Dave Meltzer on Matt Hardy and RAW

Bradcore · July 12, 2005

The following is from Dave Meltzer and WrestlingObserver.com:

Although I'm sure most everyone has figured it out by now, what happened last night involving Matt Hardy was a planned part of the wrestling show.

In hindsight, it's been pretty clear ever since they played his music at the wedding that WWE had a deal with him to return. The WWE simply isn't that stupid. I have to give Matt Hardy credit in that the internet posts he wrote last week were very clever, enough to where I actually thought he was going to TNA and turning down the best potential angle in his career for the chance to fully control his life and schedule. The only problem has always been his failure to commit to doing TNA and failure to commit to new indy bookings over the past few weeks from people who had agreed to his price. He will make his indy bookings he had agreed to up to this point, from what we understand. It is possible he may commit to some new ones if he and the company will attempt to go to great lengths to get over that he's not with the company. At this point, they really need to make it as believable as possible on television, without insulting people's intelligence off televisoin by trying to believe everyone's hand hasn't been tipped.

As to when the deal was made for him to return, certainly most evidence indicates before June 20th, and likely by June 13th, as that was the date it seemed pretty evident to me it would turn into an angle. It is possible it was planned dating back longer than that. Last night's deal was well done in the ring. But if this was a longer and more elaborate work, I can't believe they'd have given it away by teasing the brawl with the Hardy music footage early, and the brawl backstage before the main brawl gave away the main brawl before it started. Taking him backstage as opposed to out the door was a technical mistake I was shocked they made. It's a minor point overall, but consideing how much thought had been put into other aspects, I was surprised at the minor points of execution considering what was trying to be portrayed. At some point stopping shooting him as if an order was made to not air this on the show (making sure he got his face time in with the idea in the chaos nobody at first knew how to react) would have at least allowed people to question whether it was or wasn't supposed to be on the show.

It's clear everyone involved believes they can continue the work and people will believe it, from the WWE web site not acknowledging it, and Hardy trying to put it over as a shoot. For WWE's site to continue the work is fine and good, and it should, as that's the job of the company. For Hardy, under his own name, to insist on his own site to his own fans, when everyone knows better, is going to turn pathetic in a hurry.

It will be interesting how he plays it on Saturday at the ROH show. It'll be interesting how the crowd reacts as well. If he tries to put over what happened as a shoot and cuts an anti-WWE promo, I could see the crowd turning on him like they did when Shane Douglas claimed he turned down appearing at the ECW PPV when the live crowd all knew the TNA contracted performers were never offered a slot to begin with. Hopefully in the end, Matt Hardy's most brilliant work won't end with the sad sight that the person being worked the most is Matt, when he doesn't realize from this point forward, you can make it as real as possible on television, but from this point forward, if you try and go any farther with "it's a shoot, really, still," the worker ends up working mostly himself.