SLAMJAMZ: The Ballad Of Matt Hardy (One Year Later)..and more...

Greetings from the land of Goonie that is SlamJamz Central! Time to take a look into that wacky world of professional wrestling - come on along for the ride!

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First up, A song....

::AHEM:: (clearing throat)

THE BALLAD OF MATT HARDY
Sung to the tune of "Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" by The Beatles
New Lyrics by TC Kirkham (verse) and Kim Brown (Chorus)


it was just one year ago today
Matt Hardy said To TNA
"I'm not signing, no way no how
You gotta have TV right NOW
They called from Stamford, you see
Gotta Jump, they said it's time for me
I'm gonna main event in WWE----eeeeeee!"

(Chorus)
It's back to Vinnie Mac's Same Ego Show
I know it will be great this time!
Back to the same zoo that fired me before
What could possibly go wrong this time?
So I used the 'Net fans
So I screwed the 'Net fans
Who cares about the 'Net fans
You can bet not me!

::end song::

Well, OK, techincally, it's not a year TODAY...it was a year ago last Tuesday, I believe, that Matt Hardy returned to the WWE, showing a massive case of internet ignorance, confident that working his fans on through his own website could only lead to newfound glory.

The internet fans he'd carefully used and cultivated during his 90 day release period felt betrayed. Most of them wanted Matt to sign the very lucrative contract offered to him by TNA. And for the final days of his release period, Matt continually referred to his "independence day". He even cut several videos he then released on the net, which clearly implied that he would in fact be heading to Orlando, as did his posts. He was Matt Hardy, The "Angelic Diablo" (a term which makes NO sense whatsoever, but what the hell, it's pro wrestling), and he wasn't putting up with any more crap.

But, we are lead to believe that in the last days of his waiting period, the WWE had a change of heart. Someone from WWE had decided that there was big money in a feud with his now real-life nemesis, Edge, and his ex-girlfriend Lita. Matt let himself be convinced that it was true. Besides, he felt that without a TV show at the time, TNA couldn't possibly give him the exposure he needed. He didn't understand the fact that he WAS TNA's new TV deal - had he signed with TNA, they most likely would have been back on the air in less than a month's time.

So, the night before his proclaimed "independence day", Matt returned to RAW without warning, jumping Edge and Lita backstage. He became the "rebel".

Feeling totally used and betrayed by him, his fan base plunged. Some hardcore wrestling fanatics laughed and joked about the way Matt had "worked the marks". Trouble was, those fans were the ones who had come on board to help Matt through a very rough period of his life, accepting him as one of their own on the net, one who could sound off about his situation and have tons of sympathy come his way. They had stood by him, through e-mails, posting on his board, and preparing to buy the new internet show he was putting together. He was open, honest, and forthright with them from the beginning. And in the beginning, I believe he WAS sincere, stung by the thoughtless and arrogant way WWE had released him after he went public with the intimate details of what had happened between himself, ex-girlfriend Amy Dumas, and ex-best friend Edge. But the way he jumped back to WWE, which may have started as much as six weeks earlier, after Edge and Lita got "married" on WWE TV, and after spending a week shouting about his "independence day" on his website, really hurt those who had accepted him into their commmunity.

Overnight, this new large fanbase virtually evaporated.

Matt didn't seem to care one bit about those fans or their feelings, and for the next week and a half, continued to "invade" WWE tapings. Then, as the return angle progressed, Teddy Long signed Matt to a new contract with Smackdown, and Matt came out to deliver his thanks in a promo on one of the shows. Which he BLEW. BADLY.

And Matt Hardy has been consigned to WWE purgatory ever since.

Less than 12 hours after Hardy returned to RAW, I blasted him with a heartfelt column about how he had used the fans who had helped him through that rough period in his life; by betraying their trust in him, I predicted it would ruin his career. I got deluged with the largest surge of mail this columnist had ever seen. A lot of people sided with me, but there were a lot of people who didn't see it my way, and they told me in so many terms to go to hell. Some of the mail was so mean that I almost pulled the plug on my column. Those fans reacted in the way they always do...with hate-filled diatribes about how I didn't get it, how it was fine that Hardy "worked the fans".

Had it been within the confines of the wrestling community, I would have agreed with them. But Matt had been OUTSIDE the confines of said community at the time. He had been accepted by the fans on his site as one of their own, and I felt then and continue to feel that it was WRONG of him to do so.

Within a month, the pops his entrance USED to recieve were gone...

Within a month, having blown his promo opportunity, he was in the WWE's version of purgatory...

Within two months, Edge had beaten him on PPV...the so-called "Big Money feud" was over...

Within two months, Matt Hardy, supposedly vindicated WWE Superstar had become Matt Hardy, WWE J.O.B Squad leader...

And it's been that way EVER SINCE.

Just a few weeks after the fiasco began, in his August 24th, 2005 News Hotline on this site, Dave Scherer said this:

"...TC Kirkham on this site wrote a passionate column about how [Matt] screwed up at the time. I said to TC, 'Hey, [Matt] did what was in his heart, and he did what he felt was the best move for him.' At the time I didn't necessarily think that [Matt] was doing the wrong thing. TC did, wrote a great column, and TC? Right now, you're looking pretty smart, buddy, because [Matt] definately screwed up. TC said to me in an e-mail, 'How could [Matt] put his trust in a company that has already misused him in the past and expect things to change?' And in the end..[TC] was right...[Matt] put his trust in the WWE to make the angle work, and [Matt] blew it, the WWE blew it And [Matt] left....a lot of hard feelings behind..."

Do you know how badly I did NOT want to be vindicated with this story? I was a HUGE Hardy fan, and although I'm still a fan of his work, I wouldn't ever....EVER...put my trust in him again as a fan.

Maybe one day, his career will recover from his colossal mistake...I will always hope that it will...but I don't think it's yet "his time" again...

And Matt? I am TRULY sorry what I predicted came to pass...

But with all respect, you hurt a LOT of people when you led them on OUTSIDE the confines of a wrestling angle. You were cold and calculating in the way you worked the fans who came to you to offer comfort and support. You should have been more mindful of what the reaction would have been...

As Gypsy on MST3K used to say, "It's YOUR dishwashing liquid...YOU soak in it!"

Although, as a postscript, let me add this...seeing the way TNA has completely BOTCHED the use of Team 3D and Christian Cage since they came over from WWE...well, i'm sure you get the picture....

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Second up, another song....

No commentary needed on this one...the lyrics say it all...step up to the mike, lady o'mine...

::Ahem:: (clears throat)

LOOK WHAT THEY'VE DONE TO OUR FED
To the tune of "Look What They've Done To My Song, Ma" by The New Seekers
New Lyrics by Kim Brown

Look what they've done to our fed, fans
Look what they've done to our fed
Well, Vince has taken what was so good and right
And has turned it on its head
Look what they've done to our fed

Wish I could find a good fed to watch now
Wish I could find a good fed
But Japan is just too gosh-darn far away
Stop beatin' that horse-it's dead now
Wish I could find a good fed

Why can't they leave it alone, now?
Why can't they leave it alone?
The past is gone and the present show
Makes me choke like a chicken bone
Why don't they leave it alone?

Look what they've done to our fed, fans!
Look what they've done to our fed!
Imitation's not a form of flattery.
This is making me see red - you bastards!
Look what they've done to our fed!

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::APPLAUSE::

Thanks, honey, for that spirited verse. Those of us who remember the REAL meaning of those three letters Vinnie Mac is blaspheming these days SALUTE YOU!!!

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NEXT WEEK...

I will be making an announcement in this column about something I hope all wrestling fans will get behind and enjoy. So don't miss it! Better yet, i'll probably be announcing it sooner than that on my website, so you may want to drop by and check things out this week.

Until then, as always....

It's Me Against The World! REPRISE THE THEME SONG AND ROLL THE CREDITS!