***MAJOR UPDATE***
Matt Hardy is wasting no time getting the ball rolling on the WWE revival of his “Broken”/”Woken” character. Thursday night, he posted a new promo to his official YouTube channel, titled, “IT HAS BEGUN.”
There a few very exciting things about this new video. First, it confirms the return of Broken Matt’s trusted gardener Señor Benjamin. Not long after the video was uploaded, Señor Benjamin tweeted the following:
Yes mister Hardy.
— Señor Benjamin (@BenjaminSenor) December 1, 2017
Second, the A+ production value of the video seems to indicate that, unlike his last video, Matt didn’t make this on his own – WWE was involved. Like the title of the video indicates, it’s finally happening.
Third, the piano soundtrack of the video makes me wonder if Matt’s wife and children will be involved, as well. Reby and King Maxel have yet to make an appearance on WWE TV, but they were a big part of the “Broken” universe on Impact. Reby’s piano playing prior to Matt’s entrances added a lot to his character, and it would be great to see her do the same in WWE.
Besides that, she’s just a damn good pianist.
It’s unfortunate that Matt’s brother Jeff is sidelined with an injury and isn’t expected back until spring, but that will certainly play into Matt’s new persona, which is sure to be just DELIGHTFUL.
Read our original article about the return of “Broken” Matt below.
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Following his loss to Bray Wyatt on this week’s episode of Monday Night Raw, Matt Hardy appeared to give us what we’ve been waiting for ever since his return to WWE: he finally “broke.”
WONDERFUL!
When i see Matt Hardy start to be Broken #RAW pic.twitter.com/g8DMmnqCWi
— ~ The Broken Prince ~ (@HeelMOC) November 28, 2017
Matt Hardy is acting REALLY REALLY BROKEN pic.twitter.com/rCB7tHXppO
— K-Night (@dylknight7) November 28, 2017
Broken Matt Hardy… #RAW pic.twitter.com/uQ1Wv2Sc8B
— Rumble Ramble (@TheRumbleRamble) November 28, 2017
Remember when we wanted Broken Matt Hardy vs. Bray Wyatt? This could be the beginning. ?#WWE #Raw pic.twitter.com/dyLnnxwKjK
— Scott Fishman (@smFISHMAN) November 28, 2017
But this isn’t just great news for fans – it’s also great news for the Hardy family. Anthem Sports and Entertainment, which owns Impact, had been selfishly holding hostage the intellectual property rights to the “Broken” persona for nearly a year. But on Wednesday, Anthem executive, and Impact President Ed Nordholm confirmed to Sports Illustrated that they have agreed to surrender the trademark rights to Hardy.
“We have seen the character development and will be interested to see where they take the concept. Our new talent agreements all incorporate language that allow talent to continue to use their IMPACT persona after they leave the company. We are working with our legal team to amend our existing agreements to extend this to all of our current and former talent.”
Despite that Impact has backed off, however, it doesn’t seem that WWE’s version of “Broken” Matt will be a carbon copy of Impact’s version. SI further reported that “WWE is creating its own new character for Hardy, who will not be labeled as ‘Broken’ but will be very similar.”
Additionally, Matt tweeted this on Wednesday.
I am recently #WOKEN, but I will FOREVAH be #BROKEN.
— #WOKEN Matt Hardy (@MATTHARDYBRAND) November 29, 2017
It seems, then, that WWE will be continuing on with the “Woken” label rather than “Broken.” I’m gonna be honest here: that disappoints me. But I’m glad that Matt will finally be able to bring out his brilliant alter ego without worrying about legal repercussions.
Are you excited for the arrived of “Broken”/”Woken” Matt Hardy in WWE? Who should he feud with? Share your thoughts and comments below!