Matt Hardy Recalls Vince McMahon Verbally Laying Into Bray Wyatt

WWE CEO Vince McMahon has spent decades creating invaluable content for his wrestling company, and along the way, he has established great relationships with some of its top stars. But he can also be notoriously difficult to work with, even for people he likes.

AEW's Matt Hardy added his former tag team partner, Bray Wyatt, to that list on the latest episode of his podcast, "The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy." While Hardy claimed Wyatt was "like a son" to McMahon, their relationship was volatile, with McMahon being supportive on some occasions and borderline abusive on others. In detailing how McMahon would treat Wyatt, Hardy highlighted an incident that saw McMahon engage in a lengthy verbal tirade.

"There was one time where we came back through [the curtain] after something and [Vince] was like 'You know, you guys have the chance to be special, be unlike any other tag team in history. You guys are these two really interesting characters. Bray, why didn't you do that spider walk? What's wrong with you? Are you not in shape, can you not do it anymore?' He like really laid into him, and he said 'Why don't you do this? You're not even playing the gimmick, you're not doing this and you didn't even have your hands up.'

"He was just reaming [Bray] out after this match and I was like 'Boss, what did I do wrong?' And he was like 'Nothing, you were fine but he...' And he turned back to him."

Wyatt and Hardy began feuding late in 2017, kicking off a story that would see the notorious "Broken" Matt Hardy character translated to WWE. After a program that culminated with an "Ultimate Deletion" match, which Hardy won, the two would team up as the Deleters of Worlds at Wrestlemania 34. They briefly held the "Raw" Tag Team Championship in the summer of 2018 before being disbanded because, according to Hardy, "they were tired of us suggesting ideas."

"I've seen [Vince], during that time, be really good and so supportive and try and lift Bray up," Hardy said on his podcast. "But then I saw him too where he would be so hard on him, like a coach, like really tough on him. Almost cruelly tough."

Wyatt has yet to make his return to wrestling after being released by WWE in 2021, remaining silent throughout this time with no landing spot determined. He's been rumored to be on the way to AEW several times, but it's been reported that his asking price is very high.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.