A lot has been happening within WWE over the past few weeks, which according to Matt Hardy, will only be good news for Tony Khan and AEW.
This past week has seen Vince McMahon return to WWE and be announced as Executive Chairman, replacing his daughter Stephanie in the role.
McMahon reportedly strong-armed his way back into WWE by threatening to withdraw support from all future TV rights negotiations and possible sales.
Benefit
Matt Hardy’s days with WWE are behind him, as he left in 2020, but he still keeps a close eye on the competition.
On the latest Extreme Life podcast, Hardy explained how chaos and unpredictability in WWE can only help AEW.
“Vince McMahon is back and he is the head. He is sitting as the head of the table of WWE currently. We also have Stephanie gone so there’s obviously been a big shake-up. There is a lot of cells, rumors, and innuendo going around, and if you ask me more than anything who benefits from all this? I would say AEW so I’m very happy to be at AEW currently right now. AEW has been producing great content.”
“Who benefits from all this? I would say AEW.”
Matt Hardy on the ongoing power plays in WWE.
Hardy summarised his view on the situation by putting it into context with an analogy from Game of Thrones.
“One thing I love about it is at WWE, they’re playing Games of Thrones It’s like in and out. Who can retain the power and who can backstab? Who can get someone else out or how can I get back in whatever it may be. Here, fortunately, it is just TK [Tony Khan] sitting on the Iron Throne.”
Skeletons in the Closet
There were years, decades even, when the idea of Vince McMahon retiring seemed impossible.
Once McMahon did resign due to allegations of misconduct with female employees, fans thought they’d never see him return.
On his podcast, Hardy discussed McMahon’s controversial comeback and suggested that there are more secrets that could be revealed.
“It was very controversial whenever Vince ended up leaving [in July 2022.] Some of the accusations against him. And I don’t know, considering how much pro wrestling has started to begin mirroring society which is a good thing that it has it’s no longer the wild west it is starting to try and mirror society and run a parallel to how society is. Be a little more moral. But like the Vince thing could end up being very controversial because there are a lot of skeletons in those closets.”
In all statements by WWE so far, there has been no reference to the allegations of misconduct or the millions of dollars McMahon paid in NDAs.
Fingerprints
Prior to McMahon’s return, the ex-CEO stated his attempted comeback was merely to oversee WWE’s sale to another company.
Many are skeptical (especially now that McMahon is Executive Chairman) with fans fearing he will usurp Triple H as Head of Creative.
Hardy said that while McMahon may have only returned for the sale as stated, it may be difficult for him to break old habits.
“I feel like even if Vince is being sincere about that, he won’t be able to control himself like that. If he is back, he is going to put his fingerprints on things. It’s just who he is. It’s absolutely who it is.”
“He won’t be able to control himself.”
Matt Hardy on Vince McMahon.
“There was someone, I would just say randomly, without mentioning names, who said, ‘Raw felt different on Monday. I’ve got a feeling Vince may have had his fingerprints on it.’ Which is interesting.”
McMahon’s roster has not gone down well with WWE’s roster, with some threatening to walk out of the promotion if the rumored deal with Saudi Arabia goes ahead.
