Matt Hardy has been in the business for a long time and has continuously managed to reinvent himself throughout the course of his career. From his rookie days in Team Extreme to becoming “Broken” in his veteran years, the multi-time Tag Team Champion has remained relevant due to his ability to adapt with the times.
The most memorable time in Hardy’s career didn’t require him to reinvent himself, though. In fact, all he had to do was channel his real-life frustrations with his ex-girlfriend, Amy “Lita” Dumas, and her boyfriend at the time, Adam “Edge” Copeland.
In 2005, while Hardy was out with an injury, Edge and Lita had an affair with one another, which resulted in some drama, to say the least. Hardy broke kayfabe and made the affair public knowledge, which caused an internet backlash against Edge and Lita. Hardy was subsequently released by WWE for his behavior, but he was rehired a few months later, and the real-life situation was mined for storyline purposes.
As quoted by Wrestling Inc. , Hardy was recently a guest on the Cheap Heat podcast, where he discussed the storyline and how it was “fascinating” for him.
“The most fascinating part about 2005 in my career was that you weren’t able to tell the lines between what was real and what wasn’t real and where that line lies. It’s the most important thing about professional wrestling, especially this day and age in 2019 you need to blur the lines where you are not sure about what is real and what is scripted.”
If you watched WWE back then, you’d have sworn that he and Edge really hated each other. Their promos were scathing, and they pulled no punches when it came to shooting on the real-life affair that led to their heated rivalry. In reality, however, the three of them had patched things up before the storyline even started.
Hardy did recall it being “intense” and “strange” in the beginning, but it also marked a key moment for his career as he learned how to differentiate between his personal and professional lives. After managing to keep their emotions in check, they knew that the storyline would be good.
In the end, the storyline proved to be beneficial. After being voted as the best angle of the year by WWE fans, the pair went on to enjoy single’s success on Monday Night Raw and SmackDown Live .
The storyline marked the beginning of Edge’s “Rated-R Superstar” character, which eventually got him into the Hall of Fame. Hardy will be there someday, but, as The Inquisitr recently reported, he still has some unfinished business left in WWE.
