Line #178 Wrestling/MattHardy


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/etq84qlx0amly9p.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:Delightful! It's an extraordinary [[Website/TVTropes page for Tropes in Television]], ''gracias''.]]
3	Matthew Moore Hardy (born September 23, 1974) is a {{professional wrestl\|ing}}er who is a former champion of The Carolina Wrestling Federation, Maryland Championship Wrestling, New England Wrestling Alliance, Pro Wrestling Syndicate, New Frontier Wrestling Association and Wrestle Cradle. He's shown up from time to time in Wrestling/RingOfHonor and wrestled for members of the Wrestling/{{N\|ational Wrestling Alliance}}WA too, and is now with Wrestling/AllEliteWrestling.
4
5	However, Matt Hardy is best known for his time in Wrestling/{{WWE}}, where he began as part of the Hardy Boyz tag team with his RealLife brother Wrestling/{{Jeff\|Hardy}}. He also joined Jeff in [[Wrestling/ImpactWrestling TNA]] for the better part of 2011. He is a former [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/wwf-euro.html WWE European Heavyweight Champion]], a former [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/wwf-us-h.html WWE United States Heavyweight Champion]], [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/wwf-hc.html WWE Hardcore Champion]], a former 6x [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/wwe-world-t.html WWE World Tag Team Champion]] with Jeff, a former 3x [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/wwe-t.html WWE Tag Team Champion]] with [[Wrestling/MontelVontaviousPorter MVP]], Jeff and Wrestling/BrayWyatt, a former [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wcw/wcw-t.html WCW World Tag Team Champion]][[note]]In 2001, near the end of the [=InVasion=][=/=]Alliance feud[[/note]] with Jeff and a former [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/ecw/ecw-h.html WWE ECW Heavyweight Champion]].
6
7	After spending several years as a jobber in the WWF, taking part in matches against [[Wrestling/TripleH Hunter Hearst Helmsley]] and [[Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin The Ringmaster]], Matt finally rose to prominence after forming a tag team with Jeff, known as the Hardy Boyz. They had a variety of managers in their early years, including Michael Hayes, Wrestling/TerriRunnels, and [[Wrestling/DavidHeath Gangrel]] (during which they were known as The New Brood and started their long-standing feud with Wrestling/{{Edge\|Wrestler}} and Wrestling/{{Christian}}. They gained most success when managed by Matt's real life girlfriend Wrestling/{{Lita}}, as the trio Team Xtreme.
8
9	Although both were known for a high-flying style of wrestling, Matt was always known as the more calculated and restrained of the two, known more for his "Twist of Fate" finisher than for his dives.
10
11	Over the years, Matt and Jeff would split, feud against each other, or feud against other people, before getting back together in TNA both as heels and faces. The second time around, [[EarnYourHappyEnding Matt finally became]] [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/tna/tna-h.html TNA World Heavyweight Champion]] at Bound for Glory 2015. He would relinquish the championship in a storyline controversy built to justify the pre-taped "World Title Series", but wound up winning it again through a FaceHeelDoubleTurn between Matt, his wife Reby Sky, and [[Wrestling/EC3 Ethan Carter III]].
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13	And then... things got ''weird''.
14
15	After getting into another feud with his brother Jeff, in early 2016 he appeared in a bizarre personality known as "Broken" Matt Hardy, obsessed with defeating (deleting) his brother (who he claimed was the one who "broke" him), who he now referred to as "Brother Nero" ("Nero" really is Jeff's middle name). This all culminated in a match only referred to as "The Final Deletion". The actual match and buildup must be seen to be believed.
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17	Matt started competing together with his brother again after he successfully DELETED Jeff, now going as the Nefarious Brother Nero. They went on to participate in more feuds and the insanity kept growing reaching unbelievable levels of craziness but also popularity. Matt and his whole stable eventually would leave TNA, in the middle of what they called the "Expedition of Gold" (the idea was win every major tag title in the world).
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19	After traveling the world seeking titles their journey lead them to the grandest stage of them all. And that's how, at ''Wrestling/WrestleMania XXXIII'', after weeks of speculation and teasing, the Hardys made their return to Wrestlemania as a surprise 4th team to enter into ladder match for the tag-team titles, which they won. And with it, successfully completing their legendary Expedition of Gold.
20
21	Matt and Jeff remained battling as a tag team and competed with the current elite of tag teams on the RAW roster. Eventually they lost the titles to Wrestling/TheBar ([[Wrestling/ClaudioCastagnoli Cesaro]] and Wrestling/{{Sheamus}}), but despite this they remained competing on the tag division and all seemed to have landed right back on Earth for good old Matt, his "condition" having been fixed, it seemed he was "Broken" no more...
22
23	However, even then, it was clear this would be a temporary respite, as the madness clearly remained, underneath the veneer of sanity, waiting to "break" once more. And then Jeff got injured, he was repeatedly defeated by Bray Wyatt, and all of this finally took its toll on Matt; after having a new breakdown in the ring, Matt was once again engulfed in insanity. More specifically, he wasn't just Broken, but "Woken". Since then, he slowly started introducing the Wrestling/BrokenUniverse in the plane known as WWE. The buildup of his feud with Wyatt would culminate in the match referred as "The Ultimate Deletion". And just like his matches in TNA, this one must be seen to be believed.
24
25	Ever since the introduction of the Broken Universe, he and Brother Nero became possibly the most popular element on TNA, and one of the most must-see acts in the wrestling industry. Their segments and "matches" have been analyzed everywhere and referenced all around the world, and chants of "DELETE" have become a thing between fans going throughout promotions all over the world. His new way of doing wrestling travelled all the way to WWE itself who made a segment/match between Wrestling/TheNewDay vs. Wrestling/TheWyattFamily in the style of the Broken Universe battles long before Matt returned to the company. Now, even after he let his WWE contract end and left for AEW, everyone still credits him for revolutionizing the style of cinematic wrestling that, among other things, took [=WrestleMania=] 36 from 'disaster in the making' to 'DELIGHTFUL SUCCESS'.
26
27	"Broken / Woken" Matt Hardy lives at "The Hardy Compound" from where he leads the stable known as "House Hardy" consisting of himself; Brother Nero; his wife, Queen Rebecca; his sons, King Maxel and Lord Wolfgang; their gardener and caretaker, Señor Benjamin; the hologram-projecting, video-recording, rocket-equipped, small ''drone'', Vanguard-1; Skarsgård, the Dilapidated Boat; and the always trustable Mower of Lawn (yeah, the boat and the mower are part of the family as well; we are seriously not making that up).
28	-----
29	!! "I Will DELETE These Tropes":
30	[[foldercontrol]]
31
32	[[folder:In general/Other personas]]
33	* ActionDad: He has three children. He introduced his sons King Maxel and Lord Wolfgang to Wrestling/BrayWyatt and the WWE Universe.
34	* AlterEgoActing: "Matt Hardy Brand" and "THE MATTHEW BRAND"
35	* AlwaysSecondBest:
36	** Something of an Unfortunate TruthInTelevision. Jeff ultimately ended up being the Most Over Hardy in the long run, getting main even pushes while Matt wallowed in the mid/lower card. Even with Jeff's demons concerning drugs, both TNA and WWE saw more stock in him than Matt. Several of Matt's [[CainAndAbel feuds with Jeff]] involved this trope, making one wonder if Matt actually does have a chip on his shoulder.
37	** The sole exception to all of this is ROH, where Matt is greatly beloved while the last time Jeff was there, he got booed out of the building with "WE WANT MATT!" chants. This probably because Matt works a more ground-based style while Jeff relies more on spots and has the unfortunate reputation of being a bit of a SpotMonkey. Well, that and the fact that Jeff's ring work has become sloppier over the years in general.
38	** In TNA it wasn't Jeff who represented this, but [[Wrestling/EC3 Ethan Carter III]]. He has challenged [=EC3=] for the title on at least five occasions, but never successfully won any of them cleanly—of the two he won, one was a triple threat match in which Ethan was taken out by Jeff, the special referee, for provoking him throughout the match and Matt pinned [[Wrestling/DrewMcIntyre Drew Galloway]] instead, and the other was the one with the double turn involving Reby and [[Wrestling/BrodusClay Tyrus]]' betrayal of [=EC3=].
39	* AnythingYouCanDoICanDoBetter: His tag team partner [[Wrestling/MontelVontaviousPorter MVP]] believed Matt Hardy would be inferior to him in everything they did. Most specifically that he was the better man in the tag team and that Matt Hardy would never be good enough to beat MVP for the United States Championship, but he would also challenge him to various tasks to prove he really could beat Matt at ''everything''. Matt Hardy would eventually beat MVP for the US title and send him into a long losing streak.
40	* ArchEnemy:
41	** Edge, for many reasons, both {{Kayfabe}} and RealLife, from 1999 up into 2009. He wished Wrestling/{{Edge\|Wrestler}} well after his retirement, stating that they have both started and ended as friends.
42	** A better example would be Matt's brother, Jeff. When they aren't tagging together nor on different shows, they've more often than not been feuding with each other. Note that in almost all their feuds, Matt's has been the heel with an obvious case of GreenEyedMonster.
43	** In TNA it wasn't Jeff that sparked his FaceHeelTurn, but Wrestling/EC3. Through their wars over the TNA World Heavyweight Title, Matt and Ethan have grown a hatred of each other that has unlocked [[FaceHeelDoubleTurn new sides of themselves]] as characters.
44	* TheArtifact: Even though Matt no longer uses the "Version 1" gimmick, he and his fans still flash the "V1" hand signal as shown.
45	* AscendedExtra: Matt and Jeff spent years as TV jobbers for WWE, and they were used to open the doors for the wrestlers at ''King of the Ring 95''.
46	* AttentionWhore: The entire thing of what seemed to be his life spiraling down and him planning to commit suicide. After tons of cryptic messages that gave the outright impression he was going to commit suicide. End result of it was him doing a work and just doing it to "test his fans" and advertise his "rebirth". The fake suicide note caused a genuine panic, with many people actually calling the area police department and getting them to check on him. There was a '''massive''' backlash when it was revealed to be fake. In addition to angering fans, this stunt also upset his friends and his sister-in-law.
47	* AuthorAvatar: As "High Voltage" in his own wrestling promotion. He later changed his name to Surge when he discovered a WCW tag team with the same name until Chris Wrestling/{{Kanyon}} informed him WCW had actually stolen the High Voltage name from him and was showing Matt Hardy's tryout videos in their training facility, the power plant.
48	* BattleCouple:
49	** With Wrestling/{{Lita}} in WWE during the early 2000s.
50	** With Reby Sky in Vendetta Pro.s
51	* BerserkButton:
52	** Don't you dare give him purple grapes; MATTHEW only eats green grapes.
53	** He's made a point in different parts of his career that he REALLY doesn't like mustard, and will reference it every chance he gets.
54	* BlatantLies: In his TNA debut, claimed not to be like his brother (who was in the midst of his heel run as Immortal's DarkMessiah World Champion), before smacking RVD in the face.
55	* BloodUpgrade: As version 1.0, Matt Hardy would get more aggressive if he found himself bleeding.
56	* CainAndAbel: With Jeff when feuding against each other.
57	* TheCameo: Appeared in the crowd at SHINE Wrestling cheering Reby Sky...and threw in the towel when she got stretched out by Jessicka Havok.
58	* CardCarryingVillain: Became the leader of S.C.U.M.('''S'''uffering '''C'''haos '''U'''gliness '''M'''ayhem) when Wrestling/JimmyJacobs and Steve Corino grew tired of Wrestling/KevinSteen and promoted Hardy in Steen's place.
59	* CavalryBetrayal:
60	** A shocking one to long time viewers of WWE at the 2009 Royal Rumble when Matt turned on Jeff Hardy for Edge. This is a case where more casual viewers may have seen it coming but many long term ones were shocked to see Matt aid Edge in favor of anyone.
61	** Team Big League boasted that they had acquired Matt Hardy's services in the International Wrestling Cartel only for Hardy to correct that he had come to fight John [=McChesney=].
62	* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}:
63	** He has two Website/YouTube channels, one for "Matt Hardy", in which he acts weird, but is a typical vlog-style channel, and one for "MATTHEW" ([[SpellMyNameWithAnS "ALL CAPS!"]]) where he speaks vague pseudo-philosophy, burns money, shows off his weapon collection, drinks beer, and eats grapes. Lots of grapes.
64	* CompositeCharacter:
65	** His 2017 WWE return didn't feature Matt going fully "Broken", creating a mix of his current and classic gimmicks, claiming that the ovation he and Jeff received had contained his condition. In reality, Matt and Impact Wrestling were still engaged in a lawsuit over the ownership of the "Broken" gimmick, so obviously he couldn't use it.
66	** This [[https://twitter.com/MATTHARDYBRAND/status/854438683910471680 Twitter gif]] sums it up perfectly. It's also appropriate that his Twitter moniker has been changed to "Conflicted" instead of "Broken".
67	* CouchGag: His Mattitude titantron had a different Matt Hardy fact every time he entered the arena.
68	* {{Crossover}}: The International Wrestling Cartel boasts that his match with Wrestling/AJStyles at ''No Excuses 2005'' was one of the few legitimate WWE vs TNA inter promotional matches.
69	** The WWE were doing a three-way tag team match for [=WrestleMania=]. Two weeks earlier, TNA cut a promo where they announced, in two weeks, four teams would be fighting for the Tag Team Championships. Neither TNA fans nor WWE fans thought they meant that the Hardy Boyz were returning to WWE, making the predicted four-way tag team match!
70	* TheCracker: Albeit, a baby{{face}} one. He hijacked the Vendetta Pro Taktron to challenge Billy Blade. This…also implies some things about his WWE Version 1 character.
71	* {{Determinator}}: Worked for two years with a torn bicep before it got too bad and he had to get surgery. This was the basis behind the commentators saying "Matt Hardy will never say die."
72	* DietEpisode: In the early 2003, Wrestling/StephanieMcMahon told Matt if he could get down to the Cruiserweight weight limit of 220 pounds (he weighed 227 at the time), he would be given a match against then-Cruiserweight Champion, Wrestling/BillyKidman at ''No Way Out''. Cue Matt wrestling in a sauna suit for the weeks leading up to the event.
73	* DistressedDude: He and Lita traded this role while they feuded with Wrestling/{{Kane}}, who wanted to get rid of Matt so he could have Lita to himself.
74	* DudeWheresMyRespect: The entire point of the Iconic character. He thinks he deserves to be respected and treated as a wrestling legend and potential brand carrier. Fans were divided at best on the subject, having fallen out of love with him years ago. He figured his opinion is worth more than theirs since he's independently wealthy and living the good life. Cue rubbing it in to insufferable amounts.
75	* EarnYourHappyEnding: After a heartbreaking betrayal in his personal life kicked off a decade of shaky backstage relationships, creative frustrations, multiple failed rebirths[[labelnote:see]]every "Year of Matt Hardy" claim he's given over the years[[/labelnote]] and falls off the wagon[[labelnote:see]]the multiple rows of DUI arrests that got him fired from TNA the first time[[/labelnote]], and even reaching the ultimate low of faking a thinly veiled suicide note to test his fandom, which was finally enough to piss off his friends into setting him straight; Matt has gradually picked himself back up over the past few years. Apologizing to wrestling fans in [[Wrestling/ImpactWrestling some companies]] and reinventing himself as an iconic heel to them in [[Wrestling/RingOfHonor others]], he has turned his life around for the most part, earned back most of the respect he'd lost in his downfall, and become a husband to Reby Sky, father to their son Maxel, and finally, the [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/tna/tna-h.html TNA World Heavyweight Champion]].
76	* EasilyForgiven: Subverted. After attacking his brother several times, including trying to blow him up with pyro and insinuating that he had something to do with the fire that destroyed Jeff's house and killed his beloved dog, on top of costing his brother the WWE Championship to Edge, Matt begged for Jeff's forgiveness during their "I Quit" match at ''[[Wrestling/{{Backlash}} Backlash 2009]]'', in which he was hogtied to a table while Jeff was preparing a double leg drop from a rather tall ladder, including saying "I quit." It ''looked'' like Jeff was going to back down after that...only to vault himself over the ladder and leg drop Matt anyway, breaking Matt's arm in the process. Matt wouldn't be forgiven until several months down the line during his brother's famous feud with Wrestling/CMPunk, in which he had to prove himself by helping Jeff several times.
77	* EpicFail: Advertise your "rebirth" in professional wrestling by…faking suicide? Instead of building up hype for his comeback, Matt managed to blackball himself from both WWE and TNA, and lose the support of the few fans who hadn't jumped on the Edge bandwagon.
78	* FaceHeelDoubleTurn: He and wife Reby Sky had this in January 2016 with Ethan Carter III in order to take the TNA World Championship title from Carter as well as bring back Hardy's "Iconic" heel character from ROH, complete with BodyguardBetrayal on the part of [[Wrestling/BrodusClay Tyrus]].
79	* FeudingFamilies: Jay Briscoe and Matt Hardy never got along, the younger brothers were then dragged into their disputes.
80	* FinishingMove: Twist of Fate/Hate in Wrestling/{{WWE}}[=/=][[Wrestling/ImpactWrestling TNA]], Ice Pick in TNA. Early on in WWF he also had a nice 450 splash. For a while, the Mattitude diving legdrop on Smackdown.
81	* FunWithAcronyms: The "Iconic" on his unofficial ROH title belt meant '''I'''nnovative '''C'''reator and '''O'''riginator of a '''N'''ew-Found '''I'''ndustry '''C'''hampion.
82	* AGodAmI: When [[Wrestling/TheDudleyBoys Bully Ray declared Team 3D]] to be gods of tag team wrestling, in comparison to the American Wolves, who claimed were not on their level, Matt said the the Hardys were also gods of tag team wrestling, and that Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards were merely "good".
83	* GoodIsNotNice: He claims he and Jeff did not intentionally mess up Joey Mercury's face while wrestling in a ladder match for [[Wrestling/LondonAndKendrick Paul London and Brian Kendrick]]'s tag team championships but was also completely unapologetic about it, citing his own injuries, and mocked Joey's attempts to get revenge on him.
84	* HappilyMarried: to Reby Sky. He also introduced her to Wyatt and the WWE Universe as Queen Rebecca.
85	* HarmlessElectrocution: Matt insisted to Reby Sky that a taser wouldn't hurt too much and had Jeff demonstrate on him, [[SubvertedTrope which did nothing to convince her]].
86	* HeelFaceRevolvingDoor: He pulled off his heel turns better than Jeff.
87	* HypocriticalHumor: "Adding a Hardy to a set world title match at the last second, you know how unfair that is? It's absurd!" Um…remember Bound for Glory, Matt?
88	* IncomingHam: As Version 1. It started with a web search for Matt Hardy, which then "loaded" the Titantron before Matt made his way to the ring, with the screen formatted to resemble the then-current look of Windows Media Player, whilst "Matt Facts" appeared on the left of the screen (Usually, these were useless bits of trivia). The [[BigYes "OHHH YEAH!"]] which started off his theme music qualifies as well.
89	* ItsPersonal: Billy Blade attacking Reby Sky, and just to make it clear why he was doing so, making his final shot the twist of fate. Matt Hardy in turn shaved Billy Blade bald.
90	* ItWasAGift: As thanks for helping him remain champion and stay one step ahead of the pursuing Briscoe Brothers, Wrestling/AdamCole gave Matt Jay's personal world title belt, which Matt restyled in his own image, literally.
91	* KickTheDog: He constantly berated and beat on his "Mattitude Follower", Wrestling/ShannonMoore, for every slight and perceived failure. Then he and Shannon finally had a match on Velocity, where Matt won, but they shook hands in respect and made up afterwards.
92	* LargeHam: As Matt Hardy Version 1.
93	* ManBitesMan: During their Steel Cage match on Unforgiven 2005, Matt bites Edge's hand, but Edge responds by simply punching him in the face.
94	** In his match against MVP during 2007's ''The Great American Bash'', he bit MVP's leg to get out of a submission hold.
95	* NakedPeopleAreFunny: During his Version 1 run, he was trying to make weight for a Cruiserweight title match. Stripped down to his boxers, he was still a quarter pound overweight. He removed his boxers, made weight, boisterously celebrated and hugged Shannon Moore before remembering he hadn't put his boxers back on. Moore was thoroughly squicked by the whole thing.
96	* NotBad: He stood up from the commentators table after Adam Cole successfully defended the ROH television title against Mike Mondo saying he now saw why people compared Cole to him, saying Cole was ''almost'' as good as Matt Hardy ''used'' to be.
97	* PetTheDog: Shannon eventually got to take out his frustrations against Matt when they were put in a match against each other but he ended up losing anyway, and expected more of the same after the match was over. Instead, Matt applauded him for his effort.
98	* PowerStable:
99	** (in TNA): Immortal
100	** (in Wrestling/RingOfHonor): SCUM, also affiliated with The Kingdom
101	** (in Wrestling/AEW): Wrestling/HardyFamilyOffice
102	* PowerTrio:
103	** (in WWE): The New Brood, with Jeff and Gangrel
104	** Team Xtreme with Jeff and Lita, who at times bordered on the above trope, since Trish sometimes served as an unofficial fourth member.
105	** Later his little Mattitude movement became one when he added Wrestling/CrashHolly alongside Shannon Moore.
106	* PutOnABus: Matt got his butt beat by the Briscoes in a no disqualification tag team match, also involving Wrestling/MikeBennett, and in fact forced Bennett to find a new partner in Wrestling/MattTaven... well this Matt had opted out of ROH to join back up with his brother in TNA.
107	* ReallyGetsAround: Amid such insulting chants such as accusations that Matt was fat, Steve Corino yelled over the [=ROHbots=] at ''Super Card Of Honor'' that Matt Hardy had slept with more divas than their hero, Wrestling/CMPunk. Predictably, this did little to shift their negative opinion of Matt.
108	* RedOniBlueOni: Matt is the Blue Oni to Jeff's Red.
109	* RedBaron: "Cold Blooded", "The Sensei of Mattitude"
110	* {{Retcon}}: The whole triangle storyline with Edge and Lita has been retconned with the much reviled Lita/Kane marriage taking its place (ironically, the latter was originally retconned to make room for the former). It was made blatantly obvious during the week of Edge's retirement, where he made numerous references to Lita, thanking her for her part in his career, while not making one mention of Matt, though part of that may have been because Matt's part in his career was being the guy that was cheated on by Lita with Edge. The reasoning for this is most likely due to the nature of Matt's release, where he was all but blackballed from the company.
111	* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: After Jeff left the WWE, he indirectly asked Matt to take revenge on Wrestling/CMPunk for getting him kicked out by telling the fans not to cry about his departure, for there was still a Hardy on this show. Matt was ultimately unsuccessful in his efforts against CM Punk but it was not for lack of trying.
112	* ScrewTheMoneyIHaveRules: In one MATTHEW video, he claims the million dollars or so he has earned in the past decade is worthless, save to buy grapes.
113	* SelfDeprecation: Before the Eleventh Ring Of Honor Anniversary show it was announced Matt Hardy would be facing Adam Cole for the television title at the next taping. Cue Matt Hardy coming out and announcing the match between Matt Taven and Cole [[ForegoneConclusion was made as an after thought]]. Sure enough, Adam Cole lost the title to Taven so Hardy did not get a title shot [[NeverTrustATrailer as advertised]].
114	* SiblingTeam: If he's in a TagTeam, chances are his partner is his brother Jeff.
115	* SignatureMove: The Side Effect, not to be confused with the Wrestling/DLoBrown move of the same name — Matt's is usually a clothesline counter into a jumping take down while D'Lo's is a slam.
116	* SincerityMode: On the ''[[Wrestling/WWERaw Monday Night Raw]]'' following 1999's ''No Mercy'' PPV[[note]]That was the night of the first tag team ladder match, which he and his brother won.[[/note]], Matt and Jeff go out to have a promo against Edge and Christian, when the crowd gives them a standing ovation. [[note]]As a midcarder, he expected a modicum of fan reaction, but this was a cheer worthy of Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin.[[/note]] Matt was so moved that you can see him [[ManlyTears fighting not to cry.]]
117	* SmallNameBigEgo:
118	** As Version 1.
119	** Claimed on Twitter that it was because of him that TNA saw an increase in their ratings following his debut in the company. Apparently, he thinks he's a bigger draw than Wrestling/KurtAngle, who returned at the same time Matt made his debut.
120	* SoProudOfYou: ''Claimed'' he and Jeff were proud of Caprice Coleman anyway.
121	* SpellMyNameWithAThe: Originally named his official site [=http://www.thematthardy.com=], later changed to [=http://www.thematthardyshow.com=], leading to [[Wrestling/GailKim other]] [[Wrestling/ShawnMichaels wrestlers]] taking the same approach for their sites.
122	* SpotlightStealingSquad: Though he didn't have to carry the show as much as Christian or even CM Punk did, Matt was by far the biggest star in WWECW during his time there and his ECW title chase dominated the latter half of 2008 after Punk got drafted to RAW.
123	* StartMyOwn:
124	** He and Jeff started the {{Backyard\|Wrestling}} Trampoline Wrestling Federation but the TWF did not last too long. Later would come the more legit Omega Wrestling, which Matt would revive after leaving TNA. OMEGA became an affiliate of Pro Wrestling International.
125	** When Shannon Moore complained about being a mere Mattitude Follower, Matt Hardy suggested that Moore start his own thing. Moore managed to convince Crash Holly to become his follower and dubbed him a Moore-on.
126	* TechnicianPerformerTeamUp: In the Hardy Boyz, featuring real life brother Wrestling/JeffHardy (the good-looking, high-flying "performer"). As they gained experience, Matt grew to excel in more "performer" traits (mic-work, pumping up the crowd), becoming more well-rounded.
127	* ThreeMonthRule: At the end of TNA's 2014, The Revolution beat the American Wolves for the TNA World Tag Team Titles and the Hardy Boys won a tournament to become number one contenders. When TNA got a new TV deal one of the first things they got out of the way was the Wolves getting their rematch for the belts, which they lost, which would logically give the Hardy Boys the next shot. Despite this the next week featured the Hardy Boys facing the Wolves for number one contender ship without explanation.
128	* TokenTrio: Before the Kingdom above, Matt knew Maria through one of these in WWE, with him being the white man, Maria the woman, and the Great Khali the minority man.
129	* TournamentArc: He and Jeff won the Terri Invitational in WWE and the November 2014 number 1 contender's tournament for a shot at The American Wolves in TNA.
130	* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Loves green grapes.
131	* WomanScorned: Infamously became a [[GenderInvertedTrope gender-inverted example]] during 2005 against Edge and Lita.
132	* WorkedShoot:
133	** The whole Lita/Edge affair. Long story short, Lita and Edge were having an affair and Matt was fired after talking about it. Eventually he was re-hired, [[RealLifeWritesThePlot and the whole scandal was made into a 'storyline']], albeit they made it look like a shoot.
134	** More real life writing the plot and less worked shoot, but Matt Hardy's increased gut following his burst appendix also made his ice pick submission look more painful.
135	** The "MATTHEW" videos were a work to get himself fired from WWE, as he had wanted a release for a while, but some people took them seriously including [[WebVideo/TheSpoonyExperiment Spoony]].
136	** Every iteration of the Matt vs. Jeff feud sees Matt as the heel who's bitter towards Jeff for something or another because Jeff is legitimately the more popular and marketable brother.
137	* WorthyOpponent: After the Hardy Boys' August 7th tag match at the Chile based Wrestling Superstar ''Fight Forever'' event ended in a [[DoubleKnockout double pin]], Matt Hardy declared Wrestling/TheYoungBucks to be the best tag team in all of pro wrestling.
138	* WouldHitAGirl: When Matt Hardy came to from Smackdown to Raw (they were separate brands at the time), it was predicted that he would pickup where he left off with Lita, seemingly to propose to her. But since Matt was still a heel and Lita was a face, it was decided to be more interesting if Matt turned on her for no reason and spent a lot of time beating her up, including slamming a cage door on her. He managed to earn Chris Jericho's disgust, who was feuding with Lita and Wrestling/TrishStratus at the time, even wrestling them but not going further than pinning combinations playful spankings at that point. After Trish joined Wrestling/{{Christian}} though, Matt would eventually reform from his Lita beating ways and the two would make up.
139	* XtremeKoolLetterz: ''Boyz''.
140	* YouAreFat: These taunts became especially hilarious in Ring of Honor after Matt Hardy became the leader of S.C.U.M. The previous leader, Wrestling/KevinSteen, was much fatter than Matt.
141	[[/folder]]
142
143	[[folder:"Broken"/"Woken" Matt]]
144	* AFatherToHisMen: Clearly important to him are the rest of his "stable". Before seeking revenge on Decay, he ensured that all members of the family were safe and restored, even Brother Nero, who he still needed.
145	* AffablyEvil: Even though he is now "Broken", he seems to still care a lot about his wife and child, and is very kind towards Señor Benjamin.
146	* AmnesiacDissonance: Temporarily gained this in November 2016 after taking a fall off a forklift.
147	* ArcWords: DELETE.
148	* ArchEnemy: Aside from Brother Nero, the defining rivals of his Broken/Woken gimmick have been demonic characters such as Wrestling/BrayWyatt and Wrestling/{{Rosemary}} (the latter with her Decay group).
149	* BreakTheCutie: After a month of being tormenting Jeff, Matt declared Jeff "Broken" after the latter snapped on August 11, 2016 by nailing multiple twist of Fate on their opponents the Tribunal, Swantoned their coach and finally Swantoned ''himself'', now answering to Brother Nero.
150	** His secondary break, on WWE, happened in the middle of a feud with Wrestling/BrayWyatt, where, literally beaten to near-exhaustion, he's only able to do two things... A single handed chop and utter the word "DELETE"...
151	* BunnyEarsLawyer: He is a complete lunatic obsessed with "deleting" enemies. He's also a successful pro wrestler with a loving wife, and dotes on his child Maxel. He has successfully won over and healed an injured Brother Nero, revived an offline Vanguard-1, and has "premon-EEE-tions" with near perfect accuracy.
152	* CatchPhrase: With his psuedo-British/intellectual accent, Broken/Woken Matt has been ''printing'' catchphrases over the past two years. Even his ''laugh'' could be considered one, as can typing important words in ALL CAPS on social media.
153	** '''DELETE! DELETE! DELETE!''' (This one has become so iconic that he often uses it for an instant pop even when he isn't using the "Broken" persona.)
154	** ''<Insert Malaproper[=/=]NicknamingTheEnemy here>''! I knew you'd come!!
155	** ''<loud exaggerated gasping>'' I've just had a very powerful...premon-'''EEE'''-tion!
156	** ...you OBSOLETE MULE!!
157	** Referring to his gimmick as his ''BROKEN/WOKEN Brilliance'' or his ''BROKEN Cond-'''EEE'''-tion''!
158	** You'll fade away and classify yourself/yourselves as obsolete!! ('''OB-SO-LETE!!''') [[note]]Taken from Jeff Hardy's band [=PeroxWhy?Gen=]; from the song "Obsolete"; an acapella version of which was once used as Jeff/Brother Nero's entrance music in TNA following his own deletion.[[/note]]
159	** '''DEE'''-lightful!
160	** '''WONDERFUL!'''
161	* ChekhovsGun: During the Final Deletion segment, after being thrown into Matt's lake, his nefarious brother suddenly emerged as Willow and took advantage in the fight, albeit briefly. Come Delete or Decay, it's officially called the Lake of Reincarnation and its function is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin.
162	* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: His weird (often almost unintelligible) attempts to mimic a British accent, fashion sense of a character created by Creator/TimBurton, and excessive theatrics, all add up to insanity.
163	* CompanionCube: Has two: Skarsgård, the golden dilapidated boat (which may or may not be sentient if ''Tag Team Apocalypto'' is to go by), and Vanguard-1, a drone whose name goes back to his Version 1 gimmick.
164	* DarkIsEvil: "Broken" Matt Hardy claims the oldest and most important war in the history of mankind is the light versus the dark. So naturally LightIsGood.
165	* DefeatingTheUndefeatable: With some help from his wife Reby Sky and Tyrus, Matt defeated Wrestling/{{EC3}} in the Last Man Standing match for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. In the process, he gave him his first official loss (although [=EC3=] would still not be pinned/submitted for another few months). Had Hardy lost, he would've had to leave TNA for good, though that premise was all just part of the plan.
166	* EveryoneHasStandards: After pushing Gregory Helms into the Lake of Reincarnation, Broken Matt and Brother Nero were less than pleased when Helms emerges as his 3 Count gimmick.
167	* ExactWords: In the promo before the "Ascension to Hell" ladder match, BROKEN Matt tells Brother Nero that his "premon-EEE-tion" depicted that Jeff would fall off a ladder and then someone else would climb a ladder on top of his motionless body and then get the contract. At the end of the match, Jeff's sprawled out on the mat, and someone does what Matt said...that being Matt ''himself''.
168	* FateWorseThanDeath: "The Darkness Of Deletion" as he claims is taking out everything inside that makes something and leaving a hollow shell of what it once was.
169	* FountainOfYouth: The lake on the Hardy estate is seemingly able to revert people (at least temporarily) into previous gimmicks, and heal them. Jeff Hardy to Willow during the Final Deletion, Jeff to the Antichrist and back to Brother Nero and Abyss to Joseph Park during Delete or Decay. In Tag Team Apocalypto it turns Gregory Helms into both his 3 Count and Hurricane Helms gimmicks. [[spoiler: The end of "The Ultimate Deletion" has Matt submerge Bray into it — which doesn't turn Bray himself into any previous gimmick, but reforms the "possessing entity" of Bray's character, the Archangel Samael, back into who he was before Sister Abigail got to him. [[FromBadToWorse Which only ended up enabling The Fiend to get to him...]]]]
170	* HamToHamCombat:
171	** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qKi24EsjEM Gets into one]] with Wrestling/DamienSandow (Then going by the name Aron Rex), exchanging '''DELETE!''' and '''TREAT!''' chants at each other.
172	** His feud with Wrestling/BrayWyatt falls into this, considering their bizarre gimmicks and personas.
173	** During a match between him and Wyatt vs Titus Worldwide at [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lONqrHTOkg the RAW after Wrestlemania 34]], Titus and Matt share a chant of '''WORLDWIDE!''' and '''DELETE!''' at one another.
174	* HesBack: At the end of November 2017, TNA announced that they're no longer pursuing any legal/copyright claims against the Hardys' BROKEN gimmick. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmF2Ae4Pf2o Which led to this.]]
175	* ImTakingHimHomeWithMe:
176	** On a Reddit AMA on r/squaredcircle, someone asked if Matt was to take his BROKEN persona to WWE, who would be the first deleted. His answer? Wrestling/RomanReigns. [[https://www.reddit.com/r/SquaredCircle/comments/4tzc2y/the_brilliance_of_matt_hardy_is_upon_you_ask_me/d5lix7q/ r/squaredcircle promptly dubbed him their new mascot.]]
177	** Thankfully for Roman, Bray Wyatt got in the way.
178	* IncomingHam: When you turn on ''Impact Wrestling'' and hear the soothing sounds of Music/LudwigVanBeethoven's Moonlight Sonata, you know you're about to hear something ridiculous.
179	* InsistentTerminology: He is Brother Nero, he is my Obsolete Mule! I deleted everything that made him who he was! J-E-F-F-H-A-R-D-Y does not exist! I own that intellectual property, and anyone who refers to and violates my intellectual property, I will sue for my money's worth!
180	* InterspeciesFriendship: His most loyal confidant is George Washington, a ''shoot giraffe.''
181	* LargeHam: Taken to eleven (at least).
182	* LaughablyEvil: This gimmick is unlike anything in pro wrestling and it is ''hilariously'' cheese.
183	* LockedIntoStrangeness: His "Broken" condition comes with a skunk stripe in his now wild hair (when he is possessed by the being Zenith). In his AEW debut, the white stripe is now red as he now hosts the spirit known as Damascus.
184	* {{Malaproper}}: A symptom of his "Broken" condition. For instance, he calls Wrestling/EC3 "The Third Version Of Carter" and Wrestling/TripleH "The Man with 3 Hs". Others include renaming wrestling promotions such as [[Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling The New Wrestling in Japan]], [[Wrestling/RingOfHonor The Honorable Wrestling/Honorable Ring]], and [[Wrestling/LuchaUnderground The Subterranean Lucha]].
185	** Not even tag teams are spared this treatment. A recent (as of April 2017) match on their Expedition of Gold had the Hardys up against the "Bucks of Youth" (The Young Bucks; Matt and Nick Jackson, signed to both NJPW and ROH) and the "Vice of Roppongi" (Roppongi Vice; Beretta and Rocky Romero, currently in NJPW). Interviews and social media posts have also mentioned "The Day of New", due to their record-breaking tag-team success in the WWE.
186	* MythologyGag: The white blouse he wore in the The Ultimate Deletion aftermath video looks like one [[Wrestling/DavidHeath Gangrel]] would usually wear.
187	* NiceJobBreakingItHero: It appearts that the Lake of Reincarnation has the opposite effect on Wrestling/BrayWyatt and Matt has accidentally made an evil greater than Sister Abigail to possess Bray, the Fiend.
188	* NicknamingTheEnemy: To Broken Matt, Jeff is Brother Nero, The Evil Enigma, and now The Obsolete Mule. In fact, Broken Matt categorizes ''all'' of his enemies as Brother Neros, differentiating each one (except Jeff) by adding a part of their name at the end (Brother Nero [[Wrestling/{{EC3}} Ethan]], Brother Nero [[Wrestling/JamesStorm Storm]], Brother Nero [[Wrestling/RomanReigns Reigns]], etc.).
189	** Even after winning over Brother Nero as an ally, he is still "The Nefarious Brother Nero".
190	** On the other hand, allies or friends usually get Brother followed by their own middle name such as Brother [[Wrestling/MickFoley Francis]], Brother [[Wrestling/CodyRhodes Garrett]], Brother [[Wrestling/ChrisJericho Keith]], Brother [[Wrestling/{{Christian}} Jason]], etc. with the sole exception of [[Wrestling/JimRoss Mr. Ross]].
191	** Upon taking on his WOKEN persona and through the start of his feud with Wrestling/BrayWyatt, he has taken to referring to the latter as "The Consumer of Terrestrial Entities"[[labelnote:*]]a play on Wyatt's "Eater of Worlds" nickname[[/labelnote]].
192	* OhCrap: The first part of "The Final Deletion" has Matt shooting Jeff with a "Roman candle assault rifle" while screaming "DELETE!" at him over and over. Then, Jeff gets his hands on one of his own…
193	-->'''Matt''': Brother Neeeero? Brother Neero? It's OVAH! …OH SHIT! ''[[[ScrewThisImOuttaHere flees]]]''\
194	'''Jeff''': Damn right, "Oh shit!"
195	* OppositesAttract: With Wrestling/BrayWyatt. Hardy is obsessed with light and shouts constantly, whereas Bray is characterized by darkness and often prefers to talk quietly during his monologues.
196	* PapaWolf: In the ''DELETE or DECAY'' event, the BROKEN Hardy's put down another hard fought performance, but Matt ensures that his son is safe before any of the battle takes place.
197	* RedOniBlueOni: "Broken" Matt is the Red, to both Jeff Hardy and Brother Nero, at least until Willow comes out.
198	* RunningGag: Post ''[=WrestleMania=] 34'', anytime he or Bray see a wrestler perform a fantastic move. He states that it's "WONDERFUL!" and applauds, along with asking the audience to rise in standing ovation.
199	* SignatureLaugh: It either sounds like trying to perform ten different laughs at the same time, or gargling. [[TakeAThirdOption Or both.]]
200	* SpockSpeak: In his Broken/Woken persona, Matt tends to call something differently like [[Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling New Wrestling in Japan]], [[Wrestling/RingOfHonor The Honorable Ring]], [[Wrestling/TripleH Man with Three H's]] and [[Wrestling/BrayWyatt Consumer of Terrestrial Entities]].
201	* StalkerWithoutACrush: To Roppongi Vice, admitting he had put Vanguard 1 on "many" assignments regarding Beretta and Romero. This ended up coming in handy, not only for Hardy's later planned "Expedition Of Gold", but also because The Seven Deities Ordered Matt to challenge The Young Bucks ahead of schedule at ''Manhattan Mayhem'', which in turn put the Hardy Boys on a direct path to Roppongi Vice at the fifteenth anniversary show.
202	* StartOfDarkness: Edge and Lita's affair was the final nail in the coffin for the original Matt Hardy. After that, there was no going back for him, and it eventually paved the way for "BROKEN" Matt.
203	* TimeAbyss:
204	** In his broken condition Matt Hardy believes his soul has existed for thousands of years and he was given access to its memories gained through other fleshy vessels. Not all souls actually live very long though, only great ones. Eventually he and Brother Nero train with the soul of the boxer Joe Frazier, reincarnated into a ''kangaroo''.
205	** Examples of this include how he went to Egypt and explained how he was known as Annunaki, the King in Gold who died at age 47. His twitter account states that he had a reincarnation one hundred years ago in South America.
206	** To gain an edge over Bray Wyatt in their feud, he told him that he and Bray's beloved Sister Abigail were lovers millennia ago, walking hand in hand in the streets of ''Atlantis''.
207	* TooSpicyForYogSogoth: In ''Elimination Chamber 2018'', when he fights Bray Wyatt, Wyatt is about to do his ''Exorcist'' spider crawl that terrifies anyone who fights him. Matt, however, is ''applauding'' Wyatt and asks the entire audience to rise in ''standing ovation''.
208	* TrademarkFavoriteFood: In this persona, he's more into green beans.
209	* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: There is no shortage of instigators through Matt Hardy's career who had a hand in sending him on the path to becoming BROKEN, both emotionally and as a character.
210	** One of if not the first major "break" in his path can be attributed to Kane, Lita, and Edge. The Matt Hardy that was always in love with either Lita or his own Mattitude, the one whose biggest problems with other wrestlers were your typical onscreen feuding fare and had no negative bearing on his job security, probably would've never left WWE or would've left on good terms, nor would he have had his faux-suicide meltdown in 2011. Of course, that Matt Hardy died in 2005 and gave way to a vengeful and bitter man bent on retribution when he went through a year of futilely defending his love from Kane only to end up in the hospital, helpless to stop Kane from forcing Lita into a loveless marriage, then finding out that she'd turned romantically to his former close friend Edge behind the backs of everyone involved.
211	** Reby Sky and Wrestling/{{EC3}} can safely be considered his penultimate major "break". After a path through personal hell and redemption culminated in a marriage to Reby and a son with her named Maxel, he returned to TNA to team with his brother once again, only for said brother to get injured and for both men to go singles, which ultimately led to Matt taking advantage of opportunity to beat Ethan for the TNA World Heavyweight Title. Then he effectively lost the title back to Ethan in a straight-up match at the end of a 32-wrestler tournament, and Reby encouraged him to "stop giving and start taking", setting him on the path to becoming a brand-obsessed heel schemer and declaring himself iconic.
212	** The ultimate "break" of course came with Jeff Herm, Brother Nero. With Nero's disapproval of the way Matt regained the TNA World Title and then the methods he used to defend it, the brothers found themselves at odds once again.[[note]]That "once again" is another point — they've feuded with each other several times before thanks to Matt's frustration and ego kicking in.[[/note]] This only continued after he lost the championship to Drew Galloway and then they both went after it. Inevitably, this led to the Full Metal Mayhem match in which Jef…Nero dove off the top of the stage with a Swanton onto Matt through a table. The rest is history.
213	** Oh yes, and as mentioned below... Wrestling/BrayWyatt, You had to decide to get into a feud with Matt, which left him battered, beaten... oh yes, and Broken. Guess what happened over the following month?
214	*** Hardy would return the favor later, as his Ultimate Deletion match with Wyatt apparently excised the influence of Sister Abigail after Hardy won. Little did he or anyone else know that this would play a large part in Wyatt coming under the thrall of something ''far more destructive.''
215	* WeWantOurJerkBack: After suffering a fall from a ladder, Broken Matt developed amnesia, forgetting about his wrestling career and regressing into a mild-mannered engineer. Despite the fact that this version of Matt was kind, considerate, hard-working, mild-mannered and ostensibly happy, Brother Nero and even his own wife wasted no time in attempting to bring the insane Broken Matt back as soon as possible.
216	** The general concession of the WWE fanbase when he returned, wanting Broken Matt on WWE. At the start of 2018, [[HesBack they got him]].
217	* WhamLine: {{Subverted\|Trope}}? At the 2016 ''Final Battle'', Broken Matt had certainly had something to say, but whatever it was wasn't audible on the VOD, due to the reaction that resulted from the Hammerstein Ballroom crowd simply seeing him on the ROH screens. When they quieted down a little, he announced he was coming back to get revenge on the ramshackle rednecks and make the spot monkeys obsolete… so one can assume Broken Matt still hates Jay and the WorthyOpponent status of The Young Bucks has been revoked.
218	** After a short match against Bray Wyatt on November 27th 2017, Matt started breathing heavily from frustration… [[spoiler: [[HesBack before completely snapping and screaming "DELETE! DELETE! DELETE!"]] while performing his signature gesture. Just a week later, a video package confirmed what fans suspected. It may be [[WritingAroundTrademarks in a new "Woken" form]], but ''Broken Matt's Back''.]]
219	* WhatTheHellIsThatAccent: His "Broken" persona has one that's hard to pin down, to put it mildly. Somewhere between his own, a British one, and a Kenyan one. [[{{Kayfabe}} According to him]], it's from a thousand years up into the future.
220	* WhereItAllBegan: His third match in the saga to rid himself of Jeff… Brother Nero… ended up taking place in a backyard.
221	* WritingAroundTrademarks: While Matt was sorting his legal issues out with TNA, he and Jeff had been using the normal Hardy Boyz gimmick and music etc, with Matt still having his Broken hairdo, and using the Delete! gestures. Wrestling journalists have stated he's going to be going full on Broken again once it's all sorted out. As expected, when Matt got back his trademark, WWE decided to give him the gimmick, which now has two versions, one that would be under WWE creative control, "Woken" Matt, while the "Broken" character rights remain with Matt.
222	[[/folder]]
223	----
224	-->Website/TVTropes...[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blgS56pESPk#t=2m05s you've left me with no choice]]. I sentence you to...'''DELETION!!!''' '''''DELETE! DELETE! DELETE! DELETE! DELETE! DELETE! DELETE-AAAAAAAAAAAHH!'''''

Context Wrestling / MattHardy