Matt Hardy Details WWE Period Of Putting People Over & 'Getting Punished'

Former WWE star Matt Hardy has explained why he was punished by WWE back in 2005, just months after he was re-signed.

Hardy, on a recent edition of his "Ask Matt Hardy Anything" podcast, stated that WWE wanted to punish him after the fans brought him back following his release, but also due to an incident with The Undertaker.

"There was the Survivor Series incident where Undertaker was coming out, coming in the ring, and beating up people, and it was right after Eddie died. So, like, things had changed, and I was supposed to be in a different match, and then I was in the ring, and I just thought like, 'Hey, do you really want me in this scenario in the ring?' And I remember even asking Vince about it and some of the other guys. Vince said, 'Well, I need someone of importance in the ring, so just be in the ring and just, you know, kind of get out of there quickly or whatever.' And then I remember speaking to one of the agents. They said, 'Okay, well, if that's what Vince told you to do, do it.' And I ended up — I was like leaning on the ropes, and I was probably in the wrong," Hardy said. "Undertaker ended up being hot about it, and I had heat with Undertaker for a while." 

The veteran star, though, smoothed things over with "The Deadman" and WWE, but he was punished by the promotion.

"I just went through a period of putting people over, getting beat, getting punished, and it was what it was. And I just weathered the storm and then got back on track," said the TNA star.

WWE had let Hardy go in 2005, but the fans signed a petition, which forced WWE to re-hire him. He revealed that the plan was for him to lose the last match in his feud with Edge and then move to "WWE SmackDown."