After nearly a year of teasing, we finally got Ultimate Deletion. WWE allowed Woken/Broken Matt Hardy to present his wacky vision of wrestling in the main event of Monday Night Raw on March 19th. Reviews are mixed, skewing towards positive. Plugged-in fans knew what to expect, but many had no idea what they were getting into. It included much of weirdness and creativity that came with the TNA incarnation but with WWE’s flare for production value.

WWE has tried its best to avoid the new phenomena of “weird wrestling.” WWE’s brand of sports entertainment while hokey at times is still grounded in reality and as a physical contest. WWE wouldn’t have touched this type of match three years ago. There’s still a since that WWE (or at least Vince) doesn’t fully get it. Michael Cole introduced Ultimate Deletion by apologizing for fans for the “obnoxious” video they were about to see. Some people see that as Vince trying to ‘bury’ the segment. I view it as a way to prime fans who only watch WWE (aka 80% of WWE’s fans) for a type of wrestling that most of them had never really seen.

Fears of WWE not doing the segment justice were unfounded. WWE’s signature high production value was on full-display while still showing off some of the DIY elements that made the original special. It gave fans old and new something fun and even created a whole new story for fans to speculate on moving into the future.

Here are the best moments from ULTIMATE DELETION.

Vanguard 1!

Apart from Senor Benjamin (more on him later) and King Maxel no Broken character captured the hearts of fans more than drone Vanguard 1. The robotic minion of Castle Hardy is more than a weapon, he also has an attached camera used to revolutionize wrestling with drone footage.

Fireworks!

Perhaps the most insane part of “Total Nonstop Deletion” was the liberal use of fireworks both as a distraction and as weapons.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3aqP60MWvA

WWE is a little more safety conscious and as such decided not to use mountains of fire and explosives, but Bray and Vanguard 1 still pulled out the Boomstick.

https://twitter.com/totaldivaseps/status/975930836930396160

Senor Benjamin!

The Hardy’s loyal groundskeeper and henchman appeared at the end of Ultimate Deletion to deliver the final blow to Bray Wyatt. Throwing a globe and singing and off-tempo version of “In His Hands.”

https://twitter.com/totaldivaseps/status/975933826110193665

Benjamin then tried to fish Wyatt out of the Lake Of Reincarnation before announcing that he has been DELETED.

The Reactions On Twitter

People were not prepared for the segment. WTF was the most common reaction.

Here’s how WWE legends reacted.

https://twitter.com/HulkHogan/status/975943998530621440

But What happened to Bray Wyatt?

The match ended with Matt pinning Wyatt and throwing him into the Lake of Reincarnation, but when Senor Benjamin went to retrieve him, The Eater of Worlds was no where to be found. This set off a wave of speculation. Is Bray Wyatt the character dead? Will he return as Husky Harris? Is Wyatt set to become Brother Bero? We will see. Thankfully, this story is far from over so we will see more in the weeks and months to come, possibly at Wrestlemania.

What did you think of Ultimate Deletion? Share your thoughts. 

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