Matt Hardy Says This WWE Hall Of Famer Had The Most Influence On His Career
Matt Hardy is crediting a wrestling legend for the massive impact he had on his career.
The Hardy Boyz tag team of Matt Hardy and his younger brother Jeff Hardy have been pro wrestlers for over 30 years. Matt Hardy recently turned 50 years old and is still regularly on TNA Wrestling along with brother Jeff.
During their careers, Matt and Jeff have won Tag Team Titles everywhere they have gone, but they are most associated with World Wrestling Entertainment since that’s where they became household names and spent most of their careers.
While reflecting on their journey as pro wrestlers, Matt Hardy and Jeff Hardy talked to Fightful about WWE Hall of Famer Michael Hayes, who has been a WWE Producer for over 30 years, coming up with a big spot for them in a match. While telling that story, Hardy called Hayes the wrestling legend who had the biggest influence on his career.
Matt Hardy: “Michael is the most influential person in our career, no doubt. But one spot that, I think, evolved from his original suggestion is—he was talking about the ladder match. The first one we were doing the tag team ladder match with Edge and Christian. He said, ‘Hey, can we do something where maybe, Jeff, you were standing on one ladder and it was over the other ladder, like a seesaw and it say you jumped off and you stepped on it and the other guy goes flying. He could do like a big splash or a big Swanton.”
Jeff Hardy: “Or into the Twist of Fate.”
Matt Hardy: “Michael, that kind of sounds like some, some cartoon s**t. It’s like what they were doing with cartoons. That’s Wile E. Coyote stuff. But then like from that initial pitch that he threw out there, that’s where we did get the see saw spot.”
When Was The First Matt & Jeff Hardy Ladder Match In WWE?
That first tag team Ladder Match that Matt referred to was at No Mercy 1999 when Matt & Jeff Hardy beat Edge & Christian in a legendary match that is still celebrated 25 years later.
Those teams would also take part in the first Tables, Ladders & Chairs matches in WWE with The Dudley Boyz at SummerSlam 2000 in another outstanding match that is remembered very well to this day. It is another example of these tag teams making wrestling history.