It’s absolutely WOOOOOOOOOONDERFUL to have his ‘woken’ excellence in our presence. After months of speculation, Matt Hardy’s broken (well woken in the WWE) has returned! After so much anticipation, the universe is itching to see who Matt will face in combat. So how about we break down a list of the best opponents for the Woken one?
Honourable mentions
Bray Wyatt: The ‘Consumer of Terrestrial Objects’ unfortunately does not qualify for this list. Why? Well because he’s already Matt’s opponent. Also, let’s be honest, he’s definitely losing this feud.
Finn Balor: The Demon King on paper seems to be a fitting opponent for Woken Matt Hardy. Two characters battling it out on a galactic plane, it’s whimsical and will definitely draw eyeballs. Unfortunately, Finn has already been established as a main eventer, who sometimes dabbles in the mid-card. Battling Matt Hardy (at least in the foreseeable future) seem’s, beneath the leader of Balor Club.
The Miz
The A-Lister doesn’t seem to be an obvious choice to battle Matt Hardy. However, the most you look into it, the more it looks like a perfect IC title feud. The Miz is well on his way to becoming the greatest Intercontinental Champion of all time. However, along the way, he must face the possibility of DELETION!
The Miz’s gimmick isn’t very character heavy, it’s far more realistic than the Woken persona. This contrast is what would make this feud so good! The Miz being amazing on the mic, would lead to some pretty interesting standoffs between the two. Segments with Woken Matt on Miz TV, or The Miz showing his acting chops, when transported to another point in the space-time continuum but Matt Hardy.
Furthermore, if WWE sign Reby and Señor Benjamin the interaction between the Hardy Family and The Miztorage and Maryse will be priceless. Absolutely DELIGHTFUL.
Drew Gulak
If the recent WWE survey gives us any hope of more crossover between main roster RAW superstars and 205 competitors, this is a matchup we need to see. Drew Gulak has quickly become one of the highlights of 205 Live. He has perfect comedic timing, and more than hold his own in the ring.
The feud, much like one with The Miz will most likely be going for the entertainment angle, rather than the in-ring. However, I feel this would not only play to Matt’s strength (let’s be honest he doesn’t move like he did in the 2000’s) letting him concentrate on telling a story. Furthermore, is Woken Matt is done right, having him compete with Drew Gulak surely boost 205 Live’s ratings. So it’s a win, win!
Also, seeing Drew Gulak interact with Vanguard 1 is comedy genius…
Kassius Ohno
Ohno! Ohno! was probably the reaction some of you gave this suggestion. Why Kassius Ohno? He’s not a big name. He’s just the cool uncle from NXT. Yes, you’re right he’s the cool uncle from NXT. But also he’s a badass fighting machine. He’s proven in his battles against Hideo Itami and Lars Sullivan that he’s not afraid to hit hard.
This would play beautifully into Matt’s Woken persona. If it’s anything like his Broken being, in his matches he’ll take a whole lot of punishment, and keep getting up for more. This would greatly endear him to the fans who are a bit sceptical of the whole gimmick. It’s a classic babyface tactic, the fans love to get behind a fighter.
In all honesty, I don’t see Ohno being given title opportunities if he comes up to the main roster. However, the Woken character can act as an ‘above titles’ feud, and thus serve Ohno with a platform to have a solid mid-card opponent. All the while Ohno will help in getting the Woken one more over.
The Club
Tex Furguson and Chad 2 Badd are pretty perfect opponents for the Woken Hardy Brothers. The Club can very easily go between comedy and serious roles. This fluidity would be great for building a programme between the two teams.
The matches could start off as cheesy and comical, but as tension rises, The Club become more vicious, beating down the Hardys again and again. This leads to the brothers having to channel their entities and bring out their own mean streak. This sort of mean streak would legitimise Matt and Jeff, as more than just a gimmick team.
This sort of hard-hitting style is what the RAW tag division sorely needs. The division at the moment is just The Sheild and The Bar. Which sure gives us decent matches, but pales in comparison to the amazing tag team work going on over on SmackDown. The Club is a team that can very believably hurt their opponents. The Club can hurt the Hardy’s so bad, that a ‘gimmick’ match is required for the blow-off. And well, we know The Hardys know how to put on stellar gimmick matches.
Not to mention, The Club really need to be used, in any capacity. Karl ‘Reptile’ Anderson and Luke Gallows are amazing wrestlers, and they simply deserve the TV time.
Jeff Hardy/Brother Nero
It’s without a shadow of a doubt that BROTHER NERO is Woken Matt’s ultimate opponent. Even before they were broken the Hardy’s were arguably one another’s hottest rivals. They know each other so well (I mean, they’re kinda related) that they could put on a WrestleMania match in their sleep.
The feud could take on so many forms. Either one of the brothers could play the heel. He could result in a split between the two, or it could act as a reunion after a split. Regardless it’ll make for captivating television.
Sure it won’t be as wacky as their time in TNA/Impact/GFW/WCW 2.0/Owl? We won’t be left with as fond memories as the Final Deletion (2016 Match of the Year), but they’ll put on something creative and memorable. As with most Hardy v. Hardy matches, it’s going to be a spot-fest, but that’s okay. The two have this legacy of not holding back when facing one another (Matt Kayfabe killed Jeff’s dog for crying out loud.)
Once again Matt isn’t in the same wrestling shape as he was before, but he can rely on Jeff to carry him to a solid match. Furthermore, the angle will be so hot, it’ll be one of the big non-title matches on any PPV card.
Conclusion
Sure it’s unlikely we’ll get amazingly crazy ideas like; The Hardy’s fighting a Kangaroo, a giraffe named George Washington or King Maxell pinning a WWE superstar. However, it doesn’t mean we’ll be getting anything short of great from the WWE. Matt’s creative vision paired with the production value of the WWE, be prepared for some WONDERFUL battle between the Woken one and his unfortunate opponents.
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