LaBar: The Potential And Profit Of "Woken" Matt Hardy In WWE
He has Woken.
Dilly dilly.
Matt Hardy experienced a wonderful return to WWE at WrestleMania. The first loop of touring he and brother Jeff have done for WWE in over 7 years was met with one of the loudest pops of the night every night.
But after that, it's been a row of detours.
Potential program in late Summer with The Revival cut quickly due to Scott Dawson injury. Any chance for The Hardy's to reunite with the match they made famous, TLC, at its pay-per-view in October was cut due to Jeff Hardy getting injured.
Last Monday, all "deletes" point to nostalgia. Interestingly enough, the substance of the nostalgia was not created under Vince McMahon's watch. Not common for the Chairman who would rather fail with his own ideas than succeed with someone else's.
But through stubbornness that naturally must live in someone as successful as McMahon, also lives the acute sense of smell. A "Woken" or "Broken" Matt Hardy smells of money.
It's been a proven smell on a platform of TNA Impact where that smell isn't all that regular. It's been proven by Matt Hardy's bank account with his independent ability to market the character in multiple revenue streams.
WWE will attach their spin to the character using the massive machine they are in merchandising and distribution. I don't rule out a "Woken" Matt doing WWE Shop pitches with Christmas codes.
But as long as WWE constantly welcomes "Woken" collaboration from Hardy, its success seems like a safe bet. If they don't welcome it, what's the point?
The top priority is to educate and properly introduce this new layer of Hardy to the audience in full. While many, depending on the city, know of Hardy's previous work prior to his WWE return, not everyone does. This could be seen last week in Tennessee when Hardy was repeatedly doing the popular delete chant with the outward hand arm motion. To those in the know, they chanted along. To those who weren't, they looked on wondering if Hardy was having a shoulder spasm.
A few more weeks of gradual change wouldn't be bad to make sure everyone gets on the bandwagon, but I wouldn't risk dragging it out too long. They're already months behind capitalizing on this character.
Luckily, Matt stayed committed to his hair color and style. People haven't forgotten about the entertainment of his CONDISHTION.
Another thing, let's keep Matt solo for now. Maybe when Jeff returns or after a suffice singles run has been given, then there's room to evolve. But not now.
The wacko who needs followers is Bray Wyatt. For whatever reason WWE keeps moving away from that.
A Woken Matt Hardy run in WWE had endless potential. Two brands. Two rosters. Two sets of world and mid-card titles.
Senior Benjamin, prepare the battlefield.
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