almost entirely driven by the brilliance of Matt Hardy to be.

Yet Vince McMahon didn’t “get” it. Nothing was built on the Ultimate Deletion, Matt Hardy was barely used thereafter, and, now, here we are with Hardy shining in AEW.

Vince said it himself. He’s out of touch. This doesn’t mean he’s wrong about everything or grossly incompetent, but it’s another sign that he doesn’t have the same pulse on what works in entertainment or what clicks with wrestling fans.

As Wrestlenomics has detailed, Vince’s poor creative decisions have cost WWE – and thus himself – money. And Matt Hardy’s ideas are money. Money that will be fed into AEW’s pockets as they continue to build momentum in 2020.