Following the expiration of his contract with WWE, Matt Hardy has made no secret that he is on a quest to “free the delete” and ignite a new era of his broken universe. However, Hardy also feels that it is because of the success of the initial time spent in the broken universe that his return to WWE in 2017 with his brother, Jeff Hardy, was so special in the first place.
Speaking exclusively with
Sports Illustrated, Matt Hardy would say that without “Broken” Matt Hardy and “Brother Nero” Jeff Hardy igniting the wrestling world in 2016 and becoming a phenomenon, the ovation they received when returning for the WWE Raw Tag Team Championship Ladder Match at WrestleMania 33 would not have been nearly as passionate.
However, Vince McMahon had difficulty grasping the concept of the broken universe. In spite of this, Matt Hardy says he is forever grateful that he was allowed to bring a version of that character, “Woken” Matt Hardy, to WWE in 2018.
“Vince didn’t understand the whole idea behind the ‘Broken’ persona. This is a supernatural character, but one that also broke the fourth wall and winked at the fans. I don’t think Vince fully comprehended that. But there were a lot of highlights, and having a cinematic fight against Bray Wyatt was definitely one. People thought that would never, ever happen, but that happened on Raw. And we got the viewership above three million for the final hour. And our WrestleMania 33 return was a career highlight. It was a legitimate surprise, which is rare in this day and age. We achieved that moment and got back in the mix again due to my creation of The Broken Universe and Jeff’s commitment to being Brother Nero. The ‘Broken’ Hardys brought us back to WWE and to WrestleMania and hearing the response from the fans was so flattering. Our creation left the TNA Wrestling universe and bled over to the WWE Universe.
Matt Hardy says he is looking for his next Arcadia in pro wrestling. He wants to land in a promotion that will let him be at his best both creatively and physically, and he plans on deciding where his next Arcadia will be within the next 30 days.