Matt Hardy On WWE King Of The Ring 1995 Appearance & Almost Being Knocked Out

Matt Hardy may not have been front and centre on the card when he appeared at WWE King Of The Ring 1995, but he almost ended up out cold because of it.

There are plenty of memorable moments from the 1995 edition of the annual tournament, including Mabel winning the coveted crowd and Bret Hart defeated Jerry ‘The King’ Lawler in a Kiss My Foot match, ensuring his opponent went through with the forfeit after he tried to escape following the contest.

At the time unknowns, eventual tag team icons The Hardy Boyz would be given a very important job on the show, as they opened and closed the gates at the start of entranceway as the wrestlers came through.

Speaking on his podcast The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy, the former multi-time Tag Team Champion discussed how the opportunity came about and what the duo first thought when they were asked to make sure they attended.

We ended up getting that gig, they told us, ‘Hey, we need you to come up a day early.’ We’re booked for the televisions after to the PPV, and, ‘We have a role for you on the show.’ We’re like, ‘Oh my God, are they going to have us wrestle or do dark matches? This is so cool.’

We got up there and then they had these big jester outfits and they’re for big bodybuilder guys that did it the previous years. So they’re baggy on us, and loose, which was so funny. Me and Jeff found so much comedy in that. Then we went out and obviously did the doors. I know I had an earpiece in and they would say, ‘Open the door. Close the door.’ The directions were very simple. I just had to listen to the earpiece.

Matt Hardy went on to comment that he was almost knocked out during one of the entrances as a fan threw a packed glass at him.

I just remember it was kind of static-y, and there was one where I remember opening a door and somebody threw a drink down and it was just packed with ice and hard as a rock and it hit me in the head. I remember it almost knocked me unconscious. I remember they wanted us to be very stoic, very grim, don’t change facial expressions.

I remember hitting my knees like I was about to pass out and fall, and I remember Jeff going [snickers loudly under his breath]. I tried all I could to regain my composure and just try and remain stoic and keep a straight face. That was my biggest laughable moment about that.

Jeff and Matt Hardy have now reunited in AEW, and most recently Hardy was at ringside for his Owen Hart Tournament match against Darby Allin.

With thanks to Fightful for the transcription.