Matt Hardy has had a long and illustrious career throughout his near three decades in the wrestling business. From backyard wrestling to competing in the first-ever Tables, Ladders and Chairs match, Hardy has been in thousands of matches and has taken on several different personas. His most recent, and arguably most popular, is "Broken" Matt Hardy.
Hardy introduced his "Broken" persona in May 2016 during his second run in Total Nonstop Action. He had just returned from a storyline injury and immediately targeted his brother Jeff, who he blamed for his getting injured. Hardy appeared with a full beard, shorter hair with a portion of it bleached and spoke in a strange accent with a carefully chosen vocabulary. He went on to compete in a long rivalry with Jeff, who he referred to as "Brother Nero." Jeff lost the rivalry and was "deleted." Allying with his brother, the "Broken Hardys" and went on to win Tag Team Championships in both TNA and Ring of Honor. But then, WWE got their hands on Matt Hardy.
Matt and Jeff returned at WrestleMania 33. They were unable to use the "Broken" moniker as the rights were tied up in a legal battle. Regardless, Matt and Jeff won the Raw Tag Team Titles that night and held on to the belts for two months. At the end of 2017, with Jeff out with an injury, Matt engaged in a feud with Bray Wyatt, and he re-introduced his "Broken" character, now being called "Woken" Matt Hardy. The rivalry with Wyatt was reminiscent of Matt's feud with Jeff in TNA, complete with a Tag Team Title reign. In July 2018, Matt took time off to address recurring spinal issues. He returned in early 2019, but the "Broken" character was never seen on WWE television again. On March 2, 2020, WWE announced that Matt Hardy's contract had expired, and he would be leaving the company.
When Matt debuted his "Broken" gimmick in 2016, he became the biggest talking point in wrestling. There were countless articles and videos about "Broken" Matt Hardy. Even people who didn't watch Impact Wrestling had more than likely heard about the character.
"Broken" Matt Hardy was a fountain of creativity, especially in his promo work. Most of his promos were pre-recorded at the "Hardy Compound" and shot in a cinematic style. These promos featured such antics as Hardy consulting with a giraffe that he said was George Washington or throwing his son a birthday party while lamenting upcoming matches.
While Hardy's "Broken" persona was successful in TNA, it never reached that level when the character resurfaced in WWE. The character was only seen on WWE programming for roughly eight months until he left to focus on his health. After he returned, not only was his "Broken" character never utilized again for an unexplained reason, but Hardy was seen sparingly in general up until his recent contract expiration. "Woken Matt Hardy" made appearances on WWE's YouTube channel, but that was pretty much it.
Now that Hardy's contract with WWE is up, there has been speculation as to where he will go next. The most prominent theory is that he will soon go to All Elite Wrestling, which was seeming teased on Episode 10 of Hardy's YouTube series "FREE THE DELETE," in which Matt and Nick Jackson, the Young Bucks, made an appearance. If this is the direction Hardy decides to go in, it could lead to several possibilities. AEW focuses on characters more so than WWE, and Hardy's style of cinematic, pre-recorded promo would fit right in with AEW's current style.
Matt Hardy's career has spanned many chapters, and while it is rumored that he'll be heading to AEW, it is still not clear what's next for him. Regardless of where he ends up next, his "Broken Brilliance" will surely grace wrestling fans in some capacity for years to come.